Life During Early Years Of The College
Even though faculty were assigned to a specific college and department, hiring was based on the faculty member being part of a much wider community of interest: the university, the college, the civic community, and community life, especially participating in Omaha's arts and business associations.
This aspect of university life, along with classroom performance, was considered more important than research and publication. To insure that faculty candidates understood that faculty members were more than university professors, the hiring process included interviews with such individuals as each college dean, Dean of Men, Dean of Women, student placement, the vice president of financial affairs, members of the college's faculty, and President Bail. At the end of a day's interviewing, the candidate knew the high professional and civic level of expectations that accompanied a faculty position should one be extended. Professionalism included proper attire. For men, suits; and for women, dresses, or skirts and blouses. The concept of "dress down" or dressing informally did not exist. For example, when one faculty member reported for work one day wearing a "Johnny Carson type of turtle-neck" sweater he was informed that he could not go to class until he was properly attired in a standard suit with a regular shirt and tie.
Office space was at a premium. During the early 1950s, the Administration Building (Now Arts and Sciences Hall) housed, in addition to faculty offices and classrooms, the library, bookstore, the Registrar, separate cafeterias for students and faculty and a small dining room that could be reserved for special dinners. Restrooms had separate areas for faculty. Most faculty shared an office. Offices lacked privacy since each door had one clear glass modesty window and faculty were discouraged from covering that window for historical reasons stemming from alleged faculty "hanky-panky with students." Even though the shared office had a door from its anteroom, the wall holding the door was little higher than the door. In effect, any agile person could climb over the wall and compromise any papers, such as examinations, that might be left on a desk. More than one examination was seen ahead of its scheduled time of administration.
Except for an air-conditioned Administration Building, cooled by well water, other campus buildings with faculty offices were not cooled during warm weather. When faculty housed in the Administration Building were not to be present during the summer, they were expected to leave their respective offices in such condition that teachers from the non-air conditioned parts of the campus could be assigned to their offices during the summer sessions.
A variety of social and academic events occurred during the academic year: Faculty meetings, parties, and picnics were regular occurrences. Faculty members were expected to attend University Faculty meetings, convocations, and to wear academic regalia for graduation ceremonies. The president's secretary checked off attendance as professors entered the meeting place.
Usually toward the end of the academic year, Dr. Bail would host a dinner for the faculty-wives and husbands were included. (Significant others did not exist openly in those days). The dinners were first-rate affairs usually held in local hotels such as the Fontenelle or the Blackstone. One special dinner was held in the Auditorium of the Administration Building in the fall of 1955 when Dr. Bail was crowned King of Ak-Sar-Ben. Lavish entertainment was expected of the king. Dr. Bail made it clear to Ak-Sar-Ben and others that he could not afford to undertake opulent affairs. His dinners and other festivities appropriate to the occasion would be more modest and would not include alcoholic beverages. The dinner for the faculty had an international quality since food-court type booths were arranged on the open floor of the auditorium with each booth offering ethnic food choices.
Business administration faculty usually reserved the pavilion in Elmwood Park for an annual pot-luck type of picnic. These were well attended and helped bring about closer relationships among the faculty, especially their children.
Regardless of one's academic discipline, it was common that many close friendships resulted among the faculty as a result of almost everyone having an office in the Administration Building. The expansion of the campus through new buildings and the separation of faculty did not affect these friendships. However, later campus expansion injected physical as well as philosophical barriers to easily continued faculty interaction as a normal part of campus life.