Free Spirit: A Biography of Mason Welch Gross

By Thomas W. Gross

The Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Brunswick, New Jersey, stands as a memorial to one of Rutgers University's most influential leaders. Gross started teaching at Rutgers as an assistant professor of philosophy in 1946, but quickly rose through the ranks to become the university's provost in 1949 and finally its president from 1959 to 1971. He led the university through an era when it experienced both some of its greatest growth and most intense controversies. Free Spirit explores how Gross helped reshape Rutgers from a sleepy college into a world-renowned public research university. It also reveals how he steered the university through the tumult of the Red Scare, civil rights era, and the Vietnam War by taking principled stands in favor of both racial equality and academic freedom. This biography tells the story of how, from an early age, Gross came to believe in the importance of doing what was right, even when the backlash took a toll on his own health. Written by his youngest son Thomas, this book offers a uniquely well-rounded portrait of Gross as both a public figure and a private person. Covering everything from his service in World War II to his stints as a game-show personality, Free Spirit introduces the reader to a remarkable academic leader.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 197880833X
• ISBN13: 9781978808331
• Release Date: September 2021
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 11 and higher

Customer Reviews

An incredible insight into that evolution that took place in this country (USA) in the Viet Nam era

Incredible insight into the era of change in the ‘60s-‘70s through the perspective of Mason Gross’s evolution to become the president of Rutgers University. As a disclaimer the author is a good friend but when he offered me a chance to read the book about his fathers ascendancy it was a sharing of our mutual respect for his research skills and my Viet Nam experiences. Friend or no his insight and very unique vantage point result in a very dense but readable, factually unimpeachable reflection. I was there but, like most observers did not SEE what we were living through as this wonderful country took a fork in the roads of history. This book provides a view I never would have seen were it not for Tom’s deep research and brilliant wordsmithing.