In the spring of 1943, some 380 soldiers - among the nation's best and brightest military draftees - were assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) at Providence College. The Army paid their room, board and tuition costs while they attended classes in mathematics, physics, chemistry, history, geography and English, taught by the college's Dominican faculty, that ran simultaneously but separately from the college's normal curriculum. Most of the soldiers lived in Aquinas Hall, five to a room, while others lived in the original Guzman Hall. They used the college's athletic fields for training exercises.
The goal of the program, initiated by Secretary of War Henry Stimson and conducted at more than 120 colleges and universities throughout the nation, was to provide specialized training to prepare these soldier-scholars for military tasks in engineering, mathematics, medical/dental areas and foreign languages, and to ensure that there would be sufficient numbers of doctors, dentists,lawyers, and other skilled and well-educated professionals after the war ended.
In March of 1944, the program was abruptly canceled and the soldiers were reassigned to the 328th infantry regiment of the 26th Yankee Division. The War Department had determined that the soldiers enrolled in the program, whose presence at Providence College had enabled the college to continue operating, were needed to reinforce troops stationed at the front lines.
The goal of the program, initiated by Secretary of War Henry Stimson and conducted at more than 120 colleges and universities throughout the nation, was to provide specialized training to prepare these soldier-scholars for military tasks in engineering, mathematics, medical/dental areas and foreign languages, and to ensure that there would be sufficient numbers of doctors, dentists,lawyers, and other skilled and well-educated professionals after the war ended.
In March of 1944, the program was abruptly canceled and the soldiers were reassigned to the 328th infantry regiment of the 26th Yankee Division. The War Department had determined that the soldiers enrolled in the program, whose presence at Providence College had enabled the college to continue operating, were needed to reinforce troops stationed at the front lines.
TITLE | TYPE | DATE CREATED | COLLECTION(S) | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|---|---|---|
Student Life During WWII | Video | 1943 | ASTP 1943-1944 | |
Student Soldier Class Graduates | Digital Document | 1944-01-29 | ASTP 1943-1944 | First in Providence College's History Honored at Exercises |
Suggestions in Selecting Faculty | Digital Document | 1943-05-13 | ASTP 1943-1944 | College's Importance on hiring "most efficient men" |
Supplement: Completion of V-1 and V-7 College Programs | Digital Document | ASTP 1943-1944 | Minimum Requirements to be Completed by Subject | |
Teachers to Attend Retreat at The Cenacle of Newport | Digital Document | 1943-09-30 | ASTP 1943-1944 | Special Program for Navy, Army and other Nurses Scheduled for Sunday, October 10 |
The Unit Being Inspected | Image | ASTP 1943-1944 | ||
The Unit Waiting for Captain McFarland for Inspection | Image | ASTP 1943-1944 | ||
Trainees Move onto Campus | Image | 1943-07-12 | ASTP 1943-1944 | ASTP Activation |
Training Unit Contracts | Digital Document | ASTP 1943-1944 | Outline for Estimate of Costs | |
Trip to Boston | Digital Document | 1943-05-24 | ASTP 1943-1944 | Review the Status of the College in Relation to ASTP |
Trip to Boston to See Joe McHenry | Digital Document | 1944-07-17 | ASTP 1943-1944 | Discussions on How to Decrease the College's Debt to the Army |
Trip To Washington | Digital Document | 1943-11-08 | ASTP 1943-1944 | Attempt to Maintain the Quota at 500 Trainees |
Trip to Washington: Tentative Report | Digital Document | 1943-08-30 | ASTP 1943-1944 | Attempts to gain 30 Pre-Med Students for ASTP |
Troop review as seen from the Press Box | Image | ASTP 1943-1944 | ||
Troop Review From Harkins Hall | Image | ASTP 1943-1944 | ||
Troops gather outside Guzman Hall | Image | 1944-02 | ASTP 1943-1944 | |
Trying to Block a Shot | Image | ASTP 1943-1944 | Basketball League run by Physical Education Staff | |
Unit Holds Dance | Digital Document | 1943-09-19 | ASTP 1943-1944 | |
US Army Hospital Record to Mrs. Ekstrand | Digital Document | 1945-05-19 | ASTP 1943-1944 | |
US Office of Education Bulletin on War Training | Digital Document | ASTP 1943-1944 | Information Bulletin: Costs, Placement, Selection, Where to Apply, Organization, Types | |
US Office of Education List of Schools Approved by State | Digital Document | ASTP 1943-1944 | Includes Institutional Representatives and subjects Approved | |
Vacating Rooms in Aquinas Hall | Image | 1944-03-19 | ASTP 1943-1944 | Deactivation |
Veridames of Providence College | Digital Document | 1943-11-09 | ASTP 1943-1944 | |
View of Christmas Party from Balcony | Image | 1943-12-18 | ASTP 1943-1944 | Civilian students invited |
View of the Back of Harkins Hall in Winter | Image | 1944-01 | ASTP 1943-1944 | Donated by Robert Madson |