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Show I WIDTSQE . MUE DEIB I OF THE UNIVERSITY I ! OF UT1 H Salt Lake, Jan. 21. After formal Hl charges had been made that the mat- B' ter had been entirely -arranged and H agreed upon by the majority of the B board without consulting the minority, R and without proper consideration be- B ing given tho matter in board session, H Dr. John A. Widtsoe, president of tho H Utah Agricultural college, was last H night elected to succeed Dr. J. T. B Kingsbury as president of the Uni- M versity of Utah bj' a vote of six to M four members of the board of regents. H Extended and heated debate preceded H the casting of the final vote, and a formal statement from the opposition B was read into the minutes of the m meeting, scathingly arraigning the H majority members for the "manner of H Dr. Widtsoe's election." H The vote to elect Dr. Widtsoe as m president of the state university was H as follows: H AfflrmaUve W W. Riter, Walde- Ht mar, Van Cott, Anthon H. Lund, Da- Bl vld Mattson, Dr. George W. Jliddleton B. and Richard W. Young. 1 Negative W. TV. Armstrong, Er- Kl est Bamberger, N. T. Porter and Bjli George C. Whitmore. HH Three Absentees. H Mrs. Belle A. Gemmell, Mr. Whit- H more and H. H. Roiapp were not M present at the meeting, but the ma-, B jorily permitted the minority to cast H the vote of Mfc Whitmore, whose B -viewB In the matter had previously H boen ascertained by long-distance tele- B phone. The majority refused to per- B mit the minority to cast Mrs. Gem- B iuell's vote in opposition, although a H telegram from her was read into the Hl recordB, in which she expressed her- Hl self as being especially in favor of HI the selection of someone from out- HI side the state. Bl When Chairman W. W. Riter called H the meeting to order, the following M letter from Dr. ICingsbury, under the date of January 20, was read: "Hon. W. W. Riter, Chairman Board of Regents, University of Utah: "Dear Sir I believe that a condition, condi-tion, if possible, should be brought about by which all the people of Utah could unite In building up a strong university, commensurate, at least, with the wealth and dignity of the state. "To be sure that I shall not stand In the way in effecting this desirable desir-able end, I have decided not to be a candidate for reappointment as president. presi-dent. "In this connection I wish to thank the board of regents for the uniform courtesy extended to me and for Its support and continuous good will for the many years I have been a member mem-ber of the teaching force and president presi-dent of the institution. "Furthermore, I trust that I shall always lend my influence for the advancement ad-vancement of the university In the future as I have done through the nianj years past. Respectfully submitted. sub-mitted. (Signed) "J. T. KINGSBURY." Resolution Presented. When this letter had been read, Major Ma-jor Richard W. Young presented the following resolution: "Resolved, That we receive and record re-cord the letter of Dr. Kingsbury: That the chairman appoint a committee com-mittee of three to prepare and present pre-sent to this board resolutions expressive expres-sive of the high esteem in which we hold his services and characters; "That he be tendered the position of president emeritus for the year 1916-1917, and, in view of the fact that he haB served for more than thirty years without a vacation, that he be granted a leave of absence nt full present salary during 1916-17, and "That for the year 1917-18 ho be employed as a professor of chemistry at the full pay of a professor." With the exception of the last clause this resolution received the votes of all regents present except that of N. T. Porter, ilr. Porter expressed ex-pressed himself as favoring the retention re-tention of Dr. Kingsbury for onei more year, during which time a thorough thor-ough canvasB of the field for a new man be made. The last clause was also opposed by Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Bamberger and Mr. Whitmore, by proxy, voted by Mr. Armstrong. It was the Introduction of a motion mo-tion by Mr. Bamberger, then, that precipitated the long and bitter debate. de-bate. Mr. Bamberger offered this motion mo-tion as soon as the resolution had been disposed of: "I movo that a committee of five be appointed by the chairman for the purpose of securing by correspondence correspond-ence and by personal interviews wherever possible, Information regarding regard-ing a man or men available for the presidency of the University of Utah, and that they report to the board of regents tho result of their investigation investiga-tion and any recommendations that may seem proper to them; and that a sum sufficient for conducting such an investigation be authorized to be expended by this committee for the purpose set forth; and that members of the board other than those appointed appoint-ed on this committee be requested to give to this board any information tlint they may have or that they may gain regarding any available man or men." |