Hello.
Looks like you might still be getting set up,
or your microphone is off.
It's yes.
OK.
There it is.
Yes,
hello.
Happy New Year.
How are you doing?
I am well,
thank you,
and so delighted to be talking with you.
Are we ready to begin?
Uh,
sure.
Well,
hello again,
and for the recording of this oral history,
I,
Doctor Stephanie Delisa,
a teaching professor and honors faculty fellow,
and talking with Doctor Ted Humphrey,
founding dean of the University Honors College that ultimately became
Barrett,
the Honors College at Arizona State University.
Doctor Humphrey has kindly agreed to be recorded as we add voice and texture
via these conversations
to honor and learn from a few of the many wonderful people
that have served and or have been served by Barrett.
So
while there are others from whom we can learn about
the development and evolution of Barrett over the years,
easily,
Doctor Humphrey is the best one given his founding role and his longevity
in that role.
While I could say more,
it would be better
to hear from you,
TEed,
to hear your voice as much
as possible,
certainly much more than mine.
So before we get into the focus topic of today's conversation,
would you please share some about your
educational and professional background that led you
to becoming the Honors College founder
and otherwise introduce yourself like how long you're at ASU and in Barrett,
etc.
Uh,
sure.
Uh,
the history could go quite,
uh,
far back,
as a matter of fact.
Um,
I grew up in a very small town,
1000 people then.
Uh,
not many more than that.
Now,
the town's name was Lone Pine.
Graduated from a high school that had
156 total students and a graduating class,
my graduating class.
Was um.
29
and.
I was the first.
Male graduate of that particular high school.
Uh,
that I know of.
Uh,
to go to university,
um.
I,
I received a scholarship and a number of.
Other forms of support to.
Enroll at the University of California,
Berkeley in 1958.
Uh,
as a
Chemical engineering major.
Uh,
I spent my first year there.
Uh,
learning to enjoy.
Uh,
all of the
Uh,
available arts and
cultural.
Uh,
activities that one could engage in in the San Francisco
metropolitan area.
But also on the UC campus.
Um,
despite the fact that my high school record.
Uh,
suggested that I would be successful.
As a chemical engineering major or some kind of science and mathematics major.
I had,
I had great academic difficulties.
During my 1st and 2nd semesters.
And uh,
I did not receive grades that qualified me to return to
the university.
On the other hand,
during my second semester,
I was
able to take courses in anthropology.
And Greek and Latin classics as well as
English literature.
That helped me,
uh,
Re-enter my
academic interests.
I spent a um
An academic year at Citrus
College.
Uh,
in Glendora
or Azusa,
California.
And uh rehabilitated my academic record,
requalified to
Um,
Uh,
enroll at the University of California,
Berkeley.
But,
um,
had to make the decision to
Enroll at.
Uh,
the University of California Riverside,
where I
ultimately
completed both,
uh,
an Arts baccalaureate and a Master of Arts degree,
both in philosophy.
Um,
In my case,
uh,
a,
a
first-generation collegegoer,
one of the
Lessons that I learned from those early experiences was that,
um,
Uh,
persons who attended small high schools.
Uh
Even if they excelled academically,
and
Um,
we,
would,
uh,
would have difficulties,
uh,
managing the kind of very
large on the one hand,
but also very
Um,
a rich academic environment of,
uh,
a university.
Of the kind that Berkeley was and continues to be.
Um,
I left
University of California,
Riverside with my degrees,
went to
University of California at San Diego.
With my uh bachelor's and master's degree in philosophy.
And they're studied with uh
A faculty rich in the history of.
Uh,
philosophy.
I was fortunate to study with
persons who'd been at Columbia University.
Which had um.
A history of,
uh,
culture.
Program that,
uh,
was quite famous at the time,
but also persons who'd been at the University of Chicago,
which had a competing.
Uh,
program in the history of
culture,
uh,
founded on the great books of the Western world.
Um
I left
graduate school without my
degree.
Without a PhD to come to.
Uh,
Arizona State
University,
then only 8 years into
Uh,
it's time as a university.
Um,
to join the
Department of Philosophy and Humanities,
and I was explicitly
appointed to teach courses in the humanities as well as
In
philosophy.
So,
I,
I took up my
Uh,
instructional responsibilities,
my academic responsibilities
at ASU when I was 25.
Uh,
I had.
An outline of my doctoral dissertation,
my,
uh,
doctoral advisor who was Herbert Marcusa.
Uh,
and I agreed that I would be able to.
Complete the research and writing of that.
Uh,
uh,
of my dissertation
in a timely fashion,
and
So
I undertook the responsibilities uh
for teaching a very large lecture course in
The humanities as well as
Uh,
3.
Courses.
In philosophy.
Uh,
each semester for
those 1st 2
years.
And,
uh,
typically I would have,
uh,
3 preparations
per
semester.
One of the advantages of coming to ASU was
in the philosophy department was that there was
no faculty member with a
An area of specialization that significantly overlapped with mine,
which my specializations were
18th,
19th,
and early 20th century French and German philosophy.
Um,
And as a consequence of that,
not having
to share those courses
with faculty members,
I
I was on the one hand,
forced to do a lot of reading,
uh,
in preparation for my courses,
but I was able also to develop,
uh,
a broad understanding of those.
Movements
after I,
I submitted my doctoral dissertation.
Uh,
To UC
San Diego.
Early
in.
19.
68.
defended it during that,
uh,
academic.
Semester
and.
was pretty much freed from the burden of
Of
Doing that work in addition to my.
Uh,
teaching
and
research.
I came for my
education.
Was uh at the tutelage of
a number of.
Distinguished.
Publishing scholars,
and I brought that tradition.
With me,
it was part of my makeup when I got to.
Arizona State University.
I,
by the time I received my dissertation,
I had
published a number of
Book reviews,
and I'd I'd
been engaged as
an editorial associate
for the Journal of the History of Ideas.
I'm sorry,
for the Journal of the History of Philosophy.
And had published one small paper in that journal.
Um,
Hm.
Uh,
the philosophy department at that time,
uh,
in those early days,
in the 1st 5 or 6 years
I was a member of it was.
In turmoil
Uh,
there were a number of internal problems.
Uh,
with,
uh,
The,
the members of the department were.
Uh,
ideologically
divided.
There was a lack
of
Vision for the department,
there was a
lack of internal consensus
as to
Uh,
what the nature of philosophy was.
And
Uh,
one of the faculty members
was,
uh,
politically very,
very active.
And came to the attention of the Arizona Board of Regents.
And was fired.
Uh,
as a result of which,
the AAUP,
the American Association of University Professors,
placed
Arizona State University,
uh,
on
probation.
Um,
The department had a very difficult time
figuring out who.
Uh,
should lead it,
who should be its chair.
I was,
uh,
Called into the office of Dean Charles M.
Wolf,
Dean of the College of
Arts and sciences and.
He,
he and I discussed the state of the department.
And he asked me to serve as department chair.
Uh,
And immediately advised me not to accept the offer.
Uh,
I was too bullheaded.
I was probably too insecure.
Not to accept the offer.
Um,
And thought that I could
probably bring the department.
Uh,
Into some kind of orderliness.
Over the course of,
so this is your.
This is about year 7 over the course of
The next 5 years.
I was able to make a number of significant appointments.
3,
I appointed.
Uh,
5
fresh out of
Graduate program.
Faculty members as assistant professors.
Ended up having
to
not tenure 2 of them,
but tenure 3 of them,
all 3 of whom became
relatively distinguished in their fields and had,
in addition to that,
the great good fortune to hire
2
very senior members.
Directly into the department and to be involved in the
appointment of another philosopher
as head of the
College of Businesses program in ethics.
Uh,
I got to the end of my chairmanship.
And uh,
Having published
A couple more papers that turned out to be fairly significant.
Uh,
Two of which
are generally regarded as having
Solved.
Long-standing problems in Kant's scholarship.
Uh,
but,
um,
Felt I was
not done with the administration.
Felt that I,
having been successful.
In creating a.
Uh,
department that
by then.
had come to be
regarded as.
The top
non-PhD granting department in the United States.
I want to.
Uh,
I wanted to continue to see whether I could.
Build and director.
Uh,
Other
such academic enterprises.
Uh,
so during the last year of my chairmanship,
the
directorship of the
college,
then College of
liberal arts honors program came open.
I and I applied for it.
Uh,
it actually was a fairly
Uh,
stiffly competed.
Position
But,
but I was selected to undertake it.
Um,
When I became director of that program,
I was one of the few people in the United States.
Who
had turned to honors
with
previous experience.
In administration.
Um,
a lot of honors programs at the time,
and what we're talking about is 1988.
A lot of honors programs at the time
were
Run by persons who become alienated from their disciplines and who
Um,
administered their programs.
Uh,
with relatively narrow visions.
And from what I would call a position of alienation.
Uh,
they,
they kind of built a wall around their honors programs.
Um,
making
very,
very few attempts,
if any,
to
Um,
integrate with the university.
I took about 2 years.
After having been appointed director of.
The honors program to figure out what I thought.
An honors program ought to be,
how I,
how it an honors program.
Should be fitted into the structure of a university.
And trying to figure out ways in which it could
integrate,
not just with the College of
Liberal Arts,
which was the standard model.
Uh,
but,
uh,
integrate with all of the undergraduate.
Teaching divisions
of the university.
Uh,
and I think that that was
one of the significant differences.
That I brought to a vision.
For honors.
It seemed to me that.
Honor,
uh,
that honors degrees.
Could and should indeed ought to be pursued
in all of the disciplines.
And so my first
move was
to work with um
A vice president.
For academic affairs.
Who agreed,
who agreed for whatever reasons with that vision.
And so while the program remained in the College of Liberal Arts,
We,
uh,
we agreed to.
Uh,
work at bringing major,
uh,
bringing students
majoring in
Not just the humanities,
but also the sciences in the College of Liberal Arts,
the College of Engineering,
uh,
the College of,
uh,
Fine Arts.
Uh,
in other words,
from all the College of Education,
in other words,
all the colleges of the university.
My,
my
My vision in that regard was
to bring
together students.
With,
uh,
academic talent and interest in a wide variety of.
Disciplines
who would um
Engage in the process of
educating one another in
Uh,
other,
uh,
one another in
other areas of expertise and interest.
Um,
it took about 3 years.
To do that.
And um,
Uh,
uh,
a,
a central element of that process was
Uh,
to develop.
The course,
the human event,
I had.
Uh,
peripherally participated in
developing that course while I was still a.
Uh,
while I was still chair of the philosophy department.
Uh,
but I've,
you know,
I've very actively brought together.
The uh
Dominant.
Styles of doing
um.
Cultural studies.
That originated at Columbia University,
and that style was to approach it
historically.
As well as the style
that was dominant at the University
of Chicago,
which was a topics,
uh,
oriented.
Um,
Which was topic oriented.
And um,
Doing that
allowed for
greater participation
by a wide variety of
Uh,
faculty members,
as well as a wide variety of
Uh,
students.
Uh,
similarly,
I worked at developing,
uh,
transdisciplinary.
Course
In,
uh,
mathematics and the sciences.
That I really wanted to require of all students.
Uh,
but I was never able to get
that course off the ground.
Um,
I'm not quite sure what the reasons for that were.
So I was appointed director of the College of Liberal Arts and College of
Sciences,
uh,
honors program in 1983.
Uh,
and
there were 125
students participating in that program,
some of whom
were in the College of
Public Programs.
I'm not quite sure
how that came about,
but
some of them,
and it was not an insignificant number.
Uh,
were in the College of Public Programs.
It took 5 years.
To develop a
vision for the college and to
develop a strategy
that would allow the.
Honors program to be,
uh,
university-wide.
And
Uh,
that actually happened kind of clandestinely.
Uh
1988 was a catalog year
at
ASU,
which means there was the issuance of a new catalog.
And the previous catalog had
Actually listed
honors programs in all of the individual
colleges,
but,
but
only
the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Honors program was actually
active
and
Uh,
uh,
the,
the secretary in the office of the provost in
academic affairs was responsible for the final edit.
Of the university catalog
and.
She
Very neatly.
wiped out
all of the
separate
honors.
Uh,
separate
disciplinary college honors programs
save
for
The,
uh
College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences honors program and
by
an agreement
of
the deans.
Of the separate colleges,
we were
designated the college of,
uh,
the university Honors College,
uh,
and had permission.
To go out and recruit students into.
Uh,
the honors college,
uh,
no matter what their interest was.
Part of that compromise was that,
uh,
students would participate,
all students would participate
in the first
two years
of the,
um,
University honors college program,
which
included,
but was not limited to completion
of the two-semester course in
Uh,
in
the two semester course,
the human event.
Uh,
and
during this time is when I was
trying to implement a course,
transdisciplinary course in the sciences,
which never came to fruition,
but
By,
uh,
By
1990,
after a
An Arizona
Board of Regents commissioned study.
Of the honors programs at
Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona,
as well as um,
Arizona State University,
we.
Uh,
we're
able to get a recommendation.
From a review committee.
Saying that we were positioned.
To,
um,
to become.
And honors college.
In,
in academic year 1990,91,
I was being recruited.
Uh,
by another
institution.
Uh,
to come and
create an honors college there.
A member of that search committee phoned
a very well-placed faculty member.
Uh,
in the College of Business at at ASU.
Uh
Lou Grossman
And uh
uh to ask for recommendations,
a recommendation
of,
of me.
Uh,
that faculty member.
Immediately called.
The president of the university and said,
Did you know that Ted Humphrey is being recruited by
And
Um,
The president called me and
said,
I understand that you're thinking of going to this other institution.
Uh,
I said,
yes,
I am.
Because I think they'll give me the freedom to do what it is that I'd really like to do.
And he said,
well,
if you decline that offer.
Uh,
I will,
uh,
I,
I will go to the board of regents and.
Ask them to
create,
uh,
the university Honors College.
And
I really thought that ASU would be the better.
Foundation as a whole.
For what it was that I wanted to do,
and I'd already done all the work there.
I knew all the people.
And so
in June of
Uh,
at,
at
the first summer meeting of the Arizona Board of Regents.
Uh,
the president took me to,
took me to the meeting,
introduced me.
We created the
University honors college
in,
in
the most official way.
I,
I think that one of the keys to the stature of the college,
both within the university.
And
um,
nationally is the fact that
our governing board.
Uh,
actually created the college.
The reason I believe that that's so significant is
That,
uh,
Many honors colleges
subsequently.
have been created by
fiat
by the presidents of their university.
And that means that subsequent presidents could simply
by fiat
declare their non-existence.
So where the
Arizona Board of Regents imprimatur.
Uh,
Our position was such that if someone wanted to undo the work.
They would have to go to
Uh,
They were
They would have to go to our governing board and have the
Governing board.
Uh,
Declare the college no longer existent.
And
in fact,
I,
at Arizona State University,
I've seen a number of programs
come and go
as a matter of
Leadership fiat,
um.
So now we were a college,
and it turns out that one of my primary responsibilities
immediately
became that of recruiting students.
Uh,
and recruiting very good students.
Turns out that
There was a
Uh,
what to call.
There was a group of scholarships.
that was being
used by the
graduate college to recruit graduate students
that
by the,
that had originally
been designated for undergraduates.
Uh,
but they've kind of gone begging.
And as a consequence,
the
It was natural for the college of,
for the graduate college to.
Uh,
use those scholarships.
Well,
Uh,
inasmuch as they were designated,
these were full right tuition.
Scholarships,
uh,
in as much as,
uh,
they were designated for undergraduates,
I began to use them.
I began to award them.
And it was not an insignificant number.
The whole
uh National Merit,
uh,
National Achievement scholar
program was built
on those scholarships as a base,
and
we were able within 3 years to go from
Uh,
using
The institution's primary scholarships either for graduate students or for
Good,
but not absolutely.
From
qualified but not absolutely
wonderfully qualified students,
uh,
for.
You know,
high order students,
students who were
Able to uh
Go to the very best institutions in the country.
Till we got to the point where we.
You know,
uh,
in 1993.
We recruited 127 National Merit Scholars into
Uh,
the university and into the bar,
well into the honors college.
That,
that number 123,
127.
Uh,
students
turned a lot of heads.
It turned heads nationally,
but it also
turned heads internally.
We were in the midst of,
uh,
the university as a whole
was in the midst of,
uh,
a capital campaign.
It was,
it was
that Coors.
Um,
uh,
largest campaign
and the university's largest campaign.
And that's when
Uh,
the Barretts came forward.
Uh,
and
Told Laddie
that they wanted to help out.
They,
they,
they themselves did not have a specific program that they wanted to.
Uh,
support
with
Their gift,
it was a leadership gift of $10 million.
Uh,
but Laddie phoned me and
Asked me about,
asked me whether,
whether and how
such a gift could be used.
To develop the college.
And
we went through a
negotiation with the Barretts.
Uh
To name the college
for them.
Uh,
they,
they did not particularly
want to make a naming endowment.
In fact,
they were opposed to it at first,
and it took a bit of talking.
To get them to lend their name,
and it was very important that the college have a name.
Um,
Because by 1993,
Uh,
other honors operations on the.
The country noticed that we were
on the move that university
creating honors colleges was.
Uh,
a new trend in universities,
and
there were
40 or 45.
University honors college in existence around the uh
around the country at a time,
and
we needed.
We needed a name in order to differentiate
ourselves from
Uh,
all of those
other colleges.
Many people don't realize that Arizona State
University was the first higher educational institution.
In the state of Arizona
came about in a very,
very interesting way.
Um,
in 1885,
there was,
uh,
a territorial election.
Uh,
with respect to
where the state prison should go and where the state teachers college
should go.
And the choices,
interestingly enough,
were
Uh,
the cities of Yuma.
And uh the town of Tempe.
Um,
Uh,
the results of the election,
by the results of the election,
the city of Yuma won
and was awarded the state prison.
Uh,
it,
after all,
was,
uh,
Economically more
important at the time than a state.
Then in a state teachers college.
Um,
so.
Arizona State University
in 1885
was created in Tempe.
Uh,
In
1985,
on the occasion of
Uh,
the centennial.
Um,
the centennial of the State College's
founding,
the now.
Uh,
Arizona State University brought about by a public,
by a,
uh,
Uh,
of
a vote of the people.
Uh,
Oh
Was,
uh,
well,
Arizona State University was celebrating its centennial.
And the Flynn Foundation,
being dedicated both to medicine and education.
Uh,
came to the university and said,
uh,
in celebration of the centennial,
it would award a,
it would give a grant of a total of $1 million
to the university,
um,
With an initial award of $400,000.
Uh,
uh
And completion of the grant at the time.
That the first centennial lecture.
Was,
uh,
was actually completed.
The,
uh,
So,
Um
So now
the university had um
A fund
For a very significant event.
And,
and
it,
at the time,
it
really
needed one.
The most distinguished lecture on campus was the
I ring,
uh,
lecture in chemistry,
which was a
nationally prestigious.
Um,
lecture.
But
there was
But there was nothing there for the university as a whole,
as a whole.
The then provost,
and I'm not quite sure who that provost was.
I think it was
Jack Kinzinger,
um,
Maybe Roland Hayden.
Uh,
no,
because Roland Hayden,
it was with
Roland Hayden that I
actually secured.
The,
uh,
the lectureship.
OK.
I'm pretty sure it was Jack Kentinker,
uh,
went to the deans
and I was not among them in 1985,
uh,
and said,
and,
and said,
we have this opportunity
and
our idea is that,
uh,
The,
the,
the dean who's able to set this up.
Uh,
will
be able to
Uh,
uh,
be able to count on.
Um,
having this lectureship,
not necessarily in perpetuity,
but on a regular basis.
And I'm,
I'm not quite sure.
Which dean it was who went out and uh began negotiating with
President,
uh,
Jimmy Carter.
To
deliver the lecture and a manuscript of
the lecture to the university.
Uh,
for whatever reasons.
Uh,
that particular dean was not able to consummate a contract.
And uh the lectureship in name only
is simply
hung around.
Uh,
until after the University Honors College was
created
and
Uh,
at the time,
Roland Hayden was the.
Acting
Uh,
well,
he was the dean of the College of Engineering,
and he was the
acting provost of the university.
He was
Searching for.
Another
position.
And
He and I got into a conversation.
Uh,
and I,
I,
I had a vision.
For
a centennial lecture.
Uh,
that,
that I brought to him,
but I brought,
uh,
my proposal and my vision to him.
Conditioned on my,
or the college,
I should say,
the colleges
having um
The centennial lecture
in perpetuity.
I was rash enough to say,
I know how to get this done.
Um,
And,
and
because Roland was,
had his eye on showing that
he could
administer
a university
in general,
a whole university and not just
uh,
a college of engineering.
He kind of,
he,
he took me up on it.
Well,
Mhm
I didn't really know how
to get it done.
Uh,
but my feeling was,
That the university should create a,
uh,
a lectureship.
A residential lectureship.
Uh,
that would speak to
The community as a whole,
the academic community,
and
the broader community as a whole.
And I knew that I needed that
uh.
And,
uh,
a readily recognizable
name.
Oh
For,
for the initial
Uh,
for the initial lectureship.
I brought together a group of
Regent's professors who I felt were the most distinguished faculty members we had,
and the faculty members who had
the broadest range of,
uh,
contacts.
Uh-huh.
And we had several conversations.
And finally,
as a group,
we settled on Carlos Fuentes.
We settled on the name of Carlos Fuentes because,
uh,
one,
he,
he's a diplomat,
uh,
he was.
Uh,
A Spanish writing
author.
Whose name was constantly
mentioned for the Nobel.
Uh,
prize in literature.
He
had been awarded several of the most distinguished writing poet
prizes across cultures and so on.
He was an extraordinary speaker.
And
He spoke to our,
his,
he,
he was a person who would
speak to our
Uh
Hispanic faculty.
Our,
uh,
literary faculty,
our political science faculty.
Uh,
he,
he covered,
uh,
an awful lot of.
The
bases
And I wrote directly to him.
Uh,
setting out very general terms.
Uh,
and
I don't know.
I optimistically hope to hear back
within a relatively short amount of time,
but it turns out that
Uh,
all such mail as mine was
shunted to his.
Uh,
agent.
And that not very often,
so.
Quite a while went by,
3 or 4 months went by,
and
I didn't
I didn't hear back from him.
And in the meantime,
uh,
a second name that
The
uh
The group had come up with was the name of Robert Coles.
And again,
he spoke to
a very,
very broad community.
He was,
his work with children of different ethnicities was,
was groundbreaking.
Uh
He offered a,
a
course.
Uh,
over the course,
uh,
during 20 odd years as a faculty member.
Uh,
in citizenship and,
uh,
community contribution,
so on.
So,
uh,
I
I approached him.
And
He responded
fairly quickly and
said he would.
Uh,
he would certainly
consider.
Uh,
inaugurating the series.
I'm sitting in my office,
uh,
maybe within
less than a week after I talked with Robert Coles.
Sitting in my office at about 5 in the afternoon.
Fairly despondent,
and I got a phone call.
From Carlos Fuentes's uh.
Agent
Saying that
they've just read my letter.
They wondered what the deal was.
Uh,
what were we looking for?
And I told uh
You know,
he'd certainly be willing to
come and give a lecture,
and I said,
uh,
it's not just a lecture,
I want a real piece of him.
And,
you know,
I said I want.
10 days
Of his time
And
The agent immediately went to,
well,
how much are you offering?
And
I said,
well,
uh,
$40,000.
And the agent said,
well,
for $40,000 he'll do anything.
So,
uh,
we started with the,
we,
we started negotiations within about a day and a half or so.
We
had a signed contract for
Carlos Fuentes to come and inaugurate,
uh,
the centennial lecture.
I had to go back to Robert Cole's.
And negotiate with him.
Uh
And,
and,
and we came to an agreement
that,
you know,
he,
he would come
the next year,
but he would have to come the next year
and,
uh,
2 installments.
Um,
So,
Thank you for all of these insights.
It's such a
Fascinating
view of how it all began,
and I know we began to talk about the centennial lecture
series today,
and with your permission,
we'll wrap up this recording and schedule another time to talk about
the Centennial lecture series and also the roads.
Would that work for you?
That works for me,
sure.
All right,
well,
Thank you again,
and we will be in touch.