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Being Lucky

Reminiscences and Reflections

The Complete Edition

In his absorbing autobiography, Herman B Wells, the legendary past president of Indiana University, recalls his small town boyhood, the strong influence of his parents, and his pioneering work with Indiana banks during the Great Depression. His contact with IU began as an undergraduate in 1921 when the still provincial school had fewer than 3,000 students. At the end of his 25-year tenure as president in 1962, IU was a university with an international reputation and a student body that would soon exceed 30,000. Wells' reflections on his years as university president are both lighthearted and serious. They describe in welcome detail how he approached the job, his observations on administration, his thoughts on academic freedom and tenure, his approach to student and alumni relations, and his views on the role of the university as a cultural center. And they include his fifty maxims for young college presidents. Finally Wells discusses the national and international service that helped shape his presidency and the university. Being Lucky is a nourishing brew of the memories, advice, wit, and wisdom of a remarkable man. This complete edition restores over a dozen fascinating vignettes and talks by Wells that were cut from the original edition.

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Table of Contents

  • Cover
  • Title
  • Copyright
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • To Begin . . .
  • Preface to the Reprinting
  • Why I Wrote Being Lucky and What Was Edited Out
  • Preface to the Complete Edition (Gary Dunham)
  • Preparation for the Presidency
    • 1 Growing Up in Jamestown and the County Seat
    • 2 Widening Horizons
    • 3 What It Was Really Like
    • 4 Country Bank Failures
    • 5 Reopening, Reconstruction, and Reform
    • 6 Apprenticeship in Academic Administration
    • Addressing Freshman Business Students
    • 7 The Fate of a Noncandidate
  • The Presidency
    • 8 A Few Observations on Collegial Administration
    • 9 How to Succeed without Really Trying
    • 10 Money, Money, But Never Enough
    • Vignette of J. Paul Getty
    • 11 The Private Sector: Indiana University Foundation
    • They Made a Difference
    • 12 Academic Freedom and Tenure
    • Addressing the A.A.U.P.
    • An Interesting Sidelight
    • 13 To Make Room for the Future
    • 14 Student and Alumni Relationships
    • A Message from Santa Claus
    • 15 Culture to the Crossroads
    • 16 The University Looks Abroad
    • Vignette of the King of Thailand
    • 17 Academic Ferment
    • The Lilly Influence
  • National and International Service
    • 18 A Trip and a New Awareness
    • 19 A Glorious Experience in the Springtime of My Career
    • 20 With Clay in Occupied Germany
    • Vignette of John Foster Dulles
    • 21 One World or None
    • Vignette of Wendell Willkie
    • 22 An Unusual Mission to the U.S.S.R.
    • 23 Education and World Affairs
    • Vignette of Harold Macmillan
    • 24 The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
    • 25 The American Council on Education and an Introduction to International Associations
    • 26 The Educational Policies Commission
    • 27 The Roots of PBS
    • 28 Trying to Do One’s Share
    • 29 With My Hat on the Back of My Head
    • Vignette of the King of Kings, Lion of Judah, Emperor of Ethiopia
    • Vignette of the Shah of Iran
  • Beyond the Presidency
    • 30 The Summing Up
    • 31 The University Chancellor
    • 32 Epilogue
  • Appendix
    • A. Chronology
    • B. Traditional Rite at Freshman Convocation
    • C. Time on Wells
    • D. Taking the Arts to the People
    • E. Telegrams from General Lucius Clay
    • F. Directors, Indiana University Foundation, 1980
    • G. Indiana University 150th Birthday Fund Subscriptions
    • H. Message to the University Community, November 1, 1968
    • I. Indiana University Technical-Assistance Projects
    • J. Special Commissions and Committees
    • K. “All’s Wells That Ends Well”

Metadata

  • isbn
    978-0-253-05726-6
  • publisher
    Indiana University Press
  • publisher place
    Bloomington, Indiana USA
  • rights
    Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND
  • rights holder
    Trustees of Indiana University
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