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Now follows uh 08 65 with uh Doctor Radislav Tso Tsanoff. I take 28. The meter reading is now 605. Well, my name is Radoslav Sarov. I came to race in 1914 to teach philosophy, which I did until the time of retirement in 1956. And five years

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later, the university called me back to active services trustee, distinguished professor of humanities, which I am trying to fulfill right along the present time. All right. Well, let's return to past experience. Rice University has been very fortunate with its past presidents, Dr Levitt at the very

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beginning, set a certain standard for us uh in which uh was very fortunate for us because at the very beginning, uh we were committed to um all around quality in various fields of university work as Rice University is dedicated to the advancement of letters, science and

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art. It isn't very often that uh uh university is uh fortunate in having a succession of good presidents in our case. That has been the case. I remember in the selection of uh uh Doctor Houston, we were uncommonly uh fortunate because he was a person who

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was a mathematician and a physicist, but at the same time, was a, a person with a very broad cultural outlook. Um so that every side of university life got uh uh adequate recognition by him. And uh similar was our experience with uh uh doctor P who

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succeeded him. Although he was professionally a chemist now. Um at present, I think what is important for our present in the future is to uh realize this purpose of the university. Uh that, that it is not a training school for any particular kind of technician, whether

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he'd be a humanist or, or an engineer or a scientist or whatever. But that uh uh we have uh uh in the administration, the same spirit that is expressed in our curriculum of broad uh education across the line for undergraduate work and uh adequate attention to

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uh for graduate study in the various departments. Um We've had so far in in our uh presidential office, mathematicians and scientists, physicists, chemists. Um It is interesting that at present, we have uh as acting president and more most distinguished historian uh uh Doctor Van Der uh

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would have uh made a given a good reputation to the history department on the basis of of work that he's done himself. Uh uh He may be called acting president. And uh I do not see a foregone conclusion that the first word in that description is

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necessarily the last word. I hope that you are, we have a president who uh uh as we do have now, uh who in his own uh work uh of predictive scholarship in his own teaching experience in his own relation to um uh general problems of uh

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faculty administration relation would, would have the same qualities of character that Frank Vander has at present. So what are some of the problems that you see rice uh as a university as a private university uh will have to face in the immediate future? Well, we have

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the advantage of, of uh not being committed to any uh political or uh ecclesiastical uh organization that gives us um uh the, the freedom and the uh uh uh independent uh spirit of operation and development, which is essential to uh university life. And there's a very

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good idea that we have in uh in our American societies. Universities of this sort. On the other hand, especially in the present uh uh economic condition of our country, private universities have difficulty of not having uh not being able to rely on uh uh governmental uh

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provisions of legislatures and so forth for our support. We have to rely therefore on, on the appreciation by uh those in our society who are able to contribute of what the private universities mean in our society. And so you see, there is a uh we have

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advantages and we also have certain uh uh disabilities. Do you think the new tax law that is up before Congress now relating to the philanthropical uh gifts and foundations is going to affect uh the financial future of private education very much. Well, that there's a topic

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that has got more than one side and uh uh I'm not sure that uh one can emphasize either one at the expense of the other. I uh understand that you were on the uh faculty selection committee or the equivalent of, of that at the time, Doctor

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Houston was chosen. And also at the time that Doctor Pitzer was chosen more uh in the case of the former than of the lecturers. I remember uh the, it was a, it was an informal um relation. We were asked to express our general opinion and desires

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and um there was a continual exchange of opinion of this sort and certainly the result was more satisfactory. I think that uh uh Doctor House made uh continued in a very fine way. Uh what already was started uh on a high plane by 11. But uh

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it wasn't just a repetition. It was, we had a similarity of uh of excellence but not exactly in the same way. How were the members of uh that faculty committee chosen? Were they appointed by the board or were they elected or were they? I don't recall.

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I, I can't give you any answer about this matter because they do not recall it. Uh Do you recall whether uh the uh members of the committee held certain administrative positions, uh press as well. No, I don't think that was, I don't think that was the

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case. Some of them did and some did not just sort of the senior senior faculty. Naturally there was an interest in uh in getting the expression of opinion from those who had spent a good part of their life uh in identified with this university. And on

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the other hand, also the opinion of, of a younger men who could bring a different and fresh points of view. And I think both are important. Do you see any change of direction that Rice University has taken in the last uh 05 or six years uh

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or is it uh continuous, what's marked uh rice along the line has been uh a continued development all all along the line and, and what, what they should, the university is just like a person uh unless it grows and develops, it uh it becomes stagnant. The

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good is not only in the past, but it is not all uh in the present in the future. Either I think we need a broad open mind about this matter, freedom of, of discussion, but without any initial partisanship or what is marked, right? So far as

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that as I remember that we've never had any uh any wrangles or any cliques in our university. And, and I think that's an important, we have differ, we differ in our view sometimes, but we also have a tolerant respect in regard to the ideas of others

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in the presidential selection crisis that took place in um in February. What was your reaction to this, uh, this four day crisis? Well, I was not a member of the, of the committee and I do not know uh exactly what uh the experience was um there.

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But uh that uh if uh uh the committee was appointed, was not uh uh given a chance to express its ideas more than once. Well, there was some ground I suppose for dissatisfaction there. On the other hand, the uh speaking particularly of Doctor Masterson, um I

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can say that there was a very good selection because he was a person graduate of race devoted to race. Uh They've already shown a good uh in, in administration. So I, I'm sorry that uh uh yeah, the uh but the place really in any way reflected

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on him or he was not entitled to it. Oh, if he had become, um if he had been able to assume his office, um what uh what are some of the things you would have expected him to accomplish during his presidency? Do you have any ideas

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about that? On the basis of what, you know, of the man and his educational philosophy? I think he would have, he would have done very good work for him. It did. So I know she tells me how uh what opinion do you have of uh Doctor

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Merson? I said very high and I, I think so too. Now, on the other hand, uh, uh, the Frank Vander who has succeeded him is, uh, is certainly a very fine choice. I think it's, um, very, um, wisely perhaps and certainly, and, uh, rightly regarding himself,

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definitely as acting president. On the other hand, he is a very good president, in my opinion. Would you personally like to see him, uh, assume the office on a more permanent basis? Surgery if one word is enough? That's my answer. Hold on. Do you think this,

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uh February uh, episode, uh, harmed rise in any way or do you think it was just a minor? Uh, well, um, any, uh, any relation between the different groups in our university, uh that uh involves uh conflict of, of opinion and in a certain uh emotion

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naturally, it is not good for the university at the same time. Uh, race is, has a very solid, healthy constitution and I think it's outgrown this and it will not grow many more like it and I hope they will not come. Um, I may say however,

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that that is in so far as the relation of the faculty, the administration is concerned through the years, I think it's been uh very good and, and there are many of us, great, many who, who uh keep in mind the fact that uh on the board

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of trustees, we have men, uh who year after year given of their energy and every time it purely out of devotion to the welfare of our institution of what it signifies in our society. And uh that is not a matter that uh anyone uh on the

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campus uh should ever allow himself to forget. Have you been aware of a, of a um an attitude among some of the younger faculty members of uh looking at the board of trustees as Men of Commerce. Uh you know, um I part of the establishment part

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of the military industrial complex. Uh well, um as to that now, I'm AAA professor Emeritus who is uh recalled to active service. I don't have the uh inclination to uh uh look to the past years as the best years and to criticize the newcomers, they've got

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their ideas and uh after all their uh for the present for the future, there will be the faculty making of the university and I, I'm not inclined to uh therefore to uh to stand on a, on a patriarchal seat and criticize them. At the same time,

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I don't always uh uh agree with other justices. They may not agree with me. I think we have to work this thing together. I don't mean old and young and also faculty and trustees both and the, the right is not on one side in every situation.

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How do you account for this uh this uh how, how do you explain this to yourself about uh how or why this happened. I don't know. That's a matter that you can explain very easily in a, in a few words. And I think that the best

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way for us now at present is to, uh, take the situation at present as it is and deal with it fairly and tolerantly and look to the future and, uh, mulling over, uh, some past disagreements I don't think is a much better and that would be

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my hazard to future question of yours of the same sort, you know. Um uh As far as I know there uh um has not been an oral history project on uh Rice University as a history of the private educational institution, say from 1913 until the present,

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it would be very interesting to uh record, for instance, the uh the memories, the private memoirs of men like you who have been closely associated. Well, there are a number of efforts along that line that in fact, what we call it, uh Archives of Rice have

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been collected started many years ago by uh uh the first bursar and assistant to the to doctor Lovett Mr mccants. And then we continued later on here, especially um M Beer for Turnbull has done very, very fine work along that line. Um So we're not without

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materials in that respect. Well, you have a great deal of materials. Would it, would it be any help uh to supplement these with uh with recorded memoirs in the oral history format. Uh That might be a good idea. I think in other words, uh would uh

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would a distinguished man such as you find time to write an autobiography? This would be one way of doing it in a very easy way. I'm interested in autobiography, very much interested in autobiographies of other persons. I see. Well, in regard to the History of Rice,

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uh whose biography would you be interested in knowing a great deal about? I would assume that uh some of the people now who are closely, well racist. Malcolm Lovett would have memoirs of great value, I would think because um uh the race would never have been

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what it is now. Uh had it not been started as it was started by his father. And I think it's the most fortunate thing that we have now as president of the board, uh the son of a first president because you have there uh a certain

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personal continuous and a certain, there's not only institutional but also filial there, which is a very fine thing for a university. I think that choice of Malcolm Le as president was of the, I'm the chairman of the board of trustees was a remarkably wise move. Well,

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well, thank you for taking the time. That was uh Doctor Radislav, a Sonov trustee, distinguished professor of humanities. He was in the um in the rare book room and I uh asked him to join me for a short conversation. Uh, he, he declined, uh, a more

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lengthy interview.