Interview of Novice G. Fawcett by Paul Underwood on June 17, 1985

Jake Taylor: VP for Business & Finance (p. 2) -- John Corbally: named President of Syracuse University in 1970 (p. 4) -- Frank Hale: (pp. 10-11) -- Dolly Cohen: benefactor of the university (p. 16) -- Dr. Meiling: Dean of the Medical School (p. 17, 19) -- Dr. John Pryor: Dean of the College of Medicine (p. 17) -- George St. Pierre: chaired committee that developed new medical practice plan (p. 18) -- Dr. Ullery of OBGYN Department (pp. 19-21)There is discussion of the need for building more dormitories, and the methods used for financing them, including creation of an “open-ended indenture” which facilitated borrowing construction money from the federal government. This program enabled the construction of Smith, Stradley, Morrison, the entire dormitory complex north of Woodruff, and several others. The need for this construction was fueled in part by the movement of students to live off campus. As the need for on campus housing decreased, Fawcett approved converting one of the two towers partially into office space, a decision made after he had left office. Fawcett stresses his close contact with, and affection for, the students, and had countless personal contacts with them in dormitories, dining halls, his home, and his office. As for the riots of 1970 he was in the thick of them since his home was on campus (the last president of OSU to live there). At one point as tear gas was used liberally on the Oval and elsewhere, the National Guard, University Police, sheriff’s office, and the State Highway Patrol responded simultaneously. The student protesters “received leadership from a great number of national organizations,” but “there probably were never more than 5% of the students involved.” Most of the university was closed down for ten days. Ironically among the faculty a lot of the most militant in 1970 became quite conservative. Fawcett discusses rescinding of the rule forbidding the use of alcoholic beverages on campus, and how he cleverly split the opposition to this change on the Board of Trustees. This measure “certainly improved the morale and the character of the members of the Faculty Club, as they wanted it maybe as much or more than the students did.” The next topic was that of increasing enrollment of black students. Courses were developed, more black students enrolled, especially at the graduate level, and more black faculty hired. The competition for black faculty was “tremendous.” Dr. Frank Hale, “a very distinguished man” and the president of a black college [in Alabama], was placed in charge of a very successful program to recruit promising African-American graduate students from southern institutions. The eminently controversial decision not to participate in the 1961 Rose Bowl, which Fawcett supported, led to instant public outrage and severe criticism. Fawcett explains why to have gone would have violated the rules of the Western Conference [Big 10]. The Pacific Coast Conference had recently been dissolved, and so the long-time contract between the two conferences was null and void. “It was very clear that we could not go.” Students broke down the door of the Faculty Club, and the subsequent rampage led to cancellation of classes for two days. Fawcett received “hundreds” of telegrams and letters, some of which contained “language of the kind I had never read before.” Rioters converged on his house with “flame torches.” He had constant security protection. Finally Fawcett discusses a controversy about the need for a medical practice plan which would require doctors to return a certain amount of their income to the university in exchange for office space used for their private practice as well as teaching. This plan was finalized after his tenure