Julian Aeneas McPhee (February 7, 1896 – November 10, 1967) was the sixth

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth na ...

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

(Cal Poly SLO) from 1933 to 1966 and the first president of

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a Public university, public Institute of Technology (United States)#Polytechnic universities, polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the l ...

(Cal Poly Pomona) from 1938 to 1966.

Biography

Early life

Julian A. McPhee was born in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1896 to Charles and Ellen MacDonald McPhee,

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

immigrants of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent. He grew up in San Francisco, California, before earning his B.A. in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

from

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 ...

in 1917. During his senior year, McPhee began teaching agricultural education at Pomona High School in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. He continued pursuing education as a career before enlisting 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 ...

as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

during the final months of

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 ...

. He briefly worked as an instructor at the Naval Port Guard and an aide in

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

before receiving an honorable discharge when the war ended in 1918. Julian returned to San Francisco and married Alma Doyle, with whom he would have six daughters: Helen, Bernadette, Jean, Claire, Carol, and Jule Ann.

Career

Agricultural Education

After the war, McPhee resumed his pursuit of education, becoming a high school agriculture teacher at Gilroy High School in

Gilroy, California Gilroy is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. It had a population of 59,520 as of the 2020 census. Gilroy's origins lie in the village of San Ysidro, which developed in the early 19th ...

, where he was soon promoted to vice principal. During his years as a high school educator, McPhee strongly emphasizing agricultural education by forming agricultural and mechanical clubs in each of Gilroy's public schools, as well as encouraging "learn by doing," a philosophy which he later adapted to the Cal Polys, which still employ it to this day. In 1928, McPhee completed his master's degree in Agricultural Education through the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. From 1926 to 1944, McPhee worked as Chief of the State Bureau of Agricultural Education, forming the California state headquarters of

Future Farmers of America The National FFA Organization or FFA is an American nonprofit career and technical student organization, which offers middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. Future Farmers of Virginia (FFV) was founded in ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, which were transferred to

San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

in 1931.

Tenure at Cal Poly

Due to his influence in agricultural education, McPhee was appointed president of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1933, replacing Benjamin Crandall, who resigned due to his frustration with the college's dilapidated facilities and the lack of funding caused by

the Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank an ...

. At that time, the state government was discussing the idea of converting Cal Poly into a state prison. By increasing profitable agricultural programs at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, McPhee not only saved the college from being closed by the state, but developed Cal Poly San Luis Obispo from a two-year technical school to a four-year college in the

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

(CSU) system. Prior to McPhee's appointment, in 1930 due to crushing budget constraints, Cal Poly transitioned to an all-male institution as a cost savings measure, a policy which continued until 1956. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, McPhee served as director of California's War Food Production Training Program. He later served as acting chief of the Bureau of Readjustment Education, assistant executive officer of the State Board of Vocational Education, and director of Vocational Education for the State of California. He also oversaw the establishment of a second Cal Poly campus in

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

which he acquired from cereal magnate

Will Keith Kellogg Will Keith Kellogg (born William Keith Kellogg; April 7, 1860 – October 6, 1951) was an American industrialist in food manufacturing, who founded the Kellogg Company, which produces a wide variety of popular breakfast cereals. He was a membe ...

in 1949 and which became a separate CSU college,

, in 1966. That same year, after thirty-three years as president of the Cal Polys, Julian A. McPhee retired due to failing health. He died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

on November 10, 1967 at the age of 71. Two current landmarks of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's campus are named for McPhee: the Julian A. McPhee University Union and Julian's Patisserie, a small coffee shop located within the Robert E. Kennedy Library, itself named for Robert E. Kennedy, McPhee's successor as university president.

References

External links

Cal Poly: Biography of Julian A. McPhee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcphee, Julian A Presidents of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Presidents of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University faculty California State Polytechnic University, Pomona faculty American agriculturalists American school administrators 1896 births 1967 deaths Schoolteachers from California Educators from Greater Los Angeles University of California, Berkeley alumni Deaths from colorectal cancer People from San Francisco American people of Canadian descent American people of Scottish descent 20th-century American academics