UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON ARCHIVES
ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

Interview #174
FARWELL, GAIL F.

FARWELL, Gail F. (1921- )
Professor of Educational Policy Studies and Counseling and Guidance
At UW: 1958-1989

Interviewed: 1979	
Series: School of Education
Interviewer: Mark Van Pelt
Length: 2 hours, 18 minutes

Early life and farm influence; Reasons for coming to UW; Department reorganization; Generalist vs. specialist; Chairmanship; Formation of Department of Counseling and Behavioral Studies; Department personalities; Department of Counseling and Guidance; Accreditation; Graduate student programs; Changes in UW administrative structure; Teacher training program; Research in counseling and guidance; Impact of federal funding; Admissions requirements; Student-faculty relations; Ties to Wisconsin public schools; DPI; Predictions for next ten years.

Tape 1/Side 1

00:00:03	Introduction.

00:00:29	GF's early life; family background; influence of farm.

00:02:22	How Farwell became interested in counseling in World War II while in service; Hamilton Program at Brooklyn Naval Hospital; post-service counseling work.

00:08:25    Special influences; influence of being an identical twin; work in naval hospital.

00:12:06	How Farwell decided to come to Wisconsin from Ohio State; did not like 	Columbus.

00:17:03	Comparison of Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin in mid 1950s--especially with respect to counselor education; John Hanna, President of Michigan State; Wisconsin had heaviest emphasis on research; research imperative for survival.

00:23:37	Farwell's first work on counseling program was on its curricular design; had to develop practicum; course title years out of date; John Rothney; description of four major curriculum revisions since 1958; impact of reorganization on programs.

00:30:41	End of side.

Tape 1/Side 2

00:30:45	Impact of reorganization on nature of preliminary examinations; generalist versus specialist.

00:32:30	Old department of education too large; Farwell's work as chairman in 1962-63; Lindley Stiles; Merle Borrowman; smooth handling of students in new programs. 

00:38:02	Formation of Counseling and Behavioral Studies Department, 1965; Alanson Edgerton; Rothney; Camilla Low; Kenneth Wilcox came in rehabilitation counseling; Rick Heber in special education; McCarthy; Stiles' influence on creation of department; problems with making new department work: Donald McCarty; Strong; continuation of reorganization into Department of Counseling and Guidance.

00:44:11	Stiles' view of guidance versus Farwell's; further comments on Stiles and McCarty.

00:49:20	National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) matter; more comments on Stiles and McCarty.

00:53:04	Reorganization, fragmentation left entirely in hands of faculty.

00:56:48	End of side.

Tape 2/Side 1

00:00:01	Description of Counseling and Behavioral Studies Department; benefits of split in 	Counseling and Guidance and Behavioral Disabilities; old department's two chief 	problems--admissions and graduate exams.

00:04:56	Structuring of graduate student programs.

00:07:22	Some comments on work as chairman of three different departments, Education, Counseling and Behavioral Studies and Counseling and Guidance; old Department of Education had considerable autonomy; by 1972-75, while chairman of Counseling and Guidance, departmental autonomy had seriously eroded; increase of complexity of position and decrease of prerogatives.

00:17:32	More changes in UW administrative structure; impact of unified system; increasing parochialism of University; support of deans for department; strength of program.

00:31:13	End of side.

Tape 2/Side 2

00:31:33	More on strength of program; John Palmer.

00:35:32	Connection of Wisconsin Improvement Program (WIP) and Counseling and Guidance; 1968 change in state law provided intern possibility in school counseling.

00:37:31	Relationships of teaching training, involvement with Counseling and Guidance; coordination of C & G to teacher training program.

00:42:03	Nature and development of research in C & G at Wisconsin; Rothney's work with superior students; Marshall; Pulvino; Hosford; Lee; broadening of research over years.

00:49:16	Impact of federal funding on research; influence of non-school interests; counseling, psychology examples of new developments.

01:01:09	End of side.

Tape 3/Side 1

01:01:21	More comments on students in C & G; background, experience, admissions requirements; nature of student-faculty relations.

01:14:24	Close ties to public schools in Wisconsin, close ties to Department of Public Instruction; Perrone.

01:18:02	Prediction of the school's operation in next ten years.

01:21:26	End of side.

END