University of Virginia Library

General Studies, Law, College Faculty Gain New Administrators

Cole, Dillard, Harris Retire As Deans, Stay On As Professors

Cole

Of all the University of Virginia deans,
James W. Cole Jr. is responsible for the
most versatile and far-flung body of students.

For the past 10 years Mr. Cole has been
dean of the School of General Studies, a
branch of the University which reaches
throughout the State to meet the needs of
adults who want to learn. From his Madison
Hall headquarters in Charlottesville, Mr.
Cole supervises, a program which brings
people back to school for evening studies
from Abingdon to Hampton Roads to Warrenton.

Mr. Cole will retire on August 31 as dean,
continuing on the University faculty as professor
of chemistry. He has been associated
with the University since coming her as a
student to receive his B.S. in chemistry in
1932. He went on to earn his master's and
Ph.D. in chemistry and began teaching at
the University in 1937 and since then has
written textbooks on general chemistry and
several articles in the field of education.

illustration

James W. Cole, Jr.

Terminates Far-Flung Duty

He has served for the past year as president
of the Virginia Academy of Science
and is a director of the National Science
Foundation Institute programs for teachers
of the sciences and mathematics and serves
as a consultant to NSF.

During Mr. Cole's years as dean, the
School of General Studies has doubled the
size of its program and now provides
courses taken by more than 25,000 persons
each year in nearly 100 Virginia communities.

Broadened Course Work

Under Mr. Cole's leadership, the school
has broadened course work in its continuing
education program for adults to include
college credit study in a number of areas
of the sciences and humanities. Students of
all ages working toward degrees register at
centers throughout the state in September
and January for such courses as advanced
engineering mathematics, economics, religions
of the world, abnormal psychology
and calculus.

Continuing education for other adults
means a wide schedule of non-credit courses
to choose from. A housewife may sharpen
her literary flair in a short story writing
class. A secretary learns enough French to
ask directions and order meals, smoothly
on a trip to Paris. A businessman studies
the theory of chess play and has a new
hobby.

Successor Named

Andre C. de Porry, director of extension
for the School of General Studies, has been
named dean to succeed Mr. Cole.

Mr. de Porry became director of general
extension for the school in 1962. For the
past two years he has been state program
director for Title I of the Higher Education
Act of 1965. This program provides comprehensive
financial support to colleges and
universities for community service projects
in such fields as housing, poverty, recreation
and employment.

illustration

Hardy C. Dillard

More Than Administrator

Dillard

"The greatest tribute that you can pay
to him is that he is a humanist," said A. E.
Howard, Associate Dean of the University
School of Law, when interview concerning
Hardy C. Dillard, the retiring Dean of the
Law School.

"He has been more than an administrator,"
Mr. Howard continued, "I don't
think you can measure his accomplishments
as Dean only in terms of tangibles, although
such accomplishments of his are
great."

Mr. Dillard, 65, wil step down as Dean
of the Law School, a position he has held
since 1963, on July 1, and will be succeeded
by Monrad G. Paulsen, a professor of law
at Columbia University. He will continue
teaching at the University as James Monroe
Professor of Law.

Mr. Howard observed that, during his
administration, Mr. Dillard has been highly
successful in conducting relations with both
the state legislature and the alumni, from
which he has drawn a "significant amount
of support" for the Law School.

Since 1963, the law school has developed
a "strong, young faculty," according to Mr.
Howard, and he attributes this largely to
Mr. Dillard. In addition, he noted, "I think
in terms of international law development
at the law school, Mr. Dillard has set the
tone."

Louisiana Native

A native of Louisiana, the law school dean
began his college career at the University in
1921. After one year of study, he transferred
to the U. S. Military Academy from
where he graduated with a B.S. He returned
to the University for his LL.B., which he
earned in 1927, and went on to study at
the University of Paris as a Carnegie Fellow
from 1930-31.

Mr. Dillard joined the University faculty
in 1927 as an acting associate professor. In
1933 he became an associate professor, and
five years later stepped up to a full professorship.
In 1958 he was designated
James Monroe Professor of Law.

Successor To Ribble

Since that time, Mr. Dillard served as
Director of the Institute of Public Affairs
at the University, and spent a year at
Columbia as visiting professor of law. In
1963 he succeeded F. D. G. Ribble as Dean
of the law school.

Mr. Dillard was last year's recipient of
the Thomas Jefferson Award, presented
every Founder's Day to the outstanding
member of the University community. The
citation of the award read, "He cares deeply
about the University, and gives of himself
not only to the students of his school,
but with similar generosity to undergraduates
and to the students of the other professional
schools."

Teaches First Year

Contrary to suggestions made in deference
to his heavy work load as Dean, Mr. Dillard
has insisted on teaching each year a
basic course to the entering law class.

Currently, Mr. Dillard is serving on the
Local Government Committee of the Virginia
Commission on Constitutional Revision.
The commission is headed by former
governor Albertis S. Harrison and will submit
its report next January 1.

A specialist in international law, Mr.
Dillard is a past president of the American
Society of International Law, and has served
as Carnegie Lecturer at the Hague Academy
of International Law in 1957. Five years
later, he spoke before the Egyptian Society
of International Law on "Conflicting Ideologies
and the Role of Law."

Harris

Robert J. Harris will retire as dean of the
faculty of Arts and Sciences on June 30,
the conclusion of his five year term.

Mr. Harris will return to teaching government
next September. Last February he
was named to the newly established James
Hart Professorship of Government.

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Robert J. Harris

Pleased To Teach Again

Mr. Harris was chairman of the department
of political science at Vanderbilt University
when he was elected to the faculty
here in 1963 and appointed dean of the
faculty for five years. At his own request,
he was not considered for reappointment.

The professorship honors James Hart, a
native of Albemarle county, who was professor
of political science at the University
from 1936 until his death in 1959. Dr.
Hart was an authority on the American
Presidency and on administrative law.

The creation of the Hart chair came at
a meeting February of the University's
Board of Visitors.

He is a former president of the Southern
Political Science Association; and former
vice president of the American Political
Science Association. Mr. Harris was the
first editor of the "Journal of Politics" and
has written extensively on politics.

Three Degrees

He holds degrees from Vanderbilt, the
University of Illinois and Princeton University.
He taught at Princeton, the University
of Cincinnati and Louisiana State University
before joining the Vanderbilt faculty
in 1954.

Since his arrival in 1963, the faculty of
the College has been growing at the rate
of approximately twenty new members per
year, Dean Harris noted. That is an increase
of about 50 per cent during his five year
term as Dean.

"I don't take the credit for this though,"
Dean Harris said. "We've had some great
help from department chairmen and President
Shannon in strengthening the faculty."

Mr. Harris pointed out as an example
of this, that next year new faculty members
will be arriving from UCLA, Berkeley,
Stanford, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Johns
Hopkins, Princeton, and the University of
Pennsylvania.

"I'm rather pleased to get back to my
own work of teaching," he said. "But I've
enjoyed my five years as Dean of the Faculty.
Perhaps after this job, everything will
seem anticlimactic.