Crisis at Whitworth College
Faculty dismissals trigger a faculty-student revolt and a tense emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The board of trustees of Whitworth college, Tacoma, is in session in Seattle. The meeting is being held in the lecture room of the First Presbyterian church behind closed doors. From the few facts that have leaked out, it is evident that a storm of considerable severity is brewing. The meeting was called as the result of several things that occurred in connection with a meeting held in Tacoma about two weeks ago. At that time, President Gault and three other members of the faculty were asked to withdraw. This created a storm among the students and other members of the faculty that threatened to disrupt the college. A committee of six, representing the students of Whitworth college, came over from Tacoma today to urge the board to retain President Gault and the other members of the faculty who were marked for slaughter at the last meeting.
“A committee of six, representing the students of Whitworth college, came over from Tacoma today to urge the board to retain President Gault.”
The struggle for power between university administration and student-faculty bodies remains a classic campus conflict. Whitworth College moved from its original Tacoma campus to Spokane in 1914, making this a pivotal moment in the institution's Tacoma history.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.