Press conference with Dr. Masterson during the Masterson presidency controversy, Rice University, full room view

People assembling in a room prior to a press conference with Dr. William Masterson during the controversy over his presidency of Rice University. President Masterson is seated on a couch in the background, looking up and smiling in conversation with the first of four persons waiting to speak with him. On the wall behind him can be seen nine plaques with bust images of Rice-associated figures. Other people are standing or sitting throughout the room, some at tables, with camera and recording equipment being set up around them. A large picture window is visible on the right of the image and in the left foreground a circular table with a folded newspaper , a woman’s purse and other objects. Original resource is a black and white photograph.A five-day controversy rose on the campus of Rice University in February 1969 following the appointment of Dr. William H. Masterson by the Board of Trustees as the university's new President to succeed Kenneth Pitzer, who had resigned in August 1968