Syracuse University: Volume III: The Critical Years

The latest volume in the history of Syracuse University volume covers the period 1922 to 1942. It carries the story of the University through the administrations of Chancellors Charles Wesley Flint and William Pratt Graham from the prosperous 1920s through the years of the Depression to the brink of World War II, with the critical decisions those years required.

This was a period of modest growth and of extensive money-raising programs. It was also a period when the composition of the student body underwent a major change. The University gradually changed from a predominately Methodist institution into a private, nonsectarian institution.

Despite fiscal problems, the University made many significant advances during those years: the now-famous Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and School of Journalism were established; enrollment in the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University and the Teachers College grew considerably; and the interdenominational Hendricks Chapel was erected, a symbol at the center of campus of the changing character of the University.