Harold William Browning (1893-1987) served as professor and head of the Botany Department, Acting Dean of Sciences, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Vice President of the College, and Acting Dean of Men to the University of Rhode Island from 1920-1962. By his ability, hard work, scholarship, and dedication to serving others, he contributed to the evolution of Rhode Island State College into a major university by advocating the change from a technically-oriented college into a broad spectrum institution that would become the University of Rhode Island.
A graduate of South Kingstown High School, he earned highest honors for four years at Rhode Island State College while also participating in extracurricular activities such as president of the Athletic Association, president of his junior class, managing editor of the student paper, The Beacon, associate editor of The Grist, and a charter member and sometime president of the fraternity, Theta Chi. He was elected a member of Phi Kappa Phi at the end of his junior year in 1913.
After graduating from the college, he was awarded a graduate assistantship and later a fellowship to sustain his graduate studies in Botany at the University of Wisconsin, which led to a Master of Science degree in 1916 and (after a two-year hiatus as Pharmacist’s Mate and Chief Gunner’s Mate, U.S. Navy, during World War I) to his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1920. During the last year of his graduate studies, he was Instructor in Botany at the University of Wisconsin.
Dr. Browning returned to Rhode Island State College in September in 1920, as professor and head of the Botany Department, of which he was the sole member. He soon recruited Botany faculty members who developed both undergraduate and graduate instruction and who achieved national and international recognition. His administrative role was expanded by the temporary additional duty of Acting Dean of Science in 1930-1931 and again in 1940-1941. He left his duties in the Botany Department after 22 years there in 1942, when he was appointed to the triple administrative responsibilities of Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Vice President of the College, and Acting Dean of Men. A new Dean of Men was appointed five years later, but Dr. Browning continued to serve as both Dean of Arts and Sciences and Vice President for 18 years until 1960, when a new Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences was appointed.
In the "Faculty Memorandum" given at the dedication of Browning Hall, Dean Browning was said to be " prime mover in the state-wide ideologic and pedagogic debate, the struggle to win support from the citizenry and the press, approval by the Board of Trustees, and to win funding from the Rhode Island General Assembly. His efforts also contributed greatly to a committee study concluding that Rhode Island State College had become a University and that its name should be charged to the University of Rhode Island. The Committee on College policy, the General Faculty, the President and the Board of Trustees of State Colleges all concurred, and the Rhode Island General Assembly promptly enacted legislation creating the University."
Dean Browning died on May 27, 1987. He was honored by the University of Rhode Island on May 12, 1962, in the dedication of Browning Hall.
Biographical information was written by Leslie Tobias Olson and was taken from "Harold William Browning. A Resolution" written by Robert W. Harrison, September 9, 1987. A copy of the resolution can be found in the folder entitled Browning , Harold William. A Resolution.
Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
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Records of Harold W. Browning, Rec. Gr. 134, University of Rhode Island.
The records of Harold W. Browning span a major part of Kingston Rhode Island’s history and the histories of Rhode Island State College, and its successor, the University of Rhode Island. Rhode Island State College, founded as the Rhode Island State Agricultural School and Experiment Station in 1888, became Rhode Island State College in 1909, and the University of Rhode Island in 1951. The earliest documents, consisting of accounts, bills, and receipts date from 1789 and are found in the Browning Family Series. The latest missives, found in the Subject File, are dated 1985. The records were originally transferred to the archives in two separate accessions. The first, consisting almost entirely of speeches, was transferred to Special Collections prior to 1974. The Browning family gave the second, a disparate aggregation of personal and professional materials, in January of 2001.
At the time of their arrival, the file titles were no indication of file content. Some records were arranged by subject, while the bulk were in no particular order. The conditions of the files are as varied as their contents. At one extreme are news clippings and inspirational aphorisms excised from magazines and newspapers. These are frequently in poor or fragile condition. At the other extreme are several folders of correspondence and documents devoted to institutional correspondence, and administrative matters, including policy and planning.
After processing, the records were arranged in five series:
Series I, Subject File document both Browning’s personal and professional life and activities. His tenure at URI is exemplified by correspondence with every president between Howard Edwards (1906-1930) and Francis Horn (1958-1967). Revealing of Dr. Browning’s personal philosophies of education and management is a spate of letters between him and President Horn. The Subject Files also contain references to Browning’s roles in the University’s administration, the Department of Botany, and his engagement in local, national, professional and fraternal organizations.
As an administrator, Dr. Browning participated in dramatic and epochal events in the University’s history. Of particular interest are letters and reports documenting the metamorphosis of Rhode Island State College into the University of Rhode Island. Equally insightful are records referencing several contentious issues from the University’s past. Among these are letters, memos, and notes involving the proposed dismissal and untimely death of Dr. Lucille Itter, Chair of the Foreign Languages Department, (1959-1960) the dismissal of football coach Herbert Maack, (1960, 1961) and an early and convoluted obscenity case embroiling Assistant Professor of English James D. Brasch (1965, 1966).
The majority of topics in this series deal with less volatile matters, and refer primarily to Browning’s many organizational obligations. He was an inveterate "joiner" and belonged to a myriad of civic, social and service organizations. To cite but a few examples, he was an active participant in Freemasonry, the Grange, the Knight Templars, the British Empire Club, and the Rhode Island Council of Churches. Series I contains numerous documents devoted to these groups and others. Exemplary items include invitations, agendas, minutes, and pamphlets. Also of special interest are several short papers on local history and people composed by Dr. Browning. Titles for these documents reflect Dr. Browning’s local antecedents, with resonant titles such as "Rambling Reminiscences of a South Countyite" and "Some Casualties of the Hurricane of 1938".
Also of interest are documents concerning the early history of television at the University of Rhode Island. These programs were produced or sponsored by URI between 1952 and 1953. They were aired on what was then Rhode Island’s only television station, WJAR in Providence. Exemplary offerings include "Let’s Have the Facts" a public affairs program, "Pro and Con" covering local political issues, and "Needles and Pins" a series of shows devoted to the domestic arts. Segments from the latter include demonstrations covering the installation of zippers, setting sleeves, and making dress collars. Apparently "Needles and Pins" was not an unqualified success. While several viewers expressed pleasure at the show’s practical contents, a disgruntled fan of "Morning Matinee" wrote WJAR to complain about the sudden disappearance of her favorite movies. Included in the files are scripts, program outlines, and correspondence.
Of note is also the information collected by Browning relating to the land acquisitions of the University of Rhode Island from 1888 until 1967. Recorded are property locations and original ownership along with dates of acquisition.
Series II, Board of Trustees of State Colleges, documents Dr. Browning appointment to the Board of Trustees of State Colleges (1963 –1966). In this capacity he and his colleagues oversaw the planning, finances, and operation of the state colleges and universities. Among the materials contained in this series are the master plan for Rhode Island Junior College, minutes of the URI Alumni Association Executive Committee, budget drafts and related correspondence, financial statements, and policy and procedure manuals.
Series III, Speeches, contains typescripts and carbons as well as handwritten drafts of speeches delivered between 1926 and 1962. Dr. Browning was a prolific speaker, occasionally called upon to address two or even three audiences in a given day. Each speech was meticulously prepared, and it was not uncommon for Dr. Browning to produce three or four drafts before settling on a final version. The contents of these monologues often incorporated the aphorisms described in Series I. His audiences ranged from local historical organizations to national academic bodies, while topically he discoursed on education, religion, sports, and dozens of other subjects.
Series IV, Browning Family is a heterogeneous collection of bills, receipts, family papers, obituaries, transcribed verse and memorabilia relating to the history of the Browning family in South Kingston. Representative of the contents of this series are accounts, bills and receipts dated between 1789 and 1872, synopsizes of several estates, and school papers created by Dr. Browning.
Series V, Photographs, documents the institutional events and activities in which Dr. Browning participated during his tenure. Photographs of special events predominate, exemplified by the awarding of honorary degrees, convocations, and other singular or memorable situations. Of particular noteworthiness are photographs of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s honorary degree, awarded on August 1, 1960. The series also contains images of campus noteworthies Dean George E. Adams, and Presidents Carl Woodward and Francis Horn.
The collection is arranged in five series as follows:
The records were originally transferred to the archives in two separate accessions. The first, consisting almost entirely of speeches, was transferred to Special Collections prior to 1974. The Browning family gave the second, a disparate aggregation of personal and professional materials, in January of 2001.
Series I, Subject File, documents both Browning’s (H. W. B.) personal and professional life and activities. His tenure at URI is exemplified by correspondence with every president between Howard Edwards (1906- 1930) and Francis Horn (1958- 1967). Revealing of Dr. Browning’s personal philosophies of education and management is a spate of letters between him and President Horn. The Subject Files also contain references to Browning’s roles in the University’s administration, the Department of Botany, and his engagement in local, national, professional and fraternal organizations.
As an administrator, Dr. Browning participated in dramatic and epochal events in the University’s history of particular interest are letters and reports documenting the metamorphosis of Rhode Island State College into the University of Rhode Island. Equally insightful are records referencing several contentious issues from the University’s past. Among these are letters, memos, and notes involving the proposed dismissal and untimely death of Dr. Lucille Itter, Chair of the Foreign Languages Department, (1959- 1960) the dismissal of football coach Herbert Maack, (1960, 1961) and an early and convoluted obscenity case embroiling Assistant Professor of English James D. Brasch (1965, 1966).
The majority of topics in this series deal with less volatile matters, and refer primarily to Browning’s many organizational obligations. He was an inveterate "joiner" and belonged to a myriad of civic, social and service organizations. To cite but a few examples, he was an active participant in Freemasonry, the Grange, the Knight Templars, the British Empire Club, and the Rhode Island Council of Churches. Series I contains numerous documents devoted to these groups and others. Exemplary items include invitations, agendas, minutes, and pamphlets. Also of special interest are several short papers on local history and people composed by Dr. Browning. Titles for these documents reflect Dr. Browning’s local antecedents, with resonant titles such as "Rambling Reminiscences of a South Countyite" and "Some Casualties of the Hurricane of 1938".
Also of interest are documents concerning the early history of television at the University of Rhode Island. These programs were produced or sponsored by URI between 1952 and 1953. They were aired on what was then Rhode Island’s only television station, WJAR in Providence. Exemplary offerings include "Let’s Have the Facts" a public affairs program, "Pro and Con" covering local political issues, and "Needles and Pins" a series of shows devoted to the domestic arts. Segments from the latter include demonstrations covering the installation of zippers, setting sleeves, and making dress collars. Apparently "Needles and Pins" was not an unqualified success. While several viewers expressed pleasure at the show’s practical contents, a disgruntled fan of "Morning Matinee" wrote WJAR to complain about the sudden disappearance of her favorite movies. Included in the files are scripts, program outlines, and correspondence.
Board of Trustees of State Colleges, documents Dr. Browning's (H. W. B.) appointment to the Board of Trustees of State Colleges (1963 –1966). In this capacity he and his colleagues oversaw the planning, finances, and operation of the State Colleges and universities. Among the Materials contained in this series are the Master plan for Rhode Island Junior College, minutes of the URI Alumni Association Executive Committee, budget drafts and related correspondence, financial Statements, and policy and procedure Manuals.
Speeches, contains typescripts and carbons as well as handwritten drafts of speeches delivered between 1926 and 1962. Dr. Browning was a prolific speaker, occasionally called upon to address two or even three audiences in a given day. Each speech was meticulously prepared, and it was not uncommon for Dr. Browning to produce three or four drafts before settling on a final version. The contents of these monologues often incorporated the aphorisms described in Series I. His audiences ranged from local historical organizations to national academic bodies, while topically he discoursed on education, religion, sports, and dozens of other subjects.
Browning Family is a heterogeneous collection of bills, receipts, family papers, obituaries, transcribed verse and memorabilia relating to the history of the Browning family in South Kingston. Representative of the contents of this series are accounts, bills and receipts dated between 1789 and 1872, synopsizes of several estates, and school papers created by Dr. Browning.
Photographs, documents the institutional events and activities in which Dr. Browning (H. W. B.) participated during his tenure. Photographs of special events predominate, exemplified by the awarding of honorary degrees, convocations, and other singular or memorable situations. of particular noteworthiness are photographs of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s honorary degree, awarded on August 1,1960. The series also contains images of campus note-worthies Dean George E. Adams, and president’s Carl Woodward and Francis Horn.