Background on William F. Field
William F. Field relaxing on couch, ca. 1971
William F. Field was the first Dean of Students at the University of Massachusetts and not only held the post for 27 years, but held it during some of the institution's most radical growth and maturing, a period known for both student and faculty unrest and activism. Field, a World War II veteran who served as a sergeant in the Pacific, earned a BA from West Chester (PA) State College in 1947, an M.Ed. from Temple the same year, and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Education from the University of Maryland in 1951. Soon after receiving his doctorate, Field began at UMass as a guidance counselor and assistant professor of psychology, becoming the first Dean of Students ten years later in 1961.
As Dean, Field saw the student population grow from 7,000 when he began to over 25,000 when he retired in 1988. To meet the flood of students, Field founded the Financial Aid, and Admissions offices, the Student Activities Program, and was instrumental in the development of the University Health Services. He also oversaw the expansion of housing to meet the needs of this growing population, introduced co-ed dorms (1966), and eliminated curfews for all students except freshmen women. Field also saw the student population diversify with the development of the Committee for the Collegiate Education of Black and Other Minority Students (CCEBMS) in 1967 and the first CCEBMS class of 125 students in 1968.
Perhaps Field's most powerful legacy as Dean of Students was his handling of campus unrest, specifically during the takeover of Mills House in 1970 and the anti-Vietnam War protests spring of that same year. Since the inauguration of the first CCEBMS class in 1968, black students and faculty on campus had been working with University administration to create a more supportive academic, artistic, safe, and sensitive environment on campus for minority students. When racial violence broke out on campus in February 1970 and the subsequent black student occupation of Mills House, Dean Field worked with faculty and students to not only resolve the unrest peacefully, but helped the crisis become a catalyst to fulfill the earlier demands of minority students and faculty.
That spring, following President Nixon’s order to send troops to Cambodia, as well as the trial of the “New Haven 8” and the shooting of four students at Kent State College, student strikes spread across the country. UMass students went on strike on May 5th and occupied the Student Union Building and Memorial Hall. The Strike Steering Committee resolved to have a violence-free strike and arranged workshops on non-violent demonstrations some of which were attended by some fifty state legislators. The administration approved of the takeovers and strongly encouraged peaceful demonstrations. Unlike other campuses where students resolved to violence and bombings, the students at the University of Massachusetts demanded the appropriation of Dickinson Hall, which served as the home of the ROTC, into a daycare center.
Dean Field and other administrators are credited for their serious and level-headed approach to student unrest during this period, an approach which helped to prevent crises and protests from spiraling out of control. Though there had been incidents, the relative lack of violence and injuries to students were in stark contrast to many other campuses in the country where students resolved to acts of sabotage which saw the destruction of some thirty ROTC buildings causing millions of dollars in damages. Upon his retirement in 1988, Dean Field said he felt he was proud to leave his job knowing that during the Vietnam War protests, no University of Massachusetts students were arrested or injured.
