Daggett, Clair

https://reflections.mndigital.org/catalog/stc:7432#/kaltura_audio

Biographical Information: Clair Daggett was born in Wisconsin in 1909. His family hailed from Maine and was of Scottish and English descent. His family farmed in Omro, Wisconsin, where Dagget graduated from high school in 1927. He then attended college in Whitewater, Wisconsin, where he received a bachelor's degree in Commercial Education, which would today be called Business Education. After stints teaching high school in Menominee and Kenosha, Wisconsin, he pursued a master's degree at the University of Iowa, and came to St. Cloud State in 1939 to teach business courses. Dagget joined the Air Force during World War II, then returned to his position at SCSU, where he taught until 1974.

Transcript Summary: Daggett discussed his educational and family background. He detailed some roadblocks he encountered in his education due to family issues and accreditation problems between Iowa and Wisconsin universities. He provided some colorful anecdotes about his family and youth.

Next, Daggett chronicles his arrival to St. Cloud and his early years teaching at the university. Daggett detailed how small the Business Department initially was with only three faculty. In addition, he discussed his time in the Air Force during World War II, and how the G.I. Bill allowed him to obtain his doctorate when he returned from service. Daggett taught many veterans after his return, who were older than most students.

Finally, Daggett focused on the changes at St. Cloud State, and in his own department, experienced during his 35 years at the university. For example, the Business department grew from 3 faculty to 50 at the time of the interview. Here, Daggett also discussed the different St. Cloud State presidents and their administration. He claimed that president George Budd discouraged university employees’ involvement in downtown social clubs because Budd desired to be the sole connection between downtown and St. Cloud State.