Stratton D. Brooks

Stratton Duluth Brooks (September 10, 1869 – January 18, 1949) was the third president of the University of Oklahoma and eleventh president of the University of Missouri.

Early life Brooks was born on September 10, 1869, in Everett, Missouri, to Charles Myers and Marion (McClure) Brooks. Stratton Brooks graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1887, the Michigan State Normal College in 1890, and the University of Michigan in 1896. In 1903 he married Marcia Stuart of Port Hope, Michigan. In 1904 he earned a Master of Arts degree from Harvard University. On January 1, 1906, he became superintendent of the Cleveland Municipal School District. Two months later, Brooks returned to Boston to become superintendent of Boston Public Schools.

University of Oklahoma When Brooks was first being courted for the position of OU president in 1911, he at first did not want the position. It was seen as a fledgling university and many on the East Coast were "still in shock" at the summary discharge of former president David Ross Boyd. Some of these courses included: wire telegraphy, wireless telegraphy, stenography and shorthand, oxyacetylene welding, orthopedic surgery, military field engineering, and first aid courses. Students under 21 were required to take special courses in the Student Army Training Corps. Barracks, an infirmary, bathhouse, guardhouse, and canteen were constructed. By the latter part of 1918, the university was practically a military base. According to Professor Levy's history of the University of Oklahoma, Walton was vigorously opposed to the growing political power of the Ku Klux Klan, while both DeBarr and Wilson were active members of the KKK.,

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (UM) previously had indicated to Brooks that it would like to have him take the job as president. He had previously rejected the interest, because he had become interested in continuing in Norman. Besides, his wife loved the place, and even told him once that that was the place where she hoped to be buried after death.

Regarding Walton's replacement of the regents, Brooks realized that he had no future in Oklahoma without top-level political support. He called UM and asked if the presidency was still open. The answer was, "Yes." He travelled to Missouri to meet with the school officials. The next day, he received a formal job offer with an annual salary of $12,500. He gave them his verbal acceptance. When he got home he wrote a one-sentence letter of resignation to one of the regents, which was immediately accepted.

The Brooks family bade goodbye to Oklahoma. Within six months, the Oklahoma legislature had enough of Walton's arbitrary behavior and roughshod power plays. They passed articles of impeachment and removed him from the Governor's office.

The budgetary problems Brooks faced at UM were much the same as those he left in Oklahoma. At least the school had not developed into quite as big a mess as OU had when he arrived in Norman. Still, a bizarre incident in 1931 derailed his career. Some sociology professors allowed release of a "sex survey" that most of the regents and ordinary citizens found offensive to their social views. Brooks saw the document, which he called "sewer psychology" and wanted to fire the faculty members who had authorized sending it out without his prior approval. The American Association of University Professors joined in the uproar. The regents then blamed Brooks for misleading them and creating a national scandal. Unable to defend himself, he resigned, and moved to Kansas City, so that UM could find a new leader.

Later life and subsequent death Looking for something very different to do, he accepted the job as president of the Order of DeMolay, a Masonic institution for young men. When his wife died in 1941, Brooks brought her body back to Norman for burial. He lived the remainder of his life in Kansas City, Missouri, with the family of his daughter, Dorothy Brooks Callaway, her husband William Stocking Callaway, and their two daughters Penelope Brooks Callaway and Dorothy Ella Callaway.