William Jasper Kerr

William Jasper Kerr II (known as William Jasper Kerr during his life) was born Nov 17, 1863 in Richmond to Robert Marion and Nancy Jane Rawlins Kerr. William is a Pioneer of Richmond. William was a chancellor of Oregon University, and President of Oregon State University, Brigham Young College, and Utah State University. William is a signer of the Utah Constitution.

Early Life

William was born in a small log home just a few homes south of Main St. on State St. As William grew, the Kerr family was able to purchase larger land on the south end of Richmond and begin farming. In 1878, William's father was called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Texas, requiring William to take on many important roles on the family farm.1

It is not clear how William received his early education. William attended the University of Utah and graduated with a Bachelor's in Mathematics in 1885. Originally, William planned to study law and turned down an appointment at West Point. Soon after his graduation, William married Leonara Deseret Hamilton on July 8, 1885 in Logan, Utah.

After graduation, the Kerr family moved to Smithfield, Utah where William was employed as a superintendent. William entered the practice of polygamy in 1887 by marrying Lois Cordelia Morehead. After the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denounced polygamy, William divorced Lois in 1898. After this, William and his family left the Church while working at USU.6

Educator

Brigham Young Collage

In 1887, William was employed at Brigham Young Collage in Logan, Utah (not to be confused with Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah) as a teacher of Physiology, Elocution, and Physics.3 He served as such until 1894 when was appointed the first President of BYC. 

Initially, BYC was meant to teach and prepare teachers to help the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other schools around the territory. When William was appointed President, the Church began using the College to offer courses and bachelor's degrees.2

He served as President until 1900.

Utah State University

In 1900, William became the 4th President of Utah State University. He served as President until 1907.

"Kerr had an encompassing vision for the Utah Agricultural College, expanding the curriculum well beyond the confines of domestic and mechanical arts. During his seven-years as president, the engineering program developed, as well as additional coursework in the arts and humanities. Kerr implemented procedures for the tenure and advancement of teachers to the various ranks of professor, and organized academic departments into five schools. Student clubs and activities also proliferated during Kerr’s presidency. ... He oversaw the completion of Old Main in 1902 and established intercollegiate athletic competition, hiring the first football coach in 1901."7

Oregon State University

In 1907, William began working at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. His hiring was made difficult due to his past relations with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his practice of polygamy. William had to ask his friends from Utah to intervene with the Board of Regents about the problem, and he was able to secure the position of President of the university.

As President of OSU, William worked with the Board of Regents and with funding from the state legislature and federal land grants to build 23 new buildings and grow the campus from 225 acres to 555 acres. To provide advice for campus development, William hired John Charles Olmsted to strategize the open spaces.

William served as President until 1932.

Political Life

Utah Constitution

In 1887, after the Edmunds-Tucker Act was passed, making the practice of polygamy illegal, the People's Party, along with the Liberal, Republican and Democratic parties, drafted a Utah Constitution. William was chosen to represent part of Cache County during the drafting and constitutional convention. However, due to the widespread practice of polygamy, including William, the constitution was never approved.

In 1892, William's uncle, Utah House Representative Joseph Lafayette Rawlins, began working with Utah Republicans and Democrats to introduce the Enabling Act for Utah. The bill was signed by United States President Grover Cleveland on July 16, 1894 beginning the process to make Utah a state. On March 4, 1895, the Constitutional Convention began to draft a constitution for the state. William was chosen again to represent Cache County, along with Charles H. Hart, Henry Hughs, James P. Low, William H. Maugham, Moses Thatcher, Ingwald C. Thoresen, and Noble Warrum Jr.5

William was a part of the following committees during the convetion:4

• Legislative Committee

• Committee on Education and School Lands

• Committee on Revenue, Taxation, and Public Debt

• Committee on Engrossment and Enrollment

An article from the Utah Historical Society writes about William's deligations during the convention.

"The liveliest discussions during consideration of the article on education were on the questions of free high schools and consolidation of the state university and the agricultural college. The committee on education reported an article which provided for free grammar schools and that, where high schools were established, they should be free. But President Karl G. Maeser of Brigham Young University and W. J. Kerr of Brigham Young College sponsored an amendment to eliminate the provision for free high schools.

"The question of consolidating the two state institutions of higher learning was debated for three days. Proponents of consolidation based their arguments principally upon the ground of wasteful duplication in maintaining two schools. Statistics were presented by Professor Kerr of Brigham Young College and others, to show that there were 265 students enrolled at the agricultural college, most of them in the preparatory department, and that there were only eight courses being taught at the college which were not given at the university. It was also shown that the enrollment at the university was 365, of whom 216 were in the normal school, 49 in the school for the deaf, and 49 in the preparatory department, leaving 81 'doing university work.' 

"As a sideline to the debate on consolidation, there was no little discussion as to whether the combined school should be located at Logan or Salt Lake City. The climate and soil of the two places became an issue, and when Professor Kerr praised the soil at Logan, Mr. Goodwin asked if 'the shrubs planted on that soil stand up or do they lean? . . . Some gentleman—if he is a liar he must be outside of this Convention—told me that all the plants leaned towards the college, that the winds from the canyon kept them that way.' Kerr replied: 'There is of an evening in Logan a gentle breeze from the canyon there which makes it very pleasant in the summer, but I do not think it is sufficient to interfere with the shrubbery on the hill.'

"When Mons Peterson proposed that the school be located at Logan, Mr. Hammond declared that he was 'opposed, sir, to this substitute offered by the member from Grand County, although he is my son-in-law. He is a republican and I can forgive him, but he is off—plumb wrong. The idea of moving the university, as his substitute provides, to Cache County—why he may as well take it to the North Pole so far as San Juan could get any good from it.'

"All the talk about a site was wasted, for the movement for consolidation was doomed from the beginning. With the exception of Professor Kerr, the Cache County delegation stood firmly against it, and they were supported by such prominent leaders of both parties as Charles S. Varian, Samuel R. Thurman, David Evans, Franklin S. Richards and Brigham H. Roberts. When the decisive vote came, consolidation was rejected 78 to 33."5

The Consitution was accepted by the US Congress and President Grover Cleveland, and Utah was admitted as the 45th state of the United States on Jan 4, 1896. William is one of the signers of the Utah Constitution.

University of Oregon Chancellor

From 1932-1935, William was appointed as Chancellor of the Oregon State System of Higher Education.

"His brief tenure was by design, as Kerr agreed to serve only until the six institutions were operating effectively through the Depression. His appointment was rife with controversy, however, involving charges that in return for his appointment he had supported the 1932 Zorn–Macpherson School Moving Bill, which would have consolidated the UO and OSC campuses in Corvallis. At UO’s request, an American Association of University Professors’ committee investigated the accusations and exonerated Kerr. To show his fidelity in administering the new state system, Kerr located the chancellor’s office on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene."6

Epilogue