Ralph W. Steen, 1905-1980, and the business of twentieth-century Texas education /
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1990.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | ProQuest, Abstract Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | The aim of this biographical study is to investigate the public career of Ralph W. Steen, as schoolteacher, professor, textbook author, and college president. By examining the intersection of these major stages of his career with contemporary events, the study seeks to assess the extent to which Steen influenced his times and was influenced by them. Steen was an ambitious builder who followed a practical course. As an undergraduate, he helped to establish the reputation of newly founded McMurry College. After forming useful political connections as a graduate student at the University of Texas, he assumed an active role in civic affairs while teaching in Abilene, Big Lake, and Hillsboro. His twenty-three-year career as a history professor at Texas A&M College was marked by efforts to develop educational and service institutions in College Station. Head of the history department at Texas A&M College in the 1950's, he expanded the department and proposed the addition of a master's degree program. His presidency of Stephen F. Austin State College emphasized the growth of the institution and its importance to the development of East Texas. Although Steen was trained as an academician, his background in a business environment influenced his view of educational institutions. His memberships and activities suggest his association with the business progressivism that developed in Texas following World War I. He was not instinctively a reformer but was receptive to reform during a time of depression, war, industrialization, and racial desegregation in Texas. Viewing educational institutions at all levels as partners with local chambers of commerce, service clubs, and business groups, Steen helped to build the bridge between rural and industrial Texas. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: Curriculum and instruction." |
| Physical Description: | vi, 235 leaves ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |