The key role that farming plays in the economy of Indiana today owes much to the work of John Harrison Skinner (1874–1942). Skinner was a pioneering educator and administrator who transformed the study of agriculture at Purdue University during the first decades of the twentieth century. From humble origins, occupying one building and 150 acres at the start of his career, the agriculture program grew to spread over ten buildings and 1,000 acres by the end of his tenure as its first dean. A focused, single-minded man, Skinner understood from his own background as a grain and stock farmer that growers could no longer rely on traditional methods in adapting to a rapidly changing technological and economic environment, in which tractors were replacing horses and new crops such as alfalfa and soy were transforming the arable landscape. Farmers needed education, and only by hiring the best and brightest faculty could Purdue give them the competitive edge that they needed. While he excelled as a manager and advocate for Indiana agriculture, Skinner never lost touch with his own farming roots, taking especial interest in animal husbandry. During the course of his career as dean (1907–1939), the number of livestock on Purdue farms increased fourfold, and Skinner showed his knowledge of breeding by winning many times at the International Livestock Exposition. Today, the scale of Purdue’s College of Agriculture has increased to offer almost fifty programs to hundreds of students from all over the globe. However, at its base, the agricultural program in place today remains largely as John Harrison Skinner built it, responsive to Indiana but with its focus always on scientific innovation in the larger world.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: Purdue University and John Harrison Skinner: The Institution and the Individual
1 The Evolution of Indiana’s Cow College
2 The Farmer Earns an Agricultural Degree
3 The Transition from Farmer to Livestock Professor
Photographs and Illustrations
Part Two: Building a Livestock Program from the Ground Up: Only the Best Will Do (1902–1907)
4 An Eye for Livestock
5 Astute Judge and Fiery Competitor
6 The Teacher, Advisor, and Recruiter
7 Using Scientific Studies for Profit
8 The Newspaper Writer, Public Speaker, and Farm Advisor
Photographs and Illustrations
Part Three: The Age of Agricultural Expansion at Purdue University: Building the Agricultural Programs (1907–1928)
9 The Challenge to Grow
10 Bringing Expertise to Classrooms and Departments
11 The Builder of Barns, Buildings, and Pavilions
Photographs and Illustrations
12 The Undergraduate Experience
13 Farm Boys and Their Necessity for Work
14 Staff and Students Drafted for World War I
15 Enrollment Bubble Bursts during the Agricultural Depression
Photographs and Illustrations
16 Footsteps around the Farm
17 All Roads Lead to the International Live Stock Exposition
18 A Research Reputation Built on Livestock Feeding Experiments
19 A Fledgling Graduate Program
20 Expanding Purdue’s Teaching and Research Farms
21 Extension Gives Voice to Research
Photographs and Illustrations
22 The Dean of Politics
23 Two Old Rams Butting Heads
24 Offers to Leave for Greener Pastures
Photographs and Illustrations
Part Four: The Agricultural Executive for Purdue University: Leading the Teaching, Research, and Extension Programs (1928–1939)
25 The Wizard of Depression-Era Budgets
26 Maintaining the Status Quo of the Teaching Programs
27 A Commitment to Land for Research and Demonstrations
28 Riding the Extension Wagon across Indiana
29 The Trip to Europe and Accolades for Achievements
Part Five: A Career Ends Like It Started—On the Farm
30 Put Out to Pasture
31 The Last Farm Visit
Epilogue
Hoosier by Birth, Farmer by Choice, Researcher by Passion
Photographs and Illustrations
Notes
Sources
Index
Frederick Whitford works for the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service in the College of Agriculture. He received a BS in wildlife management from Louisiana Tech University, and an MS and PhD in entomology from Iowa State University. He has authored more than 250 research, extension, and regulatory publications, and has delivered at least 4,000 presentations to a wide array of audiences. He has written several other books about the history of Indiana agriculture, all published by Purdue University Press.
