Nathan Laselle Whetten (July 20, 1900 – June 26, 1984) was an American academic who served as professor of

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

(1932–1971) and dean of the Graduate School at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

(1940–1970). UConn's Nathan L. Whetten Graduate School was named in his honor in 1971.

Biography

Whetten was born on July 20, 1900, in Colonia García, a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

colony in Chihuahua,

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. His

Anglo-American Anglo-American can refer to: * the Anglosphere (the Anglo-American world) * Anglo-American, something of, from, or related to Anglo-America ** the Anglo-Americans demographic group in Anglo-America * Anglo American plc Anglo American plc is a ...

parents ran a cattle ranch. They moved back to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

in 1912 during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, returning to Mexico in 1914, where Whetten attended high school in

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( , ; "Juárez City"), commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan language, Lipan: ''Tsé Táhú'ayá''), is the most populous city in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. It was k ...

. Whetten earned his bachelor's degree in languages in 1926 and his master's degree in sociology in 1928, both from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. After teaching at BYU and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, he earned his doctorate in sociology from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1932. In fall 1932, Whetten began his postdoctoral career as a statistician in the University of Connecticut's sociology department, at the time part of the

Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station The Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station (SAES) is an American agricultural experiment station operated by the University of Connecticut and founded in 1887. Part of UConn's College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, the SAES direc ...

. He led the first study of suburbanization in Connecticut, focusing on the communities of

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

, Wilton and

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

. He was promoted to assistant professor of

rural sociology Rural sociology is a field of sociology traditionally associated with the study of social structure and conflict in rural areas. It is an active academic field in much of the world, originating in the United States in the 1910s with close ties ...

in 1935 and to full professor and sociology department chair in 1938. Whetten also served as an editor of ''Rural Sociology'' and president of the

Eastern Sociological Society Eastern Sociological Society is a non-profit organization with a mission of "promoting excellence in sociological scholarship and instruction". It publishes a peer-reviewed journal ( Sociological Forum) and holds a yearly academic conference An ...

and of the New England Conference on Graduate Education. Starting in the 1940s, Whetten's research interests shifted toward

Latin American studies Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, histor ...

. From 1942 to 1945, he and his family lived in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, where he was on temporary assignment to the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

and the Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations. He was charged with studying rural society in countries that provided raw materials (e.g., rubber) for the US war effort. He later conducted multi-month research trips to Guatelama in 1944, 1952, and 1955. ''Guatemala: The Land and the People'' (1961) and ''Rural Mexico'' (1948) were products of these expeditions. In 1940,

Albert N. Jorgensen Albert Nels Jorgensen (1899 – 1978) was an American Academic administration, academic administrator who served as the seventh president of the University of Connecticut (1935–1962). Its longest-serving president and its youngest at age 36 at ...

appointed Whetten the first Dean of the Graduate School, succeeding George C. White as coordinator of

postgraduate education Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have ...

. As dean, Whetten oversaw all graduate degrees and courses offered by hundreds of faculty and dozens of departments. During his three-decade tenure, the Graduate School grew from nine master's and doctoral degree recipients in 1941 to 1075 in 1970. He retired on July 1, 1970. In November 1971, UConn's board of trustees voted to name the center for Whetten—the first time a building was named for a living person. Whetten married Theora Lucile Johnson (1904–2004) of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

in 1926. They met in college. Whetten lived in Storrs from 1932 until he died at a care home in

Willimantic, Connecticut Willimantic is a census-designated place located in Windham, Connecticut, United States. Previously organized as a city and later as a Borough (Connecticut), borough, Willimantic is currently one of two Local government in Connecticut#Special ta ...

, on June 26, 1984. He was 83 years old. He was survived by his wife and two sons, Nathan and John. In 1998, Theora Whetten donated 24 acres of undeveloped land to Joshua's Trust, which now forms part of the Nate and Theora Whetten Woods nature preserve. She also created the Homer Babbidge Library's Whetten Endowment to purchase research materials on Latin America.

Publications

* ''Guatemala: The Land and the People'' (Yale University Press, 1961) * ''Rural Mexico'' (University of Chicago Press, 1948; translated into Spanish in 1953) * With Henry W. Riecken, ''Rural Social Organization in Litchfield County, Connecticut'' (Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, 1948) * With Arnold W. Green, ''Ethnic Group Relations in a Rural Area of Connecticut'' (Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, 1943) * With Henry W. Riecken, ''The Foreign-Born Population of Connecticut'' (Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, 1940) * With Carle C. Zimmerman, ''Rural Families on Relief'' (

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

, 1938) * With Edward C. Devereux and Raymond F. Field, ''Studies of Suburbanization in Connecticut'' (Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, 1936–1939) * With Victor A. Rapport, ''The Recreational Uses of Land in Connecticut'' (Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, 1934)

External links

Nathan L. Whetten Papers - University of Connecticut Archives and Special Collections
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whetten, Nathan Laselle 1900 births 1984 deaths American sociologists Latin Americanists American academic administrators Brigham Young University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Connecticut faculty People from Chihuahua (state)