Rex Putnam (June 7, 1890 – May 17, 1967) was an American educator from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. A former classroom teacher and district superintendent, Putnam served as

Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction The Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes referred to as the State Superintendent of Schools, was a constitutional officeOR Const. art. VIII. within the executive branch of the Government of Oregon, Oregon state government from 1872 to 2 ...

for nearly 25 years, the longest-serving state school superintendent in Oregon history. Following his retirement in 1961, a new high school in his adopted hometown of

Milwaukie, Oregon Milwaukie is a city mostly in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, Oregon, United States; a very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah County. The population was 21,119 at the 2020 United States Census, ...

was named Rex Putnam High School in his honor.

Early life and career

Born in

Buffalo Gap, South Dakota Buffalo Gap (Lakota language, Lakota: ''pté tȟathíyopa otȟúŋwahe''; "buffalo gap village") is a town in Custer County, South Dakota, Custer County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 131 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

, Putnam received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1915 and began teaching in

Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Willamette Valley, Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield, OR MSA, Eugene-Springfield metropolitan statistical area. Separ ...

that year. He taught high school science in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

for five years before returning to Oregon, where he became superintendent of the

Redmond School District The Redmond School District is a school district in the U.S. state of Oregon that serves a area in Deschutes and Jefferson counties, including the city of Redmond and the unincorporated communities of Alfalfa, Crooked River Ranch, Eagle Cr ...

in Redmond in 1923. He received a master's degree from the University of Oregon in 1929, and in 1932, he was named superintendent of schools in Albany. He would later receive a doctorate from

Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1867 and is situated on the historic M. Lloyd Frank Estate in South Portland's Collins View neighborhood. It is composed of three distinct but adjac ...

in 1945.

Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction

In 1937,

Charles A. Howard resigned to become president of Eastern Oregon Normal School (now Eastern Oregon University), and governor Charles Martin appointed Putnam to replace Howard. In 1938, Putnam was elected to a full term as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. In 1942, the position was changed to non-partisan, and Putnam was re-elected five more times, each time unopposed. In his nearly 25 years as state school superintendent, Putnam was an active contributor to academic articles about education and an influential voice for Oregon schools among nationwide educational organizations. During his tenure, Oregon's educational system expanded to include

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

programs, special needs and

gifted education Gifted education (also known as gifted and talented education (GATE), talented and gifted programs (TAG), or G&T education) is a type of education used for children who have been identified as Intellectual giftedness, gifted or Talent (skill), tal ...

, programs for Native Americans, along with expanded curriculum and other programs. School funding issues were also a focus of Putnam's tenure. He resigned from office in early 1961 due to health concerns.

Personal and legacy

In 1962, a high school then under construction in Milwaukie, where Putnam lived, was named Rex Putnam High School in his honor. The school opened in 1963. Putnam died after a short illness in 1967. He and his wife Elinor had two sons, one of whom was killed in action 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putnam, Rex People from Custer County, South Dakota People from Milwaukie, Oregon Oregon superintendents of public instruction University of Oregon alumni Lewis & Clark College alumni Educators from Oregon Politicians from Tacoma, Washington People from Redmond, Oregon 1890 births 1967 deaths Oregon Democrats 20th-century Oregon politicians