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Show 579 April 10, 1953 President A. Ray Olpin University of Utah Park Building Campus Dear President Olpin: You have been aware that for some time past I have been uneasy regarding my position at the University of Utah. This uneasiness has been due to a number of factors and was brought into sharp focus a year ago when the program and objectives of the College of Mines and Mineral Industries were questioned by members of the Board of Regents, In the organization of this College and in the recruitment of its staff, I have had in mind the increasing neces- sity for men (graduates) intensively trained in the use of the modern tools and ..me_thods of the physical sciences to solve the problems of the mineral industry, which become increasingly more numerous and difficult as our technology moves forward, demanding more and more new mineral materials and ever larger quantities of the old materials which must be wrested from lower and lower grade ores. To achieve this objective there has been assembled here in the College of Mines and Mineral Industries an integrated staff which in my opinion is unequalled in quality in any school of mines in the country. I have been almost wholly unsuccessful, however, in "selling" this staff and our objectives to the local min- ing fraternity, who seem only to seek from this College a manpower pool at the baccalaureate level to serve as surveyors, draftsmen, shift bosses, and junior executives. It would appear that the course we have embarked upon to train our most competent men to wrestle with the dif- ficult technological problems facing the industry, the solution of which is essential if this industry is long to survive in Utah, is at least misunderstood by the local mining men. The apparent hostile attitude of the present State government toward education in general and toward intensive specialized education such as we offer in particular, has not been reassuring, About a year ago, when events seemed to be going badly for me, I initiated inquiries regarding other per- sonal opportunities in which I might engage. These in- quiries have resulted in several very interesting possibilities |
