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John S. Allen

January 01, 1970

This article is about John Stuart Allen. For other persons named John S. Allen, see John Allen.

John Stuart Allen (May 13, 1907 – December 27, 1982) was an American astronomer, university professor and university president. He was a native of Indiana, and pursued a career as a professor of astronomy after receiving his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees. In 1953 Allen became the interim president of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida, and subsequently became the founding president of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida.

John S. Allen
John Allen giving a commencement speech at the University of South Florida, 1964
Born(1907-05-13)May 13, 1907
Pendleton, Indiana, U.S.
DiedDecember 27, 1982(1982-12-27) (aged 75)
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
EducationB.A., Earlham College, 1928
M.S., University of Minnesota, 1929
Ph.D., New York University, 1936
Occupation(s)Astronomer
University Professor
University President
Employer(s)University of Minnesota
Colgate University
New York Department of Education
University of Florida
University of South Florida
SpouseGrace Carlton Allen

Early life and education edit

John Allen was born in Pendleton, Indiana in 1907.[1] His parents were Quakers, and his father was a high school teacher and principal.[1] His father imparted to him a love of education and a fascination with astronomy derived from their shared backyard observations of the night sky. Allen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Quaker-affiliated Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana in 1928, a master's degree in astronomy from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in 1929, and a doctor of philosophy degree from New York University in New York City in 1936.[2] While he was a graduate student at Minnesota, in 1933, he met and married the former Grace Carlton, an education student.[3]

Astronomer, professor, university founder edit

Allen began his teaching career as an instructor at the University of Minnesota, and later received an appointment as an assistant professor of astronomy at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, where he taught for twelve years.[2] Allen also worked for the New York State Department of Education from 1940 to 1948, where he eventually became director of the Division of Higher Education.[2] One of his major accomplishments as higher education director, he oversaw the implementation of New York's so-called "emergency colleges"—state supported colleges created to accommodate the influx of returning World War II veterans.[1] Over the course of his teaching and administrative career, Allen authored three textbooks and more than seventy journal articles on such topics as astronomy, higher education and veterans' education.[2]

In 1948, president J. Hillis Miller of the University of Florida tapped Allen to be the university's new vice president;[4] Miller had previously worked with Allen in the New York Department of Education.[1] When Miller died unexpectedly in 1953, Allen became the interim president of the university.[5] After his permanent successor, J. Wayne Reitz, assumed office in 1955, Allen continued to work as the executive vice president of the University of Florida until 1957.[2] During his time at Florida, he was intimately involved in the planning of the university's new state medical school, teaching hospital and health science center complex.[1]

In 1956, the Florida Legislature authorized the creation of a new state university to be located in Hillsborough County, Florida,[6] and the Florida Board of Control appointed Allen as the first president of what would become the new University of South Florida (USF) on June 27, 1957.[1] Allen was the only candidate considered for the position,[7] and would lead the new university as its president from its inception in 1957 until his retirement in 1970.

I asked Dr. Allen, 'Can you tell me where I can get a camel and burnous?' Dr. Allen was a tall, frosty New England type of gentleman. He didn't think that was funny at all.

— Retired Professor Elton B. Smith, recalling a 1961 conversation with President John Allen about the dry, sandy and empty spaces of the University of South Florida's campus.[8]

On August 1, 1957, the newly minted university president and his secretary Ann Strickland moved into a borrowed office in the Hillsborough County Courthouse and went to work.[1] According to The Tampa Tribune, Allen brought with him a note pad, a box of pencils, an ashtray for visitors and "great hope."[9] When Allen arrived in Tampa in 1957, the fledgling university did not have a name, physical plant, faculty or students.[1] He and his newly assembled administrative team began to build a modern state university from scratch. With a grant from the Ford Foundation, Allen toured American universities, scouting modern academic facilities and curriculums for ideas to build a better university, and he began to recruit administrative staff and future faculty members. Allen's plans were ambitious; to open a completely new university in three years with 1,500 students and to expand to 10,000 within ten years thereafter.[10] The Florida Legislature appropriated $1.2 million in 1957 and another $5 million in 1959, and construction of the first three buildings began in earnest on 1,694 acres (6.86 km2) of largely empty sandy brush land located nine miles (14 km) north of downtown Tampa.[7] Thereafter, the university expanded rapidly, the first undergraduate classes were held in the fall of 1960, and the first master's degree program began in 1964, and the first doctoral program in 1967. In 1965, USF expanded to a second campus on the bayfront in St. Petersburg, located on the site of the old Bayboro Maritime Base. In September 1960, there were 1,997 undergraduates enrolled at USF.[11] Ten years later, when Allen retired, USF had over 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students.[11] Notably, the Florida Legislature authorized the Allen administration's proposal to establish a new medical school in 1965—the second publicly supported medical school in the state—and the first USF medical students began their studies in 1971.[12]

Under Allen's leadership, South Florida heralded itself as the "Harvard of the South", and emphasized academics to the exclusion of major college sports.[13] Allen became known for his opposition to major college sports programs in favor of a more academically centered university environment.[13] He received national media attention for his insistence that USF would not start a football team or other major intercollegiate sports programs, and would instead spend the funds saved on academic needs.[14]

After his retirement from USF, Allen actively contributed to the planning for the state's next public university, the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida.[15]

Legacy edit

When John Allen assumed his duties as the first president of the then-unnamed University of South Florida on August 1, 1957, the university had no students. By the beginning of the 2009–2010 academic year, over 47,000 undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled on the university's four campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Lakeland.[16] During the 2008–2009 academic year, USF graduated over 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students in 228 degree programs.[16] The university that Allen built "from the sandspurs up," as Governor LeRoy Collins had said,[1] is now one of the ten largest single-campus universities in the United States and one of only three first-tier public research universities in Florida.[16] In recognition of the fundamental role Allen played in the founding, expansion and ultimate success of USF, the Florida Board of Regents named the university's main administration complex the "John and Grace Allen Center" in honor of President Allen and university first lady Grace Allen, his wife.[3] Allen's ultimate legacy was to be the first person to build a modern state university from scratch: "As a completely new and separate institution, the University of South Florida became the first new institution of its kind to be conceived, planned and built in the United States in the 20th Century."[1]

Allen died at his home in Tampa on December 27, 1982; he was 75.[14] He was survived by his wife of forty-nine years, Grace Allen; she died on December 16, 2007.[14]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "'Build Us A University'—And That's What Dr. John Stuart Allen Did 2020-05-14 at the Wayback Machine," St. Petersburg Times, pp. 1D & 5D (April 26, 1970). Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e University of Florida, Past Presidents, John Allen (Interim President 1953–1955) 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Ken Gullette, "USF Remembers Grace Allen as a Real 'First Lady,'" USF News (December 16, 2007). Retrieved March 9, 2010.
  4. ^ "Named to Florida Post," The Hartford Courant, p. 2 (January 2, 1948). Retrieved March 17, 2010.
  5. ^ Samuel Proctor & Wright Langley, Gator History: A Pictorial History of University of Florida, South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida, p. 44 (1986).
  6. ^ Mark I. Greenberg, University of South Florida: The First Fifty Years, 1956-2006, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, p. 7 (2006).
  7. ^ a b "'Over Coffee . . . They Made Up Their Minds . . .' 2020-05-14 at the Wayback Machine," St. Petersburg Times, p. 1D (April 26, 1970). Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  8. ^ . St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  9. ^ Greenberg, The First Fifty Years, p. 15.
  10. ^ "Florida Planning A New University; Institution in South of State to Open in '60 With 1,500 Liberal Arts Students," The New York Times, p. 31 (December 29, 1957). Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  11. ^ a b Stan Witwer, "In One Decade A University Becomes Great 2020-05-14 at the Wayback Machine," St. Petersburg Times, pp. 1D & 5D (April 26, 1970). Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  12. ^ University of South Florida, College of Medicine, History of the USF College of Medicine. Retrieved March 7, 2010.
  13. ^ a b Al Levine, "Allen Aim: Perspective On Athletics," St. Petersburg Times, p. 1C (February 20, 1969). Retrieved March 15, 2010.
  14. ^ a b c Frank J. Prial, "John S. Allen, Florida Educator," The New York Times (December 28, 1982). Retrieved March 5, 2010,
  15. ^ "Dr. Allen Retires in Pasco," St. Petersburg Times, p. 10B (January 27, 1973). Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  16. ^ a b c University of South Florida System Facts 2009–2010, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida (2009). Retrieved March 5, 2010.

Bibliography edit

  • Greenberg, Mark I., University of South Florida: The First Fifty Years, 1956-2006, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida (2006).
  • Pleasants, Julian M., Gator Tales: An Oral History of the University of Florida, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2006). ISBN 0-8130-3054-4.
  • Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida, South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). ISBN 0-938637-00-2.
  • Van Ness, Carl, & Kevin McCarthy, Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future: The University of Florida, 1853–2003, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2003).

External links edit

  • University of Florida – Official website of the University of Florida.
  • University of South Florida – Official website of the University of South Florida.

January 01, 1970
john, allen, this, article, about, john, stuart, allen, other, persons, named, john, allen, john, stuart, allen, 1907, december, 1982, american, astronomer, university, professor, university, president, native, indiana, pursued, career, professor, astronomy, a. This article is about John Stuart Allen For other persons named John S Allen see John Allen John Stuart Allen May 13 1907 December 27 1982 was an American astronomer university professor and university president He was a native of Indiana and pursued a career as a professor of astronomy after receiving his bachelor s master s and doctorate degrees In 1953 Allen became the interim president of the University of Florida located in Gainesville Florida and subsequently became the founding president of the University of South Florida in Tampa Florida John S AllenJohn Allen giving a commencement speech at the University of South Florida 1964Born 1907 05 13 May 13 1907Pendleton Indiana U S DiedDecember 27 1982 1982 12 27 aged 75 Tampa Florida U S EducationB A Earlham College 1928M S University of Minnesota 1929Ph D New York University 1936Occupation s AstronomerUniversity ProfessorUniversity PresidentEmployer s University of MinnesotaColgate UniversityNew York Department of EducationUniversity of FloridaUniversity of South FloridaSpouseGrace Carlton Allen Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Astronomer professor university founder 3 Legacy 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksEarly life and education editJohn Allen was born in Pendleton Indiana in 1907 1 His parents were Quakers and his father was a high school teacher and principal 1 His father imparted to him a love of education and a fascination with astronomy derived from their shared backyard observations of the night sky Allen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from Quaker affiliated Earlham College in Richmond Indiana in 1928 a master s degree in astronomy from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in 1929 and a doctor of philosophy degree from New York University in New York City in 1936 2 While he was a graduate student at Minnesota in 1933 he met and married the former Grace Carlton an education student 3 Astronomer professor university founder editAllen began his teaching career as an instructor at the University of Minnesota and later received an appointment as an assistant professor of astronomy at Colgate University in Hamilton New York where he taught for twelve years 2 Allen also worked for the New York State Department of Education from 1940 to 1948 where he eventually became director of the Division of Higher Education 2 One of his major accomplishments as higher education director he oversaw the implementation of New York s so called emergency colleges state supported colleges created to accommodate the influx of returning World War II veterans 1 Over the course of his teaching and administrative career Allen authored three textbooks and more than seventy journal articles on such topics as astronomy higher education and veterans education 2 In 1948 president J Hillis Miller of the University of Florida tapped Allen to be the university s new vice president 4 Miller had previously worked with Allen in the New York Department of Education 1 When Miller died unexpectedly in 1953 Allen became the interim president of the university 5 After his permanent successor J Wayne Reitz assumed office in 1955 Allen continued to work as the executive vice president of the University of Florida until 1957 2 During his time at Florida he was intimately involved in the planning of the university s new state medical school teaching hospital and health science center complex 1 In 1956 the Florida Legislature authorized the creation of a new state university to be located in Hillsborough County Florida 6 and the Florida Board of Control appointed Allen as the first president of what would become the new University of South Florida USF on June 27 1957 1 Allen was the only candidate considered for the position 7 and would lead the new university as its president from its inception in 1957 until his retirement in 1970 I asked Dr Allen Can you tell me where I can get a camel and burnous Dr Allen was a tall frosty New England type of gentleman He didn t think that was funny at all Retired Professor Elton B Smith recalling a 1961 conversation with President John Allen about the dry sandy and empty spaces of the University of South Florida s campus 8 On August 1 1957 the newly minted university president and his secretary Ann Strickland moved into a borrowed office in the Hillsborough County Courthouse and went to work 1 According to The Tampa Tribune Allen brought with him a note pad a box of pencils an ashtray for visitors and great hope 9 When Allen arrived in Tampa in 1957 the fledgling university did not have a name physical plant faculty or students 1 He and his newly assembled administrative team began to build a modern state university from scratch With a grant from the Ford Foundation Allen toured American universities scouting modern academic facilities and curriculums for ideas to build a better university and he began to recruit administrative staff and future faculty members Allen s plans were ambitious to open a completely new university in three years with 1 500 students and to expand to 10 000 within ten years thereafter 10 The Florida Legislature appropriated 1 2 million in 1957 and another 5 million in 1959 and construction of the first three buildings began in earnest on 1 694 acres 6 86 km2 of largely empty sandy brush land located nine miles 14 km north of downtown Tampa 7 Thereafter the university expanded rapidly the first undergraduate classes were held in the fall of 1960 and the first master s degree program began in 1964 and the first doctoral program in 1967 In 1965 USF expanded to a second campus on the bayfront in St Petersburg located on the site of the old Bayboro Maritime Base In September 1960 there were 1 997 undergraduates enrolled at USF 11 Ten years later when Allen retired USF had over 14 000 undergraduate and graduate students 11 Notably the Florida Legislature authorized the Allen administration s proposal to establish a new medical school in 1965 the second publicly supported medical school in the state and the first USF medical students began their studies in 1971 12 Under Allen s leadership South Florida heralded itself as the Harvard of the South and emphasized academics to the exclusion of major college sports 13 Allen became known for his opposition to major college sports programs in favor of a more academically centered university environment 13 He received national media attention for his insistence that USF would not start a football team or other major intercollegiate sports programs and would instead spend the funds saved on academic needs 14 After his retirement from USF Allen actively contributed to the planning for the state s next public university the University of North Florida in Jacksonville Florida 15 Legacy editWhen John Allen assumed his duties as the first president of the then unnamed University of South Florida on August 1 1957 the university had no students By the beginning of the 2009 2010 academic year over 47 000 undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled on the university s four campuses in Tampa St Petersburg Sarasota and Lakeland 16 During the 2008 2009 academic year USF graduated over 10 000 undergraduate graduate and professional students in 228 degree programs 16 The university that Allen built from the sandspurs up as Governor LeRoy Collins had said 1 is now one of the ten largest single campus universities in the United States and one of only three first tier public research universities in Florida 16 In recognition of the fundamental role Allen played in the founding expansion and ultimate success of USF the Florida Board of Regents named the university s main administration complex the John and Grace Allen Center in honor of President Allen and university first lady Grace Allen his wife 3 Allen s ultimate legacy was to be the first person to build a modern state university from scratch As a completely new and separate institution the University of South Florida became the first new institution of its kind to be conceived planned and built in the United States in the 20th Century 1 Allen died at his home in Tampa on December 27 1982 he was 75 14 He was survived by his wife of forty nine years Grace Allen she died on December 16 2007 14 See also edit nbsp Biography portal nbsp Education portal nbsp Florida portal History of Florida History of the University of Florida List of Earlham College alumni List of New York University alumni List of presidents of the University of South Florida List of University of Florida faculty and administrators List of University of Florida presidents List of University of Minnesota people State University System of FloridaReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j Build Us A University And That s What Dr John Stuart Allen Did Archived 2020 05 14 at the Wayback Machine St Petersburg Times pp 1D amp 5D April 26 1970 Retrieved March 5 2010 a b c d e University of Florida Past Presidents John Allen Interim President 1953 1955 Archived 2014 02 22 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved October 24 2012 a b Ken Gullette USF Remembers Grace Allen as a Real First Lady USF News December 16 2007 Retrieved March 9 2010 Named to Florida Post The Hartford Courant p 2 January 2 1948 Retrieved March 17 2010 Samuel Proctor amp Wright Langley Gator History A Pictorial History of University of Florida South Star Publishing Company Gainesville Florida p 44 1986 Mark I Greenberg University of South Florida The First Fifty Years 1956 2006 University of South Florida Tampa Florida p 7 2006 a b Over Coffee They Made Up Their Minds Archived 2020 05 14 at the Wayback Machine St Petersburg Times p 1D April 26 1970 Retrieved March 6 2010 Thou shalt not be bored St Petersburg Times Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Retrieved March 5 2010 Greenberg The First Fifty Years p 15 Florida Planning A New University Institution in South of State to Open in 60 With 1 500 Liberal Arts Students The New York Times p 31 December 29 1957 Retrieved March 7 2010 a b Stan Witwer In One Decade A University Becomes Great Archived 2020 05 14 at the Wayback Machine St Petersburg Times pp 1D amp 5D April 26 1970 Retrieved March 6 2010 University of South Florida College of Medicine History of the USF College of Medicine Retrieved March 7 2010 a b Al Levine Allen Aim Perspective On Athletics St Petersburg Times p 1C February 20 1969 Retrieved March 15 2010 a b c Frank J Prial John S Allen Florida Educator The New York Times December 28 1982 Retrieved March 5 2010 Dr Allen Retires in Pasco St Petersburg Times p 10B January 27 1973 Retrieved March 6 2010 a b c University of South Florida System Facts 2009 2010 University of South Florida Tampa Florida 2009 Retrieved March 5 2010 Bibliography editGreenberg Mark I University of South Florida The First Fifty Years 1956 2006 University of South Florida Tampa Florida 2006 Pleasants Julian M Gator Tales An Oral History of the University of Florida University of Florida Gainesville Florida 2006 ISBN 0 8130 3054 4 Proctor Samuel amp Wright Langley Gator History A Pictorial History of the University of Florida South Star Publishing Company Gainesville Florida 1986 ISBN 0 938637 00 2 Van Ness Carl amp Kevin McCarthy Honoring the Past Shaping the Future The University of Florida 1853 2003 University of Florida Gainesville Florida 2003 External links editUniversity of Florida Official website of the University of Florida University of South Florida Official website of the University of South Florida Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John S Allen amp oldid 1200720314, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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