UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #560
HABERMAN, FREDERICK W.

HABERMAN, Frederick W. (1908-1995)
Professor of Speech; Professor of Communication Arts; Special Assistant to the Chancellor
At UW: 1947-1979

Interviewed: October 9, 1978	
Interviewer: Edwin Black 
Length: 1 hour, 2 minutes

Early public speaking courses at UW; Departmental chairpersons since 1878; Growth of department, 1878-1920; Research in radio and television; Andrew Thomas Weaver; WHA-TV; Growth of department in 1950s and 1960s; Recruiting new faculty; Service as chairperson; Communications Research Center; Mass Communications History Center; Vilas Communications Hall; Research and teaching.

Interview Session (October 9, 1978)

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:01	Frederick Haberman (FH) says 1978 is the 100th anniversary of the first course in public speaking at UW. It was established by David B. Frankenburger, the first chairman of the department. FH lists the dates and names of the chairmen of the department.  

00:02:02	FH is credited with enhancing the quality and standing of the public speaking department. 
 
00:03:07	FH explains that this was due in part to increased opportunities for advancement during his chairmanship. When the department began, it taught public speaking only. In 1890, the fields of theater and drama were added. Gertrude Johnson, who arrived at UW in 1910, organized the Wisconsin Players and developed courses in dramatic reading and theater. In 1913, with the coming of a new chairman, the field of public address was emphasized in the department. Additionally, the first clinic in the United States for speech disorders was established at UW in 1915. The first Ph.D. in speech was received in 1922 by Sara M. Stinchfield in communicative disorders.  

00:07:28	By the time the department changed its name to the Department of Speech in 1920, it included communications, public address, communicative disorders, theater and drama. In the 1930s work in radio was developed, and in the 1950s and 1960s work in television and film was added.  

00:08:20	The department began to achieve some fame in the 1920s largely due to the work of four people: James Milton O'Neill, the chairman; Robert West, the first permanent professor of communicative disorders; Henry Ewbank, in charge of communication and public address; Andrew Thomas Weaver, who added psychological studies to the department. FH discusses the influence and accomplishments of these people.

00:10:09	FH discusses the work and influence of Andrew Thomas Weaver. He was a strong teacher in psychology and published a model textbook in 1940-41 on speech forms and models.  

00:11:47	FH adds Gladys Louise Borchers to the hit list of influential leaders in the department. She was interested in the pedagogy of speech.  

00:12:23	The department changed rapidly in the late 1950s. FH attributes the increased opportunities to the advent of television. WHA-TV went on-line in 1954. John Dietrich led work in television. One of the relationships which was not developed in the department was between theater and television. FH says this relationship could have been used and developed more than it was.  

00:14:34	In the 1960s, more money became available to the department. FH explains it was important to justify the hiring of additional staff, and so a strong liberal arts program was developed and established in the department. With these courses, the enrollment in the department expanded. FH attributes this increase to the substantive curriculum.  

00:17:10	FH attempts to explain the remarkable growth of the department in the 1950s and 1960s. He says the faculty had a clear vision. Lecturers and teachers not interested in research and publication were not hired as permanent faculty members. It was important, says FH, to hire exceptionally bright individuals.  

00:22:45	FH says he kept track of graduate students in communications departments across the country and kept them in mind when recruiting faculty members. He explains some of the perks reserved for new faculty.

00:25:51	FH discusses the duties of the chairman and describes his dealings with the executive committee of the department. With so many different areas included in the department, it was sometimes difficult to determine and satisfy the various needs of faculty and students.

00:34:32	One of the tasks for which FH was responsible was the budget of the department.  He discusses some of the facilities he developed, such as the Mass Communications History Center, the Wisconsin Center for Theater Research, and the Communications Research Center. FH mentions the heads of these centers: Theodore Clevenger, Fred Williams, Thomas Scheidel and Joseph Cappella.

00:44:42	End of side.  

Tape 1/Side 2

00:44:44	FH speaks about Joe Capella of the Communications Research Center. He describes the current facility and equipment available for research at the center.  

00:46:04	FH says the task remains to build up the library of speeches for the Mass Communications History Center.  

00:47:28	Vilas Communications Hall was built in 1969-70 after a lengthy effort for the appropriation. FH discusses the difficulties encountered in funding the project.  Before the completion of Vilas Hall, speech faculty had offices in six different buildings on campus and taught classes in seventeen buildings. Eventually, the rest of the money needed for the building project was granted by the Vilas trustees, for whom the building was named.

00:56:38	FH lists the equipment and facilities in Vilas Communications Hall. Because the plans for the building were submitted in 1963 and it was not completed until 1970, there are some deficiencies in the structure.  

00:58:35	FH discusses the qualities needed in a chairman of the department. He confesses that he remained as chairman a bit too long. He talks about some of the pitfalls of serving as department head, such as less time for research and for teaching.  

01:02:19	End of side. End of interview.  

END