Harrison Richard Wellman (March 4, 1899 – August 18, 1997) was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of agricultural economics at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, and became acting president of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

in 1967.

Early years

Wellman and a

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brother were the youngest of eight children of Richard Harrison Wellman and his second wife, Jennie (Woods) Wellman. Harry's family was living just north of the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

when he was born. His mother died less than a year after he was born. Harry and his siblings initially moved to his maternal grandparents'

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and then to a family

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

farm in Umapine, Oregon. Two sisters and his twin brother died during the winter of 1902/3. Wellman served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

through

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

after his father died in 1917. Wellman became a naturalized citizen of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1921. He married Ruth L. Gay following graduation, and was the 4-H Club agent of Malheur County, Oregon. Wellman then studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in 1924 and, in 1926, the first

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in agricultural economics awarded by the University.University of California Board of Regents ''Minutes'' September 19, 1997

Career

Wellman was an agricultural economics specialist in the College of Agriculture cooperative extension service from 1925 until 1934. In 1929, he became an associate in the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics. He returned to Berkeley in 1935 after serving a year in Washington, D.C., as chief of the General Crops Section of the United States Agricultural Adjustment Administration. He was an associate professor of agricultural economics in the College of Agriculture and an associate agricultural economist in the Agriculture Experiment Station. He became a full professor in 1939 and was appointed director of the Giannini Foundation in 1942. He served as a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 1943 to 1954. Wellman became the first vice president of the University of California in 1958 after serving since 1952 as vice president-agricultural sciences. He served as acting president of the University in 1967.

Legacy and honors

Wellman Halls on both the University of California Berkeley campus and Davis campus are named for Harry Wellman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellman, Harry R. 1899 births 1997 deaths University of California regents UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources alumni University of California, Berkeley College of Natural Resources faculty American twins United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy sailors Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Cardston County Presidents of the University of California System People from Umatilla County, Oregon Federal Reserve Bank people 20th-century American academics