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NOTES ON THE BEGINNING OF THE PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION PROGRAMS AT VPI&SU
NOTES ON THE BEGINNING OF THE PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION PROGRAMS AT VPI&SU
by Norman L. Grover
by Norman L. Grover
In 1950 (may have been '49-or even the first months of '51) Dr. Ellison A. Smyth, Jr., approached the President of VPI, WalterS. Newman, about bringing in a qualified scholar to introduce courses in the study of religion and ethics at Virginia Tech. Dr. Smyth was a native of Blacksburg, son of the biologist who was the Dean of the College at a time when there was only one dean and an engineering graduate of VPI, who had gone into the ministry and recently returned to his home town as pastor of the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, of which Dr. Newman was a member and Ruling Elder. President Newman made informal inquiries about the prospects of initiating such courses. Because of the political sensitivity of any recognition of basic sciences even, let alone humanities, as instructional programs at VPI rather than restricting those to the University of Virginia, it was clear that the Governor would not risk officially approving such course offerings as Dr. Newman envisioned. He saw these courses as so important to provide, however, that he took the risk of moving ahead to begin them on a small scale immediately and interviewed candidates to commence that work. Dr. Edward Leroy Long, Jr., was hired to begin September 1, 1951, on a one-quarter time basis, teaching one philosophy course each quarter. Dr. Long had just finished his Ph.D. at Columbia University, where he had been a graduate assistant to Reinhold Niebuhr. He had an engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he had been an instructor in physics, leaving to enter Union Theological Seminary in New York. At VPI he designed and taught three philosophy courses at the start: an introductory epistemology and metaphysics course, an introductory ethics course, and a philosophy of science course at the senior and graduate level. All three of these courses included some attention to the nature of religious claims--to knowledge about reality and about moral duties and goals--and to the relationship of science and rel igion. Dr. Long was hired simultaneously by the Presbyterian Church to conduct the denomination's campus ministry as the major portion of his employment while initiating and developing the teaching at VPI on a quarter-time basis. At the beginning of the Winter Quarter, January 1,1955, Dr. Long was put on a full-time basis on the VPI faculty, and the first courses in the study of religion were added to the offerings. Up to that time he and his philosophy courses had been under the Department of Business Administration-as were also the faculty and courses in history, political science and public administration. What later would be divided into the College of Business was at this time called the School of Applied Science and Business Administration with Dr. G. Burke Johnston as Dean. Now a one-person department of Philosophy and Religion was established with a separate list of courses in each of these disciplines and Dr. Long's teaching time equally divided between these two course lists. Half of his salary, for the philosophy teaching, was on the state payroll and half of it, for the religion courses, was paid by a grant from the Danforth Foundation for that purpose. When Danforth funds ran out, the arrangement was continued through a non-renewable grant from Paul Mellon. By the 1956-57 academic year there were six quarters of philosophy courses and six quarters of religion courses listed and taught each year. Second sections of two of these were added by Dr. Long teaching five sections per quarter instead of four and the parttime addition of Orrin Magill to teach one section per quarter. Magill was a retired YMCA secretary who had begun his career at Tech in 1911 before going to China in 1913 where he served for over 25 years with theY. Permission to expand to two full-time positions had been given and interviewing to fill the second position was conducted during that year. [At the end of the 1956-57 academic year] Dr. Long accepted a position at Oberlin College beginning in Fall1957. Dr. Norman L. Grover with a Yale Ph.D. in rel igious ethics was hired to replace Dr. Long, and Guy B. Hammond, then working on his Ph.D. dissertation at Vanderbilt University, was hired for the new position with a leave in the Spring Quarter to continue his dissertation work. This enabled an increase of second sections in 1957-58 and the offering of some courses in more than one quarter. Addition of Dr. Charles Foshee, with a Duke Ph.D. in religion, to teach half-time at VPI and half-time at Radford College in 1958-59 enabled further expansion of sections and quarters offered for the courses and the first addition of new courses, one each in philosophy and religion. Dr. Foshee moved to full-time at Radford in 1959-60, and Dr. Palmer C. Talbutt, Jr., a Duke Ph.D. in philosophy, was hired to teach in the VPI department. This enabled the addition of further new courses to add to both course lists. That continued and more extensive revisions of the course lists were undertaken after the addition of William H. Williams, a Princeton philosopher, in 1964-65.
In 1950 (may have been '49-or even the first months of '51) Dr. Ellison A. Smyth, Jr., approached the President of VPI, WalterS. Newman, about bringing in a qualified scholar to introduce courses in the study of religion and ethics at Virginia Tech. Dr. Smyth was a native of Blacksburg, son of the biologist who was the Dean of the College at a time when there was only one dean and an engineering graduate of VPI, who had gone into the ministry and recently returned to his home town as pastor of the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, of which Dr. Newman was a member and Ruling Elder. President Newman made informal inquiries about the prospects of initiating such courses. Because of the political sensitivity of any recognition of basic sciences even, let alone humanities, as instructional programs at VPI rather than restricting those to the University of Virginia, it was clear that the Governor would not risk officially approving such course offerings as Dr. Newman envisioned. He saw these courses as so important to provide, however, that he took the risk of moving ahead to begin them on a small scale immediately and interviewed candidates to commence that work. Dr. Edward Leroy Long, Jr., was hired to begin September 1, 1951, on a one-quarter time basis, teaching one philosophy course each quarter. Dr. Long had just finished his Ph.D. at Columbia University, where he had been a graduate assistant to Reinhold Niebuhr. He had an engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he had been an instructor in physics, leaving to enter Union Theological Seminary in New York. At VPI he designed and taught three philosophy courses at the start: an introductory epistemology and metaphysics course, an introductory ethics course, and a philosophy of science course at the senior and graduate level. All three of these courses included some attention to the nature of religious claims--to knowledge about reality and about moral duties and goals--and to the relationship of science and rel igion. Dr. Long was hired simultaneously by the Presbyterian Church to conduct the denomination's campus ministry as the major portion of his employment while initiating and developing the teaching at VPI on a quarter-time basis. At the beginning of the Winter Quarter, January 1,1955, Dr. Long was put on a full-time basis on the VPI faculty, and the first courses in the study of religion were added to the offerings. Up to that time he and his philosophy courses had been under the Department of Business Administration-as were also the faculty and courses in history, political science and public administration. What later would be divided into the College of Business was at this time called the School of Applied Science and Business Administration with Dr. G. Burke Johnston as Dean. Now a one-person department of Philosophy and Religion was established with a separate list of courses in each of these disciplines and Dr. Long's teaching time equally divided between these two course lists. Half of his salary, for the philosophy teaching, was on the state payroll and half of it, for the religion courses, was paid by a grant from the Danforth Foundation for that purpose. When Danforth funds ran out, the arrangement was continued through a non-renewable grant from Paul Mellon. By the 1956-57 academic year there were six quarters of philosophy courses and six quarters of religion courses listed and taught each year. Second sections of two of these were added by Dr. Long teaching five sections per quarter instead of four and the parttime addition of Orrin Magill to teach one section per quarter. Magill was a retired YMCA secretary who had begun his career at Tech in 1911 before going to China in 1913 where he served for over 25 years with theY. Permission to expand to two full-time positions had been given and interviewing to fill the second position was conducted during that year. [At the end of the 1956-57 academic year] Dr. Long accepted a position at Oberlin College beginning in Fall1957. Dr. Norman L. Grover with a Yale Ph.D. in rel igious ethics was hired to replace Dr. Long, and Guy B. Hammond, then working on his Ph.D. dissertation at Vanderbilt University, was hired for the new position with a leave in the Spring Quarter to continue his dissertation work. This enabled an increase of second sections in 1957-58 and the offering of some courses in more than one quarter. Addition of Dr. Charles Foshee, with a Duke Ph.D. in religion, to teach half-time at VPI and half-time at Radford College in 1958-59 enabled further expansion of sections and quarters offered for the courses and the first addition of new courses, one each in philosophy and religion. Dr. Foshee moved to full-time at Radford in 1959-60, and Dr. Palmer C. Talbutt, Jr., a Duke Ph.D. in philosophy, was hired to teach in the VPI department. This enabled the addition of further new courses to add to both course lists. That continued and more extensive revisions of the course lists were undertaken after the addition of William H. Williams, a Princeton philosopher, in 1964-65.
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