What’s in a name?: The man behind Gross Chem
Mar 03 2011, Written by Stephanie Tsimis in Building Names,Featured,News, 2 Comments
Ever wonder how the Gross Chemistry building got its rather unfortunate sounding name? The building was named in honor of Paul Gross, a long time Duke University administrator and an internationally respected chemistry researcher.
When Gross first came to Duke in 1919, he began his career as an assistant professor of chemistry. He later served as chair of the University Research Council from 1934 to 1949, the era during which the University was transforming from a regional college to a major research university. Gross was also dean of the graduate school from 1947 to 1952, dean of the University from 1952 to 1958 and vice president for education from 1949 to 1960. A major supporter of scientific research and its impact on education, Gross taught seminars for science educators in North Carolina throughout his career.
Gross’s long career at Duke was not without problems. During his time as Vice President for Education from 1959 to1960, Gross became involved in the Gross-Edens Affair, a university scandal now largely unknown to current students and faculty.
Gross and Hollis Edens, University President at the time, clashed over their views on whether Duke was taking advantage of post-war growth in higher education. Gross believed the University had to develop new research facilities to keep up with peer institutions while Edens failed to see the importance of such initiatives.
According to a Duke Today:
“A day before the March 23 trustee meeting, he granted an interview with the Durham Morning Herald. While not naming Edens, Gross said some leaders at Duke wanted to maintain the status quo instead of growing Duke. Later, he claimed he did the interview to defend himself against ‘libelous and defamatory attacks against my reputation and character,’ which he attributed to an ‘organized campaign of calumny.’”
The conflict soon became so irreconcilable that Edens resigned from his presidency and Gross was removed from his position shortly after the Herald interview. The position of provost and the Academic Council was created soon after the scandal in 1962 to prevent the same kind of administrative contention and to strengthen faculty governance.
Gross Chemistry Building in 1987
Gross Chemistry Building in 2011
Gross Chemistry Building Interior
In addition to his career as an administrator, Gross completed impressive scientific research. He served as an advisor to top U.S. Army researchers as part of the Army Scientific Advisory Panel and led Duke’s wartime chemical research for the Army and Navy.
Gross earned the President’s Medal of Merit in 1942 for his involvement in the Frangible Bullet Project, which developed a plastic explosive that mimicked a real bullet and was used for military training purposes. The project was the largest military research project ever undertaken at Duke. In 1950, President Harry S. Truman appointed Gross to the National Science Foundation board.
After Gross retired from his teaching career in 1965, the Duke Board of Trustees named the Gross Chemical Laboratory on West Campus after him—which opened its doors in 1968.
Gross passed away in 1986 at the age of 91. James Bonk, Duke professor of chemistry, worked at the University during Gross’s term as vice president for education and helped design Gross Chem’s general chemistry labs and main lecture hall. Bonk said the building of Gross Chem generated excitement and enthusiasm among faculty and administrators.
The chemistry department had an unusually high deal of input in the design of the labs and the building, Bonk said. He also noted that the Old Chem building on the Main West Quadrangle was designed primarily to architecturally fit the campus and was not well equipped for chemistry labs.
By the time Bonk arrived at Duke in 1959, the chemistry department had outgrown it.
The Chronicle reported in 2007 that the Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Science was eyeing the building as a new home, pending the approval of the Board, as the chemistry department made its move to French Family Science Center.
Bonk also said that Gross was well-respected by colleagues and students for both his research and administrative work.
“He was a terrific scientist,” Bonk said. “He was really a wonderful mentor for other people, including the later provost of the University.”
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2 Comments
March 13, 2011 2:33 am
Fact Checker
Paul Gross was one of the true visionaries, whose love of Duke and bravery to stand firm in his convictions launched this university on the trajectory that led to greatness. He conceived of, and was a founder of the Research Triangle Park, which is the economic engine for this entire region today.
At the university, his most important role developed in the late 50′s as chair of the first institutional Long Range Planning Committee. This transcended his titles as Dean of the Grad School, Dean of the Univesrsity and VP for education, the Provost’s job. It wasn’t long before he was clashing with the do-nothing president, A. Hollis Edens.
Their clash was one of personality, of approach, of philosophy. Often the Gross-Edens dispute *(curiously never the Edens-Gross dispute) is telescoped into a discussion of whether Duke should remain a strong regional institution or seek to go national. This is true, but only partially.
And the clash was not only among Gross and Edens, but among factions of the Trustees that aligned with either administrator. The Duke Endowment — the money people — lined up behind Gross with great enthusiasm, while Edens enjoyed the old school trustees, many of them staunch segregationists. These factions clawed at each other on many issues just as Gross and Edens battled. When Edens finally threw in the towel, the board used the pretext of an interview he had given to the local newspaper to fire him on the spot.
That upset the faculty — that such a man should be so summarily treated — and there was even more fuel on the fire.
Luckily, two elder statesmen stepped forward. J. Deryl Hart, the medical center’s first surgeon, one of the few doctors who attended university faculty meetings and involved themselves in governance, was somehow brought out of semi-retirement and tapped to be president. And he was marvelous. And a new chair of the Trustees, Bunyan Womble ’04 (That’s 1904!!), a founder of the Chronicle and Winston-Salem attorney, did an incredible job of settling the waters and bringing the factions together. Duke was blessed that both of them came along as they did in 1960.
Two final related points. The Gross Chemical building was going to be redone into a new home for the Nicholas School of the Environment. But Mr and Mrs Nicholas reneged on their pledge of $72 million. Unfortunately, the plan was to strip Paul Gross’ name away, depriving Duke of its history.
If there is one negative about Paul Gross, it’s his chemistry research — at least when measured by today’s standards. The tobacco industry — faced with the very first assertions that tobacco was unhealthy — blamed the paper that wraps cigarettes, and Gross devoted much of his early career to finding a magic paper for the industry. Of course later on we found out the paper was a factor, but the real damnation came from the tobacco.
Fact Checker here. Perspective!
March 13, 2011 2:35 am
Fact Checker
sorry there is one confusing paragraph there. When Edens first threw in the towel, the Trustees used the pretext of an interview that GROSS had given the local paper and fired Gross on the spot. That was a raucus meeting for sure.
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