Cecil Willis Creel Records

Cecil Willis Creel, (1889-1968), was a 1911 graduate of the University of Nevada, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1921, he became director of Agricultural Extension for the University. During the years he was head of Agricultural Extension, Creel performed other public services. In 1929, he acted as consultant to the State Engineer and the Nevada Senators in the pending Boulder Dam Legislation. In 1931, by appointment of the Secretary of Interior, he served as a member and Secretary of the Board which appraised farm lands and town property in Nevada and Arizona flooded by Boulder Dam. Between 1932 and 1935, he held other positions on a number of state relief organizations, including the Emergency Relief and Construction Committee, the Board of Charities and Public Welfare, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Agricultural Adjustment Program. His positions also included State Relief Administrator, State Civil Works Administrator, State Director of Rural Rehabilitation, and state Director of Drought Relief.

In May 1935, Creel was detailed by the University of Nevada to assist the Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. in connection with pending federal legislation. He served in a similar capacity each year until 1937, when he was elected President of the Association for 1938-1939. The objective of the Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities was to institute such programs and activities to improve the fields of resident teaching, research, and extension relevant to Federal and State laws as the proper functions of land-grant colleges and universities.

In 1942, Creel resigned from the University to make an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate, but returned to the position of Director of the Agricultural Extension Division in 1943, which he held until his retirement in 1952. He was named Dean of the College of Agriculture in 1945, while still heading the Extension Division, and held this position through 1949. Cecil W. Creel died in Reno, March 15, 1968.