MINUTES OF
THE OHIO ACADEMY OF HISTORY
Deshler-Wallick Hotel
Columbus, Ohio
April 21, 1950
The Ohio Academy of History met in
Columbus April 21, in con-
nection with the Ohio College
Association. The morning session, at
10:00 A. M., was attended by nearly one hundred persons. This session
was devoted to a panel discussion
conducted by the members of the com-
mittee on the teaching of history in
Ohio colleges, of which Frank L.
Esterquest of Western College is the
chairman. Robert L. Jones of
Marietta College spoke on the
"Application of the Problem Method in
Lieu of Term Papers," Dr.
Esterquest talked on "Visual-Audio Aids in
the College History Classroom," and
Everett Walters of Ohio State Uni-
versity, the third member of the
committee, discussed "Stimulating In-
terest in History Outside the
Classroom." The open discussion which
followed was concerned largely with the
question of the comparative
values of the "objective" and
"essay type" examinations.
About sixty members attended the
luncheon session at 12:30, pre-
sided over by Stanton L. Davis, Case
Institute of Technology, president
of the academy. Jacob C. Meyer, Western
Reserve University, the
speaker at this session, addressed the
academy on the subject, "The
Dilemma of the Historian in a
Democracy." His address was
followed
by an informal discussion. The 2:00
o'clock session was devoted to a
report of the committee on the teaching
of history in the Ohio high
schools. The committee, composed of
Duane D. Smith, chairman, Uni-
versity of Toledo, William E. Smith,
Miami University, and John W.
Long, Jr., Western College, submitted a
comparative study of the require-
ments for the certification of teachers
of junior and senior high school
history in the forty-eight states and
the District of Columbia and a tenta-
tive questionnaire to be sent to Ohio
high schools to determine the
status of history in the secondary
schools of the state. The committee
stressed the need for action, and urged
members of the academy to aid
310
Ohio Academy of History 311
in getting the questionnaire into the
proper persons' hands. During the
discussion period which followed, a
point was made of the advisability
of cooperation with the English section
of the Ohio College Association
in requesting the state board of
education to raise the educational re-
quirements of teachers in these fields.
Dr. Esterquest was appointed to
ascertain what was being done by the English
section. He reported that
the English section would not make a
representation to the state board
at this time but would be glad to work
with a committee of the academy
on a joint resolution to be presented to
the board in the future.
Approximately fifty members remained for
the business session at
4:00, at which Dr. Davis again presided.
The reading of the minutes of
the last meeting was dispensed with
inasmuch as they are printed in the
July 1949 issue of the Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Quarterly.
In the absence of the
secretary-treasurer, James H. Rodabaugh, the treas-
urer's report was read by Henry J.
Caren. The necessity for raising more
funds was pointed out by the president,
and the academy passed a motion
by A. P. Rosselot to raise the dues to
$1.00, to bill members for their
dues, and to make membership contingent
on the payment of dues.
The report of the committee on
publications was read by Wilfred
J. Steiner, University of Dayton. The
publication of this report in the
Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly was requested.
The
committee on awards (William Fisk,
Reginald C. McGrane, and Robert
S. Fletcher) announced the selection of
Foster Rhea Dulles for the acad-
emy's fourth annual award of
distinction. The award, presented by Dr.
Fisk, was in recognittion of Dr. Dulles'
book Labor in America: A
History, published in 1949.
Duane Smith proposed that a council of
the Ohio Academy of His-
tory be created to give continuity to
the program of the academy. In line
with this suggestion and on motion of
Dr. McNiff, the academy voted to
create a council of five appointed by
the president with the requirement
that one of the five be a representative
of the high school field.
Dr. Davis commended the work of the
committee on the teaching of
history in the Ohio high schools and the
committee on the teaching of
history in Ohio colleges. Both
committees were authorized to continue
to function, and on resolution proposed
by Duane Smith, the former was
authorized to contact the state
department of education concerning the
requirements for teachers of history. A
resolution was passed also to
authorize Dr. Esterquest's committee to
cooperate with the English
teachers' group.
312 Ohio State Archaeological and
Historical Quarterly
Dorsey Walker, chairman of the committee
on nominations, made
the following nominations for officers
of the academy for the year
1950-51:
President--William J. McNiff, Miami
University
Vice President-Lowell J. Ragatz, Ohio
State University
Secretary-Treasurer--James H. Rodabaugh,
Ohio State
Archaeological and Historical Society
On a motion of Robert L. Jones the
report of the nominating committee
was accepted, and the secretary was
instructed to cast a unanimous ballot
for the nominees. A resolution of thanks
was voted for the work of
Dr. Rodabaugh and his assistants, and
the president expressed the grati-
tude of the academy for the work of the
committees without entertaining
a formal resolution of thanks.
Dr. Pershing opened a discussion of the
conflict in the date of the
meeting of the academy with that of the
Mississippi Valley Historical
Association. On motion of Dr. Pershing
the officers were instructed, in
case of a future conflict in the dates
of the meetings of the Mississippi
Valley Historical Association and the
Ohio College Association, to
arrange for the meeting of the academy
on another weekend than that of
the college association.
The question of a fall social meeting
was raised by Dr. Davis, and a
suggestion was made by Duane Smith that
it be held in one of the "rural"
colleges. Dr. Rosselot extended an
invitation to Otterbein College, where-
upon the academy voted to authorize the
executive committee to look into
the desirability of having a fall
retreat at Westerville.
These minutes were taken and prepared by
S. Winifred Smith of the
Ohio State Archaeological and Historical
Society.
Respectfully submitted,
JAMES H. RODABAUGH, Secretary