Book Notes
Connected Thoughts: A
Reinterpretation of the Reorganization of Antioch
College in the 1920's. By Stephen R. Herr. (Lanham, Maryland: University
Press of America, 1997. xii + 282 p.,
tables, endnotes, bibliographic essay, in-
dex.) In the long history of Antioch
College, two presidents have been revered:
Horace Mann for his liberal educational
policies in the 1850s which introduced
females and minorities, and Arthur E.
Morgan for his work-study concept in the
1920s. The work-study "co-op"
program was instituted in the fall of 1921; stu-
dents were divided into two divisions,
with one "div" attending classes on campus
while the other worked at various jobs
related to academic studies (or simply to fi-
nance a college education). The
divisions reversed roles after several weeks. With
a few interruptions, the co-op program
continues today. Morgan was also inter-
ested in college-backed student projects
that could develop into small industries.
Connected Thoughts summarizes several work-study programs initiated in the
nineteenth century, particularly in the
colleges established by the American
Missionary Association for black
students, and the co-op program in engineering
established at the University of
Cincinnati in 1906, which was the pioneering ef-
fort of Herman Schneider and of national
importance in higher education.
Antioch, like many other small private
colleges, was suffering from a lack of
students-and income-in the early
twentieth century. By 1919 Morgan had writ-
ten extensively concerning education. He
was elected to the Antioch board of
trustees on the basis of his work-study
plan and his involvement with the progres-
sive Moraine Park School in Dayton. On
viewing the campus, Morgan told his
wife that Antioch was ". . . near
dead, so we could do what we want with it" (p. 47).
Morgan became president of Antioch in
July, 1920. He proved to be tireless in
public relations and sold the
"new" concept of work-study nationwide through
speeches and articles, often promising
more than the program, or the college fac-
ulty, was capable of delivering. Connected
Thoughts provides an in-depth study
of Morgan's educational theories,
whether borrowed or original, and their imple-
mentation. It is Herr's contention that
Morgan was a "coordinator"" rather than
an "innovator" of the
work-study program, and he documents the various individ
uals and groups that helped to shape the
program, the often hard-pressed faculty,
the board of trustees, local residents,
and nationally prominent educators and in-
dustrialists.
Ohio Historical Society Donald A.
Hutslar
Ohio and Its People. Second Edition. By George W. Knepper. (Kent: Kent
State University Press, 1997. xiii +
532p.; illustrations, appendices, bibliogra-
phy, index.) The second edition of
George Knepper's state history is brought up
to date by adding a final chapter on the
1990s. In his new preface, the author
sounds a strong note of optimism for
Ohio's future. This positive outlook re-
sounds through the new chapter, perhaps
best exemplified by several of the sec-
tion headings such as "Erasing the
Rust" and "Ohio's Cities-Looking Good."
Knepper uses a similar framework to that
established in the final chapter of the
first edition, "Ohio in the
Post-Industrial Age," to examine the present decade.
After a discussion of state politics, he
covers eleven components of Ohio's econ-