Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1920 [PAGE 573]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1919=]:

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

569

set forth in the report of your committee on the subject, brought in at the last meeting of your Board. If we can find money to go into this work this year, I think that pictures should be made showing not only the everyday life of the student here, but University activities in various important departments. The great difficulty will be to get film-maker to make pictures of which the University would not be ashamed. The pictures they will want will be in the main sansational. The information which such pictures will give those who see them, will be simply the name and sortie unimportant activity of the University. The character of our real University work, of contributions to the life of our people, our financial and ohter difficulties, will not be presented in this way. Nevertheless, as I have remarked, I believe there is a field for this work. If some film-making firm is willing to take up the matter and make a reel or two at its own expense, under our supervision, a beginning might be made. Another cause of difficulty in disseminating information about the University has been the choice of representatives by the associated and united press and other news agencies. In this connection I believe that it would be a good thing to interest commercial and other organizations throughout the state with a view to securing an inspection of the University, and a report of its needs, similar in a general way to that made by the Chicago Association of Commerce several years ago. It is my intentions to undertake this unless, in the opinion of the Board, there is objection to it. I have also suggested to several members of the legislature that it would be desirable if a number of them could come over here for a few days this winter or next spring, and examine carefully into the condition of the University and its needs. I believe that this also can be accomplished, and it might be a good thing to unite the two groups. These things cannot be done without money. It will take several thousand dollars to carry out a proper campaign of publicity. It has been my intention to have a conference of all members of the faculty interested in publicity, but the time between the opening of the University and this meeting of the Board has been too short for the purpose. The plan submitted by the committee of the Board is, in my judgment, an excellent one. Parts of it I myself have been urging for several years, particularly the employment of a skilled and able man who would devote all his time to University publicity. One man could do muchj but* the plan of the committee would require a staff. I t is impossible for members of the faculty to give many lectures to clubs or other organizations during the year. Their time is filled with teaching duties. Even if they could spare the time and strength, there is no way to take care of their classes in: their absence, and the classes cannot be neglected. These are the reasons why we need a separate staff. Such a staff is ordinarily called a University extension staff. The results in Wisconsin make it doubtful whether such work necessarily* makes friends for the University who are able to make its path easier. To carry out the plan of your committee we would need one first class newspaper and literary man who would command a salary of approximately $5,000. He should have, to begin with, at least two assistants who could travel about the state, going to press meetings which he himself did not attend, visiting newspaper offices, and making addresses whenever possible. If each of these men received $3,000, we would need $6,000 for them. I think that there is more done in getting information about the University through the high schools and the county teachers institutes than your committee appears to think, yet there is room for improvement. It is my hope and expectation that the College of Education, when more completely organized, will care for much of this work. Probably no additional man would be heeded here at present. For the moving picture part of the proposed program, we should have at least one man who would be in touch with makers of reels and exhibitors of moving pictures We could not get the proper kind of a man for less than $4,000, and probably not. for that.