H. Roe Bartle

Harold Roe Bennett Strudevant Bartle (June 25, 1901 - May 9, 1974)

American Humanics

H. Roe Bartle is considered the founder of American Humanics. He had worked for ten years on developing the program. For nearly thirty years the Chief led the Kansas City Area (now the Heart of America) Council of Boy Scouts. As Council Executive, he was responsible for hiring qualified staff members. He had no trouble finding good people, but most knew nothing about running an organization. With the help of longtime civic leader Jerry Cohen and others, Chief Bartle founded the American Humanics Foundation in Kansas City in 1948. His idea was to teach college undergraduates how to run the business side of nonprofit organizations. Courses would be conducted on campus and experienced agency executives would present classroom lectures and workshops. Students would volunteer in community agencies and learn from on-the-job experience. Upon graduation, they would have the management skills to run nonprofit agencies. Fifty years ago, most college campuses were not interested in adding American Humanics courses to their curriculums. American Humanics started at Missouri Valley College and grew within a small number of colleges. That situation has changed in recent years. The program may be the least known part of the legacy of H. Roe Bartle yet may be the most far-reaching, with hundreds of alumni serving various nonprofit organizations across the land. He considered it his greatest contribution to America during his lifetime. Chief Bartle had originally started it to help the Boy Scouts but it carried over to benefit many organizations. At a major American Humanics dinner in 1964, twelve speakers described the profound influences Mr. Bartle had on youth serving organizations across America. They say it was the only time that H. Roe Bartle was speechless. American Humanics, Inc. celebrated it's 50th anniversary in 1998. Chief Bartle reportedly used a good amount of his public speaking income to keep it going in the early years.

Related Topics:
1948 - College - Nonprofit organizations - Classroom - Graduation - Campus - 1964

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