Friends of the University of Nevada Records

The Friends of the University of Nevada was a group of alumni and citizens formed in response to the suspension of UNR Biology professor Frank T. Richardson after he shared an article critiquing nationwide university entrance requirements. Helen Wittenberg was secretary of the Friends and the reports and documents produced are known collectively as the "Wittenberg Papers." Richardson's eventual dismissal became a nationally known case on academic freedom. Four other UNR faculty members, including English professor Robert Gorrell, took Richardson's side in speaking out in favor of more stringent entrance requirements for students. Several faculty members resigned in protest, including noted novelist Walter Van Tilburg Clark, and more than 300 students demonstrated against the administration. The university administration removed a dean and reduced the salaries of faculty who supported the freedom of academic expression. The Association of American University Professors, of which Richardson was the local chapter president, censured the university.

The Friends of the University of Nevada continued to follow campus developments concerning the dismissal proceedings against Richardson, Gorrell, and the other three faculty members who spoke out. The group continued to monitor UNR President Minard W. Stout's administration through his tenure on the campus. The state appointed a special investigating committee headed by Dean E. McHenry to investigate this and other university controversies. They released a report critical of Stout and the Board of Regents and recommending enlargement of the Board. By the end of 1957, the enlarged board determined the University's internal problems could not be ended without Stout's removal. Minard W. Stout was formally requested to resign.