University History
Charles Lory emphasized personal appearances and public relations
President Charles Lory set out in 1909 to make Colorado Agricultural College known as an institution that served the state's needs.
The 36-year-old Lory embarked on a demanding schedule of personal appearances and public-relations activities. Trains would take him far from campus for several days at a time to speak to teachers, high-school students, stockmen and other groups.
Lory also worked to educate audiences closer to home. He often reported on school finances, legislation and other developments at the college's biweekly chapel meetings. The campus encouraged visitors, especially legislators and prospective students. Demonstration trains, which started with the famous "Potato Special" in 1908, added enthusiastic undergraduates to help recruit high-school students.
The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 further expanded CAC's visibility and impact. This crucial federal legislation established state Extension Services in cooperation with land-grant colleges. The Extension Service, financed by a combination of federal, state and local funding, provided agricultural and home-economics information to Colorado's rural communities.
In 1919, CAC gained even more admirers and supporters, especially among state leaders, when college officials announced the institution was free of debt. Before Lory's presidency, college administrators simply had doled out funds as needs and requests arose. Lory set up a system of annual-budget requests and expense reports.
He further impressed legislators in Colorado and beyond when he came up with a formula to determine precisely how much it cost the college to educate individual students. The president's efforts, along with a 10-year mill levy to help finance sky-rocketing construction costs, put CAC on solid fiscal footing.
Dedicated faculty members added to the college's credibility. Clarence Gillette, Experiment Station director, also served as state entomologist. Other notable members of the entomology department were S. Arthur Johnson and Miriam Palmer.
President Lory in 1911 appointed Johnson dean of faculty. Johnson functioned as an academic administrator and student counselor for nearly 25 years. He gained a reputation as a person who aimed to convince students that ethical behavior and service were more valuable than mastery of a subject. In 1936, the college named its first student union Johnson Hall in his honor.
Miriam Palmer became a distinguished illustrator of scientific papers and a world authority on aphids. Palmer Center, built on campus in 1968, bears her name today.
George Morton became head of the college's animal husbandry department in 1908 and state dairy commissioner in 1913. Morton stressed classroom and extension teaching. He also helped students organize a Livestock Club, became a member of the governing board for the National Western Stock Show and administered a department whose herd of Poland China swine won six major prizes at the 1921 Chicago International Stock Show.
Emil Sandsten joined CAC in 1913 and took on the additional duties of state horticulturist. Under Sandsten, the college's horticulture department provided vegetable growers with valuable information on high-altitude crops and established one of the nation's first certified seed-potato programs.
Burton Longyear, who served four years as state forester, oversaw the birth of Pingree Park. In 1912, an act of Congress provided the 1,600-acre parcel in Roosevelt National Forest for CAC's practical and experimental work. Longyear's successor, Walter Morrill, played a significant role in helping the college earn a reputation as the "Ranger Factory." When the federal government created Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915, Morrill made his department a principal training site for National Park Service rangers and administrators.
A number of engineering professors also helped bring recognition to CAC during the early years of Lory's presidency. Among them was Ralph Parshall, who after six years at CAC joined the irrigation-investigation office of the USDA. Although he held a federal position, he conducted most of his work at the college's hydraulics lab, where he perfected the Parshall flume - a water-flow measuring device still used today worldwide.
Meanwhile, Inga Allison - educated in the sciences at University of Chicago - was perfecting high-altitude recipes. A lot of improvised experimentation occurred until a cooking lab was completed on campus in 1927. One memorable pre-lab experiment involved trial baking at a shelter house on Fall River Road northwest of Estes Park. The 11,800-foot elevation yielded only baked goods that refused to rise.
One thing that did rise successfully during the 1910s and early 1920s was the reputation of Colorado's young land-grant college. The efforts of Lory, his faculty and students enhanced CAC's reputation and its ability to meet Colorado's needs.
