UA 002C - Office of the President (Frank J. Prout) Records, 1939-1951

After the unexpected death of President Roy Offenhauer in 1938, Frank J. Prout (1883-1967) was selected to lead BGSU, serving as President from 1939-1951.  During his twelve-year tenure as President, Prout guided the campus through the difficult years of WWII and oversaw the development of BGSU as it changed from a teachers' college to a university.

World War II caused the student population to decrease drastically as many students were drafted or enlisted in the military. The deflated enrollment meant the university would not be able to pay its faculty. The most viable solution was to secure government training programs. Under Prout’s leadership, the university was chosen as the site for the Navy College Training Program, also known as the V-12 program. With this program in place, the university's financial problems were almost entirely solved. However, there was a shortage of housing.

Dr. Prout ensured that BGSU would be able to handle the increased housing needs caused by the V-12 program during the war as well as the increased enrollment of the post-war era. He took advantage of legislation that allowed universities to issue bonds for building dormitories. Kohl Hall had been financed in this way under President Offenhauer. As a result, several more dormitories were constructed, including Rodgers Hall, and BGSU was able to handle the population increase, while the number of permanent buildings on campus increased to fifty.

The university's national reputation rose thanks to Dr. Prout’s leadership. The construction of cottage-style housing on campus (also known as fraternity and sorority rows) enticed national Greek organizations to accept local fraternities and sororities as chapter. The Graduate College was also founded during this time. By the time of Prout's retirement, enrollment had nearly quadrupled and the total campus acreage doubled from pre-war figures.

Duplication of materials in this collection is permitted for the purposes of preservation and research. No restrictions exist on the use of this collection.  As described in the Visiting Researcher Application Form, researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright.

Materials found in this collection may be duplicated in other University Archives collections including overlaps between this collection and the collections of President Offenhauer and President McDonald.