Harrison Richard Wellman (March 4, 1899 – August 18, 1997) was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

agricultural economics Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and became acting president of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

in 1967.

Early years

Wellman and a

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...

brother were the youngest of eight children of Richard Harrison Wellman and his second wife, Jennie (Woods) Wellman. Harry's family was living just north of the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

when he was born. His mother died less than a year after he was born. Harry and his siblings initially moved to his maternal grandparents'

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, and then to a family

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

farm in

Umapine, Oregon Umapine (/uməpaɪn/) is a census-designated place and Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Umatilla County, Oregon, Umatilla County, Oregon, United States, two miles from the Oregon-Washington (U.S. state), Washington border. The t ...

. Two sisters and his twin brother died during the winter of 1902/3. Wellman served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

through

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

after his father died in 1917. Wellman became a naturalized citizen of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1921. He married Ruth L. Gay following graduation, and was the

4-H Club 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

agent of

Malheur County, Oregon Malheur County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,571. Its county seat is Vale, and its largest city is Ontario. The county was named after the Malheur River, which runs thr ...

. Wellman then studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in 1924 and, in 1926, the first

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree in agricultural economics awarded by the University.University of California Board of Regents ''Minutes'' September 19, 1997

Career

Wellman was an agricultural economics specialist in the College of Agriculture

cooperative extension service The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) was an extension agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), part of the executive branch of the federal government. The 1994 Department Reorganization Act, ...

from 1925 until 1934. In 1929, he became an associate in the

Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics The Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics was founded in the 1920s from a $1.5 million gift to the University of California from the Bancitaly Corporation in honor of its founder, A.P. Giannini. This fund has now grown to $20 million that ...

. He returned to Berkeley in 1935 after serving a year in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, as chief of the General Crops Section of the United States

Agricultural Adjustment Administration The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on part ...

. He was an associate professor of agricultural economics in the College of Agriculture and an associate agricultural economist in the Agriculture Experiment Station. He became a full professor in 1939 and was appointed director of the Giannini Foundation in 1942. He served as a director of the

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (informally referred to as the San Francisco Fed) is the federal bank for the twelfth district in the United States. The twelfth district is made up of nine western states—Alaska, Arizona, California, ...

from 1943 to 1954. Wellman became the first vice president of the University of California in 1958 after serving since 1952 as vice president-agricultural sciences. He served as acting president of the University in 1967. Wellman Hall (Berkeley, CA)

Legacy and honors

Wellman Halls on both the University of California Berkeley campus and Davis campus are named for Harry Wellman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellman, Harry R. 1899 births 1997 deaths University of California regents UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources alumni University of California, Berkeley College of Natural Resources faculty American twins United States Navy personnel of World War I United States Navy sailors Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Cardston County Presidents of the University of California System People from Umatilla County, Oregon Federal Reserve Bank people 20th-century American academics