Wild Blue Yonder

From the Spring 1951 Injun Newsletter

 

AF-ROTC program approved

In the midst of OU’s April planning for public approval of a mill levy increase, official Washington sent word that the university would have an Air ROTC program on July 1.

 

The Air Force announcement set off a new scurry on an already-scurrying campus. Storage and office space, a rifle range and other facilities had to be made ready in two months.

 

But the OU administration was all smiles. The university had been one of 62 institutions chosen from a field estimated at 450 to 600. At least 10 Nebraska schools had sought the honor.

 

How would the Air ROTC program affect the levy increase? The undergrads’ Gateway supplied the answer:

 

“[The Air Force Selection] is a tribute to the quality of the university itself. But that tribute . . . implies that the quality shall be maintained. Thus, the levy increase becomes a necessary second step in the university’s drive to serve Omaha better . . .”

 

Alums who got the news saw a means of stabilizing enrollment by attracting more young men to the university. “And,” winked someone, “it shouldn’t hurt our football team, either.”

 

Photo: Lt. Col. Allen H. Wood headed UNO’s AF-ROTC program.