ABSTRACT
Mason Welch Gross was such a mild mannered man, the very personification of a thoughtful patrician, that it is little wonder that his years at Rutgers were reported in a rather modest way-even by Richard McCormick, the Rutgers University historian, and genuine friend of Gross. The first involvement of Mason Gross in the administrative affairs of Rutgers came as a consequence of considerable discontent among faculty regarding what was felt to be a large number of arbitrary terminations. Gross came to Rutgers from Columbia in 1946 as a professor of philosophy. He also served as an assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The landmarks of Mason's tenure as president are the trademarks of the present era. He engineered the University's acquisition of the land on which Livingston Campus and Busch Campus now reside. He brought the University to a major-league position with respect to specialist schools and research support.
