7 E. Gerald MEYER UNIVERSITY of WYOMING 1969-1970 “In the Beginning…” In the early 1960s two associations represented the major public universities. There was an asso- ciation of state universities and an association of land grant colleges. Some of the leading presi- dents in these associations—Clark Kerr of the University of California, Mason Gross of Rutgers, William Morgan of Colorado State, and certainly presidents of the Great Lakes universities and southern universities—devised an amalgamation of the two associations, result- ing in the National Association of State Universi- ties and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC). The launching of this new organization was set for 1965 and college deans were invited to attend. Those of us representing the Arts and Sciences were chagrined to learn that the struc- ture provided for a Commission for Agriculture (with a certain role) and Committees for A&S and the other colleges (with a lesser role). Those of us A&S-ers at the meeting got together and contemplated what might be done. Included were Oz Fuller of Ohio State (who was elected chair and ultimately the first CCAS president), Bob Rogers of Illinois, Walt Militzer of Nebraska, Larry Andrews of University of California, Davis, Bill Briggs of Colorado, Chalmer Roy of Iowa State, George Waggoner of Kansas, Todd Furniss of Hawaii, Gerry Meyer of Wyoming and several others. Initially the discussion centered on trying to equate A&S with Agriculture in the NASULGC set-up, but it was decided (correctly) that there was no chance of doing that. The land grant colleges would insist that Agriculture be a commission, and the state universities could not insist that A&S, Engineering, Business, etc., also be commissions. So the idea began taking shape that a separate organization of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences be organized. The consensus of the group was that Fuller and two or three others draw up a consti- tution and bylaws to be presented to the deans. This was done, and in 1965 a letter of agreement to form an organization of our own was approved be a vast majority of the A&S deans. The consti- tution and bylaws were circulated, and at the first (actually the second) meeting of the group at Washington in November 1966 both the consti- tution and the bylaws were approved and the name, Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences in State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, was adopted. At that meeting a precedent was set to have a substantive program at all CCAS meetings. After the November meeting, Furniss made an appointment with a NASULGC staff member and received word that CCAS would be welcome to continue attending its meetings. So Fuller (Ohio State) was the first president, Furniss (Hawaii) second, Chalmers (Kansas State) third, Cartwright (Washington) fourth, Meyer (Wyoming) fifth.