| Summary: | Minutes of the Board of Trustees meetings held in 1942.[
BUDGEI' COMMITTEE MEETING
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
Preside t is Office- 10 A6M.
June 1, 1942
PRESENT: C. C. Culver, ChaiIThan, Paul S~ Haley, T. D. Samfo d,
President Duncan, W T. Ingram, T .. D. Samford, J .,
Ralph Dra.ughon, and Judge Robert Greene ..
1., The Board examined and d· scussed the budget proposed by
President Duncan, and upon motion of T. D. Samford, adopted
it unanimously. f(?A ', L _, L--------.
R. B .. Draughon )
Secretary
Board of Trustees
BOARD MINUmS
June 1, 1942
Resolution No. 1- Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings
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No. 2- Approval of Budgets 1942-43
No. 3- Receiving of Catalog
No. 4- Degr ees Approved
No. 5- Retirement for Extension Service
No. b- ~ ng ineering Defense Training for Tuskegee
Institute
No. 7- Access Road to Airport
No. ~- Inequities in Travel Allowance
No. 9- In Appreciation of Gover nor Dixon
Statement a bout Ar chi tecta
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BOARD MINUTES
June l~ 1942
The annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute
convened on the First Monday ·n June, 1942 (June 1, 1942) at the President's Home.
The meeting was called to order by Governor D;I.;l!;.o?;, end upon roll call the fo11o'wing
members were present: Messrs. A. H. Co11ins~A'~~a ~ Dixon, Re Ko Greene, P~ S.
Haley, Fe W. Hare, T. D. Samford, S. L. Toomer Also, Ralph Draughon, President
Duncan, T. D. Samford, Jr.
The following /'Tere absent: Messrs . H. D. Merrill, George Blue, Edward A. O'Neal,
Victor H. Hanson.
A quorum being present the meeting was opened for business.
Upon motion by T. D. Samford, seconded by Paul S. Haley, and unanimous vote of the
members present, the following resolution was adopted:
RESOLUTION NO. 1
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS ETINGS
RESOLVED: 1. That the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the A1abaaa
Polytechnic Institute on October 1, 1941 be approved as recorded.
2. That all acts of the Budget Committee of the Board of Trustees of the
Alabama Polytechnic Institute as recorded in the minutes of October
24, 19L~1, be ratified, affirmed, and accepted
Upon motion by A. H. Collins, seconded by T. D. Samford the following resolution was
adopted:
RESOLUTION NO. 2
APPROVAL OF BUDGETS 1942-L~3
RESOLVED, that the budgets for the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, teaching, research,
and extens·on, for the college fiscal year beginning July 1, 1942, and ending June 30,
1943, as presented by Doctor L. N. Duncan, President, be and the same are hereby
adopted.
Provided, however, that the amounts fixed in the budgets for the year 1942-43 a.nd set
opposite the names of the respective officers, teachers, employees and attaches of the
Alabama Polytechnic Institute shall be understood to be estimates .Q.n:L.Y and not fixed
salaries, and in no sense promises to pa.y and only sums fixed a a basis for re1ati. ve
amounts to be paid to such named officers, teachers, employees; and att!3.ches upon a
r · tio or per cent of payment of the funds and/or income of the institution for the
annual support and maintenance of said institution. And nothing in sair budgets shall
be accepted, or construed to be legal obligations or liabilities against the Alabama
Polytechnic Institute.
Be it further resolved, that inasmuch as th . next teaching period ,vi1l begin in June
1942, that the salaries listed in the budget under the terms of this resolution, become
eff ective as of June 1, 1942, for all teachers in service who have ·d.th the
adoption of this budget been chc::.nged from a nine to twelve months status . Salaries .
for all err:ployees already on a twelve months basis and continued in this budget will
become effective July 1, 1942, as will the items of maintenance.
pa.ge 2
Board Ydnutes
June 1, 1942
Upon motion by R. K. Greene, seconded by Paul S. Haley, the following resolution
was adopted:
IlliSOLUTION NO. 3
RECEIVING OF CATALOG
BE IT EESOLVED by the Board of Trustees of the Alabama Polytechnic I nstitute that
the catalog for the year 19~.1-Li-2, including the announcements for the year 1942-43,
together with all changes in personnel, titles, ranks , and courses, a,s printed
therein, be and the same is hereby approvede
Upon motion by P. S. Haley, seconded by F. W. Hare, the follo1d.ng resolution was
adopted:
RESOLUTION NO. 4
DEGREES APPROVED
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Trustees of the Alabama Polytechnic I .stitute that
the degrees awarded by the f e.culty and the executive council for the scholastic
year 19L~-42 be approved and that a list of the same be attached and become a part
of t his r esolutione
Upon motion by R. K. Greene, seconded by T. D. Samford, the f ollowing resolution
was adopted:
RESOLUTION NO. 5
RETIP~NT FOR EXTENSION SERVICE
R~OLVED: 1. That the Director of the Extension Service, in cooperation with
the Presie ent, . s hereby authorized and instructed to \ ork 0 t the
best system possible for the retirement of members of the Extension
Service staff, using any unexpended balances in Extension Service
funds .
2. That the Executive Committee of the Board, with the President .of
the institution, is hereby empovrered to act in considering and
adopting whatever feasible and practic ble plan of retirement
seems vase for the members of the Extension Service staff.
Upon fiotion by A. H. Collins, seconded by C. S. Culver, the follovung resolution
was cdopted:
RESOLUTION NO. 6
ENGINEERING DEFENSE TRAINING FOR TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE
RESOLVED, that the Presi dent of the Alabema Polytechnic Institute is hereby authorized
to cooper .te with the Governor and with the University of Alabama in
sponsoring Engineering Sc·ence and Management Defense Training for Negroes through
the Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama, the Negro A. & M. College at Huntsville,
and such other Negro ·nstitutions as may be deemed feasible.
page 3
Board unutes
June 1, 1942
Upon motion by T. D. S~nford, seconded by C. S. Culver, the following resolution
was ad.o ted:
RESOLUTION NO .. 7
ACCESS ROAD TO AIRPORT '
~lliEREAS, the Federal Government has developed and reatly improved the Aubul~Opelika
Airport,
MD WHEREAS, this Airport serves as the training of students to become Civilian
Pilots and Civilian Pilo Training Program;
THFJillFOP..E, BE IT HESOLVED by the Board of Trustees, that L. N. Duncan, President
of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, be and he is hereby authorized to petition
the Federal Government and the State Highway Department of Alabama to secure the
approval by the War Department as an access road.
RESOLUTION NO. 8
INEc;:,UITIES IN TRAVEL ALLOlflANCE
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Trustees of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute that the
Executive Committee of the Board be, and it is hereby empowered to investigate the
inequities existing in travel allowances for employees of the Alabama Polytechnic
Institute, and the legal sources for the relief of said inequities, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Committee is hereby instructed to investigAte
and use thei influence in the correction of these inequit.ies.
The followin resolution was presented by T. D. Samford ano adopted by rising vote
of all the members present:
RESOLUTION NO~ 9
IN APPRECIATION OF GOVERNOR DIXON
WHEREAS, Gover or Dixon has served as the President of this Boa.rd of Trustees during
the past quadrennium. and has rendered to us valuable service by his advice and counsel;
and,
VVHEREAS, he has manifested a great interest in the growth and welfare of t.his
Institution; and,
WHERIl:AS, he has endeared himself to all of' us , and to each of us by his wonderful
personality, his pleasing and friendly association and by his uniform courtesy and
fairness as President. of and as a, member of the Board; and,
lflliEF,EAS, this is probably the last meeting of the BOB.rd of Trustees which Governor
Dixon vall attend during his term as Governor; be it resolved, that we express to
Governor Dixon our sincere appreciation of his valua.ble service as President and
member of this Board of Trustees and his great interest in this Institution, his
valuable advice and counsel in the deliberations of this Board; t hat we esteem him
highly as a friend and a pubJic servant; and that we wish him Godspeed when he
retires from office and that he ma.y enjoy a lon life of service and usefulness
to the State.
pa.ge 4
Board lIf..inutes
June 1, 1942
Prev·ous to the motion on the above resolution coromending Governor Dixon for his
services to Auburn the Governor presented to the Board for discussion the letter
that he had received from Mr. John Ee Davis of Warren, Knight and Davis (copy
of which is m de a part of the min'utes of t is meeting) and a copy of the letter
that President Duncan had received from Mr Victor Hanson, Publisher of the
Birmingham News (copy of which i~ made apart of the minutes of this meeting),
concerning the question as to whether Warren, Knight and Davis, Architects, were
the officially commissioned architects of the Board of Trustees and vihether the
policy adopted a year ago creating a Planning Board composed of college employees
under the Department of Buildings and Grounds were not a bad policy. Governor
D'xon, as President of the Board, stated his opinion that the long-time plan
encompassing the actual construction of new buildings would be more effective
if it embodied the services of a recognized firm of architects~ It was Governor
Dixon's feeling that the question was not a question of personalities but rather
one of effective policy. In support of his conviction on this question he
presented with great fairness his opinion to the effect that employees of the
college engaged 'n teaching and other scholastic activities could not plan
and build as effectively as could a recognized firm of private arch·tects.
Governor Dixon specifically raised the quest jon as to whether the budgeting
action of the Board of Trustees of June 2, 1941 and July 31, 1941, which provides
fOl the establishment of the Planning Board, did not actually preclude the
employment of the services of private architects.
In the discussion which followed President tuncan very carefully expla·ned the
purposes of the organization which he had created to plan for future constrIction
on the campus and explained to the Board that each member of the group is a
well-trained specialist in the work in vmich he had been employed to do. He
fuIther stated that it is his belief and conviction that, in an instit.ution of
this kind where men are trained in the technical professions, it is sound polic
to use the talents existent in the f aculty in the plans for structural development
and campus improvement ..
President Duncan further explained to the Board that the use of the organization
mentioned does effect a. real economy in that the costs of the services under the
system wh ' ch he has devised will be cons iderably lower "mile the results are
expected to be even better than could be expected from the employment of the
finn of private architects because the work of the Planning Board hich he had
created was continuous, and as such, the needs of the college were llnder constant
and continuous study by persons who are on the ground and in c ose contact with
the problems that arise.
The President further sta ed that the system vihich he had created by no means
precludes the employment of an architectural ilrm in the vent of the construction
of any major building~
In the discussion thct followed it ~s pointed out that the basic function of
the plannine group was exactly similar to that of the State Planning Board in
its relationship to the State of Alabama. It was the feeling of the Board
that inasmuch as no record can be f ound indicating that Warren, Knight and
Davis has evpr been designated as the official architectural firm of the
Alabama Polytechnic Institute and inasmuch as the organization vlhich President
Duncan.has created does not preclude the employment of responsible a chitects
no act~on was necessary. '
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page 5
Board Minutes
June 1, 1942
The Board of Trustees praised President Duncan on his successful skillful
management of the finances of the institution anr1 the direction of its scholastic
and public affairs.
Upon motion by C. S. Culver, seconded by T. D. Samford, the meeting adjourned.
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WARREN, KNIGHT & DAVIS, ARCHITECTS
Protective Life Builcdng
Birmingham, Alabama
Honorable Frank Dixon,
Governor,
State of Alabama,
Montgomery, Alabama.,
Dear Governor:
May 27, 1942
At a meeting of the Auburn Board of Trustees in July, 1941, it is our
understanding that the matter of architectural services were discussed with
Dr~ Duncan, in conriection with a building program which was considered~
We understand that Dr .. Duncan had already set up a bureau in his faculty
at Auburn to proceed with the plans and specifications on this particular
progTam, which had been authorized by the Board earlier that year~
I haye discussed this matter during the last few days with Judge Hare,
Robert Knox Green, and Judge Merrill, and will discuss it with Mr. Victor
Hanson when he returns to the city tomorrow ..
'I'hese members state that they feel as they did last summer, that the
architect!ral work should be handled by a practicing architect. It is our
understanding that at the meeting last year, the meP.1bers of the Board
attending the meeting, with the exception of Judge Merrill and Mr. Hanson,
a.greed to let Dr. Duncan proceed with his bureau through the budget because
he had already set same up and had it functioning when the matter was called
to their attention. The understanding was that when the budget was presented
to the Board on June 1, of this year, the matter auld be discussed again.
I sincerely hope that this ~~ll be done so that Dr. Duncan will have an
opinion of the Board before he has set up his budget, and will at least
know how they feel in the matter.
I feel that the work that we have done in the past twenty-five years at
Auburn warrants some protection in the form of a contract with the board if
t.he quality of the work that we have done at Auburn is not to be broken down ..
If this bureau is allowed to be continued, whenever the Board comes to a
point of discussing a major building on the program in the future, it will
find itself in the position ~nere Dr. Duncan~s bureau has already done considerable
work on this specific building, and they will be in exactly the
same position that they were in last summer, ~~ere it would be rather
embarrassing to then instruct Dr. Duncan to employ an outside architect.
We are not referring to the work that was started last summer, but we
are looking forward to a long range program, and it seems to us that this
coule. be discussed at the m.eeting on the first of JlU1e equitably, because
at this time, Dr. Duncan will be starting on a new budget, and could not
possibly be co~~tted to anyone in the matter.
I sincerely hope you will be at the meeting at Auburn.
Yours very truly,
Warren, Knight & Davis, Architects
. By signed- John Eayres Davis
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Dr. L .. N. Duncan, President
Alabama Polytechnic Institute
Auburn, Alabama
Dear Dr. Duncan:
Birmingltam, Alabama
May 30, 1942
When the Board of Trustees of Alabama Polytechnic Institute met at
your home just a year ago a new budget for the year just ending was presented
by you with the statement that it had the approval of the special
committee that had been appointed to go over it. In the usual manner
and without any examination of the new budget, the Board of Trustees
voted for its approvaL
Later on it developed that the budget contained authority to you to
ha.ve all architectural work for the college carried out during the year
done by the Architectural Department of the school. None of the trustees
except thos e on the special committee to go over the budget knew that any
such authority was incorporated into the budget and there was, as you know,
very general dissatisfaction over the way the matter was handled.
As I pointed out sometime later when the facts became known, the Board
of Trustees some ten years ago passed a resolution appointing Warren, Knight
and Davis, of Birmingham, as the architects of the Alabama Polytechnic
Institute and this firm was authorized to do all of the architectural work
required by the college until their contract with them was canceled.
Warren, Knight and Davis drew the plans and superintended the construction
of a number of the buildings on the grounds at Auburn and, so far as I know,
every member of the Board, including yourself, was very much pleased with
the job that they did for the school ..
Frankly, I think it is a serious mistake to entrust the architectural
work and the supervision of the buildings to members of the faculty at
Auburn. One single mistake could cost the school more than you would save
over a period of several years~ I think we should continue to employ the
services of a reputable firm of architects to draw all plans, write all
specifications and superintend all building done at the college.
If for any reason the Board of Trustees are dissatisfied with the services
of Warren, Knight and Davis, then there are other reputable, relia.ble architectural
firms that could be employed.
I am sending a copy of this letter to Governor Dixon, in your care, and
I would be glad if you would hand it to him on his arrival. I want the Board
of Trustees to know just how I feel about this matter and I ~ould appreciate
your bringing to their attention what I have had to say on the subject.
I regret sincerely that circumstances are such th8.t I cannot attend the
meeting in person on MondaYe
With kindest regards, I am
Sincerely yours,
sl Victor Hanson
cc; Gov ernor Frank M. Dixon
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