The fall of France in 1940 and the passage and implementation of
the Selective Service Act had a sobering effect on the campus. After the
country's entry into the war, the number of male students on the campus
decreased drastically. Total daytime enrollment dropped to less than 200
during the 1943-1944 year, with the vast majority of that number being women.
In the spring of 1943, the contracts of seven instructors were terminated,
and the following year four more were released.
Many of the male faculty went off to war. Eleven instructors were granted
leave to enter military service, and two others were given leave to take
war-related civilian jobs. The war effected the college in other direct
ways, in both curriculum and campus activities. The vocational building,
completed in the fall of 1941, was used to house a number of "Off Reservation
Training" (ORT) courses. Courses in the repair of radio equipment and battery
maintenance were also offered. During the first months of the war, rigid
security regulations were imposed on those assigned in the ORT program.
A stockade-like fence was constructed around the shop building, with armed
sentries on guard. One of the more interesting assignments undertaken by
the college during the war years were the teaching of English to Italian
war prisons at Camp Ono, north of San Bernardino.
The war also made itself felt in the regular academic courses. Classes were
scheduled so that students could more easily graduate in a year and a half,
including summer sessions, rather than in the normal two-year period. The
nursing program increased its tempo to provide training of the Nurses' Cadet
Corps in a 30-month period. Pre-induction courses in mathematics, physics,
meteorology and astronomy were offered.
The war affected campus life in many other ways. Students promoted the sale
of war stamps and bond drives. Receptacles were placed on the campus to
deposit articles of clothing for the Red Cross and other war relief agencies,
and to college scrap metal. A Red Cross workshop was set up in Science Building
to teach students to fold bandages during their free periods. Knitting lessons
were given for those who wanted to make apparel for those in the service.
In the last months of the war, after the defeat of Germany, the tempo subsided.
The first veterans were back on the campus as early as the fall of 1944,
when a Veterans' Club was organized. By the fall of 1945, the faculty men
who had been on military leave began to return, and veterans enrolled in
the campus in ever-increasing numbers. A big expansion in enrollment came
a year later, in 1946, with the addition of many new faculty members and
a rapidly growing student body.
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1942-1958:
President Lounsbury
(left)
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Dr. Ricciardi resigned in March 1942 to accept a similar position
at Sacramento Junior College. Dr. John B. Lounsbury, President of Long Beach
City College, was appointed as Valley College's fourth president. The first
four Lounsbury years were those in which war considerations were paramount.
But beginning in 1946 and lasting for the remainder of his tenure, Valley
College experienced a period of continuing growth and intense activity.
To accommodate the student population, it was necessary to schedule many
classes in the late afternoon hours. War surplus buildings were also brought
to the campus to provide additional offices, classrooms and space for student
services. These buildings were located in the Quad to the east of the Administration
Building, and some of them remained in use for many years.
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1952: Library Entrance
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A bond was passed in April 1946 to provide for the construction of an engineering
building, a student center and a fine arts building, a new science building,
a business education building, and an addition to the library. Top priority
was given to the construction of a large technical-engineering, home economics
and music building. The contract was awarded in February 1949 and, except
for the radio broadcasting area, the building (now North Hall) was ready
for occupancy at the beginning of the fall 1950 semester. Construction of
the Student Life Building did not begin until April 1954. The half-million
dollar structure was completed about a year later. The old wooden Social
Hall was then remodeled and moved to serve as an auxiliary gymnasium for
the use of women students. In 1947, a clock was added to the Auditorium
tower. It was a gift from John F. Vondey of Vondey Jewelers in San Bernardino.
In 1954, a carillon unit of Westminster chimes was presented by the Associated
Student Body as a memorial to the more than one hundred Valley College students
who lost their lives in World War II and the Korean conflict. Residential
property to the north, south and east of the campus was purchased to convert
into parking. Construction of a Chemistry Building began in late 1957.
Increased enrollment and a change in age and interest of the post-war students
was reflected in changes in the curriculum. A larger percentage of students
were interested in achieving immediate occupational goals, so additional
courses in the business and technical fields were offered. An application
to the Federal Communication Commission was made for a license to operate
an FM station was made in early 1954, and when approved, station KVCR-FM
came into being.
The political climate of the Cold War years was reflected in the activities
of the college. All employees were required to take a loyalty oath, and
applicants for teaching positions were questioned about their political
beliefs. Trustees' relationships with the administration and the faculty
were quite personal, with most teaching applicants meeting with one or more
Board members before employment. Depending upon their training, interest
or experience, each Board member assumed responsibility for a specific area:
budget and finance, buildings, grounds, insurance or personnel. Citizen
attendance at Board meetings was unusual, and most meetings were held in
the Presidents office.
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1950s: School Dance
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The campus was the center of social life for many students. Dances were
held throughout the year, with big-name bands sometimes furnishing the music.
Athletic events were well attended. Beginning in 1950, "College Nights,"
free to all ASB cardholders, were regularly scheduled. These events featured
a full-length movie, followed by a dance, and ending at midnight with the
closing of the student "Snack Shack."
A number of entertainers and political figures made campus appearances.
A Bob Hope show, with Dorothy Lamour, Jerry Colonna, and Desi Arnaz and
his orchestra, was broadcast from the Auditorium state in the spring of
1947. Edgar Bergen, with Charlie McCarthy, and Dinah Shore followed a year
later. Senatorial candidates Richard Nixon and Helen Gahagan Douglas both
appeared on campus during their 1950 election campaign, and Estes Kefauver
stopped by to speak in 1955.
Enthusiasm and support for the college athletic programs reached their zenith
during the Lounsbury years. This was especially true during the football
season, when all student activities seemed to focus on the weekend game.
The annual homecoming was a major event, with a bonfire rally, an alumni
tea, a downtown parade, the selection of a homecoming queen and her court,
a coronation ball, and the football game.
Two valuable unusual collections were given to the college during the Lounsbury
years. In 1949, the Southwest Museum donated a collection of lantern slides
of the southwest collected by George Wharton James, an early traveler and
a friend and companion of such men as John Muir, Joseph LeConte, and Major
John Wesley Powell. The collection remains in the custody of the Geology
Department. In 1954, Wilson C. Hanna's collection of bird eggs was donated
to the college, along with a contribution of $25,000 from the California
Portand Cement Company for the construction of special display cases. This
collection was eventually transferred to the San Bernardino County Museum.
President Lounsbury's last two years gave an indication of the changes that
were in store for future administrations. A dispute over control over the
"Fountain Room" was eventually resolved by the appointment of a committee
that recommended minor changes that permitted a feeling of greater student
involvement. A public dispute occurred during 1956-1957, when it was revealed
that an engineering instructor from Turkey did not have the background to
be credentialed.
In March of 1958, Dr. Lounsbury indicated his intention to retire at the
end of the academic year. During his sixteen years as president, the student
body had grown from one of less than 200 to one of nearly 2,000 day and
4,500 evening students. Two major buildings had been added to the campus
and a new construction program was underway.
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