Dr. A. D. Albright This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. albright100699

   www.cincypost.com/living/1999/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/6/2002   Last Visited: 6/6/2002

   A. D. Albright: He guided growth at NKU
   
   ...
   When Albright attended DePauw University in Indiana in the 1930s, money problems during the Depression forced him to drop out after two years and go to work to earn enough to be able to return for his final two years.
   
   He worked briefly with the federal government's bureau of plant industry, battling a wheat disease called black stem rust, then joined an oil company that supplied parts and accessories to New York gas stations.
   
   But he finally decided that the fastest way back to college was his right arm, which he used playing one-nighters as a baseball gun-for-hire in the semi-pro Ohio-Michigan-Indiana league. "They called it semi-pro, but it was less than semi," Albright said. Nonetheless, it speeded his return to college by allowing him to earn "more than I could working 10 hours anywhere else."
   
   The most distinctive feature about the young pitcher's appearance was a droopy auburn mustache - a look he chose, not for flair, but as a disguise to prevent any scouts who might glimpse him from matching him up with a young amateur named Albright who was clean-shaven when he played baseball and basketball as a five-letter man in college.
   
   Someone willing to go to those lengths to attend college perhaps made Albright the perfect person to be in there pitching for NKU as the young school mushroomed in the 1970s from a relatively small campus largely unknown even within the tri-state to a widely respected institution that has become a rallying point for Northern Kentucky.
   
   Albright took over NKU at perhaps the most critical period in its three-decade history, guiding the university to maturity as enrollment doubled to more than 10,000 and $40 million in construction gave an identity to the sprawling Highland Heights campus.
   
   Even more important, he brought order, unity and dignity from the chaos, dissension and scandal that he inherited when he became president in 1976.
   
   ...
   Needing someone whose reputation and talents would pour oil on the school's troubled waters, the regents turned to then-63-year-old Albright, head of Kentucky's Council on Public Higher Education. A longtime top administrator at the University of Kentucky, Albright had been the regents' first choice for the job in 1969, but declined the offer then because of a commitment to a year-long Fulbright lectureship in Belgium.
   
   For Albright, Northern's presidency was the culmination of a long climb through academia that began more than four decades earlier on the semi-pro baseball diamonds throughout the Midwest where he played to finance his college education.
   
   Born in March 1913 in Washington, D.C., Albright became a foster child at 2 1/2 in the home of a laborer and a housewife. "They weren't in poverty, but certainly had no accumulation of funds," he said. From the time he was 5, his foster parents constantly impressed the importance of education on him. "They'd tell me, 'The world's changing, and if you want to be a vital part of it, you've got to get all the education you can,' " he recalled.
   
   They also instilled a strong work ethic and values such as thrift in their foster son. At 9, they opened a bank account in which he deposited the earnings from a paper route, and for the next seven years, he saved $100 annually.
   
   That was enough to get him started at DePauw, but not enough to prevent him from having to drop out to save up more money. He finally completed his bachelor's degree at Milligan College in Tennessee in 1937.
   
   The following year, he received a master's degree from the University of Tennessee, and in 1950, he earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from New York University.
   
   Following a series of positions in public education in Tennessee, he became a professor of education at George Peabody College for Teachers (now part of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville. In 1954, he moved to the University of Kentucky as director of the Bureau of School Services and professor of education. Over the next 19 years, he filled a handful of other administrative posts at UK, including executive vice president of planning in the early 1970s.
   
   During the 1960s, Albright had twice been a finalist in presidential searches at UK, and once served as acting president. His failure to get the appointment on either occasion, many felt, stemmed largely from officials' desire to reach outside the university for a new leader.
   
   In 1973, he was appointed executive director of the Kentucky Council of Higher Education and over the next four years developed a long-term planning strategy for the state's colleges and universities. The council had been formed to prevent schools from battling each other for funds from the legislature and to minimize the competition for academic glory that often resulted in the duplication of programs and facilities.
   
   While NKU's newness brought with it some liabilities when Albright stepped into the presidency - notably, a lack of tradition or strong backing by the community and alumni - Albright felt it offered greater advantages.
   
   "The institution is not set in concrete," he said two months into his seven-year tenure. "It does not have 100 years of history to overcome that we can't develop innovative and imaginative programs that are addressed to the current needs and the future. We are not steeped so heavily in what was."
   
   Beyond restoring stability and boosting morale in administration-faculty relations, Albright also set four major academic goals: developing a high-quality undergraduate program; enhancing professional studies in fields such as law, education and nursing; promoting research and other services for the community; and experimenting with innovative programs.
   
   By the time Albright decided to relinquish the presidency in late 1982, all four had been accomplished. He took particular pride in the fourth mission, pointing to experimental courses such as one on business ethics created by combining business and philosophy classes that have earned NKU a reputation for progressive curriculum.
   
   Another of his major successes was saving the Chase College of Law from extinction in the early 1980s amid a push by some state legislators to reduce the number of law schools in Kentucky. In that effort, Albright proved himself to be a master politician. Rather than waging a public battle after picking up hints that a serious attempt would be made to eliminate the school, he instead quietly lined up support behind the scenes. When the legislature convened, not a word was mentioned about NKU's law school. The alliances that he forged among legislators and community leaders through gatherings at his home helped launch the Northern Kentucky Legislative Caucus, producing ongoing dividends for the region.
   
   The Albright years at NKU also saw the construction of new classroom buildings and the first on-campus student housing, a health center named in his honor and planning for a sports complex.
   
   "No one has left a more positive or lasting mark on higher education in Kentucky," former U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford once said of Albright.
   ...
   Noting that Albright turned down numerous other career opportunities during his years at NKU to remain in Kentucky, Ford added: "He showed us what loyalty is all about."
   ...
   Inducted into the Northern Kentucky Leadership Hall of Fame in 1998, Albright, now 86, continues to work part-time as an education consultant from his home in Wilmore, Ky., just south of Lexington.
   
   "An old fire horse, when he hears the bell, may charge out of the firehouse every once in a while," he said, laughing.
   
   Publication date: 10-06-99

2. 2. albright100699

   www.cincypost.com/living/1999/ - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/8/2001   Last Visited: 5/8/2001

   A. D. Albright : He guided growth at NKU.
   
   ...
   When Albright attended DePauw University in Indiana in the 1930s , money problems during the Depression forced him to drop out after two years and go to work to earn enough to be able to return for his final two years.
   
   He worked briefly with the federal government's bureau of plant industry , battling a wheat disease called black stem rust , then joined an oil company that supplied parts and accessories to New York gas stations.
   
   But he finally decided that the fastest way back to college was his right arm , which he used playing one-nighters as a baseball gun-for-hire in the semi-pro Ohio-Michigan-Indiana league. ''They called it semi-pro , but it was less than semi , '' Albright said. Nonetheless , it speeded his return to college by allowing him to earn ''more than I could working 10 hours anywhere else.''.
   
   The most distinctive feature about the young pitcher's appearance was a droopy auburn mustache - a look he chose , not for flair , but as a disguise to prevent any scouts who might glimpse him from matching him up with a young amateur named Albright who was clean-shaven when he played baseball and basketball as a five-letter man in college.
   
   Someone willing to go to those lengths to attend college perhaps made Albright the perfect person to be in there pitching for NKU as the young school mushroomed in the 1970s from a relatively small campus largely unknown even within the tri-state to a widely respected institution that has become a rallying point for Northern Kentucky.
   
   Albright took over NKU at perhaps the most critical period in its three-decade history , guiding the university to maturity as enrollment doubled to more than 10 , 000 and $ 40 million in construction gave an identity to the sprawling Highland Heights campus.
   
   Even more important , he brought order , unity and dignity from the chaos , dissension and scandal that he inherited when he became president in 1976.
   
   Prior to Albright's arrival , the school - then Northern Kentucky State College - was floundering in disorganization and controversy in the wake of alleged misconduct by his predecessor , W. Frank Steely , its first president.
   
   Untenured faculty members charged that their dismissals were related to disagreements with their superiors , not their performance. The turmoil came to a head in 1975.
   ...
   Needing someone whose reputation and talents would pour oil on the school's troubled waters , the regents turned to then-63-year-old Albright , head of Kentucky's Council on Public Higher Education. A longtime top administrator at the University of Kentucky , Albright had been the regents' first choice for the job in 1969 , but declined the offer then because of a commitment to a year-long Fulbright lectureship in Belgium.
   
   For Albright , Northern's presidency was the culmination of a long climb through academia that began more than four decades earlier on the semi-pro baseball diamonds throughout the Midwest where he played to finance his college education.
   
   Born in March 1913 in Washington , D.C. , Albright became a foster child at 2 1/2 in the home of a laborer and a housewife. ''They weren't in poverty , but certainly had no accumulation of funds , '' he said. From the time he was 5 , his foster parents constantly impressed the importance of education on him. ''They'd tell me , 'The world's changing , and if you want to be a vital part of it , you've got to get all the education you can , ' '' he recalled.
   
   They also instilled a strong work ethic and values such as thrift in their foster son. At 9 , they opened a bank account in which he deposited the earnings from a paper route , and for the next seven years , he saved $ 100 annually.
   
   That was enough to get him started at DePauw , but not enough to prevent him from having to drop out to save up more money. He finally completed his bachelor's degree at Milligan College in Tennessee in 1937.
   
   The following year , he received a master's degree from the University of Tennessee , and in 1950 , he earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from New York University.
   
   Following a series of positions in public education in Tennessee , he became a professor of education at George Peabody College for Teachers ( now part of Vanderbilt University ) in Nashville. In 1954 , he moved to the University of Kentucky as director of the Bureau of School Services and professor of education. Over the next 19 years , he filled a handful of other administrative posts at UK , including executive vice president of planning in the early 1970s.
   
   During the 1960s , Albright had twice been a finalist in presidential searches at UK , and once served as acting president. His failure to get the appointment on either occasion , many felt , stemmed largely from officials' desire to reach outside the university for a new leader.
   
   In 1973 , he was appointed executive director of the Kentucky Council of Higher Education and over the next four years developed a long-term planning strategy for the state's colleges and universities. The council had been formed to prevent schools from battling each other for funds from the legislature and to minimize the competition for academic glory that often resulted in the duplication of programs and facilities.
   
   While NKU's newness brought with it some liabilities when Albright stepped into the presidency - notably , a lack of tradition or strong backing by the community and alumni - Albright felt it offered greater advantages.
   
   ''The institution is not set in concrete , '' he said two months into his seven-year tenure. ''It does not have 100 years of history to overcome that we can't develop innovative and imaginative programs that are addressed to the current needs and the future. We are not steeped so heavily in what was.''.
   
   Beyond restoring stability and boosting morale in administration-faculty relations , Albright also set four major academic goals : developing a high-quality undergraduate program ; enhancing professional studies in fields such as law , education and nursing ; promoting research and other services for the community ; and experimenting with innovative programs.
   
   By the time Albright decided to relinquish the presidency in late 1982 , all four had been accomplished. He took particular pride in the fourth mission , pointing to experimental courses such as one on business ethics created by combining business and philosophy classes that have earned NKU a reputation for progressive curriculum.
   
   Another of his major successes was saving the Chase College of Law from extinction in the early 1980s amid a push by some state legislators to reduce the number of law schools in Kentucky. In that effort , Albright proved himself to be a master politician. Rather than waging a public battle after picking up hints that a serious attempt would be made to eliminate the school , he instead quietly lined up support behind the scenes. When the legislature convened , not a word was mentioned about NKU's law school. The alliances that he forged among legislators and community leaders through gatherings at his home helped launch the Northern Kentucky Legislative Caucus , producing ongoing dividends for the region.
   
   The Albright years at NKU also saw the construction of new classroom buildings and the first on-campus student housing , a health center named in his honor and planning for a sports complex.
   
   ''No one has left a more positive or lasting mark on higher education in Kentucky , '' former U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford once said of Albright.
   ...
   Inducted into the Northern Kentucky Leadership Hall of Fame in 1998 , Albright , now 86 , continues to work part-time as an education consultant from his home in Wilmore , Ky. , just south of Lexington.
   
   ''An old fire horse , when he hears the bell , may charge out of the firehouse every once in a while , '' he said , laughing.
   
   Publication date : 10-06-99
   
   ...
   A. D. Albright : He guided growth at NKU.
   
   ...
   When Albright attended DePauw University in Indiana in the 1930s , money problems during the Depression forced him to drop out after two years and go to work to earn enough to be able to return for his final two years.
   
   He worked briefly with the federal government's bureau of plant industry , battling a wheat disease called black stem rust , then joined an oil company that supplied parts and accessories to New York gas stations.
   
   But he finally decided that the fastest way back to college was his right arm , which he used playing one-nighters as a baseball gun-for-hire in the semi-pro Ohio-Michigan-Indiana league. ''They called it semi-pro , but it was less than semi , '' Albright said. Nonetheless , it speeded his return to college by allowing him to earn ''more than I