UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #659
MONTROSS, HAROLD

MONTROSS, Harold (1920- )
Graduate student; Dean of the Division of Professional and Human Development (within UW-Extension)
At UW: 1949-1984

Interviewed: 2004	
Interviewer: Maurice Better
Indexed (time code) by: Elaine Ayers
Length: 1 hour, 32 minutes

Background; UW-Extension; Position as dean of Professional and Human Development; School for Workers; Faculty.

Interview Session (February 7, 2004): Tapes 1-2

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:19	HM explains why he attended Iowa Wesleyan College.  He was enlisted in Navy Officer’s Training and was ordered to complete his degree.

00:02:53	After college, he was an athletic coach at several small schools in Iowa.

00:03:22	HM came to UW because the university offered a joint Master’s degree in education and physical education.  He stayed for the PhD program.

00:04:12	He explains how he came to work at UW-Extension.  He was hired to participate in a research project in Rhinelander.  

00:05:37	After finishing the Rhinelander study, he was appointed director of the Racine Center.  After two years, he was asked to return to UW-Extension as assistant director of informal instruction (1956)

00:07:51	HM explains how he became dean of the division of Professional and Human Development within UW-Extension.

00:09:57	He discusses his role as dean.

00:12:41	HM describes the divisions within UW-Extension.

00:17:19	He explains how Madison Outreach differed from UW-Extension.  There were Extension representatives on all UW campuses.

00:22:08	HM describes how the School for Workers came under his jurisdiction.

00:25:45	Extension was housed in the Home Economics building until the early 1970s, when the extension building was built.

00:30:35	End of side.

Tape 1/Side 2

00:30:37	HM discusses the funding and budget of the School for Workers.

00:35:44	Academic titles and tenure came with the merger of UW-Extension with Cooperative Extension.  

00:38:07	After the merger there was a push to set up a system of faculty governance.  At first there were no separate divisional committees.

00:41:05	HM discusses George Hagglund.

00:42:40	He talks about the beginning of the Extension senate and the university committee.

00:43:51	HM says that he has had a retirement plan since he joined UW-Extension.  The civil service staff were in a different retirement system than the faculty.  

00:46:19	He discusses the salaries of Extension workers.

00:49:29	He explains the considerations involved in faculty raises.  The most important criteria was skill in creating programming.

00:52:17	HM describes the differences between the academic chairman and the program chairman.

00:53:42	He suggests a re-evaluation of the title “School for Workers”.

00:56:59	HM thinks the most significant changes in the school were the merger and the treatment of staff as faculty.  Since he retired, Extension has returned to focusing on the Madison campus.

01:00:57	He asks about the percentage of minorities in the labor movement.

01:01:26	End of side.  End of tape.

Tape 2/Side 1

00:00:00	HM discusses notable faculty members from the School for Workers.

00:02:29	He never received any complaints about the School for Workers programs.

00:04:15	He relates an anecdote about a secretary who complained about Robert Ozanne.

00:04:58	Ozanne’s greatest strength was his tie to the labor movement.  He also made good hiring decisions.  Extension tried to hire people with advanced degrees, but Extension programs required instructors who could put their knowledge to practical use.

00:09:03	Extension attempted to establish its own criteria for promotion and tenure.  

00:12:19	HM discusses Extension activity on the Green Bay campus.

00:17:03  	HM was not involved in negotiations for the UW-Parkside credit program or the Friedrick Center.

00:19:00	He talks about his interactions with John Schmidt of the Labor Faculty Advisory Committee. 

00:21:26	HM describes the function of UW-Extension deans.  He had both academic and budgetary responsibilities.

00:25:54	In some ways, the School for Workers was restricted in its curriculum.  The labor movement had specific needs, and the curriculum did not change greatly.  

00:30:36	End of side.  End of tape.  End of interview session.      

END