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

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. 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 Oregon state government from 1872 to 2012, when it was elim ...

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, United States; a very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1847 on the banks of the Willamette River, the ci ...

was named

Rex Putnam High School Rex Putnam High School (often Putnam High School) is a public high school in Milwaukie, Oregon, United States. History The school was named after former Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Rex Putnam. Rex Putnam has been an Internatio ...

in his honor.

Early life and career

Born in

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

, Putnam received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in 1915 and began teaching in

Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield ...

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, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

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 Cres ...

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. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & C ...

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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. 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 to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an i ...

programs,

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in b ...

and

gifted education Gifted education (also known as gifted and talented education (GATE), talented and gifted programs (TAG), or G/T education) is a broad group of special practices, procedures, and theories used in the education of children who have been identified a ...

, 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

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 20th-century American politicians Oregon Democrats