Associated Press
02-28-07
New book charts history of Iowa State University
AMES, Iowa -- From a pair of influential students named Don Smith to a visit
from Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev, a new book offers a comprehensive look
at the history of Iowa State University.
"A Sesquicentennial History of Iowa State University: Tradition and
Transformation" was commissioned for Iowa State's sesquicentennial
celebration, which will officially kick off in the spring of 2008. It's the second
official history of Iowa State to be published. The first, "The History of Iowa State
College" by Earle Ross was published in 1942.
The newer book will track the history of Iowa State and offer more detail about
the university from 1940 to 2000.
Sections in the book, which was written by 11 authors, include details of life on
campus after World War II, the school's athletics teams and Iowa State's past
presidents, among other things.
One section, on former president James H. Hilton, recalls his last convocation
speech. Recounting campus improvements and increasing enrollment, he
bemoaned seemingly never ending parking problems at the school.
"Lord have mercy on our souls!" he said. "What a problem this is! No matter how
many additional parking spaces are provided each year they are filled and there
is a clamor for more."
Another section charts the paths of two Don Smiths -- one a 6'8 Cyclone
basketball player from Brooklyn, N.Y., who went on to play in the NBA, and the
other a bearded activist who was elected president of the school's student body
in 1967.
The latter Dan Smith ran on a platform of total student freedom outside of class,
including the legalization of marriage and the elimination of marriage. He
garnered national media attention, but his presidency ended prematurely when
he resigned as other students prepared to impeach him.
Another section recalls Krushchev's visit to campus -- and four trench-coated
students who wore fedoras, dark glasses and toted violin cases while walking
toward the Soviet leader's car. The students -- who were later found to be
pranksters -- were shoved back into the crowd by security guards.
The new history of Iowa State -- which clocks in at 368 pages -- was edited by
Dorothy Schwieder, a professor emerita of history at Iowa State, and Gretchen
Van Houten.
The book is available online at Amazon.com, as well as at university bookstores.