Straight Furrow

Though he has never taught a class in his life and has never earned a doctor's degree, Robert Gordon Sproul is president of one of the world's largest universities. He has held the job since 1930, now gets $17,500 a year. Businesswise, back-slapping Bob Sproul (rhymes with jowl) acts like what he is: the capable sales manager for a mammoth educational chain-store (the University of California, with eight campuses, 38,864 students).

Until last week, Californians worried (as they often have cause to) that they might lose popular Bob Sproul.

Columbia University was looking for a new president to succeed retired 84-year-old Nicholas Murray Butler. The job, reported to pay $25,000 a year, is the ripest education plum in the U.S. And Sproul let it be known that he was considering a big offer.

Sproul had been tempted before: a California bank once offered him a $50,000-a-year presidency; President Roosevelt wanted him as director of Selective Service. Each time, crowds of students had staged rallies, shouting "Stick with us, Bob."

At week's end, the students' pleas had worked again. Sproul was staying on: "I believe this is a straight furrow. ... I shall not take my hand from the plow to which it has been set for the past 17 years."

Louisiana State University lost its president last week, but there were few if any cries of "Stick with us, Bill." Under Huey Long, L.S.U. had grown big and rich (Huey built it up to get even with Tulane for refusing him an honorary degree). Under William Bass Hatcher, appointed L.S.U. president in 1944 by Huey's political heirs, L.S.U. had lost some of its glories.

Hatcher fired a dean who had once opposed his promotion to a full professorship. Then he forced out able Dr. Beryl lies Burns, dean of L.S.U.'s crack medical school, and 27 staff doctors quit in protest (TIME, Nov. 12, 1945). His campus enemies called Hatcher "William the Conqueror," and many left rather than be conquered. Last week 58-year-old President Hatcher himself quit. Reason: ill health.

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