The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, April 28, 1978, Page page 6, Image 6
daily nebraskan friday, april 28, 1978 Retired professor recalls 59 years ofNU change wrsitv in 1913 at the ace of 19. page 6 t-'l i I ;.rM to-- j f , Ir I 1 I '-'Vi- , I f&H fill fill K ' mmmm mmmmmmmm- photo by ivhark Billingsley Harvey Werner, retired horticulture professor, has seen the construction of most east campus buildings By John Ortmann When the NU Board of Regents Saturday approved dip ping into cash reserves to give the NU faculty an 8 percent pay raise next year, the move was not without historical precedent. The same thing happened in 1920, when the NU faculty was given a 25 percent raise to counter post-World War I inflation, according to 84-year-old Harvey Werner. "My salary at that time was $2,400 per year and I got a 25 percent raise up to $3,000," the retired horticulture professor said. Werner, who came to Nebraska in 1919 with a doctor ate in botany from Chicago University, said the board ac tion followed a number of unofficial meetings called by the local chapter of the American Association of Univer sity Professors. The two-house Nebraska Legislature accepted the raise as a legitimate use of funds, Werner said, and financed fur ther pay raises in succeeding years. Werner said pay raises followed until the Depression struck and forced across-the-board pay cuts in the early 1930s. As a result of these cuts Werner's salary went from the $3,600 he was making by then down to $2,800, he said. In one respect the Depression was helpful to the De partment of Horticulture because federal National Youth Assistance Act Funds allowed the department to hire "excellent student help," Werner said. The student workers were paid 35 cents per hour, Wer ner said, which was 10 cents per hour more than the uni versity usually offered new workers. The program also was beneficial to the students, many of whom went on to become department heads and deans all over the country, Werner said. "That was one of the most constructive things that has ever been done for students," he said. A native of Wernersville Pa., which, he said, was named after an ancestor who sold land to a railroad on the con dition the town built on the site would bear the family name. Werner graduated from Pennsylvania State Uni- He came to Nebraska to work in the extension divi sion, but soon expanded his activities, he said. "I came here as an extension specialist in horticulture and soon took work at the experiment station," he said. "Since 19191 was about 50-50 extension and research." Although retired, he still spends about one-third of his time on east campus studying data collected in 43 years of research. Much of his work dealt with potatoes, a major crop on irrigated land in western Nebraska that actually brought Depression-era farmers in that area more money than grain, he said. In addition to having seen most of the buildings on east campus built, Werner said he has seen other changes "In the ten years the idea still was the agriculture col lege graduates should go back to farming," he explained. "At that time we just had a general agriculture course. We had enough electives so a man could specialize in agronomy or animal husbandry. "Now we have a curriculum headed toward research, which requires a science background. We have a curriculum headed toward teaching. We even have one heading toward what is called 'agribiz'," he said, explain ing that one of the biggest changes is the number of stu dents taking pos;ons in private industry. Another impoitant change Werner witnessed was the rise in educational qualifications of professors. In 1919 only one or two agriculture college faculty members had doctorates. Most of the professors were NU-educated Nebraskans, he said. ITS ABOUT TIME! To Return EUPC Art Lending Library Prints Please return prints to the East Union Loft on Saturday, April 29, 1978 from 1pm to 4 pm. New Prints Next Fall! EUPC j .A. . All the spaghetti GOING ONCE you can eat for only GOING TWICE. Tuesday N I A A II GOING THREE 0nly t I m CO I VJ can eat for only jg;. DIG Only V.V DOV All the pancakes you jsP family restaurant can e un;ycoffee CSr 701 North 27th, Lincoln , . sr Sunday CD H 7C Expires April 30th n,V Y ' V Just a small sampling of our extensive collection of engagement rings in all price ranges! VALENCIA FLIRTATION atnanny Downtown r .ateway Conestoga 1150 "0"St. Enclosed Mall Enclosed Mat! Lincoln Lincoln Grand Island 0 Dietricfis Every cyclist needs a friend. V A 1 f ' 4 fas r '-M Oil hfi : A 466-2921 4701 Huntington