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LEST WE FORGET
Agnes Irvine Scott
for whom Agnes Scott College
was named
LEST WE FORGET
An Account of Agnes Scott College
by
Walter Edward McNair
"Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet
Lest we forget — lest we forget!"
Rudyard Kipling, "Recessional'
Copyright © 1983 by Agnes Scott College
All rights reserved
Tucker-Castleberry Printing, Inc.
Atlanta, Georgia
For
Wallace Mcpherson Alston
and
MARVIN BANKS PERRY, JR.
whose friendship, understanding, and interest
have through the years continually
encouraged and supported this
writer in his long and happy
relationship with Agnes Scott College
in
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Beginnings 1
Stability and Status 36
The McCain Era 66
Girding for Greatness 1 29
Toward a New Century 22 1
Observances, Organizations, and Traditions 279
A Noble Company 325
Directory 357
IV
INTRODUCTION
The account here presented covers the development of Agnes Scott
College from its beginnings in 1889 through June 30, 1982. Of course,
not every single event is set forth, but a conscious effort has been made
to include all happenings and personalities that have been formative in
the evolution of the College.
One will notice that there are no footnotes. Rather, the writer has
sought to build the necessary documentation into the narrative itself.
Encouragement and interest have been evidenced by so many that it
is impossible to thank them all. Special gratitude is extended to
President Marvin B. Perry, Jr., for unfailing support, to Mildred L.
Petty, '61, and Juliette Harper, '77, for assistance in reading proofs,
and to Dorothea S. Markert of the Agnes Scott Public Relations
Office who has aided this writer in every way that she could.
I hope very much that Agnes Scott will not be swept by the urge
to supply what may be temporary needs. We have never planned
to meet the calls of "our day." We have always tried to think in
terms of the long future and to establish programs which will be
good for our children and our children's children, as well as for
tomorrow or next year. It may take some steadfastness of purpose
to hold fast to our established program, but I hope that we may be
able to do so.
James Ross McCain
May, 1944
Historically, the Presidents of Agnes Scott have personified the
ideals, the hopes, and the dreams of this College. They have set the
pace; they have pioneered the new paths; they have inspired and
led.
Hal L. Smith
May 18, 1974
To combine the life of faith with the life of the mind, to fuse the
intellectual and spiritual dimensions of the life of learning — this
is the goal we seek. It does not need a particular curriculum; it
shuns indoctrination. Rather the individual student sees it in the
lives of those who teach and otherwise participate in the college
community, in the way those lives are lived and in the values such
living reveals. It is the quality of this living, day by day and
through "the passing years," that makes [Agnes Scott's] legacy
indeed a goodly heritage.
Marvin Banks Perry, Jr.
Autumn, 1976
VI
Chapter I
BEGINNINGS
1889—1907
It is a cliche' to say that the American Civil War devastated the
South. The fact, however, remains that this internal conflict did set this
region decades behind the rest of the nation. All fields of activity were
hindered in their development, but this retardation was nowhere more
evident than in the area of education. Many schools and colleges never
re-opened after the War, and those that did found their endowments
either gone or sadly depleted, their buildings and equipment in
disrepair and disarray, and their faculties scattered.
Public education at the secondary and elementary level was largely
nonexistent, and such as could be found was rudimentary in its
offerings. The one-room school was the rule, and the competency of
many teachers was just above the level of ignorance. Of course, there
were notable exceptions to this sorry state of affairs, but in the main,
education in the South was at a low ebb.
During this period of the 1 870's and 1 880's, Georgia was in a serious
plight. For many people money was almost non-existent. Those
schools that were established had no funds and consequently soon
died. Education was largely a hit or miss affair. Public instruction, as it
is thought of today, was in its infancy. The great Gustavus J. Orr,
considered by many as the father of public education in Georgia, was
in 1872 just beginning his notable work as the state's second school
commissioner. In Atlanta, the public school system dates from the
same year. It was a period of struggle, of some success, and of much
frustration and failure.
Rural areas and small settlements found their educational problems
even more acute than those of the larger communities, and Decatur
was no exception. The town had been incorporated in 1832, some
fifteen years before Atlanta achieved similar status, and even though
the older community was just six miles from the center of its large
neighbor to the west, Decatur was, up to the turn of the century, rather
much separated from Atlanta. An unpopulated area of considerable
size lay between the two towns, and communication was by means of
either the Georgia Railroad or horse-drawn vehicle. At the beginning
of the last decade of the nineteenth century, the town of Decatur had a
population of about one thousand, and its schools, like those of similar
communities, were at a low ebb. In the year 1888-1889 two schools
operated in the town, one a private school of elementary level and the
other a public institution of the primary and grammar school type, the
latter being far from satisfactory in its work. The private school,
operated by Miss Kate Hillyer, long ago went out of existence, and the
public school folded also. For that matter, public education as it now
exists in Decatur traces its origins from 1902.
In the year 1889, in the context of this educational and economic
situation, Agnes Scott College was born. The Rev. Frank H. Gaines
had in 1888 accepted the pastorate of the Decatur Presbyterian
Church, arriving in December of that year from the Falling Spring
Presbyterian Church in Rockbridge County, Virginia. Besides his
interest in preaching and pastoral work, Mr. Gaines had during his
sojourn in Virginia developed a very active interest in education,
particularly education with a strong Christian emphasis. He
immediately saw the pressing need in Decatur for a quality school —
particularly for girls — , and before the end of his first year in the town,
he was addressing himself to this need.
Frank Henry Gaines was born in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, on July
25, 1852, the son of John Rhea and Sarah Rice Gaines. He received his
B.A. degree from Cumberland University in 1870, studied medicine
briefly, and then in 1873 entered Union Theological Seminary in
Virginia, completing his work there in 1 876. In September of the same
year, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister and began his ministry
in Ebenezer Presbytery, Kentucky. Two years later he transferred to
Lexington Presbytery in Virginia from whence at the age of thirty-six
he came to the pastorate of the Decatur Presbyterian Church, a
congregation then numbering approximately 235 members.
As has already been said, there was a great need in Decatur for a
good elementary school. Indeed, as the academic session drew to a
close in the spring of 1889, there was a real question concerning what
educational arrangements could be made for the next fall. To Mr.
Gaines, with his keen interest in education, the occasion seemed
propitious for the opening of a Christian school under the auspices of
the Decatur Presbyterian Church. Mr. Gaines, ever an activist,
broached the subject informally to several of the leaders in his
congregation and met with a favorable response. Among these was
Col. George W. Scott, who was destined to play a leading role in the
proposed enterprise, but more of this later. Such was the enthusiasm
for the idea that by mid-July of 1889 it seemed appropriate to call a
formal meeting of interested persons. On July 1 7, 1 889, a group met in
the pastor's study at the manse. Within a period of six weeks from that
date, a charter had been granted to the Decatur Female Seminary; a
place of operation had been secured; students had been recruited, and
a faculty employed. One month later on September 24, 1889, the
Seminary officially opened with sixty-three students and four teachers
— a remarkable achievement in determination and speed. So
important for Agnes Scott are the meetings held in the late summer of
1889 that their minutes are given herewith in full:
Decatur, Georgia, July 17, 1889
According to a previous understanding several members of the
Presbyterian Church of Decatur met this evening at the Manse.
Present: Rev. F. H. Gaines, George W. Scott, Milton A. Candler,
Sr., Dr. Robert C. Word, James W. Kirkpatrick, J. A. Mason,
John B. Swanton, George A. Ramspeck, B. S. Crane and H. J.
Williams.
Rev. F. H. Gaines was called to the chair, and R. C. Word was
appointed secretary.
The Chairman stated that the object of the meeting was to advise
as to the need and feasibility of establishing in Decatur a school
for young ladies and girls, to be of high order and under
Presbyterian control and influence.
After discussion, Col. George W. Scott offered the following
resolution, which was unanimously adopted, to wit:
"Resolved, That we determine to establish at once a school
of high character."
On motion of George A. Ramspeck, a committee consisting of
George A. Ramspeck, George W. Scott and E. L. Hanes was
appointed to canvass the town and report at a future meeting the
probable number of pupils to be secured for the opening session.
On motion a committee, composed of Rev. F. H. Gaines, B. S.
Crane and C. M. Candler, was appointed to prepare and report to
the next meeting a plan of organization, and also to correspond
with suitable persons as teachers.
On motion of M . A. Candler, Sr., it was made the duty of the first
named committee to ascertain whether or not a suitable house
could be obtained for the school, and upon what terms.
On motion it was resolved that the committee appointed to
canvass for pupils, could say to patrons that the rates of tuition for
day pupils would be from three to five dollars per month, and that
a limited number of boys under twelve years of age would be
received during the first session.
On motion those present adjourned to meet again at the same
place on Monday evening next at 8 o'clock.
(Signed) R. C. Word
Secretary
Decatur, Georgia, July 22, 1889
Pursuant to adjournment members of the Presbyterian Church
interested in the organization of a female school, met at the
Manse, Rev. F. H. Gaines, presiding.
The meeting was opened with prayer by chairman. The
Committee on Pupils and Building reported that thirty-nine
pupils had been subscribed, with a strong probability of at least
ten more. In regard to securing a house, nothing definite had been
accomplished, though they thought there was a strong hope of
obtaining the Allen house. On motion this committee was
continued with the same duties.
The Committee on plan of organization reported in writing a
proposed charter and scheme. On motion of Col. George W.
Scott, M. A. and C. M. Candler were requested to embody the
suggestion of the committee in a petition to the Superior Court of
DeKalb County for a charter under the name of the "Decatur
Female Seminary."
On motion of M. A. Candler, Sr., J. W. Kirkpatrick, R. C. Word,
R. F. Davis, W. J. Houston, George A. Ramspeck, and J. A.
Mason were appointed a committee to apply for said charter.
On motion the meeting adjourned to meet Saturday afternoon
next.
(Signed) R. C. Word
Secretary
Decatur, Georgia, July 27, 1889
Those interested in the objects heretofore stated met at the Manse
this afternoon, Rev. F. H. Gaines presiding.
The chairman stated that a number of letters had been received
relating to teachers, and they were read. The committee had not
been able to secure the proper person as principal, as yet.
On motion of George W. Scott the Committee was continued and
its chairman, Mr. Gaines, authorized to visit Virginia with the
object of securing a suitable person, as principal.
The committee on building reported that they had made a
proposition to lease the Allen house on the south side of the
Georgia Railroad, but no definite answer had been received.
On motion the action of the committee was ratified and it was
continued.
The meeting adjourned subject to the call of the chairman.
(Signed) R. C. Word
Secretary
Decatur, Georgia, August 24, 1889
Pursuant to the call of the Chairman, the following persons
interested in the establishment of a female seminary met at the
Manse — Present: Messrs. F. H. Gaines, George W. Scott, M.A.
Candler, G. A. Ramspeck, R. C. Word, J. B. Swanton, G. B.
Scott, J. W. Kirkpatrick, B. S. Crane, R. F. Davis, C. M. Candler,
and H. J. Williams.
M r. Gaines, chairman of the committee on teachers, reported that
after a visit on his part to Virginia, the committee had secured the
services of Miss Nannette Hopkins, as principal, for the year, and
Miss Mattie Cook as assistant, Miss Hopkins at a salary of six
hundred ($600.00) dollars per annum and Miss Cook at four
hundred ($400.00) dollars per annum.
The report was adopted on motion of M. A. Candler.
On motion George W. Scott, R. C. Word and G. A. Ramspeck
were appointed a committee to secure a competent matron, and to
purchase the necessary school furniture.
The Committee on teachers was continued and instructed to make
inquiry for suitable teachers in the Music and Art Department.
On motion of G. A. Ramspeck the meeting adjourned to meet
next Monday night.
(Signed) R. C. Word
Secretary
At the fifth meeting of these "interested persons," it was
reported that a matron had been employed and that school
furniture had been purchased. Then, on the same date, the
charter was presented and accepted. Here is the record of
that meeting:
Incorporation Meeting
Decatur, Georgia, August 27, 1889
Pursuant to notice, the Committee of Incorporators, as named in
the application for charter, met at the manse, present: J. W.
Kirkpatrick, R. C. Word, R. F. Davis, J. A. Mason and G.A.
Ramspeck. A majority of the Incorporators being present, J. W.
Kirkpatrick was called to the chair and Dr. R. C. Word was
appointed Secretary.
The charter granted to said persons, as Incorporators of the
Decatur Female Seminary, by the Superior Court of DeKalb
County was read and unanimously accepted. It is as follows:
CHARTER
Georgia To the Superior Court of said County
DeKalb County
The petition of James W. Kirkpatrick, Robert C. Word, Robert
F. Davis, Washington J. Houston, George H. Ramspeck and J. A.
Mason show that they desire to be incorporated under the
Corporate name of the "Decatur Female Seminary." The object of
their association is to establish an Institution of learning in the
town of Decatur, in said County, for the moral and intellectual
training and education of female youths. They desire the amount
of capital stock to be fixed at five thousand dollars to be paid up in
cash or its equivalent, twenty per cent annually in such
installments as may be called for by the Board of Trustees,
hereafter provided for, with the priviledge [sic] of increasing such
Capital Stock to an amount not to exceed Twenty-five thousand
Dollars.
They desire that the entire management control and direction of
said Seminary shall be vested in a Board of Trustees, composed of
five persons to be constituted in the following manner. The Pastor
of the Decatur Presbyterian Church shall be ex officio, during his
pastorate a Trustee. Two of the remaining four Trustees, shall be
elected by the Session of Decatur Presbyterian Church, and shall
be members of said church, in good and regular standing. At the
first election therefor, one shall be elected for a term of two years.
and one for four years. As these terms expire their successors shall
be elected for full terms of four years.
The remaining two Trustees shall be elected by the stockholders of
said Seminary each share being entitled to one vote, and shall be
members of the Presbyterian church in the United States, in good
and regular standing. At the first election therefor, one shall be
elected for two years and one for four years, and as these terms
expire their successors shall be elected for full terms of four years.
Vacancies in either division of the Trustees shall be filled by the
respective election thereof for the unexpired terms.
The Pastor of the Presbyterian Church shall be chairman of the
Board of Trustees. The Trustees shall submit annual reports of
their transactions, together with such information as will fully
show the conditions of said Seminary to the Session of the
Decatur Presbyterian Church which report shall be subject to
approval or disapproval by said Session. Said Session shall also
have authority, in their official capacity to visit and inspect said
Seminary as often as they desire, and to investigate fully into its
conditions, needs and conduct.
The capital stock of said Seminary shall be devided [sic] into one
hundred shares of the par value of Fifty Dollars each, and the
subscribers thereto shall be responsible pecuniarily only for the
unpaid amounts of their subscriptions. Petotioners [sic] desire
that all the powers, rights and privileges necessary for the conduct,
support and maintenance of said Seminary, together with such
powers as are usually conferred on colleges and seminaries, be
conferred upon said Board of Trustees, with the right to hold and
acquire property, to sue and be sued in their corporate capacity, to
sell, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any property they may
acquire as may seem to the interest of said Institution, to charge
and collect tuition fees, employ teachers etc. They desire that as
soon as their charter is granted and accepted, and the amount of
its capital stock subscribed the Board of Trustees may be elected
and said Seminary opened for the reception of pupils.
The Principal office and location of said Seminary shall be in the
town of Decatur, said County. Wherefore petitioners pray for an
order incorporating them as the said "Decatur Female Seminary"
for the term of twenty years, with the privilege of renewal, and
with all the rights, powers and privileges as above set forth.
And petitioners will ever pray.
Filed in office July 27, 1889.
Candler, Thomson and Candler
Petitioners' Attorney
H.H. Burgess CSC
ORDER
Exparte DeKalb Superior Court
J. W. Kirkpatrick et al August Term 1889
Application for Charter
Read and considered, and it appearing to the satisfaction of the
Court, that the application is legitimately within the purview of
the code and that all the prerequisites of the law in regard to filing,
advertising etc. have been fully complied with, it is therefore
ordered by the Court that the prayer of the applicants be declared
granted, and that the petitioners their associates and successors be
and they are hereby incorporated under the name of the Decatur
Female Seminary, with all the rights, powers and privileges as
prayed for in said application, with the future government and
control of the Institution to be established hereunder vested in the
Trustees to be appointed as therein specified.
In open Court, this Aug. 27th II
Richard H. Clark
Judge S C Presiding
By the Court
Candler, Thomson and Candler
Petrs' Attys
The charter as above set forth having been accepted, on motion, R
C. Word, G. A. Ramspeck and J. A. Mason, thereof were
appointed to receive and solicit subscriptions to the capital stock.
On motion the Incorporators adjourned to meet on Monday night
next.
(Signed) R. C. Word
Secretary
Decatur, Georgia, September 2, 1889
The Incorporators met pursuant to adjournment, a quorum being
present. . . .
It appearing that the requisite amount of stock had been
subscribed, the subscribers were called together, the charter and
list turned over to them and the Incorporators adjourned sine die.
R. C. Word
Secretary
Copy of List of Subscribers
Name No. Shares
Milton A. Candler
10
CM. Candler
5
George B. Scott
6
J. A. Ansley
2
T. L. Cooper
2
R. C. Word
2
J. B. Bucher
2
B. S. Crane
1
G. A. Ramspeck
2
T. R. Ramspeck
2
R. F. Davis
1
J. W. Kirkpatrick
1
J. A. Mason
2
N. P. Pratt
1
George W. Scott
40
Thomas Freeman
1
V. R. Sisson
1
M. A. Candler, Jr.
2
C. W. Ansley
1
E. P. Ansley
1
H. J. Williams
2
Ed L. Grant
1
W. M. Kirkpatrick
1
J. A. Kirkpatrick
1
J. C. Powell
1
L. M. Cassels
2
Geo. S. Bucher
2
E. L. Hanes, Jr.
1
John B. Swanton
2
J. H. Green
1
J. P. Laird
1
W. P. Houston & R. R. Billips 2
T. J. Ripley
2
H. C. Austin
1
A. L. Pitts
2
107
Amount
$500.00
250.00
300.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
50.00
100.00
100.00
50.00
50.00
100.00
50.00
2,000.00
50.00
50.00
100.00
50.00
50.00
100.00
50.00
50.00
50.00
50.00
100.00
100.00
50.00
100.00
50.00
50.00
100.00
100.00
50.00
100.00
$5,350.00
As is set forth in the charter above quoted, the Decatur Female
Seminary was to be governed by a board of five trustees, two to be
elected by the Session of the Decatur Presbyterian Church from the
members of the Church in "good and regular standing," two to be
10
elected by the stockholders, with the pastor of the church being the
fifth trustee and chairman of the Board. The first Board of Trustees
was constituted as follows:
F. H. Gaines, Chairman
C. M. Candler
B. S. Crane
George W. Scott
E. H. Barnett, D.D.
Dr. Barnett was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of
Atlanta, and thus begins Agnes Scott's close association with that
congregation, every pastor of the church from Dr. Barnett to the
present pastor emeritus having served as a trustee of the institution.
As has been said, the Seminary officially opened on September 24,
1889. There were sixty day students, three boarding students, and four
teachers. Miss Hopkins and Miss Cook have already been mentioned.
The other two teachers were Miss Fannie Pratt who taught piano and
Miss Valeria Fraser who taught art and calisthenics. The year was a
good one, and the school promptly earned the support of its
constituency. One cannot overemphasize the importance of these first
four teachers in winning the confidence of the citizens of the town and
of the patrons of the school. Had they failed, another defunct
institution would be on the list of such schools. But they did not fail,
and Agnes Scott College stands as a lasting testimonial to their
effectiveness. Apparently Miss Pratt and Miss Fraser were not long
related to the institution, but Miss Cook remained for twenty years,
and the tenure of Miss Hopkins was forty-nine years — the longest to
date of any administrative or faculty member in Agnes Scott's history.
A hallmark of Agnes Scott College is that it has always been sure of
its purpose or mission. Early in the first year, Chairman Gaines
realized this need and set down what he called the "Agnes Scott Ideal."
Col. George W. Scott endorsed this statement, and it was issued in a
booklet. So important and formative was this statement that it has
been called the "Magna Carta" of the College. Commenting on this
Ideal, Dr. Gaines (He received an honorary D.D. degree from
Davidson College in 1896.) wrote in 1921 as follows:
What the architect's plans are to the future building, this Ideal was
to the institution. The great principles here announced were to
guide and control in the building of the institution. This Ideal
II
dominated in the development of the institution, was strictly
adhered to in all its struggles, and is still its Magna Carta.
In 1939, when Agnes Scott celebrated its fiftieth anniversary,
President James Ross McCain reaffirmed this Ideal; President
Wallace McPherson Alston in his inaugural address in 1951
committed his administration to these same principles, and President
Marvin Banks Perry, Jr., explicitly and implicitly espoused these time-
honored commitments. In a real sense then this statement of principle,
announced in the institution's first year, has been the controlling frame
of reference for everything at Agnes Scott. Here is this Ideal as Dr.
Gaines framed it:
1. A liberal Curriculum fully abreast of the best institutions of
this country.
2. The Bible as a text-book.
3. Thoroughly qualified and consecrated teachers.
4. A high standard of scholarship.
5. All the influences of the College conducive to the formation
and development of Christian character.
6. The glory of God, the chief end of all.
Another document of great importance from the early days of
Agnes Scott is the prayer covenant which eight of the leaders signed.
Convinced that the institution was an instrument of God's purpose,
they bound themselves together in a mutual prayer agreement — an
agreement which is unchanged and still living in that through the years
others have signed it, there being one currently at Agnes Scott whose
signature is affixed to this document, the original copy being still in
existence. Here is this prayer covenant and its original signers:
We, the undersigned, believing the promise of our Lord
concerning prayer {Matt. 18:19), and having at heart the largest
success of the Agnes Scott Institute in its great work for the glory
of God, do hereby enter into covenant with each other to offer
daily prayer in our 'closets' for the following specific objects:
1. For each other in our work in and for the Institute
2. For the Board of Trustees and Faculty.
3. That God would convert every unconverted pupil before
leaving the Institute.
4. That He would graciously build up in the faith, and prepare
for highest usefulness all who are His.
12
5. That He would baptize the institution with the Holy Spirit, and
make it a great fountain of blessing.
6. That He would give it so much of endowment and prosperity
as He sees would be for His own glory.
7. That He would have the institution constantly in His own
holy care and keeping, that His name may be glorified.
F. H. Gaines
Nannette Hopkins
Patty B. Watkins
George W. Scott
E. H. Barnett
J. G. Patton
Theron H. Rice
Milton A. Candler
Toward the end of the first year of the Decatur Female Seminary, a
development occurred which perhaps was the single most important
event in the history of Agnes Scott College. Col. George Washington
Scott, having invited Dr. Gaines into his parlor, said to him: "Mr.
Gaines, the Lord has greatly prospered me in my business and I don't
want it to harden my heart; I have decided to give forty thousand
($40,000.00) dollars to provide a home for our school." One condition
was placed on this gift, namely, that the school be named for the
donor's mother. Understandably, the Trustees promptly accepted this
gift and immediately launched the procedures necessary to amend the
charter, altering the name of the institution from the Decatur Female
Seminary to Agnes Scott Institute. In this same amendment to the
charter, the number of trustees was increased to six. Dr. G. B.
Strickler, pastor of Atlanta's Central Presbyterian Church, was
promptly elected to this additional post.
The year 1890-1891 saw a greatly enlarged number of students — a
growth from sixty-three to 138, with 22 of these being boarders. An
additional house had to be rented, and as Dr. Gaines has written,
"Another successful session gave assurance of the permanence of the
work."
At the end of the 1 889- 1 890 session a little pamphlet of twenty-three
pages was issued, this pamphlet being the first in the annual series of
Agnes Scott catalogues. In it one finds the listing of trustees, faculty,
and students, as well as the course offerings. There likewise is
information on history, location, buildings, purpose, and rules — the
usual information one finds in college catalogues today. The course
13
offerings were divided into two major departments — preparatory and
collegiate, the former being of the elementary level and the latter that
of the secondary school. The collegiate course of study was distributed
into ten "schools," namely, English, mathematics, natural sciences,
Biblical instruction, history, moral sciences, Latin, modern languages,
vocal and instrumental music, and art. Both Dr. Gaines and Miss
Hopkins taught, and the faculty for the second session lists eleven
others as well, some of them part-time, of course. To complete the
work of the collegiate department, a student had to secure a
"certificate of graduation" in eight of the disciplines. The passing grade
was 80. Board and tuition for the 1890-1891 year was $185.00, with an
extra charge for instruction in music or art. Day students paid $7.50,
$10 00 or $12.00 per quarter depending on what grade they were in. It
is interesting to note that this first "catalogue" sets forth the following
statement of what the school considered the proper work of the
teacher:
The true educator should seek to develop and train the intellect,
not by the cramming process, but train it to think by giving it
proper food for thought, proper methods of thought and proper
stimulation to thought.
The true educator should seek to cultivate the taste, to lead the
pupil to recognize and admire the beautiful in nature, in art, in
literature, in the home, in all life. The true educator should seek
very carefully and properly to train the moral faculties.
This same first official publication further proposes to achieve this
"proper" education by utilizing "the best teaching talent" with the
"most approved text books and methods of instruction." And then
comes the clincher — that commitment to standards which has ever
been a hallmark of Agnes Scott: "We propose to require that each part
of the course shall be mastered before the pupil shall be permitted to
advance."
Col. Scott spent much of this second year in carrying out his
intentions for the building which he proposed to erect. Among other
things, he took a northern trip to see school buildings. As a result, he
became convinced that the amount he intended to give would not
provide the building he wanted. Consequently, he increased his gift
such that by the time the land was purchased and the building erected,
he had contributed $ 1 1 2,250, the largest gift ever made to education in
Georgia up to that time. The site chosen was five acres on the south
side of the Georgia Railroad, easily accessible to Decatur and to the
railroad station, primary considerations in those days. (The first
14
catalogue even states that there "are fourteen daily passenger trains"
between Decatur and Atlanta.) The new building was named Agnes
Scott Hall but through the years has been popularly known as "Main."
It was in 1891 the "last word" in a modern college building, being
lighted with electricity, heated with steam, and having hot and cold
running water and sanitary plumbing — these being conveniences
seldom found in college buildings before the turn of the century. That
Col. Scott built well is evidenced by the circumstance that more than
ninety years later his building is in full use as one of the principal
structures on the campus. It is difficult today to assess how important
it was for Agnes Scott Institute to have a fine building. It represented a
firm confidence in the future of the institution. Dr. Gaines, in
commenting on Col. Scott, has written the following about this
structure and its significance:
Then too, the kind of building he [Col. Scott] erected produced a
powerful effect. It was a large structure, beautiful in architecture
and built of selected material. It would do credit to any college
campus. This building expressed Col. Scott's great vision of the
future of this school. It testified to his confidence in the enterprise.
It expressed his estimate of the importance of the work of
Christian education. It attracted wide attention. It made a
profound impression upon the Synod and upon the entire
Presbyterian Church in Georgia, and, indeed upon other
churches. It is interesting to conjecture what would have been the
effect if Col. Scott had put up a plain ordinary building only
sufficient for a local day school.
Who were George Washington Scott and his mother Mrs. Agnes
Irvine Scott? Perhaps this is an appropriate place to pause in this
narrative and say something of these two persons whose names are
inseparably linked with Agnes Scott College. In February, 1951,
President Wallace M. Alston delivered an address on the occasion of
the dedication of the George W. Scott Memorial Park in Decatur. In
this address he included the following excellent summary of the lives of
George Washington Scott and of his mother:
George Washington Scott was born in Alexandria, Pennsylvania,
on February 22nd, 1829. He was the fourth child of John and
Agnes Scott, both of whom were of Scotch and Scotch-Irish
extraction.
John Scott was a native of Adams County, Pennsylvania, where
his ancestors, after emigrating from Ireland, had established
themselves as farmers on Lower Marsh Creek as early as 1740.
15
The father of George Washington Scott was a successful and
prosperous business man whose interests included a tannery and
an establishment where shoes and boots were manufactured. He
later served in both the Pennsylvania State Legislature and the
Congress of the United States.
Agnes Irvine, mother of George Washington Scott, was born in
Ballykeel, County Down, Ireland, on June 15th, 1799. When she
was seventeen years old she came with her mother to America.
The voyage in a sailing vessel required thirty-six days. This trip to
a new land had its tragic aspect for Agnes Irvine, for en route her
sister Susanna became ill and died at sea. Upon their arrival in
America, the mother and daughter made their way inland two-
hundred miles to the town of Alexandria, Huntingdon County,
Pennsylvania, where some of their relatives who had preceded
them from County Down, Ireland, resided. There John Scott and
Agnes Irvine met, fell in love, and married on October 29, 1821.
John Scott had been previously married and was a widower with
five children. Seven children were born to John Scott and Agnes
Irvine - Susan, John, James Irvine, George Washington,
William, Mary Irvine and Alfred.
The boyhood of George Washington Scott was spent in
Alexandria. There he received his education. From early
childhood he was instructed in the Scriptures and was taught to
revere them as the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith
and practice. Religious truth as set forth by the Westminster
Confession of Faith, particularly by the Shorter Catechism,
constituted a fundamental part of the early discipline of mind and
heart. Habits of prayer, Bible reading, church attendance,
Christian stewardship, and Christian service were normal and
integral to the home in which George Washington Scott grew up.
As a young boy he made a profession of his faith and became a
member of the Presbyterian church in Alexandria. Thus began a
long and faithful experience of loyal service to Jesus Christ
through the Presbyterian Church whose doctrine, polity, and
program he supported with unwavering conviction.
The most determinative influence in that Pennsylvania home
seems to have been the character and teaching of Agnes Irvine
Scott. Her son John in an address at the Dedicatory Exercises at
Agnes Scott Institute, November 12, 1891, paid this tribute to his
mother: "It is not for the spirit of mortals to be proud; but if men,
yea, men whose hairs are whitened with the light of years, may
justly, at any time, feel any pride, I am sure it is when they mingle
with that pride the gratitude, reverence and affection which are
due to an intelligent, conscientious, good Christian mother. That
pride and gratitude, reverence and affection, speaking for my
brother, we express of and to that mother whose name this
16
Institute is to bear. She is worthy of our pride, gratitude, reverence
and affection and of your commemoration. She met the duties of
her sphere with the sublimest faith and trust in the goodness of
God, and in His overruling providence. 'There is a God who rules
and reigns in the armies of heaven, and who doeth His will among
the inhabitants of the earth,'' was one of her daily utterances to her
children. She was a Presbyterian, and loved her church. She
believed in the sovereignty of that God as devoutly as in His
goodness and mercy; and did not waste her time in metaphysical
disquisitions, attempting to reconcile them, but diligently went
about her duties and saw to it that no child of hers should go out
into the world ignorant of the Shorter Catechism. Her early
education had awakened in her the love of the true and the
beautiful; hence, the first of all books to her was the Bible; and
after this and her devotional books she appreciated Shakespeare
and Burns. I have two treasures from her hand, both presented on
the 14th of April, 1840 — a copy of Shakespeare and a Bible. In
the latter, written with her hand, is an admonition which was the
reflection of her own life: Proverbs c. 3; v. 5, 6. Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding'.
'In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy
paths. . . .' And thus it was that in her home alike in pleasure, in
sorrow, in the midst of the ever-recurring duties of wife, mother,
friend, and counselor, she seasoned all her lessons with the truths
of inspiration." A beautiful reflection of the character and
spiritual life of Agnes Irvine Scott is found in a prayer written in
her own handwriting in her Bible: "Heavenly Father, I leave all
that belongs to me to Thee. Undertake Thou for them (her
children). Bless them and make them blessings. Hide them under
the shadow of Thy wings and direct their steps. May the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all."
When he was twenty-one George Washington Scott left
Pennsylvania because of his health. He had not been a robust boy,
having had frequent trouble with his throat. It was believed that
the milder climate of the South would be beneficial to him. He left
his home in Alexandria on October 4th, 1850, and defrayed his
expenses as he moved southward by selling jewelry on the way.
This trip was probably made with horse and buggy. On his way to
Florida, George Scott visited Decatur and Atlanta for a brief
period. In a personal diary we find some notations that relate to
the first visit made by George W. Scott to Decatur and Atlanta:
"Wednesday, October 30, 1850. Arrived at Decatur about 5
o'clock in the evening; received a letter from John (his brother)
and also one from Daniel Evans — did not get one from Mother as
I expected. Am a good deal disappointed; stopped at Dr.
Calhoun's hotel. Read Isaiah 14.
17
"Thursday, the 31st. Left Decatur about half past seven and
arrived in Atlanta about 8 o'clock — very warm and pleasant.
Stopped at the Atlanta Hotel. This is the most stirring place for
the size that I have ever seen. I suppose I saw between two and
three-hundred wagons in the town today, principally all hauling
cotton. Some were drawn by horses, some by mules and a great
many by oxen. Met a Mr. Orme, said he was raised near
Harrisburg; he told me he came to this place four years ago and
there were then but two houses on the ground where the town now
stands. The Georgia Railroad, Savannah and Macon Railroad,
and the Georgia State Railroad all terminate here. . . . Had a long
talk with a young man who spent last winter in southern Georgia.
He gave me an account of his deer hunts in that region which were
very interesting. Read Isaiah 15."
Young George W. Scott remained in Atlanta until Tuesday,
November 5th, 1850. He went to Griffin, to Columbus, into
southern Alabama, then eastward into Florida where he settled in
Quincy for approximately a year. He moved to Tallahassee where
he entered a mercantile business in 1852, establishing the firm of
George W. Scott and Company. This business prospered from the
beginning. In addition, George W. Scott became a plantation
owner where likewise he made a success of a business venture.
Here in Tallahassee he made and lost his first fortune. The
outbreak of war depleted his financial resources and elicited from
him personal sacrifice and unselfish service.
At the beginning of the War Between the States, George W. Scott
(in the language of an editorial in the Tallahassee, Florida,
newspaper of October 9th, 1903) "shouldered his musket with a
saddened heart, but with a resolute front, and went with the
Tallahassee Guards to the battle line. He was a soldier without
fear, as he had been a citizen without reproach. He rose over every
battlefield to a higher rank, and at Olustee he wore a full colonel's
uniform, commanded his regiment side by side with Colquitt and
Finley, and shared in full the honor and the credit of that famous
field." He entered the military service of the State of Florida in
May 1861, determined to give his full allegiance to his adopted
state and the South — even though he was born and reared in the
North, with strong ties of kinship binding him to that section.
When the Tallahassee Guards were mustered into the Confederate
service as Company D, Second Florida Cavalry, George W. Scott
became the captain. In 1863 the Secretary of War of the
Confederacy directed him to organize the Fifth Florida Battalion,
known as "Scott's Cavalry," commanding this unit with the rank
of lieutenant-colonel. In October, 1864, Col. Scott was made
commanding officer of "Middle and West Florida and Southwest
Georgia." He was engaged in the battle of Olustee and Natural
Bridge, serving with distinction and bravery. On May 13, 1865,
Col. Scott surrendered his command to General McCook of the
Union Army and was paroled on May 23, 1865. The "Cross of
Honor" was bestowed upon Col. Scott by the Tallahassee Chapter
of the Daughters of the Confederacy in recognition of his
dovotion to the cause of the South.
At the end of the War Col. Scott was unanimously nominated,
despite his repeated protests, as Democratic candidate for the
governorship of Florida. This was in 1868 during the
reconstruction era when such turbulence obtained throughout the
South. The election, conducted under military rule, extended
throughout the period of three days. The Negroes, now
enfranchised, voted the Republican ticket and Col. Scott was
defeated. He was never again willing to run for public office — a
tremendous loss to his state.
In 1870 George W. Scott left Florida and made his home in
Savannah where he engaged in a very successful cotton "factorage
and commission business." After accumulating a large fortune in
Savannah Col. Scott, through no fault of his own, lost his wealth,
and in 1877 moved to Decatur with a small sum of money
advanced by friends and business associates in Savannah -
persons who had great confidence in his integrity and ability and
who believed that he would succeed again as he had so many times
in the past.
George Washington Scott bought his home in Decatur and with
his family began a residence in this community that was to
continue until his death twenty-six years later. Here, as a pioneer
in the commercial fertilizer business, Col. Scott made an
outstanding contribution to the industrial development of the
southeast. He was one of the first industrial leaders to see the
possibilities of the use of Florida phosphate rock in the
manufacture of commercial fertilizers. In addition to this large-
scale operation, Col. Scott gave considerable attention to the
purchase and development of central real estate in Atlanta and to
the organization of such industries as the Scottdale Mills. In the
October 9, 1903, issue of the Atlanta Journal, appears the
announcement of George W. Scott's death. This account includes
some significant statements concerning the importance of his
business achievements: "He has been prominent in everything
looking toward the upbuilding of Atlanta, and in the business
world he was known all over the South as one of the most wealthy
men in this section of the country . . . .Though an aged man, Mr.
Scott was very active up to the time of his death and took a keen
interest in business. His last great work was the building of the
skyscraping Century Building at the corner of Whitehall and
19
Alabama which stands as a monument to his belief in Atlanta as
the coming metropolis of the South.
"Mr. Scott many years ago founded the George W. Scott
Fertilizer Company, which he conducted with great success.
Several years ago this company was merged with the great Comer
Hull Company of Savannah, under the name of the Southern
Fertilizer Company. About five years ago this company was
bought up by the great Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, by
which company it is now managed.
"When he sold his fertilizer plant Mr. Scott founded the George
W. Scott Investment Company and began purchasing central real
estate in the city of Atlanta. At the time of his death this company
owned some of the finest central real estate in the city of Atlanta.
"He always took a pride in Atlanta and believed that its
possibilities were boundless."
In all of his varied business, church, educational and
philanthropic enterprises, Col. Scott was ably supported by his
wife. During his young manhood George W. Scott returned at
intervals to his old home in Alexandria, Pennsylvania. In 1854 he
was married to Miss Rebekah Bucher, of Bucher's Mill near
Harrisburg. Mrs. Scott graced the home in Tallahassee, then in
Savannah, and from 1877 to 1899 the home that [they made
together in Decatur].
* * *
Col. Scott gave devoted service to his church through many years.
While a resident of Tallahassee he served as a deacon in the
Presbyterian Church there. Upon removal to Savannah, Col.
Scott was elected an elder in the First Presbyterian Church in that
city. For approximately twenty-five years he served as a ruling
elder in the Decatur Presbyterian Church. His many ecclesiastical
responsibilities included membership on the Board of Trustees of
Columbia Theological Seminary and on the Assembly's Home
Mission Committee.
In the McCain Library at Agnes Scott College are two letters written
in 1890 by George W. Scott to his brother John. In these letters Col.
Scott sets out his plan to honor his mother by establishing a school in
her memory. While the entire text of the letters makes interesting and
pertinent reading, one commitment that he makes has set the path for
the institution that he founded. Here is the statement: "If I am spared
and prosperity continues with me it is my desire to make it [Agnes
Scott] as good an institution of this kind as there is in this land." From
that day to this Agnes Scott's goal has been excellence — to be as good
20
an institution of its type as there is in this land. Hence the founder
enunciated as early as 1890 a determinative characteristic of the
institute and subsequently of the college, namely, dissatisfaction with
the status quo — the desire always to be better than now. Never
satisfied — this phrase has mirrored and continues to mirror Agnes
Scott.
Before this account moves forward, a fuller word needs to be said
about one other person related to the establishment of Agnes Scott
College. It has been noted that at some point between the meeting of
the "founders" on July 27, 1889, and that on August 24, 1889, Dr.
Gaines went to Virginia where he employed Miss Nannette Hopkins as
principal. He first approached the Rev. A. R. Cocke, a Presbyterian
minister in Waynesboro, Virginia, and offered the post to him. Mr.
Cocke was unable to accept the proposed position; however, he said
that if he were looking for a person for such work he would go
immediately to Miss Nannette Hopkins of Staunton. Although Dr.
Gaines did not know Miss Hopkins at all, he took Mr. Cocke's advice
and sought out this young woman, offering her the principalship,
which she accepted. In many respects this development is rather
remarkable. Dr. Gaines offered the post to a person of whom he had
no first-hand information. She, in turn, accepted a job in a school
which then existed only in the minds of a few interested supporters.
Nannette Hopkins was born on December 24, 1860, in Sangersville,
Virginia. Her father was a physician who had several other children.
She had graduated at Hollins Institute (now Hollins College) and had
taught in the Louise Home School and at the Valley Seminary in
Waynesboro. At the time Dr. Gaines approached her, she had plans to
go on to Bryn Mawr or to Vassar to complete her undergraduate
degree. When she accepted the offer to come to Decatur, it was
apparently with the thought of staying one year and then continuing
her education. She was then in her twenty-ninth year, and she was
destined never to leave Agnes Scott until she retired forty-nine years
later. A reading of the early minutes of the Board of Trustees reveals
that for a year or two after 1889 there was still some discussion of
finding a man to be principal of the Institute, but soon this matter must
have been dropped, and Miss Hopkins was routinely re-elected
annually to her post - eloquent testimony that the Trustees were
highly pleased with the way she discharged her work. Her particular
field was mathematics, and for a number of years, in addition to her
administrative duties, she taught the classes in this discipline.
21
Agnes Scott Hall (Main) was dedicated on November 12, 1891, with
the Synod of Georgia present as an official body. The minutes of the
Trustees show that an effort was made to have the Rev. B. M. Palmer,
first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, give
the dedicatory address; however, he found it necessary because of
"feeble health" to decline the invitation. A second invitation was issued
to the Rev. John L. Girardeau, then a professor in Columbia
Theological Seminary and moderator of the General Assembly in
1874, but he also was unable to accept. Happily the Trustees then
turned to the Rev. G. B. Strickler, who did give the dedicatory address.
His subject was "True Culture." At the time Dr. Strickler was an Agnes
Scott trustee as well as pastor of Atlanta's Central Presbyterian
Church. He had served as moderator of the Presbyterian Church,
U.S., in 1887 and was to become in time the Profesor of Systematic
Theology at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. A second
address at the dedication was given by the Rev. (later Bishop) Warren
A. Candler, then President of Emory College in Oxford, Georgia, who
chose as his topic "Another Christian College in the South." Others
participating in the program were Dr. E. H. Barnett, who reviewed the
history of the institution to date; Col. George W. Scott and the Rev. F.
H. Gaines, who presented and received deeds, respectively; the Rev. J.
C. Barr, who offered the dedicatory prayer (He had been Mrs. Agnes
Scott's pastor at the time of her death.); and the Hon. John Scott, who
gave a biographical sketch of his mother.
Agnes Scott began its third session on September 3, 1891. Dr.
Gaines has written that "the wide publicity given by the press to the
dedication of the new building attracted a large number of students."
In fact, the official "catalogue" shows an enrollment of 292 for the
1891-1892 session — 98 of these being boarding students. Dr. Gaines
further observes that some of these came because they were "attracted
by the new building and the success of the school." A subsequent
settling down in enrollment was therefore understandable.
A review of the early minutes of the Board of Trustees makes clear
that initially these men concerned themselves with the intimate, almost
day-to-day operations of the Institute. All sorts of administrative
matters were attended to by the Trustees. Miss Hopkins as principal
looked after the routine life of the students, and Dr. Gaines as
chairman of the Trustees served as the part-time chief executive
officer. Indeed, the first catalogue states that he would "visit the school
and advise with the Principal almost daily." In 1891 Dr. Gaines began
22
regularly to teach the courses in Bible; however, he was still the pastor
of the Decatur Presbyterian Church with the primary responsibility of
serving that congregation. Also during this same period the minutes
record the recurring actions in which the stockholders were requested
to make good varying percentages of the amounts which each had
subscribed. In this way the Institute was financed if funds other than
those derived from charges were needed.
In this fashion Agnes Scott's administration and finances moved
along until 1896-1897 when some major changes took place. The first
of these changes had to do with administration. Sometime in the
spring of 1896, Col. Scott and Dr. Strickler, acting as a committee of
the Trustees, waited on Dr. Gaines, requesting that he resign his
pastorate and accept the presidency of the Institute. After careful
consideration, Dr. Gaines acceded to this request and left the pastorate
and gave the remainder of his life to Agnes Scott.
The second noteworthy change of this period was a major revision
of the charter. After Dr. Gaines became the President of the Institute,
Col. Scott was on May 17, 1896, elected Chairman of the Trustees, and
Dr. Gaines became the Secretary. During the ensuing year President
Gaines took up with Chairman Scott the limitations and
disadvantages of the stock arrangement as a source of control. As a
result, it was decided to eliminate the stock aspect of the Institute, and
Col. Scott purchased all the shares of stock still outstanding and
cancelled them. At the same time it was concluded to terminate the
provision whereby the Session of the Decatur Presbyterian Church
elected some of the Trustees. These changes are reflected in an
amendment to the charter granted by the Superior Court of DeKalb
County on April 10, 1897. The amended charter annulled the
stockholding feature of the original charter and vested full and final
control of Agnes Scott Institute in a Board of Trustees of not less than
eight and not more than thirteen persons. It also provided that the first
eight trustees be George W. Scott. Rev. F. H. Gaines, D.D., Rev. E. H.
Barnett, D.D., C. M. Candler, Rev. James G. Patton, Rev. Theron H.
Rice, George B. Scott and Milton A. Candler. These trustees were
elected for life, unless removed by a majority of the Board and were
authorized to increase their number to thirteen, "provided that no one
shall be qualified to hold said office who is not a member of the
'Presbyterian Church in the United States' in good and regular
standing, and provided further that any vacancy in said Board,
however created, shall be filled by the remaining Trustees." Thus,
23
Agnes Scott Institute was now controlled by a self-perpetuating
independent Board of Trustees. In this connection Dr. Gaines has
written, "It was the intention of the founders that the Institution
should ever [italics mine] continue under Presbyterian control, but not
under ecclesiastical control."
After the granting of the amended charter, the first action of the
Trustees was to organize themselves on a permanent basis. Col. Scott
was elected president of the Board; the Rev. James G. Patton, who had
succeeded Dr. Gaines as pastor of the Decatur Presbyterian Church,
was named vice president, and President Gaines was made secretary. A
committee of two was appointed to bring in recommendations of by-
laws. Approximately two weeks later on May 17, 1897, the Trustees
met and unanimously adopted bylaws as follows:
BYLAWS
Board of Trustees Agnes Scott Institute
I.
Officers
The officers of the Board shall be a President, a Vice President
and a Secretary, and shall be elected annually at the meeting of the
Board held during commencement.
The President
shall preside at Board meetings, and shall sign all deeds,
conveyances, mortgages, bills payable, or other financial
obligations incurred by the Board.
The Vice President
shall discharge the duties of the President in the absence or
disability of the latter.
The Secretary
shall keep accurate minutes of the proceedings of the Board and
shall countersign all deeds, conveyances, mortgages, bills payable,
or other financial obligations authorized by the Board and to
which the President's signature is required.
He shall, also, be authorized to call special meetings of the Board
when in his judgment desirable or when requested to do so by the
President. He shall be the custodian of all deeds, insurance
policies and all other legal documents belonging to the Board.
24
II.
Committees
The following standing committees shall be appointed annually
by the President, to wit: (1) Finance; (2) Buildings and Grounds;
(3) Faculty and Officers; (4) Scholarships, Library, and
Apparatus; (5) Endowments; (6) Advisory.
The Finance Committee
shall have general supervision of the financial condition and
conduct of the Institute; shall fix all fees and determine the
financial policy of the Institute and shall examine and audit the
accounts and expenditures of the President, at least, once a year.
The Building and Grounds Committee
shall have general supervision of the buildings and grounds of the
Institute, insurance, additions, changes, repairs or improvements
thereto. It shall, also, in connection with the President of the
Institute, employ the electrician and watchman.
The Faculty and Officers Committee
shall be charged with the duty of nominating to the Board the
officers and faculty of the Institute, investigation as to their
character, qualifications, conduct, efficiency, etc., and
recommendations as to salaries and compensation.
The Scholarships and Library Committee
shall be charged with the duty of making recommendations for the
award of all scholarships, under such rules for the awarding
thereof as shall be fixed by the Board. This Committee shall have
the supervision of the library, laboratories, apparatus, etc., and of
all additions thereto.
The Endowment Committee
shall be charged with the duty of soliciting and securing
endowment funds for the Institute either in the way of general
endowment, or the endowment of special chairs, professorships or
scholarships and the investment thereof. This Committee shall
also be especially charged with the important work of securing
funds for the erection and equipment of a new building for the use
of the Institute.
25
The Advisory Committee
shall consider and act upon all questions or inquiries as to the
conduct, management or discipline of the Institute submitted to it
by the President of the Institute and as to which he may desire
counsel or advice.
Reports of Committees
Each standing committee shall submit to the Board annual
reports of its work. Such committees as shall have need of special
funds during the year shall submit estimates of probable needs for
reference by the Board to the Finance Committee.
III.
Organization of the Institute
The general organization of the Institute shall be as follows, to
wit:
a President
a Lady Principal
and Faculty
All shall be elected by the Board for terms of one year.
The President of the Institute
shall be the executive officer of the Board and the financial agent
and manager of the Corporation. He shall have, under the Board,
charge and control of the Institute and its policy, and of all its
officers, teachers and pupils, and the management and direction
of the business details and affairs of the Corporation. He shall
keep or have kept accurate books of accounts showing all receipts,
expenditures, assets and liabilities of the Institute, and shall
submit annual reports to the Board.
The Principal
under the President's direction, shall be charged with the
discipline and internal management and conduct of the Institute.
The Faculty
The members of the Faculty shall perform such duties as may be
assigned them by the President or Principal, under such rules and
regulations as they may establish.
26
Board Meetings
The Board shall meet, at least, twice a year, at the Institute, to wit,
on the first Monday in March for the annual election of officers
and faculty of the Institute, and on Wednesday of each
commencement.
A review of these first bylaws reveals that they made no provision
for an executive committee. This committee did not come into
existence until the Board meeting on October 15, 1901, when this
action was taken:
On motion it was resolved to appoint an executive committee of
five with authority to act upon such matters as may be presented
between the meetings of the Board.
For the first years of Agnes Scott's existence the Trustees had no
stated time for meeting. They assembled, apparently on short notice,
whenever any matter arose which needed their attention. For
approximately eight years this practice prevailed until bylaws were
adopted in 1897; however, on October 15, 1900, the minutes show that
a change was adopted calling for a "regular stated meeting twice a year
viz: First Tuesday in March and first Tuesday in October." Of course,
called meetings could be held any time.
As one would expect, finances were of great concern in these early
days. The first bequest received by the Institute is recorded under the
date of March 3, 1892. Mr. William A. Moore, a ruling elder of
Atlanta's First Presbyterian Church, willed to Agnes Scott the sum of
$5,000 to be used for endowing scholarships. Mr. Moore's will
specified that his bequest become a permanent fund; however, the
Trustees were "authorized to change any investment of this fund as its
security and preservation may require." Agnes Scott's second
permanent "named" fund came through a gift from Mr. A. B. Steele
who in 1900 gave the Institute $5,000 to establish "The Rebecca Steele
Fund" in memory of his mother, "the income (only) from which should
be devoted to the education of poor country girls at the Agnes Scott
Institute." In the letter which Mr. Steele wrote informing the Trustees
of his gift, he included this statement: "I desire to say that this donation
is made to the Institute especially, because it has practically
demonstrated its worth."
The first mention of raising money for capital purposes is recorded
in the winter of 1899 when President Gaines was requested to explain
to the Trustees "the movement to raise $100,000 for a building and
endowment fund." The Trustees "unanimously resolved that this
27
movement has the endorsement and authority of the Board" and then
the group immediately shifted to President Gaines the responsibility
for raising this amount, allowing him "to be absent from the Institute
as much as he may deem necessary provided his absence is not
detrimental to the interest of the school." Apparently Dr. Gaines had
some success, for in the minutes of June 22, 1900, it is noted that he
reported $50,249 subscribed of which nearly $5,000 had been col-
lected. At this same period, the Board was conscious that a more
pointed effort was needed to raise money in the New York area, for
action was initiated which led to the engagement of Dr. Wm. A. Rice
of Newark, New Jersey, as Agnes Scott's agent to secure endowment in
New York. This first venture in utilizing what one would today call a
"fund raiser" was ill-fated. The minutes of March 12, 1901, indicate
that Dr. Rice had secured no money. The Trustees thereupon
discontinued his salary of $50.00 per month but agreed to continue
paying his expenses and to give him ten per cent of any amount he
might secure, his expenses to be deducted from the 10% if he raised any
funds. During these days Agnes Scott operated with a deficit, and had
it not been for Col. Scott, financial difficulties might well have brought
an end to the venture. In 1900, for example, the Institute owed the
George W. Scott Investment Company $11,658.50 which had been
borrowed to pay the deficits for the 1898-1899 and 1899-1900 sessions.
Col. Scott personally paid $2,000 of this debt, and a note was executed
for the remainder. But this instance is only one example of his
generosity.
In its efforts to secure funds, Agnes Scott from its earliest days had
understandably looked to Presbyterians in Georgia. Soon, however,
the Synods of Alabama and Florida were in the forefront of the plans
which the Trustees were formulating. In the summer of 1900 the first
two trustees from outside the Atlanta and Decatur area were elected,
these being the Rev. Russell Cecil, D.D., of Selma, Alabama, and the
Rev. Albert B. Curry, D.D., of Birmingham. President Gaines
meanwhile, with the approval of the Board, was visiting both the
Synods of Alabama and Florida with the invitation that these groups
participate "in maintaining and building up Agnes Scott." In the
spring of 1901 Mr. T. V. Porter of Jacksonville was elected the first
trustee from Florida. About this same time (autumn of 1900) Col.
Scott, recognizing that it would facilitate raising funds if the Institute
were free of indebtedness, addressed the following letter to President
Gaines:
28
Decatur, Georgia, October 16, 1900
Rev. F. H. Gaines, D.D.
President Agnes Scott Institute
Decatur, Georgia
Mr dear Dr. Gaines:
In view of the fact that you and Dr. Curry have been authorized to
invite the Synods of Alabama and Florida to join our Synod and
the Board of Trustees in the effort to raise an endowment fund for
the Permanent and perpetual support of the Institute, it has
occurred to me that you ought to be able to say to the brethren of
these Synods, that the Institute is entirely free from debt and that
consequently all funds given will inure solely and directly to the
benefit of the Institute.
For these reasons I have decided to assume the payment of the
notes of the Institute for something over $9,000.00 in favor of the
Geo. W. Scott Investment Company — and have directed our
Secretary and Treasurer to cancel and hand you these notes.
Very Sincerely,
Geo. W. Scott
Thus again Col. Scott rescued the Institute and further assured its
continuance. Indeed, the contribution of this devoted Presbyterian
layman is incalculable. Money, time, interest, energy, and work — all
these things and more - - made up what Col. Scott meant to the
Institute in its formative days. It is not too much to say that but for this
man there would be no Agnes Scott College now. Altogether his gifts
amounted to $1 70,000 — a sum which by the monetary standards and
purchasing power of approximately three-quarters of a century ago,
was a quite sizeable amount.
In academic matters the Institute was making much progress. A
review at five-year intervals of the early catalogues reveals a steady
growth in faculty and staff (full-time and part-time): eleven in 1890-
1891, twenty-one in 1895-1896, twenty-four in 1900-1901, and twenty-
eight in 1905-1906. Obviously a similar growth in students and
facilities occurred. In 1898 the first teacher holding the Ph.D. degree
joined the faculty. Dr. Howard Bell Arbuckle was no ordinary faculty
member. Verbal reports indicate that because of his excellent
academic training he became President Gaines's "right-hand man" in
the important negotiations leading to Agnes Scotfs accreditation as a
college. Howard Bell Arbuckle was born in 1870 in Lewisburg, West
29
Virginia. He received his undergraduate degree from Hampden-
Sydney College and his doctorate from The Johns Hopkins
University. Dr. Arbuckle's special field was chemistry, but when he
came to Agnes Scott he taught all the sciences. Before coming to
Decatur, he had served as an assistant in chemistry at The Johns
H opkins University for one year and as a professor at the State College
in Florida for four years. He continued in the faculty of Agnes Scott
until 1913 when he resigned to become Professor of Chemistry at
Davidson College, a post he held until his retirement. Professor Louise
McKinney has written that "Dr. Gaines counted on him for advice and
support in all his plans for the school." The year 1905 brought the
appointment of the next two permanent faculty members with the
Ph.D. degree: Professor J. D. M. Armistead in English and Professor
Lillian S. Smith in Latin and Greek.
As has been observed, Agnes Scott began as a grammar school, and
the process by which collegiate status was achieved was a gradual one.
The minutes of the Trustees show that the Primary Department was
discontinued at the end of the 1900-1901 session. The same source
reveals that the first year of the academy was discontinued at the close
of the 1904-1905 year. The catalogues of the early 1890's indicate that
the curriculum was separated into three divisions: primary,
preparatory, and collegiate. It was this last division that increasingly
claimed the attention of the faculty, and gradually it was expanded and
strengthened as emphasis shifted from the elementary and preparatory
divisions. This shift was made intentionally as Agnes Scott up-graded
its work. By 1905 the Executive Committee of the Trustees could take
the following action: "The Faculty was authorized to separate the
work of the Academy and Collegiate Department and to make such
changes in the latter as will make it conform to the standard of a
college as prescribed by the Southern Association of Colleges and
Preparatory Schools. The faculty was also authorized to arrange for
offering the B.A. degree, beginning with the Session of 1905-06." To
make possible the achieving of college status, the Trustees in March,
1906, petitioned the Superior Court of DeKalb County to amend the
charter changing the name of the Institute to "The Agnes Scott
College." This petition was granted, and in a special term of the court
the charter was on May 12, 1906, so amended, and Agnes Scott
College came into being.
This whole process by which Agnes Scott developed from a small
grammar school into a recognized four-year college has been well
30
delineated by President Gaines himself:
At the beginning of the session 1891-1892, the faculty was
enlarged and some high school work was offered, but there was no
separation between grammar school and high school. Gradually
the work became better organized. A little later began the peculiar
and difficult process of discontinuing each year the lowest grade
and adding a higher. This was continued until all grammar school
work was eliminated and the institution became a college
preparatory school. Our purpose was to make this of the highest
standard. We, therefore, set about arranging to have it conform to
the standards of "The Association of Colleges and Secondary
Schools of the Southern States." We then applied for admission
into the Association, and the Institute was admitted [as a
secondary school]. Very soon thereafter it was recognized as an
accredited college preparatory school by some of the best Eastern
Colleges for Women. How proud we were of this recognition of
the high standard of our school!
In the year 1898, H. B. Arbuckle, Ph.D., came to the Institute as
Professor of Chemistry and remained for fifteen years. In the
development which followed, Dr. Arbuckle was of the greatest
assistance. He knew much about college curricula and standards.
He represented the Institute at the meetings of the Association
and ascertained what the requirements were for admission of
Agnes Scott as a college. We then entered another period of
development from a college-preparatory school into a college of
standard grade. We gradually arranged our curriculum, our
faculty, our requirements for admission to the Association as a
college, and our requirements for the B.A. degree to conform to
the standards of the Association. In 1905 we made application for
admission as a college. Action on our application was postponed
for two years. Each year we ascertained what our deficiency was
and corrected it. One thing of some consequence and difficulty we
were informed must be done, namely: the complete separation of
college and preparatory work. This was to be a separation in
faculty, student body and all educational work. Hence we
organized Agnes Scott Academy as a secondary school and made
the separation required by the Association. At length in 1907
Agnes Scott College was admitted to the Association and Agnes
Scott Academy enrolled as the successor to Agnes Scott Institute
as a secondary school.
Thus, Agnes Scott College granted its first degrees in 1906 and was
awarded collegiate accreditation by the Southern Association in 1907
- the first college or university in Georgia to be accredited. The
Southern Association of College and Schools was established in 1895.
A review of its proceedings shows that in the eleven-state area
31
presently comprising the Association, Agnes Scott was the fifteenth
college to be accredited and the first one to receive accreditation after
only one year of existence as a college!
The growth of Agnes Scott, of course, confronted the Trustees with
the problem of increasing the physical facilities of the Institute. An
early photograph taken not long after the completion of Agnes Scott
Hall in 1891 shows that immediately to the south, almost where the
principal quadrangle entrance to Main now is, stood a small one-story
brick structure which must have been some sort of utilities building;
however, for the first ten years the Institute was limited to Agnes Scott
Hall. The minutes of the Trustees record that on July 2, 1901, the
Board took the action that led to the purchase of the first land to be
acquired subsequent to Col. Scott's initial gift. The Pattillo property
which adjoined the Institute could be bought for $10,000. It comprised
three acres on which stood "a commodious dwelling containing 8
rooms thus providing for at least 1 2 additional boarders." The $ 1 0,000
would have to be taken from endowment funds; however, a letter was
in hand from Mr. Samuel M. Inman, who had been elected a Trustee
on February 3, 1899, which gave authority "to use the entire amount of
my subscription of $5,000 to the endowment fund in the purchase and
development of the Pattillo property." A similar letter was in hand
from Mrs. Josephine Abbott giving permission to use her subscription
to the endowment fund for this purchase of property. Recognizing
both the pressing need of the Institute for more room and the fact that
income from boarders housed on this property would be greater than
the interest yielded by the purchase price as presently invested, and
fortified with the authorizations from Mr. Inman and Mrs. Abbott,
the Trustees unanimously named a committee of George W. Scott, M.
A Candler, and F. H. Gaines "to purchase the Pattillo property at a
price not exceeding $10,000." Thus, the house later known as West
Lawn and the land on which Rebekah Scott Hall now stands came into
Agnes Scott's possession.
In connection with this purchase, it should be noted that the consent
of donors was involved. Several instances in the early minutes show
that the Trustees were scrupulously careful to use gifts precisely as the
donors intended, and if it seemed wise to use funds in a way different
from what the donor designated, the consent of the contributor was
assiduously sought. Thus, funds given for endowment were not
arbitrarily used for buildings or vice versa. So begin a policy and
practice that still characterize Agnes Scott.
32
The acquiring of the Pattillo property and house was only a
temporary relief from the pressing need of more facilities. In the
autumn of 1902 the Board arranged to rent the White House from the
George W. Scott Investment Company. This house stood where the
present parking area is between Inman Hall and College Avenue.
Unauthenticated reports claim that this house was the Allen house in
which the first sessions were held in 1889 and that it once stood where
Main now is. Apparently when Col. Scott gave the five acres of his
initial gift, he had the Allen house (known later as White House)
moved a few hundred feet to the northeast where it stood at the time
the Institute rented it in 1902.
In the same year (1902) an effort was made to purchase the Conn
property to the West of the Institute, possibly an effort to extend the
campus as far as South McDonough Street, but at that time the owner
was unwilling to sell.
Meanwhile, internal physical improvements were being made. It
would seem that sometime earlier a laboratory building and a kitchen
had been erected, for the minutes of October 14, 1902, show that the
Trustees approved "the enlargement of the laboratory building and an
addition to the kitchen." In the improvements to the laboratory, Dr.
Arbuckle had been quite active even to the extent of raising among
friends the funds for a "modern gas plant" ($500).
The date of February 9, 1905, is an important one for Agnes Scott.
The Trustees met that day and took the necessary action to finance and
erect Rebekah Scott Hall, the second permanent structure to be built
on the campus. The Scott family took the initiative in making $20,000
available from the Rebekah Scott Memorial fund and $30,000 more
was subscribed by the following:
S. M. Inman
G. B. Scott
Mrs. B. F. Abbott
Miss Jennie Inman
J. W. English
R. J. Lowry
H. M. Atkinson
Mr. F. M. Inman
J. W. English
At the same meeting another action freighted with future importance
$15,000.00
5,000.00
5,000.00
1,000.00
1,000.00
1,000.00
1,000.00
500.00
500.00
$30,000.00
33
was adopted when Mr. Inman was "requested and authorized ... to
approach Mr. Andrew Carnegie with a request for a donation of Fifty
Thousand dollars for the erection of a library and music building."
About this same time Mr. G. B. Scott, the son of George W. Scott,
gave Agnes Scott "two lots and house adjoining [the] Institute grounds
on the South." On June 4, 1906, is recorded a request from the Trustees
"to the town council of Decatur to close Scott Street." Contingent on
the closing of this street (It apparently ran between Main and where
Evans Dining Hall and Inman now stand.), the Trustees gave
authorization to the Finance Committee "to purchase the 'White
House'' property from the Geo. W. Scott Investment Company at
$15,000 and the home of F. H. Gaines at $5,500, payment for said
properties to be made in bonds of the College, said bonds to bear
interest at the rate of 6%." The Gaines house stood where Evans
Dining Hall now is.
There was at this same period great need for better facilities for an
infirmary. In the late summer or early fall of 1904, the Institute
purchased from M. A. Candler for $4,000 the property at the southeast
corner of the then campus. Fifteen hundred dollars was paid in cash
and annual notes for $500 at 6% were signed for the balance. The plan
for the payment of these notes is significant, for it represents one of the
first alumnae projects for Agnes Scott. The Alumnae Association had
been organized in 1 895 and had already set up a scholarship fund and a
Reading Circle. Concerning the infirmary the minutes read this way:
"It was reported to the Board that the Alumnae had with great
unanimity undertaken to provide the Infirmary, that they were
working to this end and hoped to be able to meet the deferred
payments. Whereupon the Board expressed its gratification at the
action of the Alumnae, and by unanimous vote decided that all
subscription [sic] should be creditted [sic] to the Alumnae and if the
Association succeeded in its purpose the name of the addition thus
secured should be The Alumnae Infirmary."
Professor Louise McKinney has written that at this period a
"dummy car line" came into the campus from the south and
terminated in the area between Main and the White House. Later this
line was known as the South Decatur car line, and for many years
served the south part of the campus. Miss McKinney also comments
on several "cottages" which the Institute acquired and used in these
years.
34
In the midst of the growth, development, and changes that were
taking place at Agnes Scott around the turn of the century, Col.
George Washington Scott died on October 3, 1903. He was in his
seventy-fifth year. The last Board meeting at which Col. Scott presided
was on June 26, 1903. At this meeting final action was taken
authorizing the erection of a gymnasium-classroom building. Dr.
Gaines has written that "Col. Scott took a very deep interest in this
building. When the matter was before the Board he insisted that we
should not put up any 'make-shift,' and the swimming pool was his
suggestion. He was chairman of the building committee and carefully
scanned the plans and assisted in letting all the contracts." Thus,
almost up to the very end of his life Col. Scott was busy on behalf of
Agnes Scott. Indeed, he was present for the opening exercises of the
Institute in mid-September, only days before his death. Appropriately,
Agnes Scott took Col. Scott's death as occasion to record its gratitude
to this good man. The Board of Trustees on October 1 3, 1 903, adopted
a suitable memorial. The faculty and students in a body attended the
funeral. The Institute issued a special memorial number of its Bulletin
in which the following tributes were included:
"A Biographical Sketch" by C. M. Candler
"Christian Business Man" by S. M. Inman
"Col. George W. Scott — An Appreciation" by F. H. Gaines
These papers are full and glowing. Perhaps, however, the simple,
almost terse, tribute contained in the Catalogue for 1903-1904 best
summarizes Col. Scott:
Our loyal friend, wise counselor and generous benefactor.
George Washington Scott has been officially designated as the
founder of Agnes Scott College, as indeed he was. Since 1918, his
birthday, February 22, has been celebrated by the college as Founder's
Day — a time for looking back in gratitude, but, as Col. Scott would
have it, also a time for looking forward with vision.
The Board of Trustees at its meeting on October 1 3, 1 903 — ten days
after Col. Scott's death — elected Mr. Samuel M. Inman as chairman.
He did not accept the chairmanship officially until the semi-annual
meeting of the Trustees on February 9, 1904, and then for only one
year "with the understanding that at the expiration of that time he
might desire to resign" because of another commitment. Fortunately
for Agnes Scott, he did not resign but for a decade filled with great
distinction the post of chairman of the Board of Trustees.
35
Samuel Martin Inman had been elected a trustee of Agnes Scott on
February 3, 1899. He was born in Danbridge, Tennessee, on February
19, 1 843. He received his education at Maryville College and Princeton
College and, after serving in the Confederate Army where he rose from
private to first lieutenant, he settled in Atlanta in the spring of 1867.
Here he entered the cotton business, and according to one associate
Mr. Inman ultimately headed the largest cotton enterprise in the
South. He was, however, related to numerous other concerns. He was
associated with the organization of the Southern Railway and with the
establishment of the street car system of Atlanta. In real estate
development, he Was a prime mover in promoting Inman Park, then
one of Atlanta's more desirable residential sections. He had banking
interests through his directorships in the Altanta National Bank and
the Lowry Banking Company, forerunners of the present First
National Bank of Atlanta. He also served on the city Board of
Education. He was the chairman of the Board of the Young Men's
Christian Association and was a director of the Atlanta Constitution.
He was also a trustee of the Grady Hospital and of the Confederate
Soldiers Home. Perhaps his most signal civic contribution is related to
the Cotton States and International Exposition which was held in
Atlanta in 1895. He was chairman of the Finance Committee of this
enterprise and personally contributed $50,000 to it when it looked as if
it might fold in its planning stages. Mr. Inman was an active
churchman and served as an elder in Atlanta's First Presbyterian
Church.
Such then was the man who succeeded Col. Scott and who joined
leadership with President Gaines as Agnes Scott received
accreditation as a college. Ahead now lay the struggle for stability and
status. Mr. Inman and Dr. Gaines comprised a formidable team for
this achievement.
36
Chapter 2
STABILITY AND STATUS
The years 1908-1909 loom as very important in the development of
Agnes Scott College. Prior to that time the institution's permanent
assets consisted only of land, buildings, and equipment. There was no
endowment; hence, the operation of the college was entirely dependent
on charges and gifts. During the early years, as has already been noted,
Col. Scott repeatedly assumed any deficits. Understandably, this kind
of financing fostered uncertainty and greatly hampered planning.
Enrollment was likewise very unstable. President Gaines has noted
that Agnes Scott's high standards created a problem in getting and
holding students. It was a period when higher education for women
was considered a luxury and was not taken seriously. Students with-
drew at almost any time, and a large number had no ambition to take a
degree. Financial crisis was a constantly recurring spector. At one
point Col. Scott said he could no longer underwrite the deficits.
Writing of this occasion, President Gaines said:
The collapse of the enterprise [Agnes Scott] seemed imminent.
Something had to be done. In this crisis the President appealed to
the Synod of Georgia which met that year [1899] in Marietta. In
an address to the Synod he plainly laid before that body the
serious condition of the school and appealed to them to come to
the rescue. The Synod acted promptly. It endorsed the Institute
and commended the President to all the churches. It went still
further and made a subscription to the Institute at once. The
members of the Synod subscribed $3,200. When the President
returned home and reported to Col. Scott what had been done he
[Col. Scott] was greatly encouraged and said at once that he
would join in the movement.
But after 1903 there was no Col. Scott "to come to the rescue." Mr.
Inman recognized the urgency of getting Agnes Scott on a more stable
fiscal basis, and the record of the years of his chairmanship of the
Trustees documents his concern. However, the years 1908-1909 stand
as a watershed in the college's fiscal stability. That is the period when
the General Education Board of New York evidenced its first interest
37
in Agnes Scott. For a continuation of approximately thirty years, this
agency was to provide a series of challenge grants which served as the
motivating spur to move Agnes Scott toward financial soundness.
There would have been no Agnes Scott without Col. Scott, Dr. Gaines,
and Miss Hopkins. It is also not too much to say that without the
active support and interest of the General Education Board, Agnes
Scott would never have become a recognized and distinguished
college. Who or what, then, was the General Education Board?
This particular agency was founded by Mr. John D. Rockefeller,
Sr., in 1902 and was incorporated by an act of the United States Con-
gress on January 12, 1903. Before 1902 Mr. Rockefeller had mainly
directed his educational gifts toward Baptist Institutions, utilizing the
American Baptist Education Society as the channel for these gifts.
However, as is set forth in The General Education Board: An Account
of its Activities, 1902-1914, ". . . as Mr. Rockefeller's fortune in-
creased, his interest in education broadened, and with it a sense of
public duty and responsibility which transcended alike denomina-
tional, sectional, and racial lines. To provide an agency through which
the broadest possible interest in education throughout the land could
find a fitting expression, the General Education Board, long existing
as an ideal in his office, finally came into being. Without limitation the
funds of the General Education Board were to be distributed to insti-
tutions of any denomination or no denomination." The charter
granted by Congress was couched in broad terms and stated the pur-
pose of the corporation to be "the promotion of education within the
United States of America without distinction of race, sex, or creed." A
major interest of the board was "the industrial and educational up-
building of the South." The General Education Board continued its
activities until 1964. During the more than half century of its existence,
it distributed $324,632,958, much of its benefactions being directed
toward Southern education. In 1908-1909 this agency became a deter-
mining force in the development of Agnes Scott College.
The minutes of the Board of Trustees for September 28, 1 908, make
the first official reference to the General Education Board. Following
an entry concerning the pressing need for raising funds, the minutes
read as follows:
He [President Gaines] then reported that Dr. [Wallace] Buttrick,
Sec. of Genl Ed. Bd. N.Y. had visited the college and offered to
recommend that his Bd. give $75,000. toward a fund of $250,000.
or $100,000. toward a fund of $300,000. A letter was then read
38
from the chairman, Mr. S.M. Inman [He was not present in this
meeting.] cordially endorsing a movement to raise $300,000. Mr.
J.K. Orr[who had been elected a trustee on February 9, 1904, and
who was to have a definitive role in Agnes Scott's affairs for the
next thirty years] earnestly supported the proposition to enter
upon a canvass to raise $300,000. He also reported that a
guarantee fund to pay the expenses of the canvass amounting to
$4,000 had been almost completed and was practically assured.
The upshot of the subsequent discussion resulted in the naming of a
committee "to estimate very carefully the condition and needs of the
college and report back to this Board what sum we should attempt to
raise . . . ."Thus, the action was taken which led to Agnes Scott's first
major financial campaign.
As background for this decision by the Board, President Gaines has
written that one day he received a telephone call from Dr. Wallace
Buttrick asking for an appointment. Dr. Gaines had previously met
Dr. Buttrick and knew of his connection with the General Education
Board, but he did not know why the appointment was requested. On
arrival, Dr. Buttrick made careful inquiry into the College and its
financial condition. Characteristically, Dr. Gaines was quite honest
and answered all questions including telling Dr. Buttrick of Agnes
Scott's debt of $60,000, mostly for property. Dr. Gaines has written
that when the questions were completed his visitor commented "sub-
stantially" as follows:
Dr. Gaines, this is an honest debt. You have a promising work.
The General Education Board has noticed your high standard and
that you are doing good work. I am willing to recommend to the
Board to make a donation to the College of fifty thousand
($50,000) dollars, sixty thousand ($60,000) dollars, or one hundred
thousand ($100,000) dollars, provided the College raise a pro-
portionate amount.
By October 27, 1908, the General Education Board had made a firm
offer to give Agnes Scott $100,000 provided the College raise at least
an additional $250,000 by December 31, 1909. The terms of this offer
specified that
1. $25,000 already given by Mr. Andrew Carnegie be used for a
library building
2. $50,000 already donated by Mr. S.M. Inman be used for a resi-
dence building
3. $15,000 be used for additional land
4. $25,000 be used for "additions and improvements"
5. $60,000 be used to pay off Agnes Scott's indebtedness
39
6. $175,000 (the remainder of the total of $350,000) be "invested
and preserved inviolably" for endowment
No legacies were to be counted in meeting the conditions of the grant,
and the General Education Board would not pay any money to Agnes
Scott so long as the College had any debts. Finally, if Agnes Scott did
not meet the terms of this grant by December 31, 1911, any remainder
would be void.
Less than two weeks following this offer, the Agnes Scott Board of
Trustees on November 9, 1908, accepted this pledge of the General
Education Board and its conditions. Mr. J.K. Orr was appointed
chairman of the committee "to make and execute plans for raising
the . . . sum required." A new day was dawning for Agnes Scott.
Before this account proceeds further, it seems appropriate to make a
brief comment about Dr. Wallace Buttrick for whom Buttrick Hall on
the Agnes Scott campus is named and who played such an important
role in the developments just described. Born in 1853 in Pottsdam,
New York, Wallace Buttrick graduated from Rochester Theological
Seminary in 1883 and was ordained to the Baptist ministry the same
year. He served successive pastorates in New Haven, Connecticut, St.
Paul, Minnesota, and Albany, New York, before becoming Secretary
and Executive Officer of the General Education Board in 1902, a post
he filled until 1917 when he became President of this same agency.
From 1923 until his death in 1926 he served as chairman of the Board.
Thus, for a quarter of a century, he was one of the determinative fig-
ures in all of the Board's activities. In The General Education Board,
Review and Final Report 1902-1964, he is characterized as "a man of
sturdy judgment with a large share of practical common sense . . .
warm and affable." Such was the man who for many years was one of
the most effective friends Agnes Scott has ever had.
In the action of November 9, 1908, naming Mr. Orr chairman of the
committee to raise the sum to meet the General Education Board's
challenge, Mr. Inman was made an ex officio member of the commit-
tee; otherwise, Mr. Orr himself was authorized to select his associates.
Apparently during most of 1909 this committee must have worked
quietly and diligently, for by November of that year $140,000 of the
required $250,000 had been raised. Included in this total was Mr.
Inman's $50,000 pledge as well as the one for $25,000 from Mr.
Andrew Carnegie. At some point during 1909 Col. Robert J. Lowry,
President of Atlanta's Lowry National Bank (a forerunner of the
present First National Bank of Atlanta), had subscribed $25,000
40
toward Agnes Scott's campaign. At any rate, as November, 1909,
arrived, $1 10,000 still remained to be raised. Those in charge decided
to wage a whirlwind campaign in Atlanta and complete the entire
effort in two weeks — from Wednesday, November 17, through
Tuesday, November 30. This effort was more than successful and
merits an account of some detail — an account drawn from a rather
full folder of newspaper clippings available in Agnes Scott's McCain
Library.
All of Atlanta got behind this effort, and excitement increased as all
three of the newspapers {Constitution, Georgian, and Journal) gave
almost daily coverage of the campaign. A large clock recording day-
by-day progress was installed on the Anderson Hardware Building at
Five Points, and an atmosphere of intense anticipation was evident.
After an appeal in all the Presbyterian churches on Sunday, Novem-
ber 14, a workers' dinner was held at the Piedmont Hotel on Monday
evening, November 15, to announce plans and organization. The list of
just a few of those present reads like a veritable Who's Who of Atlanta
at that time. The Alumnae Association took over a vacant space in the
Grand Opera House (later Loew's Theater), decorated it in Agnes
Scott colors, and served lunch every day until the campaign was con-
cluded. The students made boutonnieres to be given to all who sub-
scribed to the fund. Daily rallies for workers were held.
On the first working day, Wednesday, November 17, $6,000 was
secured. On the next night, Thursday, November 18, a mass meeting
for citizens of Decatur was convened in the Pythagoras Masonic
Lodge under the leadership of Mr. Charles D. McKinney. On that very
evening a resolution was adopted to raise $25,000 in Decatur, and
$18,000 of this total was subscribed on the spot.
Leaders from all denominations helped. Involved in one way or
another were Bishop Cleland Kinloch Nelson of the Episcopal Diocese
of Atlanta, Dr. J.W. Lee of the Park Street Methodist Church, Dr.
John E. White of the Second Baptist Church (now Second-Ponce de
Leon) as well as pastors of what were then Atlanta's three leading
Presbyterian churches: Dr. Walter L. Lingle (First), Dr. Dunbar H.
Ogden (Central), and Dr. Richard Orme Flinn (North Avenue).
Atlanta women joined in the crusade, and many prominent ladies
canvassed office buildings. A newspaper clipping setting forth these
assignments reads as follows:
Empire Building [now C. and S.], Mrs. Hugh Willett; Equitable
building [old Trust Company], Mrs. J.S. Hamilton; English-
41
American building, Mrs. Archibald Davis and Mrs. Ernest
Kontz; Prudential building, Mrs. Woods White; Century
building, Mrs. R.L. West; Fourth National Bank building, Mrs.
Albert Cox; Peters building, Mrs. Frank Orme; Candler building,
Miss Rosa Woodberry and Mrs. Frank Smith.
By Friday, November 19, ninety thousand dollars still remained of
the $1 10,000. Eight days later $50,000 was still needed and only three
days remained before the predetermined deadline. Now begins one of
the most dramatic episodes in Agnes Scott's entire life.
The Agnes Scott campaign in a real sense became an Atlanta cam-
paign — almost a "cause celebre." The newspapers fanned the flame.
The Atlanta Georgian on Saturday editorialized about how much the
students at Agnes Scott meant to the financial life of the city. On the
same day the Atlanta Journal sounded a similar note. On the next day,
Sunday, November 28, the Journal headlined an article "Raise $50,000
in Fifty Hours; Is Atlanta's Supreme Opportunity," and then went on
to say
In order to secure the contingent appropriation of a hundred
thousand dollars, which the general education board will give to
Agnes Scott College, provided our own people raise two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, we must raise —
FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN FIFTY HOURS!
THIS MEANS THAT WE MUST RAISE A THOUSAND
DOLLARS AN HOUR UNTIL TUESDAY AT MIDNIGHT!
There is something inspiring about the very thought.
It is a challenge to the resourcefulness and patriotism of
Atlanta. It is one of those high, heroic aims which sends the red
blood coursing through the veins, stirred with a determination
which only such causes can inspire.
The question is no longer in the subjunctive. This money
MUST AND SHALL BE RAISED.
OTHERWISE A BLIGHT AND BLEMISH WILL REST
UPON THE NAME OF ATLANTA FOREVER MORE.
On Monday, November 29, one newspaper carried an open appeal
from the campaign committee to all Atlantans, followed by a subscrip-
tion form which one and all were urged to cut out, fill in, and send to
the committee. On the same day the Journal proclaimed in a bold
page-one headline that only $30,000 more was needed to reach the
goal. Tuesday the final day dawned with $30,000 to be raised before
midnight. The climax was arranged as a mass meeting at 8:00 p.m. in
Taft Hall of the Auditorium-Armory (until recently the Municipal
Auditorium at Courtland and Gilmer Streets). The Georgian's
42
headline that day read "ALL FOR AGNES SCOTT!" Diligent
activity went on all day, and Dr. Gaines has written that the entire
student body and faculty joined a host of friends and wellwishers at the
mass meeting. Mr. J.K. Orr presided, and a number of prominent
Atlanta leaders spoke. Subscriptions continued to come in as they had
done all day. At 10:55 p.m. a tally revealed that only $4,500 was
needed. At that point Mr. Orr announced that the Georgia Railway
and Electric Company had given $5,000. In Dr. Gaines's words, the
crowd "went wild." The Atlanta Constitution's headline on
Wednesday morning, December 1, read "AGNES SCOTT
CLINCHES MILLION ENDOWMENT FUND." Agnes Scott had
won, and so had Atlanta! The whole activity was Agnes Scott's first
great thrust to become fiscally sound, and it heralded many
subsequent similar efforts to secure the funds necessary for a college
aspiring to greatness.
Of course, the reason for all this activity was Agnes Scott's earnest
desire and avowed purpose to be a college of high academic quality. A
review of the regular reports which President Gaines made to the
Trustees during this period documents the College's commitment to
standards of excellence — a commitment which in the first decade of
this century posed real problems for a woman's college in the South.
One of the recurring difficulties which faced Agnes Scott in its first
years as a college was the poor preparation being given prospective
students during their secondary school experience. It was this defi-
ciency, more than any other circumstance, that prompted the Trustees
to continue Agnes Scott Academy after the College was established in
1906. In various entries of the Board's minutes, mention is made of the
importance of the Academy as a "feeder" to the College. As has been
noted earlier, the Southern Association had required complete sepa-
ration of the Academy from the College as a requisite to collegiate
accreditation. This step, of course, was taken, and the Academy func-
tioned under its own principal and faculty, completely apart from the
academic life of the College itself. Both institutions were under the
control of the same Board of Trustees and occupied one campus, but
there the commonality ended. Separate graduation exercises were
held, and even though a sizeable number of Academy students entered
Agnes Scott College, others elected to attend college elsewhere.
President Gaines's report to the Board for the 1909-1910 session con-
tains this paragraph:
43
During the session Miss Ella Young, the Principal of the
Academy, applied to a number of Eastern Colleges for certificate
privileges and the following high grade institutions responded
favorably to this application by placing Agnes Scott Academy
upon their accredited list: Mount Holyoke, Smith, Vassar and
Randolph-Macon Woman's College. This was recognition of the
grade of work done by the Academy which was most gratifying.
Even though the Academy did serve as a useful "feeder" to the
College, President Gaines and the Trustees became increasingly con-
vinced that it was unwise for them to operate two institutions. As early
as June, 1907, there is an entry in the Board's minutes concerning an
offer from a Professor G.H. Gardner "proposing to take off of our
hands our Academy." Interestingly there was an abortive overture in
1908 that the Agnes Scott Trustees take over the Young Female
College in Thomasville, Georgia, to serve as another "feeder" to the
College. In 191 1 the President in his annual report made the following
presentation to the Board concerning "a system of College-Prepara-
tory schools correlated within Agnes Scott":
It is suggested that steps should be taken, if possible, to organize a
system of Christian education for young women in our Southern
[Presbyterian] Church of which Agnes Scott shall be the head and
crown. This system should consist of College Preparatory Schools
in different parts of the South with courses carefully correlated
with Agnes Scott College. These schools would thus become
feeders to our College and secure for us well prepared students.
The effect would be to unify our forces throughout our
[Presbyterian] Assembly. It would be possible then to have true
educational ideals and standards adopted throughout the entire
system. Such a system would also do much to stimulate the young
women of our Church and of the South to secure a college
education. It is not recommended that Agnes Scott assume
financial responsibility for such a system, but that this Board use
its influence and its leadership in forming such a system.
Even though a committee was appointed to "investigate" this sug-
gestion, nothing ever came of it. It is evidence, however, that the
Trustees were committed to getting good students for the College and
that they recognized that Agnes Scott Academy was a good prepara-
tory school. It further shows that they were concerned about what to
do with the Academy. There was, in addition, the constantly recurring
problem of not enough facilities on one campus for both institutions.
The College was "crowding out" the Academy. Finally on December
31, 1912, the Board, on the recommendation of the President, took
44
action "to discontinue the Academy at its present location with the
expiration of the present scholastic year" and "the President [was]
directed to give due notice of this action to the present patrons [of] the
Academy." In the same meeting a committee was appointed "to ascer-
tain the feasibility of transplanting the Academy." This move was not
found to be practicable, and Agnes Scott Academy was discontinued
on May 24, 1913, after serving a highly useful purpose for seven years.
The same period around the end of the first decade of the twentieth
century saw Agnes Scott determined to take its place as a first-class
institution of collegiate rank. Entrance requirements and standards
were in primary positions of emphasis. The President's annual report
for 1907-1908 contains this paragraph:
Since the last report the entrance requirements have been so
changed as to require hereafter in Latin four additional books of
Virgil, and in Mathematics Plane Geometry. Besides major and
minor requirements have been introduced in French and German.
With these changes Agnes Scott College now requires for entrance
to the Freshman class 14 Carnegie units, thus placing it in the class
of the best colleges. For our B.A. degree we require 60 hours of
college work. We thus have the standard entrance requirements of
the best colleges and also the required number of hours of work
for the recognized B.A. degree. There is often a wide difference
between the requirements offered in the catalogue and the
requirements actually made of students. In the case of Agnes Scott
the catalogue requirements are rigidly adhered to. So I am glad to
report that your college is dealing fairly in maintaining its
standards.
In the President's report for the next year (1908-1909), there is a
statement that the size of the student body "has been unquestionably
reduced by our high entrance requirements," but the statement is
followed by an affirmation that adherence to high standards "is not
only right and honest and necessary to the highest interests of students,
but that it will win in the long run." And indeed this stress on standards
did win. Five years later (1913-1914) President Gaines was able to
inform the Trustees that during the session just ended the College had
experienced "the largest gain [in students] in any year since 1892, the
year of the opening of the present Main Building." He goes on to ob-
serve that this gain "clearly indicates the wisdom of the action of the
Board in discontinuing the Academy," and then writes
The reputation of this College is growing every year. This reputa-
tion rests upon its standards. Because of its standards it attracts
45
the most earnest and desirable students . . . who gives [sic]
promise of the largest usefulness. Our standard, therefore, is our
greatest asset.
That Agnes Scott's academic standards were of a high order is at-
tested by other than internal evidence. Lucian Lamar Knight, who
founded both the Department of Archives and History of the State of
Georgia and the Georgia Historical Association, wrote in the Souvenir
Book of General Assemblies (1913) of Agnes Scott's being the only
college in the South approved by the United States Bureau of Edu-
cation.
The Trustees and the President were indeed committed to standards
of excellence, but it was the faculty who set and maintained them. Dr.
Gaines recognized this circumstance when in his report for 1906-1907
he wrote "that any college is very largely what its faculty makes it."
From the beginning in 1889, great care was exercised in choosing
teachers. In the same report just referred to the President makes this
further statement:
No pains or expense has been spared in filling vacancies [in the
faculty] as they have occurred. The first indispensable
qualification has always been Christian character; the next has
been the finest qualification for teaching special subjects. In
selecting teachers of modern languages only those were
considered who had had the best training in this country and then
had had foreign residence and instruction in the countries in
which each language was spoken. As a result of the extreme care
taken in the selection of teachers, your College has a very finely
trained and able faculty. The following colleges and universities
are represented by graduates or those who have taken graduate
work in them: Johns Hopkins, Hampden-Sydney, Washington
and Lee, Cornell, Radcliffe, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, University of
Berlin, University of Leipsic, University of Paris.
This statement was made concerning the second year of Agnes Scott as
an institution of collegiate rank. Eight years later in 1915, these faculty
requirements were reaffirmed and strengthened when it was required
that a department head "must have a graduate degree form [sic] a
college or university of approved standing, and in Modern Language
Departments foreign training in addition." It was further stated that
"All candidates in order to be eligible must be members of one of the
protestant evangelical churches." Finally no faculty member would be
employed whom the President had not interviewed personally. The
Trustees in formal action taken on May 25, 1915, stressed even more
46
the Christian requirement for faculty members when they took action
that
. . . the Christian character, spirituality, and interest in the Chris-
tian ideals and work of the College, be stressed in the election and
retaining of teachers.
Thus, as Agnes Scott advanced, there was no watering down of
entrance requirements, of academic standards, or of high faculty
requisites. But there was also no relaxation of the Christian emphasis.
Agnes Scott at its origin was dedicated to the glory of God. In 1906
President Gaines again affirmed divine blessing as attendant to every
success, and then he said: "This institution was founded in prayer for
His glory, and we have gone forward step by step relying upon His
blessing." Central to Agnes Scott's purpose were academic excellence
and the Christian faith. In the judgment of the Trustees and the Presi-
dent, the achievement of this dual thrust resided in the training and
character of the faculty.
During these initial years in Agnes Scott's life as a college, there was
a third activity under the authority of the Agnes Scott Board of
Trustees, namely, the School of Music, Art, and Expression. The
principal faculty member in this School was Joseph Maclean, who had
come to Agnes Scott in 1893 and who remained in charge of music
until 1918. It is interesting to note that for more than a decade Mr.
Maclean was, after the President, the highest paid member of the
entire staff. "There is no small demand for these ornamental branches
in a College for young women," wrote President Gaines in 1909, and,
typical of Agnes Scott, he could also say "... the work done has
been considered of a high order." Music drew the largest number of
students, with art next, and expression last. For several years the Presi-
dent advocated a separate building for the School of Music, Art, and
Expression. Practice rooms were crowded on the fourth floor of Main
or scattered about the campus. The art studio was also on the top floor
of Main. An entry in the Trustees' minutes for November 24, 191 1,
shows that during the 1910-1911 year a revision of the curriculum had
permitted "the Scientific and Literary part of Music" to be counted
"under conditions" for the B.A. degree.
There was also a Professorship of Home Economics added during
1910-1911, and the teaching of science was separated with a professor
in chemistry, one in physics and astronomy, and one in biology and
geology. The elective system of courses had already been established.
47
About a year later (1912), the President reported to the Board that the
faculty had changed the teaching schedule from a five-day to a six-day
week.
As a result of the successful financial campaign of 1909, three new
buildings were erected in the next two years: a dormitory, a library,
and a science hall. The erection of these buildings was not free of diffi-
culty. In all three instances the contractor failed in business after con-
struction had begun, and the special building committee of the Board
had to superintend the completion of the buildings. Problems to the
contrary notwithstanding, the structures were completed, and imme-
diately following the commencement in June, 1911, dedicatory exer-
cises were held. The dormitory was the gift of Mr. Samuel M. Inman,
and he named it Jenie D. Inman Hall in memory of his first wife. The
Carnegie Library (presently the Murphey Candler Building) was the
gift of Mr. Andrew Carnegie, and Lowry Science Hall was the gift of
Col. Robert J. Lowry. This last structure served until Campbell
Science Hall was erected in 1951. Lowry Science Hall, a three story
building plus basement, stood where Walters Hall now is.
In 1906 Agnes Scott purchased the "White House" from the George
W. Scott Investment Company and the Gaines house from the Presi-
dent of the College. In the same general period Mr. Inman bought the
Crockett property and three other lots on behalf of the College. This
Crockett property was supplemented in 1908 by the Ansley plot
through the good offices of Mr. G.B. Scott (Col. Scott's son), and these
parcels gave the College frontages on South Candler Street. Part of
Winship Hall now stands on the Crockett piece, and the Ansley plot is
now part of the parking lot between Evans Dining Hall and Winship.
Both of these parcels (Crockett and Ansley) contained houses which
the College rented out. Later ( 19 1 1) in the same report which officially
informed the Trustees of the completion of Inman, Lowry, and the
Library, this statement occurs:
The Committee also superintended the opening of a broad avenue
through our campus to Candler Street ....
Thus, Agnes Scott now had entrances both on East College Avenue
and South Candler Street. Access to South McDonough was to come
a few years later with the acquisition of the Conn property on the west
side of the present campus.
The year 1909 saw not only the first successful financial campaign
but also a devastating typhoid epidemic which almost closed the
48
College and which had adverse effects for several years thereafter. This
epidemic came in November, the very month set to finish the cam-
paign. On November 2, the Trustees met to hear a report on the situa-
tion but decided, on the advice of Dr. W.S. Kendrick, the College's
consulting physician and also a trustee (Dr. Kendrick was at the time
one of Atlanta's most distinguished physicians.), not to take any steps
beyond empowering a committee of Dr. Gaines, Dr. Kendrick, and
Dr. Mary Frances Sweet, the resident college physician, to move in
such ways as seemed wise to them. Six days later on November 8, the
Board met in special session to deal with serious developments in the
interval. There were now twenty-two diagnosed cases of typhoid and
four others suspected. A number of students "in health" had been
called home, and circumstances were indeed grim. Looking back on
this trying ordeal, President Gaines in 1921 wrote as follows:
While the plans for the campaign were being made, and just before
the time appointed for the canvass, a great calamity overtook the
College. A serious outbreak of typhoid fever came among the
students. There were thirty cases in all. A number of students were
called home. Everything possible was done to meet the serious
condition. And yet nothing but the guiding hand and blessing of
God prevented a panic. Daily bulletins telling the exact truth were
mailed to parents. Fortunately there were no deaths and we were
able to hold the body of students together. The morale was
wonderful. The cause of the outbreak was found to be a broken
sewer contaminating the drinking water. This epidemic increased
the debt of the College by eleven thousand ($11,000) dollars.
Coming as it did just before our campaign, we feared it would be
disastrous, but happily it was not. But the effect of the typhoid
epidemic was felt for several years in our attendance, causing
recurring deficiencies.
In 1913 the General Assemblies of four major Presbyterian denomi-
nations met in Atlanta simultaneously — the Presbyterian Church in
the United States, the Presbyterian Church in the United States of
America, the United Presbyterian Church, and the Associate Re-
formed Presbyterian Church. One of the delightful occasions of these
meetings was an afternoon social gathering at Agnes Scott for all the
commissioners — possibly the largest social function at which the
College had entertained up to that time.
This chapter began by referring to 1909 as an important year for
Agnes Scott. President Gaines in his annual report for the 1908-1909
year pointed up, among other things, a real internal need of the
49
College. The administration of the institution had been from the
beginning almost exclusively in the hands of Dr. Gaines and Miss
Hopkins. She had charge of the daily life and routine of the students
and faculty, and the President took care of practically everything else.
He had used Professor H.B. Arbuckle from time to time as an
assistant, and Professor J.D.M. Armistead had helped in the heavy
correspondence relative to securing students. By the summer of 1909,
it was becoming apparent to Dr. Gaines that he needed some full-time
administrative help — particularly in the area of business affairs, so in
February, 1910, he asked the Trustees to consider this possibility. As
usual, a committee was appointed (S.M. Inman, G.B. Scott, CM.
Candler and F.H. Gaines). In November, 1910, the Board took action
authorizing the employment of a business manager. At the meeting of
the Trustees on November 24, 1911, the President reported that on
July 1 of that year Mr. R.B. Cunningham had been engaged and "had
entered upon his duties." Mr. Cunningham came from Winthrop
College in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and continued with Agnes Scott
until his retirement in 1943.
Along with Col. Scott, Dr. Gaines, and Miss Hopkins, there is no
more important person in the first quarter century of Agnes Scott's
development than Samuel Martin Inman. It was Mr. Inman's great
contribution that he started the college on the road to fiscal soundness.
Like Col. Scott, he was generous with his own fortune, which was
considerable. Over all, he personally gave Agnes Scott more than
$100,000 — a sizeable sum in the first years of this century. But
different from Col. Scott, Mr. Inman saw to it that his gifts motivated
other gifts. When he offered $15,000 toward the construction of
Rebekah Scott Hall, his gift was contingent upon certain other funds
being made available also. As has already been pointed out, his gift of
$50,000 for Inman Hall was part of the campaign of 1909. Even though
this campaign was a notable success, the College was soon in debt
again, such that by 1914 this indebtedness has accumulated to $50,000,
a circumstance which sorely troubled all the Trustees and Mr. Inman
in particular. On June 11, 1914, he wrote the following letter to
President Gaines:
My dear Dr. Gaines:
The $50,000 debt of Agnes Scott College gives me a great deal of
anxiety. With this removed I feel there is a great future of Chris-
tian usefulness for the College.
50
I will soon be seventy two years old. I must lay down as far as I
can, places of responsibility that bring care and anxiety. Provided
the Board of Trustees will accept my resignation as Chairman and
that Mr. J.K. Orr will accept the Chairmanship, and that I be
called on for no more money for three years for the support of the
College, I am willing to contribute $25,000 toward the extinguish-
ment of the debt, on the condition that the friends of the College
contribute the same amount ($25,000) in good and solvent
subscriptions, and that I am to pay in dollar for dollar as the other
contributors pay in their subscriptions.
This offer is open until January 1st, 1915, when it will expire, if
the terms of this offer are not fully complied with.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) S.M. Inman
The Trustees were understandably deeply grateful to Mr. Inman;
however, they asked that he extend the time limit to January 1, 1916.
Mr. Inman declined to grant this request, but he did state that he
would be "willing for three annual payments, without interest, the first
payment to be January 1st, 1916." So on November 17, 1914, the
Trustees adopted a resolution accepting Mr. Inman's challenge offer.
Then and there Mr. Orr offered to give not only $5,000 but also much
of his time to make the necessary canvass. Accordingly, the Board had
approximately six weeks to raise the sum which would again make
Agnes Scott debt free. This time Mr. Orr ran a quiet campaign con-
fined to a limited number of people. When the Board convened on
December 31, 1914 — one day before the deadline, it was reported that
twenty-seven subscriptions were in hand totaling $25,000. Agnes Scott
had won again!
In the meantime on December 26, 1914, the Trustees had accepted
Mr. Inman's resignation and had unanimously elected Mr. Orr as
chairman. Mr. Inman was named chairman emeritus. All the terms of
Mr. Inman's offer had been met on time.
It was good that the Board moved fast, for Mr. Inman was already
on his deathbed. He did survive long enough to hear the fine report
from Agnes Scott and to make appropriate provisions for the payment
of his offer. Death came for S.M. Inman on January 12, 1915.
The Trustees met on January 26, 1915, and adopted appropriate
resolutions in tribute to Mr. Inman. Three sentences in these resolu-
tions are here quoted:
He gave himself without stint, and cheerfully, to the advancement
of every enterprise of the College. Indeed, it is impossible to over-
51
estimate what his interest, his leadership, and his efforts meant to
the institution. During the term of his chairmanship [1903- 19 14] it
made very remarkable advance in the enlargement and
improvement of its plant, more than doubled its assets, and
developed from a secondary school to a college of standard grade.
James Ross McCain, Agnes Scott's second president, has written of
Mr. Inman, "It was he who lifted the college from a local to a national
basis."
In 1914 Agnes Scott was twenty-five years old, and the anniversary
brought a considerable celebration. According to the minutes of the
Board, the celebration took place during Commencement Week and
was in three parts. The first part was on Monday afternoon, May 25,
and took the form of a pageant which involved students and faculty.
Professor Louise McKinney has written that she and Miss Mary E.
Markley originated the idea which developed into the pageant made
up of tableaux, dramas, etc. Miss McKinney recalls that the Depart-
ment of English presented a St. George play. Other departments had
their presentations. Special costumes and music were featured, and the
event took place out-of-doors under the oaks in front of Inman Hall.
The pageant was designed to illustrate "the progress of education in
Georgia, and the development of the College."
The second event of the celebration was a historical address given by
the Hon. C. Murphey Candler on Tuesday, May 26. This address dealt
with "the founding and development" of Agnes Scott. Representatives
from other institutions were present to bring greetings, among whom
was Chancellor James H. Kirkland of Vanderbilt University, one of
the most distinguished educators the South has ever produced. Also
during this same event the College received the handsome portraits
painted by E. Sophronisba Hergesheimer of President Gaines and
Dean Hopkins which continue even now to be among Agnes Scott's
most treasured possessions.
The final part of the celebration was on Tuesday evening, May 26,
when Agnes Scott presented the Hon. Thomas R. Marshall, Vice
President of the United States. His address was for the whole metro-
politan community, and the assembly convened in the Atlanta Theater
located on Exchange Place across from the Hurt Building. The Vice
President remained until May 27 and gave the Commencement ad-
dress in the College Chapel, then on the first floor of the east wing of
Rebekah Scott Hall.
Joseph Kyle Orr, who succeeded Mr. Inman as chairman of the
52
Agnes Scott Board of Trustees, was to occupy that position longer
than anyone has before or since — almost twenty-four years. Born in
New York City in 1857, he had come to the South early in life and
began his business career in Columbus, Georgia. In the mid-1890's he
moved to Atlanta where for many years he was President of the J.K.
Orr Shoe Company. For approximately forty years he was allied with
practically every good cause that was part of Atlanta. He served as
president of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, was campaign direc-
tor of the effort that raised the funds to erect the building for the
central Y.M.C.A. in downtown Atlanta, and played a major role in
establishing the Atlanta Freight Bureau. Franklin M. Garrett in
A tlanta and Environs points out that Mr. Orr was active in the drive to
purchase Piedmont Park for the City of Atlanta and that he also
chaired the committee which successfully brought about the estab-
lishment of the Federal Reserve Bank in Georgia's capital city. He was
a distinguished leader in the Knights Templars and achieved the top
national position in that organization. In addition to his relationship
with Agnes Scott, he was also a trustee of the Berry Schools and of
George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr.
Orr was likewise a long-time member and an elder in Atlanta's North
Avenue Presbyterian Church. He was unquestionably one of the lead-
ing citizens of the Atlanta area during the first third of the twentieth
century, and his association with Agnes Scott for thirty-four years
(1904-1938) was to be a period of great advance for the College.
From the time that Agnes Scott was chartered as a college in 1906,
the members of the faculty were keenly interested in having a chapter
of Phi Beta Kappa, but, in keeping with a well-established campus
policy, they decided to make no active effort to secure such recognition
until they themselves were convinced that the institution fully
measured up to all the high requirements of Phi Beta Kappa. On May
19, 1914, an important step looking toward a chapter of Phi Beta
Kappa was taken when the faculty voted to establish an honor society
to be known as Gamma Tau Alpha. The first members of this
organization were the six members of the faculty who were also
members of Phi Beta Kappa, namely, J.D.M. Armistead, Mary Cady,
Mary DeGarmo, J. Sam Guy, C. P. Oliver, and Lillian S. Smith. At the
organization meeting of Gamma Tau Alpha, it was determined that
the general plan of the society would be modeled as nearly as possible
on the principles of Phi Beta Kappa. This local organization continued
to function until the Agnes Scott Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was
53
established in 1926. Gamma Tau Alpha held up high standards of
scholarship, electing to its membership undergraduates and alumnae
of outstanding scholarly attainments and at its open meetings
presenting to the community addresses by distinguished visiting and
local scholars. The society also worked diligently toward securing a
Phi Beta Kappa chapter for Agnes Scott. Professor Louise McKinney
has written that the name Gamma Tau Alpha was suggested by
Professor C.P. Oliver because at the University of Virginia, his alma
mater, these "three Greek letters were the initial letters of an
inscription over a certain building." This inscription is from John 8:32:
yv<£ oeode ti?u aXfjdeiav which translated into English means "You
will know for yourselves the truth." What an appropriate name for the
forerunner of Agnes Scott's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa!
In 1916 a second society was established which continues to the
present. HOASC (Honorary Order Agnes Scott College) was the
predecessor of Mortar Board, and it recognized students on the basis
of leadership, character, and scholarship. The founding members of
HOASC were ten students from the Class of 1916: Nell Grafton Frye,
Eloise Gaston Gay, Ora Mast Glenn, Evelyn B. Goode, Maryellen
Harvey, Margaret Ray Harrison, Martha G. Ross, Jeannette Victor,
Alice S. Weatherly, and Louise W. Wilson.
By the spring of 1915, it was clearly evident that additional endow-
ment was mandatory if Agnes Scott intended to maintain its respected
place in educational circles; thus, on May 25 of that year the Trustees
adopted a recommendation of President Gaines that a target goal of
$500,000 be set. Subsequently, a committee of J.K. Orr, J.J. Eagan,
L.M. Hooper, J.T. Lupton, and F.H. Gaines was appointed to make
plans for the effort to raise this money. Regardless of where these
funds might ultimately come from, it was understandable that the
Board would think of the General Education Board as a potential
source for at least part of the total. Accordingly, at the next meeting of
the Agnes Scott Board (October 22, 1915) a resolution was adopted
authorizing an application to the General Education Board for a
"donation." Over the next two or three years there were several down-
ward changes in the total goal, and the effort did not move into final
focus until 1919. Not surprisingly, it was the General Education Board
that brought matters to a head. As the result of negotiations, President
Gaines was able to announce to the Trustees on May 27, 1919, "that a
telegram had been received from the General Education Board of New
York offering to contribute the sum of $1 75,000 toward the total sum
54
of $500,000 which the Board recently agreed to raise." This challenge
offer pushed the Board back to its original high goal. Dr. James Ross
McCain has written as follows about this incident:
When the Board of Trustees met to consider the offer, there was
great hesitation about beginning so large a campaign. After a
silence of some length, one member of the Board suggested that he
hesitated to make a motion of acceptance but he would be willing
to second such a motion if made. Dr. Gaines promptly made the
motion of acceptance and it was unanimously carried.
Thus, Agnes Scott was launched into its second major financial cam-
paign. Fortunately, some pledges were already in hand. Members of
the Board and their families had pledged $66,000 and there was also a
subscription of $5,000 from the Alumnae Association. It was in this
effort that Agnes Scott had its first "campus campaign." Under the
leadership of Professor Anna I. Young, the students set a goal of
$20,000 and actually raised $22,000. Dr. McCain, who had much to do
with the direction of this drive, has written that a "vigorous campaign
was made throughout Georgia and the South, and subscriptions were
secured to meet the supplemental sum by May 1, 1920." In one year
Agnes Scott had met its goal! But this result was not the end. Long
before the pledges on this campaign could be paid, the College was
precipitated into another financial effort. The minutes of the Trustees
show that on May 25, 1920, a further challenge offer of $100,000 had
been received from the General Education Board contingent upon
Agnes Scott's raising an additional $150,000. President McCain has
written that this second challenge offer came about because Mr. John
D. Rockefeller had just made a large cash grant to the General
Education Board "to assist in increasing the salaries of teachers" sorely
pressed by the inflationary prices resulting from World War I.
Fortunately, about this same time the Carnegie Corporation of New
York gave the College $75,000 which could be counted toward the
General Education Board's grant. The Trustees accepted the
challenge; the goal was reached, and Agnes Scott in the two campaigns
achieved $750,000 in new money.
There was great need for salary improvement as these two juxta-
posed campaigns were completed. As a matter of information the
minutes of the Trustees show that for the 1920-1921 session the overall
salary scale was as follows:
55
President
$5,000.00
Vice President
4,000.00
Dean
3,000.00
Treasurer
2,400.00
Business Manager
3,000.00
Professor
2,500.00
Associate Professor
2,000.00
Assistant Professor and Instructor
1,400.00
By this time Agnes Scott had been able for some years to operate
without a deficit. One of the main contributors to this fortunate state
of affairs was J.C. Tart, who had joined the Administration in 1914as
treasurer and who was destined to hold this strategic post until 1962 —
forty-eight years. The minutes of the Board for the initial years of Mr.
Tart's tenure frequently record appreciation of his performance. He
was gifted in handling investments, could hold a financial line, and had
no difficulty in saying "No!" to any expenditure that he thought
unwise. During Mr. Tart's first year the Board's minutes record an
action which this writer firmly believes was sponsored by the newly
appointed Treasurer. Here is the action:
That the Treasurer be directed within 30 days after rendering bills
to close up all accounts by notes payable within 30, 60 or 90 days
as may be agreed upon.
Incidentally, Mr. Tart was over the years an expert in collecting every
penny that was owed to the College.
In May of 1916, the Trustees began a series of changes (amend-
ments) in the charter of the College with a view to relating Agnes Scott
more organically to the Presbyterian Church in the United States.
There was never any idea of putting the College under the direct
control of the Church, but there were many who thought that some
form of relationship would be avantageous. From its beginnings
Agnes Scott had been avowedly Christian and strongly Presbyterian.
Initially all the Trustees had to be members of that Church, and it was
many years after the founding before any change was made in that
requirement. However, some relation to various Synods of the
Presbyterian Church, U.S., now seemed wise. Accordingly, the neces-
sary charter revisions were undertaken. The finalized plan authorized
the Board of Trustees to elect certain of their number from the bounds
of a specific Synod, subject to ratification or confirmation by the
Synod. The Synods could not ratify anyone whom the Board had not
nominated. The Synod could reject, but it could not initiate. If a
56
nominee were rejected, the Board would make another nomination
until someone was ratified. If a Synod failed to act within a specified
time, the Board's nominee was automatically confirmed. The Trustees
were careful that less than half their members were subject to Synod
ratification. Members elected directly by the Board were designated as
corporate trustees to distinguish them from Synodical trustees. A
similar arrangement to that with the Synods was made for two trustees
to be ratified by the Agnes Scott Alumnae Association. Thus, for all
practical purposes the Board continued to be self-perpetuating.
It took until the early 1920's for this Synod arrangement to be fully
worked out because there was some flux as to which Synods were to be
included and how many trustees were to be allotted to each. Initially
there were eight Synods included (Alabama, Appalachia, Florida,
Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee),
and on October 17, 1917, the Board actually elected trustees repre-
senting these Synods. Over the next several years the charter was so
amended that ultimately only three Synods were represented on the
Board (Alabama, Florida, and Georgia), and this arrangement con-
tinued for approximately the next fifty years. The provision that the
Agnes Scott Alumnae Association ratify two trustees is still in force.
Under the plan that went into effect in 1917, the number of trustees was
increased to twenty-four. When the plan was finally stabilized (August
23, 1922), there were twenty-seven members of the Board — 14 corpo-
rate, 1 1 Synodical (Alabama: 4, Florida: 3, Georgia: 4) and 2 alumnae.
This arrangement continued for many years — until the late 1950's
when the charter was amended authorizing five additional corporate
trustees. As a result of these changes in the charter, Agnes Scott be-
came a college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, U.S., as op-
posed to those institutions of higher education controlled by the
denomination. Of this arrangement President James Ross McCain
wrote in 1939 that it "gives a close and sympathetic relationship to the
Church, so that Agnes Scott is listed as an 'affiliated' Presbyterian
college; but in a legal and technical sense it is non-sectarian and inde-
pendent. It asks no place on the church budgets for current support,
but it serves the Presbyterian Church as fully as if ecclesiastically
controlled. The plan has proved eminently satisfactory to all con-
cerned."
On October 17, 1917, the Trustees for the first time elected women to
membership on the Board. Two of these were alumnae, and one was
the wife of the late chairman of the Trustees. These three were Mrs.
57
S.M. Inman, Mrs. C.E. Harman, who was a daughter of George
Washington Scott, and Miss Mary Wallace Kirk. Each of these three
women was to serve on the Agnes Scott Board of Trustees for the
remainder of her life — Mrs. Harman until 1937, Mrs. Inman until
1946, and Miss Kirk until 1978, this last tenure being the longest of any
trustee who has ever served Agnes Scott — over sixty years. Further
distinction was afforded Mrs. Inman when on May 21, 1926, she was
elected vice chairman of the Board, a post she filled until her death
more than twenty years later.
Like all the rest of the United States in 1917-1918, Agnes Scott felt
the effects of and was engaged in activities related to World War I.
Issue after issue of The Agonistic (the student newspaper) contained
one or more items concerning the war effort. Many students were
active in the Patriotic League, an organization sponsored nationally
by the Junior War Council of the Y.W.C.A. Through this agency they
knitted socks and other articles for service personnel and made trench
candles. The dramatic troup journeyed to nearby Camp Gordon to
entertain soldiers stationed there. Among other things, students par-
ticipated in a great patriotic parade down Peachtree Street in Atlanta.
Then there was the constant effort to conserve food, and many became
affiliated with the program directed by Herbert Hoover as President
Woodrow Wilson's Food Administrator. The Class of 1 9 1 9 went so far
as to forego publishing an annual and gave the savings to war relief.
One of the "spark plugs" in all this patriotic fervor was Miss Mary
Cady, who was Professor of History. Apparently she had unlimited
energy and enthusiasm which she communicated to many others.
Professors Joseph Maclean and S. Guerry Stukes entered military
service. In his own inimitable way, Dr. James Ross McCain has made
this interesting comment about the World War I period:
One of the problems was to get "dates" for our girls. Camp
Gordon had plenty of soldiers, but some of them were not too
acceptable, and it was hard to know them well. Agnes Scott had
never had a divorce among its Alumnae, but in this war some
hasty marriages were made, and a few divorces got started.
Professor Llewellyn Wilburn, who was in the Class of 1919,
remembers that there was also considerable interest among the
students in going overseas after graduation to do Red Cross work.
When Armistice Day finally came, the students twice engaged in a
"snake dance" around the Court House in Decatur.
Mention has been made earlier of various College activities involv-
58
ing Agnes Scott alumnae; however, the Alumnae Association as it is
known today dates from 1921. Miss Mary Wallace Kirk, '11, was
president of the organization at that time, and she led the way in mak-
ing the association more than just a local club for the Atlanta-Decatur
vicinity. With the assistance of Fannie G. Mason and Carol Stearns
Wey and with copies of the constitutions of alumnae associations of
several eastern colleges, Miss Kirk drafted a constitution intended to
make the Agnes Scott Alumnae Association national in scope. This
constitution was ratified and met with a fine reception, both near and
far. The Alumnae Association was on its way.
Also in this same year ( 1 92 1 ) the Trustees provided the funds for the
erection on campus of an alumnae house. Vassar College already had
such a house, and the one at Agnes Scott was the second such building
in the United States and the first one in the South. The Board resolu-
tion which authorized this building was adopted on May 28, 1 92 1 , and
reads as follows:
Whereas the General Education Board in its first conditional
pledge of $ 1 75,000 to the College allowed us to use $ 100,000 of the
total sum which we raised . . . for land and buildings; and whereas
only $34,000 has been so expended as provided in the pledge of the
General Education Board; and whereas the Alumnae Association
of the College desires to be placed in a position in which it can
maintain a more effective organization and better cooperate in the
advancement of the College,
Therefore, Resolved that this Board hereby appropriate
$20,000 for the purpose of erecting an Alumnae house on the
campus under the following conditions:
(l)The appropriation will not be available until this amount
has been collected on subscriptions not made under specific
terms, and until the Treasurer of the Endowment Fund shall
notify the Chairman of the Finance Committee that the said
sum of $20,000 is in his hands and available for said purpose.
(2) The house must be constructed within the appropriation.
(3) Of said $20,000, the sum of $ 1 5,000 shall be a gift and $5,000
shall be a loan to the Alumnae Association to be covered by
a subscription to the Endowment Fund, and paid in
installments of $1,000 per year for five years.
(4) The money herein appropriated shall be paid only on the
requisition of the Building Committee and the approval of
the Chairman of the Finance Committee of this Board.
(5) The construction of the house shall be in the hands of the
Building Committee composed of an equal number of
Trustees and Alumnae. The members of the Committee
59
from this Board shall be appointed by the Chairman. The
members from the Alumnae Association shall be appointed
by the President of the Association subject to the approval
of the Executive Committee of said Association. The
Building Committee shall be authorized to select plans,
solicit bids, award contracts, and generally superintend the
building.
(6) The house herein provided for shall bear such name as the
Alumnae Association shall select. It is to be known as the
Alumnae House. While it shall be the property of the
College, it shall be turned over to the Alumnae for their
exclusive use and management.
By the time the Board met on October 7, 1921, it could be reported
that much progress had been made on the construction of the Alumnae
House and that completion could be expected by Thanksgiving of that
year. At this same meeting a slight change was made in the original
arrangements so that management of the house would be under a joint
committee of the Trustees and the Alumnae.
The house was named for Miss Anna Irwin Young who taught
mathematics at Agnes Scott from 1 895 until her death on September 3,
1920. Miss Kirk has written that the first hostess or manager of the
house was Martha Bishop, an alumna who had completed her degree
at Agnes Scott in the Department of Home Economics. In addition to
an office for the hostess, the house contained a parlor, dining room,
and six bedrooms. A large room at the back on the first floor was used
as a tea room. The hostess "also served special breakfasts, luncheons,
dinners, and afternoon teas for any faculty member, alumna or student
who wished to entertain there. The house soon became the center of
the social life of the college" — so writes Miss Kirk. One of the bed-
rooms was set aside for special guests of the College.
The Trustees also at their meeting on October 7, 1921, took an
action which was to affect academic procedures at Agnes Scott for
more than the next half century. The bylaws of the Board were so
amended "as to provide for an Academic Council. . .consisting of the
heads of the various departments, to act on several matters which
[had] been hitherto considered by the Faculty as a whole. "This Coun-
cil, in addition to the department heads, consisted of the President and
the Dean. Its specific functions were officially as follows:
Subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, the Council
shall have power to determine the academic policy of the College,
to fix requirements for admission and for the degree, and to
60
approve the courses of instruction offered by the various
departments.
As is obvious, this action quite effectively removed from the faculty
practically all control of educational policy and lodged it with the
Academic Council — an action which insured that academic matters
would be in the hands of seasoned faculty members but which at times
tended to thwart the initiative of younger professors.
In the spring of 1922 a decision was made which was of tremendous
importance for the future of Agnes Scott. This decision was to con-
tinue the College at its present location rather than move to a new site.
Some of the Trustees, supported by out-of-town friends, proposed
acquiring "some two hundred acres in the Druid Hills section" and
relocating the College there in a completely new plant. At that time
there was a considerable amount of undeveloped land on the Decatur
side of Druid Hills where an ideal campus could be developed. Dr.
McCain has written that there was, moreover, a group of Atlanta
people who were prepared to make a bid for the then present campus
and facilities in order to start a private school for girls. The proposal
came to nought because, as Dr. McCain says, "we could not unite
whole heartedly on that plan." Two present alumnae who were in
touch with the College at that time say that the proposed move was
abandoned because of the opposition of the Scott family.
On Saturday morning, April 14, 1923, President Frank Henry
Gaines died quite unexpectedly. He was in his seventy-first year. Three
days before, on Wednesday, April 1 1, he had conducted chapel, and no
one sensed that his life was near its end. On the next day, Thursday, he
felt enough unwell to go to Atlanta by street car to consult his physi-
cian, who that afternoon put him in the hospital for observation and
therapy. On Friday Dr. Gaines was in good spirits with the expectation
of soon returning to Agnes Scott. However, early on Saturday, his
heart started to fail, and he died quietly around noon. With his death,
an era closed at Agnes Scott.
Shortly after President Gaines's death, a booklet was prepared in his
memory and the following paragraphs are quoted from this pamphlet
giving a contemporary account of the events of his funeral and burial
as well as various tributes to his life.
As soon as the first shock of surprise and grief had passed, the
faculty and students planned memorial services in his honor along
just the lines which they thought would have pleased him most. It
was the unanimous desire that his body should lie in state in the
61
chapel for a day and that a special service of worship should be
held for the college community before the formal and public
ceremonies. On Sabbath morning, when the body was brought
from the undertaker's, the students dressed in white received him
in double columns from the campus gate to the chapel; and the
casket was borne by his closest associates to rest on the platform
where for almost numberless days he had read and prayed for the
college and his girls.
It was with the feelings of deepest reverence and love that the
faculty and students gathered that Sabbath morning for the
memorial service in his honor, as his body lay in state. It was very
simple and was conducted by the girls themselves. The first song
was "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing" which was a favorite
hymn of Dr. Gaines and which he nearly always used on Saturday
mornings. Miss Hilda McConnell, President of Student
Government, spoke briefly of the love of the students for Dr.
Gaines and of their appreciation for being allowed to conduct the
service. Miss Eloise Knight, President of the Young Women's
Christian Association, read the Scripture passages which had
been used scores of times by Dr. Gaines himself in conducting
memorial services. Miss Mary Goodrich, President of the Senior
Class, led the prayer, asking that all might take to heart the lessons
taught by Dr. Gaines and show in true lives the influence he
exerted, and seeking also for comfort in the great bereavement.
The service closed with the singing of "My Faith Looks Up to
Thee" by Misses Frances Gilliland and Lillian McAlpine.
All during the Sabbath and on Monday morning, there was a
student guard of honor in the chapel, and during the night the men
of the faculty kept watch. Hundreds of friends came quietly and
reverently to look once more on his face so strong and peaceful in
death, or to sit in the chapel and meditate on his wonderful
achievements for the Kingdom of Christ.
On Monday morning, April 16, 1923, the funeral services for
Dr. Gaines were held at the Decatur Presbyterian Church. Dr.
B.R. Lacy, Jr., Pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church of
Atlanta; Dr. D.P. McGeachy, Pastor in Decatur, and Dr. J.
Sprole Lyons, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta [all
Agnes Scott trustees], were in charge of the exercises. The Board
of Trustees of the college formed a special honorary escort, and
the whole faculty and student body were in attendance. The
building was entirely inadequate for the throng who gathered to
do him honor.
The service was simple, but very impressive. By request of the
family, all eulogies were omitted; but all realized that none were
needed. The great work of Dr. Gaines was itself so eloquent that
mere words would seem empty. The Holy Scriptures, beautiful
gospel hymns, and sincere, heartfelt prayers drew the whole
62
audience very close to Him, in whose service Dr. Gaines spent his
life.
After the church service, the body was taken to its last resting
place in Westview Cemetery, in Atlanta. Through the courtesy of
the Decatur Chamber of Commerce, automobiles were provided
to take the entire faculty and student body to the place of burial.
There again all hearts were touched as the members of the Senior
Class in special token of their love and sorrow dropped each a rose
into the open grave, and it was a satisfaction to all to have the
closing words of Dr. Lyons to be those of hope and thanksgiving
rather than of grief or despair. All felt that here was a fitting close
of a marvelous life.
President Gaines was survived by his wife, the former Mary Louise
Lewis of Augusta County, Virginia, whom he had married in 1 877, and
by one son, Dr. Lewis McFarland Gaines, a prominent physician of
Atlanta.
All the records at Agnes Scott about Dr. Gaines testify to his single-
ness of purpose. His life was controlled by two great passions: ( 1) utter
and complete surrender to God in Christ and (2) a devotion to the
highest ideals attainable by a human being. Agnes Scott College pro-
vided him with a channel for both of these passions.
Time and time again he stressed that the glory of God was the only
reason for the College's existence, and in report after report to the
Trustees, he expounded on both the academic and the religious life of
the campus. That the faculty recognized his commitment is illustrated
in some sentences from their resolutions at his death:
Fundamental in the structure of that character was his faith in
God. Before he began his work as an educator he was widely
known as a preacher of the Gospel — an evangelical preacher of
great power. He carried with him into his work for the founding
and development of the college this same evangelical spirit — a
spirit of faith and enthusiasm which fashioned all his acts with one
end in view as stated in his formulation of the Agnes Scott "Ideal"
to accomplish in every activity of the institution the Glory of God.
His insistence on Christian character as an indispensable
qualification for all members of the teaching force; his constant
effort to preserve the spirit of Christ in every activity of the student
body, whether academic or otherwise; his unhesitating loyalty to
his faith in every policy of the college; his unfailing effort to be j ust
in every decision; his fearless integrity in small matters as well as in
great; and withal his tender sympathy, which all who have found
themselves in trouble have experienced, these are the traits which
will give him a permanent place in the affectionate memory of
63
every member of this faculty; these are the traits which we wish to
place on record for future generations of faculty members.
President Gaines' passion for lofty ideals found expression in the
high standards which he set and maintained for the College. He never
wavered during a period when education was a great luxury for any-
body and when demanding standards meant small enrollments. Once
again attention is directed to what his faculty said about him in this
regard:
It was his faith in God that enabled him to hold steadfastly to
the admission standards as stated in the catalogue, year after year
in those trying days of a decade and more ago when the very life of
colleges appeared to depend on their ability to attract large num-
bers of students. Knowing full well that adherence to the standard
of admission would probably mean a deficit to be reported to the
Board of Trustees at the end of the year, he never yet let himself be
turned a hair's breadth from his purpose to maintain an honest
standard, despite the mental worry that would inevitably result
from his action, and the ease with which he might have doubled
the student body by making concessions which most institutions
similarly situated were making freely. No one who did not live
through those years can fully appreciate the greatness and
steadfastness of the man in these trying circumstances.
This same single-minded tenacity of purpose caused President
Gaines to require unyielding commitment to standards in the aca-
demic work of the College once a student was admitted. It also led him
in taking the utmost care in choosing members of the faculty — men
and women who were competent and well prepared in their disciplines
and who were committed to the Christian faith. "Once chosen, they
were free always to do what seemed best to them in their respective
departments — a policy the wisdom of which has been abundantly
proved in the gratifying advancement that has steadily marked the
growth of the college," so say the same resolutions of the faculty.
For more than a third of a century, Frank Henry Gaines personally
directed every facet of Agnes Scott's life. In many instances there was
nothing except struggle, but the President never faltered in his belief in
the importance and Tightness of his work. That he was privileged to
experience some of the success of his indefatigable labors gives one
much satisfaction now. From a rented house in 1889, the College in
1922-1923 had grown to twenty acres of land and twenty-one build-
ings. For the same period the students had increased from 63 to 435,
and the officers and teachers had enlarged from 4 to 54. Assets had
64
grown from a subscription list of $5,000 to $1,586,344. The institution
itself had developed from an elementary and grammar school to a re-
cognized four-year college of highest standards.
It is little wonder, then, that The Atlanta Journal, editorializing at
the time of his death, could say:
A great educator he truly was, a builder, a leader, a benefactor; a
man strong in the strength that comes from a lofty purpose and a
valiant faith; a doer of the noble, and immortal work.
The students through their weekly, The Agonistic, put their feelings
this way:
But our sadness is touched with the light of a great thankfulness —
thankfulness for the life which he lived in simplicity, in strength,
and in sincerity; for the college which he dreamed of, and toiled
for, and loved into being; for his spirit that is inseparable from the
spirit of Agnes Scott.
The Board of Trustees in their meeting on May 25, 1923, adopted a
full tribute to their deceased comrade and said in part:
His life was preeminently one of service, service to God, and
service to fellow men .... His life and character command our
admiration and love ....
The Alumnae Association at its gathering in May following Dr.
Gaines' death heard Miss Mary Wallace Kirk, '11, who served as a
trustee of the College from 1917 to 1978, speak for them:
. . . we would pause to honor him . . .who in his passing, as in life,
has left us rarer gifts than gold — a noble heritage of those best
things of which the spirit of man is capable .... Truth, honor,
integrity, scholarship, character — were the things he held of
dearest worth and as being essential factors in attaining man's
chief end — the glory of god.
. . . Such was the first president of our Alma Mater, and such are
the characteristics which because of his life are a part of the warp
and woof of our college.
The twenty-year period between the death of Col. Scott in 1903 and
that of President Gaines in 1 923 was a time of struggle and striving for
stability and status. To the everlasting credit of many people, these
goals had been achieved by the end of Dr. Gaines' presidency.
A firm financial foundation has been established. Through a series
of campaigns, greatly assisted by the General Education Board, a sub-
stantial endowment by the criteria of that time had been accumulated.
65
The campus had been expanded, and a number of buildings had been
erected. The annual deficits which had plagued the College for so long
were now only a memory, and the nagging indebtedness of former
years was no more. The student body had stabilized, and there were
more young women seeking to attend Agnes Scott than the College
could accommodate. The salary scale for the faculty and administra-
tion adopted on March 2, 1923, (just over a month before President
Gaines's death) showed the following growth:
President $6,000
Vice President 5,000
Dean 3,600
Professor 2,750 - 3,000
Associate Professor 2,075 - 2,300
Assistant Professor .
Instructor I 1,050 - 1,550
Assistant '
At the same time academic standards of the highest order had been
maintained, and educational recognition had been assured. Accredi-
tation by the regional accrediting agency had come in 1 907. In 1 9 1 2 the
Bureau of Education of the United States Government placed Agnes
Scott in Group I of the classification and rating of educational in-
stitutions. In 1920 the College was included in the approved list of the
American Association of Universities, and the next year (1921) Agnes
Scott become a charter member of the American Association of
University Women. The most coveted recognition was to come just
two years after Dr. Gaines' death when the United Chapters of Phi
Beta Kappa voted to established a chapter at Agnes Scott.
Stability and status had been achieved, and no one deserves more
gratitude for this accomplishment than Samuel Martin Inman, Joseph
Kyle Orr, and — most of all — Frank Henry Gaines.
66
Chapter 3
THE McCAIN ERA
On April 20, 1923, just six days after President Gaines's death, the
Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees met and appointed Dr.
James Ross McCain to be acting president of Agnes Scott College
pending action by the Board of Trustees itself. Approximately one
month later, on May 25, 1923, the Board convened in its annual meet-
ing and confirmed the action of the Executive Committee by formally
electing Dr. McCain Agnes Scott's second president. No other candi-
date was considered. Since Dr. McCain was a trustee, he was asked to
retire from the meeting while the discussion of his election to the
presidency was being held. After the vote, which was unanimous, three
trustees were named to escort the new president back to the meeting
where Chairman J.K. Orr formally notified him of his election. Dr.
McCain then and there accepted his presidential duties and responsi-
bilities, and a new era began for Agnes Scott.
James Ross McCain was born in Covington, Tennessee, on April 9,
1881, the oldest child of John Irenaeus and Louisa Jane Todd McCain.
In the summer of 1882 John McCain moved his family to Due West,
South Carolina, where he had accepted a professorship in Erskine
College, his alma mater. In the rural setting of this small college town,
James Ross McCain spent his childhood and youth. The home in
which he grew up was characterized by the strict and rigorous virtues
of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian communion. Understand-
ably, many of the strong, unbending, almost stern traits which were so
evident in President McCain's maturity can be traced directly to his
father and mother and their home and surroundings in Due West.
Three incidents related by James Ross McCain himself will suffice:
When I was about eight years old, my mother taught me a
valuable lesson in stewardship. She gave me a dime for filling the
box with stove wood. I had often done it without any pay. That
day, however, she said to me, "If you will take one penny out of
this dime and give it to Jesus in the collection tomorrow you will
be a titherand will be a partner of God Himself." It seemed to me a
fine bargain, and I gave the penny gladly, and I think that I have
67
never had a dime since then that I did not give at least one penny.
Of course, I had put money into the collection plate for many
years — money given me by papa, but this was my own money and
was given with a special thought of the Lord. It was a good lesson
for which I have been grateful.
The second incident is of a somewhat different nature:
Not everything was sweetness and light between my parents and
me, however, for they whipped me often for various things, and I
think I [did] not get any licks amiss. For some reason, mother had
told us children [There were five children altogether.] not to eat raw
sweet potatoes. Really they are very healthful and taste good. One
day as she crossed the yard, I was eating such a potato, and she
asked, "James Ross, aren't you eating a potato?" Without any
hesitation I replied, "No, mama." She said firmly, "Let's go into
the house and talk this over." I knew that I was in for something
bad. She said, "I want to teach you the difference between man-
made rules and God-made laws. I am your mother and have a
right to make rules about potatoes and other such things, and you
ought to obey me because I am your mother, even though no
morals are involved; but you told a lie, and that violates the laws
of God, and that is quite a wrong thing to do. I want you always to
remember the difference." She then gave me the hardest whipping
she had ever administered, and I remember it all quite well after
some 70 years.
The third incident from James Ross McCain's growing-up also reveals
something of the canniness for which he is remembered in later life.
After writing of the various and limited avenues open in Due West for
a boy to earn money, he says:
I found that I could make much more income from memorizing
Scripture than in any other way, and it could be done winter or
summer, by day or by night. My Grandmother Todd would pay
one cent a verse for memorizing. She preferred that we learn
Psalms in the metrical version, and I liked that. On one occasion I
got $1 .76 for the 1 19th Psalm at one sitting! She allowed only her
immediate family this privilege, and it was a great family blessing
to me, as I remember now in old age many of the passages learned
as a boy. Modern educationalists who insist that memorizing is
poor training and that rewards ought not to be given have never
been convincing to me.
Something of the character of President McCain's father can be
gleaned from a comment which the son made when an old man:
Papa had a custom of asking at each evening meal the same
68
question of each of the older ones, "Did you keep up the reputa-
tion of the family today?" It was a rather searching question.
In the fall of 1 896, James Ross McCain at the age of fifteen entered
Erskine College. Four years later, in the spring of 1900, he graduated
with a straight A record. The following autumn he matriculated in the
Law School of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and subsequent-
ly in 1 90 1 successfully passed the bar examination and was admitted to
practice both in the state and U.S. courts. He began his practice in
July, 1901, in the firm of Johnson and Nash in Spartanburg, South
Carolina; however, he could not receive his license in South Carolina
until April, 1902, when he was twenty-one years old. He was paid
$35.00 per month and was permitted to pick up any outside practice
that he could. President McCain has noted that one of his uncles of-
fered to provide him with $25.00 monthly as needed, but he remarks
that he "never found it necessary" to draw on this source.
Young Mr. McCain did not find the practice of law satisfying, and
after two years he decided to try another field. In his own inimitable
way, he observed in later years that his experience was that no one
came to consult a lawyer unless he was in trouble or wanted to get
someone else in trouble. So he decided that he would seek a more
rewarding work. For a brief time he considered both the ministry and
teaching and ultimately chose the latter. In the fall of 1903 he accepted
a teaching post in Covington, Tennessee, at a salary of $75.00 per
month for a nine-month term. After a second year in Covington,
young McCain was re-elected for a third term, but during the summer
of 1905, he was approached by Mr. J. P. Cooper of Rome, Georgia,
about becoming principal of a school there. This contact led to James
Ross McCain's move to Rome and to his becoming the first
headmaster of what was to develop into the Darlington School.
Meanwhile, he realized that if he was to continue in teaching, he
needed graduate training; thus, in 1905 he enrolled for the summer in
the University of Chicago, a move which led to his receiving his M.A.
degree there in 1911 and ultimately to his going on to Columbia
University from which he received the Ph.D. degree in 1914.
During 191 1-1912, Mr. McCain took a year's leave of absence from
Darlington and completed his residency and language requirements at
Columbia. He then returned home to take up his work and write his
dissertation. The topic of Mr. McCain's dissertation was "The Execu-
tive in Proprietary Georgia." When he began his research, he discov-
ered that the material he had to have "was largely in manuscript form
69
and stored in the State Capitol with no access to it without legislative
approval." Fortunately the Hon. Lucian Lamar Knight, who had
recently been named Custodian of Records for the State, agreed to be
of assistance. The help of Governor Joseph M. Brown was enlisted,
and an enabling resolution was passed by the legislature permitting
Mr. McCain to have access to the appropriate records. These records
were handwritten and had been copied in London. At any rate, the
research was done, and the dissertation was written — all of this being
accomplished while young Mr. McCain was fully employed and in-
volved as headmaster at Darlington!
At Christmas of 1 900 James Ross McCain met Miss Pauline Martin
who was a student at the Women's College in Due West. During the
same season two years later, the couple became engaged, and three and
a half years later on June 12, 1906, they were quietly married in the
home of the bride's parents in Newton County, Georgia. This marriage
continued with great happiness until Mrs. McCain's death in Decem-
ber, 1953. The McCains had seven children, six of whom survived
them.
After ten successful and fruitful years at Darlington, Dr. McCain in
1915 accepted the invitation to join the faculty and administration of
Agnes Scott College as Registrar and Professor of Bible at a salary of
$2, 100 per year plus a house. He had been recommended to Dr. Gaines
by Chancellor James. H. Kirkland of Vanderbilt. In order to accept
the call to Agnes Scott, Dr. McCain had to decline the presidency of
Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, to which post he had been
unanimously elected almost simultaneously with the offer from Agnes
Scott.
Dr. McCain began his duties at Agnes Scott on July 1 , 1915. One of
his responsibilities as Registrar was to secure students, a somewhat
difficult assignment at this particular time when war was raging in
Europe and the economy of the South was rather unstable. He also
found his teaching of the Bible courses quite "strenuous" since this
field was not his specialty. The catalogue for 1916-1917 shows that he
had been transferred to American History and Sociology. However,
Dr. McCain himself has written that while "I was employed as a
teacher and registrar, Dr. Gaines and the Trustees really wanted me to
help raise money for the College." By 1918 he had been relieved of his
teaching and had been made Vice President and Registrar of Agnes
Scott. In the financial campaigns of 19 19 and 1920, the new Vice Presi-
dent played an increasingly important role. In other ways also he was
70
moving into a position of strength at the center of the College. In his
unpublished memoirs Dr. McCain has written that about 1920,
Dr. Gaines was not very well and felt that a long vacation in the
summer, plus one in the winter in Florida, would be of help to
him. I had been elected a member of the Board of Trustees, and he
turned more and more jobs over to me, such as getting teachers
and dealing with the Faculty in educational matters. It was
excellent training for me, and I learned a great deal about all
phases of college problems.
When in the spring of 1923 James Ross McCain found himself in
charge of Agnes Scott College, he was already well prepared. In his
own words, here is the way he put the matter: "It was not burdensome
as Dr. Gaines had taught me a great deal as to his ideas of a good
college and how to run it."
President McCain goes on to say further
The taking over of the management of Agnes Scott was made
much easier by the fine staff which Dr. Gaines had collected. Miss
Nannette Hopkins, the Dean, was the first person employed when
the school opened in 1889, and she had been the Principal for
seven years. Mr. R.B. Cunningham had been with the school since
1911 and knew the business management. Mr. J.C. Tart, the
Treasurer, had come in 1914, and was efficiency itself. Mr. S.G.
Stukes, who was made Registrar, had come in 1913 and was
familiar with all the academic work. All these had been with the
College longer than I, and had its good at [sic] much at heart as I
could myself.
In 1923-1924, the first year of President McCain's administration,
Agnes Scott had a faculty of forty- four people (some part-time). There
were 493 students, 345 of them being in residence on campus. The
charge for a resident student was $600 per year (tuition: $185, main-
tenance fee: $25, medical fee: $10, board and room: $380). The charge
for a non-resident student was $200 per year. The disciplines constitu-
ting the curriculum were art, astronomy, Bible, biology, chemistry,
economics and sociology, education, English, French, German,
Greek, history, Latin, mathematics, music, philosophy, physical edu-
cation, physics, psychology, and Spanish. Sixty-two semester hours
were required for a B.A. degree, two of these being in physical educa-
tion. The remaining 60 hours were divided into 30'/$ required and 29'/2
elective. The prescribed 30'/2 hours were as follows:
71
English 6 hours
A modern language or Greek 3 hours
Latin 1 or 2 or a modern language or Greek, or
advanced science, or additional mathematics 3 hours
Mathematics 3 hours
Two of the three sciences, Biology, Chemistry,
Physics 6 hours
History 3 hours
Bible 3lA hours
Psychology 3 hours
30'/2 hours
Students were expected to take the required courses in the first two
years, and all courses, including electives, were planned with the Com-
mittee on Admissions or the Committee on Electives. A major subject
was chosen by the end of the sophomore year. "With the advice and
approval of the head of the department in which the major subject
[was] selected, a minimum of nine hours in that department [had to] be
taken, together with six additional elective hours also approved by the
professor. Work in the major subject [was required to] be continued in
the Junior and Senior years." Majors were available in the following
disciplines: Bible, biology, chemistry, economics, English, French,
history, Latin, mathematics, philosophy and psychology, physics, and
psychology. Elementary language courses and those in art history,
music, and spoken English could not fulfill major requirements or
those in related hours. Another interesting requirement set forth in the
1923-1924 catalogue prohibited a student from taking more than six
hours from the same professor in any semester.
Just as Dr. McCain was assuming the presidency, Agnes Scott was
in the process of receiving the largest legacy that the College had had
up to that time. Through the will of Miss Jane Walker Inman, which
was probated on August 2, 1922, Agnes Scott became the legatee for
approximatey $150,000 with an additional $50,000 which ultimately
came to the College. This gift from Miss Inman, who was the sister of
the late Samuel M. Inman, was used to establish a memorial
endowment fund honoring her brother.
Also, on April 30, 1923, the College sustained the death of Professor
J.D.M. Armistead, longtime chairman of the Department of English
and greatly beloved and respected faculty member for eighteen years,
one who was a moving force "in building up the high standard of
72
Agnes Scott." He was a founding member of Gamma Tau Alpha and
worked untiringly in the effort looking to a local chapter of Phi Beta
Kappa. Quite appropriately, his personal library became part of the
collection in the College library — each book being identified by a
special accession symbol and number.
Rather early in his administration President McCain began to give
attention to long-range campus planning, and the effects of this in-
terest and emphasis have been felt ever since in the development of the
physical plant. In the fall of 1922 Dr. Ralph A. Cram of the
architectural firm of Cram and Ferguson in Boston had visited the
campus and had prepared plans and given advice. A study was de-
veloped to serve as a guide for the future. This study was later modified
by the Atlanta firm of Edwards and Sayward and actually controlled
the location of a number of new buildings.
The three most pressing campus matters facing the new president
were (1) the acquisition of more land, (2) the erection of a new gym-
nasium, and (3) the re-location of the South Decatur car line. During
the first year of Dr. McCain's administration six additional lots were
bought at a total cost of $45,000, and in his annual report for 1923-
1924 the President told the Trustees that "In planning for growth for
twenty-five years even, we are sure we ought to extend our holdings to
Dougherty Street between Candler and McDonough Streets."
The need for a larger gymnasium was urgent. The physical edu-
cation facility then in use had been built for approximately 200 stu-
dents, and by the middle of the 1 920's the enrollment was approaching
500. This old building stood between Rebekah Scott Hall and the
present location of Buttrick Hall. In articulating this need President
McCain wrote as follows to the Trustees:
Since it [the old gymnasium] was built methods of teaching
physical education have changed, and the arrangements are out of
date. The swimming pool is a joke among the girls, and we are
ashamed to take visitors to see the building.
And then "to kill two birds with one stone," Dr. McCain continues:
Another need of almost equal importance is a large auditorium.
We have about 560 officers and students, and our chapel will hold
only 467. We have not sufficient room for ordinary exercises and
worship, and we cannot invite visitors without fear of their having
to endure discomfort.
It looks as if the time has come to build a gymnasium and to so
arrange it that it can be used as a temporary auditorium until a
permanent one can be provided.
73
On December 1, 1924, work was begun on a new gymnasium-
auditorium with the completion date set for September, 1925. The
structure cost over $150,000, "more than any two other buildings on
the campus" had cost up to that time. Of course, one of the major units
in the new building was to be a swimming pool, and in order to get the
funds for this facility, the College engaged in its second campus cam-
paign to raise $25,000 to finance this particular enterprise. Almost
$30,000 was raised, and the swimming pool became a reality. The new
building was named for George Bucher Scott, a son of George Wash-
ington Scott. Bucher Scott was for many years a trustee of the College
and also served as chairman of the Board's committee on buildings and
grounds. This combination auditorium-gymnasium could seat 1,600
and removed the necessity of Agnes Scott's holding its baccalaureate
services in the Decatur Presbyterian Church. Until 1940, when Presser
Hall was built, all large campus functions were in the Bucher Scott
Gymnasium.
Perhaps one brief anecdote relative to the new "gym" will not be out
of place here. In his unpublished memoirs, Dr. McCain writes:
The girls enjoyed it [the swimming pool] a great deal, and some
of them broke into the pool room one night and enjoyed the
swimming about 3 o'clock in the morning. We had no real rules
against such. We had "Academic Probation" and "Social Proba-
tion," but neither one of these seemed to fit the case; and so I
invented the term "Administrative Probation, "and put these girls
on it.
During the year 1924-1925 the South Decatur-Stone Mountain
trolley line was moved to Dougherty Street where it remained for
many years. In fact, when buses replaced the trolleys, the bus route
continued for some time to operate on Dougherty Street. Prior to
1924-1925 this carline, which was a continuation of the old dummy line
that came into the campus at the time Main was built, entered the
campus through the woods behind the present steam plant. It crossed
Dougherty Street and ran along the west side of the present athletic
field. At a point about the northeast corner of the present Campbell
Hall, the track made a right angle turn to the east, crossed what is now
the athletic field, and entered South Candler Street between where
Winship Hall and the President's House now stand. It is easy to under-
stand the importance of getting this transportation artery relocated.
With the new gymnasium and an expanded physical education pro-
gram, a larger athletic field was a pressing need, and this carline ran
right through the site where the athletic field should be. In crossing the
74
present athletic field, the carline ran along what was then Ansley
Street. Thus, the College needed not only to have the carline moved
but also to get Ansley Street closed. This process involved the City of
Decatur and the Georgia Railway and Power Company, and as would
be expected, the community got involved also. Finally, to get the
carline moved, Agnes Scott had to buy some additional property on
Dougherty Street and provide an easement along the College side of
the street and then pay for the moving of the tracks. All in all this
removal cost Agnes Scott between $20,000 and $25,000. This new
route ran between the present tennis courts and Dougherty Street from
the present steam plant to South Candler Street. Once the carline was
moved, the College petitioned the City of Decatur to close Ansley
Street and College Place (This latter street paralleled the west side of
the present athletic field.), but the town, prior to giving its consent,
required the College to improve Dougherty Street to be a "good
thoroughfare." However, all of this effort and expense were necessary
if Agnes Scott was to have an appropriate athletic field; consequently,
the Trustees approved the project.
Mention has already been made of Gamma Tau Alpha and of its
purpose to be the forerunner of Phi Beta Kappa at Agnes Scott. The
years 1924, 1925, and 1926 saw this dream become reality. Here is the
account as set forth in the Anniversary Booklet published when the
Chapter observed its fiftieth birthday in 1976:
On March 3, 1924, President James Ross McCain . . . received
notification from Secretary Oscar M. Voorhees of the United
Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa that Agnes Scott had been placed on
a tentative list of colleges that might be considered for a chapter.
President McCain was also advised to send information concern-
ing Agnes Scott to the Phi Beta Kappa chapters in the South
Atlantic District. This information was sent in the form of a report
from President McCain setting forth the special claims of Agnes
Scott to recognition at that time. The action of the South Atlantic
chapters was favorable, and on October 24, 1924, word was re-
ceived that Agnes Scott had been placed in nomination. On the
advice of Secretary Voorhees, Agnes Scott on November 13, 1924,
forwarded its petition for a charter to the Senate and National
Council. Much investigation through reports and questionnaires
followed. Also Secretary Voorhees and President Charles F.
Thwing of the United Chapters made visits to the campus. On
September 9, 1925, the Council of the United Chapters of Phi Beta
Kappa, meeting in New York, took action granting a charter to
Agnes Scott. The College was the one hundred and second insti-
75
tution to receive a charter and the ninth college for women to have
this recognition.
The actual installation of the chapter took place on March 23, 1926.
On the night before, the Atlanta Phi Beta Kappa Association gave a
dinner at the Piedmont Driving Club honoring the installation of the
new chapter. The program at this dinner is of interest:
Presiding Officer — Dudley R. Cowles, President of Atlanta Phi
Beta Kappa Association
Welcome — Clifford M. Walker, Governor of Georgia
"Why Agnes Scott Was Selected for Phi Beta Kappa" — Dr.
Oscar M. Voorhees
Response: "The Pledge of Agnes Scott in Maintaining Phi Beta
Kappa Standards" — President J.R. McCain
"Phi Beta Kappa as a World Force for Scholarship" — Mr.
Harold Hirsch
"The Obligation of Scholarship to Citizenship" — Hon. John M.
Slaton, Former Governor of Georgia
"Woman's Contribution to Scholarship" — Miss Rhoda
Kauffman
"The Spirituality of Scholarship" — Dr. Plato Durham, Emory
University
The installation of the Beta of Georgia Chapter was conducted by Dr.
Voorhees. Twenty-one chapters sent representatives. The charter
members of the Beta of Georgia Chapter were the six members of Phi
Beta Kappa who were then in the Agnes Scott faculty, namely, Lady
Coma Cole, Edith Muriel Harn, Cleo Hearon, Robert Benton Holt,
Lillian Scoresby Smith, and Samuel Guerry Stukes. Prior to the
establishment of the chapter, President James Ross McCain was
elected a foundation member. At the first meeting of the Chapter, held
on the day of installation, six alumnae from the classes of 1 906 to 1 9 1 1
were elected as were five members in course from the class of 1926.
This election and initiation were followed by a formal dinner in the
Anna Young Alumnae House at which Professor Robert B. Holt,
President of the new Chapter, presided. Mr. Dudley Cowles of the
Atlanta Association brought greetings from other chapters in the
South Atlantic District. Exercises were then held in the Bucher Scott
Gymnasium where Secretary Voorhees publicly presented the charter
of the Beta of Georgia Chapter and spoke about the significance of Phi
76
Beta Kappa. At this same occasion Professor R.E. Park, Chairman of
the Department of English at the University of Georgia, gave an
address entitled "The Responsibility of the Scholar in the
Community." From that day forward Phi Beta Kappa has been a
formative force at Agnes Scott.
Also in connection with recognition of scholastic achievement, M.
Rich and Bros. Company (now Rich's Inc.) of Atlanta began in 1925
making a prize available to the member of the freshman class who
made the highest grade average during the year. This prize is still
awarded except that it now goes to the freshman with the second high-
est average. Since 1957 the top student has been designated a Stukes
scholar — but more of this later.
In the same year (1925) the Trustees authorized the President to
make financial assistance available to faculty members desiring to
engage in advanced study, provided the College had the funds. A
teacher holding the rank of professor could receive $1,000 per year
while away and those below that rank might expect $500. Thus, an
initial step was taken toward faculty-study leaves of absence.
The 1925-1926 year saw a rather careful study conducted to ascer-
tain whether Agnes Scott students were overworked, particularly to
the extent that their health was being endangered. A committee con-
sisting of the Dean, the College physician, and three faculty members
was appointed to conduct this study. A questionnaire providing for
confidentiality was devised and responses came in from 350 students
(63.5% of the student body). The way a student used her time was
analyzed. In the area of academic work 62% spent less than fifty hours
per week and 38% spent more than fifty hours per week on their stud-
ies. Time used in recreation and extra curricular activities was harder
to tabulate. The report observes
The work of Y.W.C.A., Student Government, Departmental
Clubs, Athletic Association, etc. is fairly well distributed by the
Point System [a device that limited the number of activities in
which a student could be involved] so that few cases of overstrain
can be attributed to such activities. Most of the time spent in recre-
ation is either devoted to games on the campus or to movies,
shopping, etc. in Atlanta. Nearly every student goes to Atlanta on
Saturday afternoons, and the majority of them get off for week-
end visits several times a year. The Camp at Stone Mountain, built
and maintained by the students, proves to be one of the most
helpful provisions for change and relaxation, and has been used
nearly every week-end this year. That and the swimming pool in
77
the gymnasium furnish the chief means of healthful recreation in
the College.
The report also probed the feelings of day students about their lack of
involvement in campus life. A general complaint was that "the greatest
need of the College ... is more provision for social life among the
students." So far as overstrain was concerned, it was evident that some
courses were too demanding for the usual run of student — a finding
not at all surprising. President McCain summed up the matter by
making the following observation in his annual report for 1925-1926:
As far as it exists this strain seems to come from two sources:
namely, a feeling at the end of any given period that not all of the
work that should be done has been accomplished, and a certain
constraint due to the fact that in so large a crowd it is very difficult
to have much time to one's self.
He then goes on to note that most people in general have more to do
than they can complete and concludes by saying, "We regard it as not a
bad sign for students to have tasks that cannot be fully accomplished
provided they do not allow the matter to worry them unduly." He also
states that more adequate "recreational opportunities" were being
provided.
At the Board meeting on May 21, 1926, a policy still in force was
adopted, namely, that "the retiring President of the Alumnae Asso-
ciation [would] be nominated by the Trustees as one of the Alumnae
Representatives on the Board of Trustees for a two year term, if the
way be clear." The same action also invited the active President of the
Alumnae to sit with the Board except when it was in executive session.
In 1925 Agnes Scott published a pamphlet setting forth the growth
needs of the College for the next ten years. The total assets at that time
amounted to approximately $2,000,000, and there was now real ur-
gency to expand many areas and facilities. This pamphlet states that
much "pressure is brought each year for Agnes Scott to take more of
the hundreds of young women who wish to enroll." At the end of the
1924-1925 year there were 355 resident students and 148 non-resident.
Plans were projected to handle 500 residents and a greatly increased
number of day students. In addition to endowment, the two most
urgent needs were for a new heating plant and laundry and for a new
78
administration-classroom building. The old heating plant and laundry
were completely outmoded, and they also occupied the exact site where
the Trustees wished to build the new administration-classroom structure.
The most obvious obstacle was money; consequently, the gears began
to mesh for another capital funds campaign. On December 8, 1925, the
Trustees approved a ten-year goal of $2,924,000 and "instructed the
President to proceed as rapidly as possible in securing funds."
This particular financial effort increasingly occupied Agnes Scott's
attention for the next six or seven years. As usual in such campaigns, a
large gift was needed to spur interest and enthusiasm, but the President
was at a loss where to turn. The natural action to take was to go again
to the General Education Board — after all Agnes Scott had a good
record with that agency. However, beginning in 1922, it became gen-
eral knowledge "that the Board [had] discontinued gifts to the colleges."
Moreover, Agnes Scott's great friend Dr. Wallace Buttrick had died
on May 27, 1 926. The chief executive officer of the General Education
Board was now Wickliffe Rose, and the principal officer in the Divi-
sion of College and University Education was Halston Joseph
Thorkelson. President McCain has written that Dr. Thorkelson
"could not see the least value in a college for women. He would not
even allow an appeal to be made." Apparently Dr. Rose concurred in
this position. Dr. Thorkelson had been Professor of Engineering and
later business manager at the University of Wisconsin, and under-
standably his orientation was not toward the small liberal arts college
for women. At this point when the Agnes Scott Trustees were per-
plexed as to what to do, a series of events occurred which President
McCain subsequently affirmed were in his judgment the workings of
Almighty God on behalf of Agnes Scott — an institution which had
been established for His glory.
In the general elections of 1928 Walter J. Kohler, a leading indus-
trialist, was chosen Governor of Wisconsin. As a result, Mr. Kohler
asked Dr. Thorkelson to return to Wisconsin and take a major posi-
tion in the Kohler Company, an offer which Thorkelson accepted.
Meanwhile Dr. Rose retired and Dr. Trevor Arnett became the Pres-
ident of the General Education Board. Dr. Arnett knew and appreci-
ated Agnes Scott and was sympathetic toward the College's appeal for
funds. As a result of negotiations between Dr. Arnett and President
McCain, the Agnes Scott Trustees took action asking the General
Education Board to help in the current financial effort, especially in
funds for the administration-classroom building. Negotiations
79
continued, and on August 28, 1928, the Trustees approved a revised
application specifically asking the General Education Board for
$500,000 toward a total goal of $1,500,000. In the spring of 1929 the
good news came that Agnes Scott's request had been granted. The
offer was in two parts: $300,000 was given provided Agnes Scott raise
$600,000 by July 1, 1929, and an additional $200,000 was granted on
the condition that the College secure $400,000 by July 1, 1931. The
total grant would be forfeited unless all conditions were met by July 1 ,
1934.
At the time of this grant the College already had $600,000 in sight
and was almost immediately able to claim the first $300,000 from the
General Education Board. Plans were now set in motion for securing
the remaining $400,000. The financial start of the whole effort had
been a campus campaign in 1928 in which faculty and students had
subscribed approximately $80,000. Now the same group "requested
the privilege of initiating this final effort with a campaign to increase
their subscriptions to a total of one hundred thousand dollars." This
campus effort raised $30,000 so that the whole faculty-student part of
the campaign came to a total of $110,000. This successful campus
campaign closed on October 17, 1930, and on the same day an Atlanta
campaign opened, chaired by George Winship in cooperation with
J.K. Orr. President McCain writes that under the leadership of these
two men "there was organized a group of one hundred and twenty men
and another of ninety women" to carry out the solicitation in Atlanta.
By October 27 — ten days after the Atlanta campaign began —
$1 ,468,000 of the objective of $1 ,500,000 was underwritten. There were
still eight months to secure the remaining $32,000. One can't help being
amazed at this achievement when it is realized that these results were
occurring just as the economic depression of the thirties was begin-
ning. Incidentally, the total subscriptions required were in hand by
July 1, 1931.
As already noted, all subscriptions were due by July 1, 1934, if
Agnes Scott was to meet the full requirements of the General
Education Board. Fulfilling this obligation became ever more difficult
as the depression deepened and lengthened. Many people simply could
not pay their pledges as soon as they had originally planned. But,
thanks to the sympathetic understanding of the General Education
Board, even this difficulty worked to Agnes Scott's advantage. Dr.
McCain put it this way:
80
The Board very generously allowed an extension of one year
and offered the College a special grant of an additional $ 100,000.00
if the College would collect in full the supplemental sum of
$1,000,000.00 which had been proposed in 1929. This was too
stimulating a challenge to go unmet, and a special campaign was
launched to secure approximately $200,000.00 which must be
obtained in order to make a complete success of the whole effort
to secure the additional $100,000.00.
As in previous efforts, the campaign was launched among the
faculty and students, and more than ten per cent of the needed
money was immediately pledged. Many alumnae and local friends
came to the rescue with sacrificial gifts, and by July 1, 1935, the
required amount was provided in cash and the General Education
Board paid their full amount, which brought their grants to that
date up to $975,000.00. The various gifts of the Board had been
the means of encouraging others to give more than twice that
amount, and the whole growth of the College had thus been great-
ly stimulated.
The first tangible result of this campaign was the construction in
1929 of the new steam plant and laundry. These two buildings were
erected on the southwest corner of Dougherty Street and College Place
at a cost of $130,000, a total which also included a tunnel system be-
neath much of the campus through which underground steam lines
and other connections could be run. At this writing fifty years later,
this steam plant (with later conversions to gas and oil) continues to
serve the campus, and whereas the College has ceased to operate its
own laundry, the laundry building still is in use housing the physical
plant office.
The removal of the steam plant and laundry cleared at long last the
site where the Trustees wanted to build the greatly needed administra-
tive-classroom building. Since $300,000 of the cost of this new building
(total cost including equipment: $301,743.41) had come from the
General Education Board, the Trustees chose to name the new struc-
ture Buttrick Hall in grateful memory of Dr. Wallace Buttrick, Agnes
Scott's loyal friend who first interested the General Education Board
in the College. Buttrick Hall was designed by Edwards and Sayward,
architects of Atlanta. The new building was "a four-story structure,
fire-proof, having steel, reinforced concrete, brick, limestone, and a
roof of antique tile as its chief materials." It continues to this day as the
central facility of the campus, containing administrative and faculty
offices as well as numerous classrooms. The corner stone of Buttrick
Hall was laid on May 30, 1930. The Hon. Charles Murphey Candler, a
81
founding trustee of Agnes Scott and at the time chairman of both the
Executive Committee and the Buildings and Grounds Committee of
the Board, made the address of the occasion. Dean Nannette Hopkins,
who was then completing forty-one years of service to Agnes Scott,
placed in the corner stone a metal box containing appropriate docu-
ments. The new building was ready for occupancy by September, 1930,
and the dedication took place on December 5 of that year, an occasion
planned to coincide with a meeting in Atlanta of the Association of
Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Southern States. President
McCain has observed that "more than two hundred educators from all
parts of the South" were in attendance. Also present was Dr. James H.
Dillard of the General Education Board who gave a review of the life
and achievements of Dr. Wallace Buttrick. Mr. Paul Buttrick, "worthy
son of a distinguished father," was likewise present. The principal
address of the occasion was given by President William P. Few of
Duke University who spoke on "Improving the Quality of College
Education." In addition, brief remarks praising Dr. Buttrick were
given by the Hon. George Foster Peabody, an educator and philan-
thropist of note and formerly a member of the General Education
Board. The dedicatory prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Richard
Orme Flinn, a trustee of Agnes Scott and for forty years pastor of
Atlanta's North Avenue Presbyterian Church. How much Buttrick
Hall meant to Agnes Scott was summed up by Dr. McCain when he
wrote: "For the first time since Agnes Scott became a college, do we
have room enough for all our classes and for adequate administrative
work."
Other results of the successful financial effort of the late 1920's and
early 1930's were evident in new walks, the placing underground of
electric and telephone lines, the planting of new shrubbery, and the
installation of a white-way system, greatly improving outdoor lighting
on the campus. Also, now that classrooms were no longer in Main,
that building received a "face-lift" and became increasingly the social
center of the campus. Efforts leading to the development of the
Alumnae-sponsored formal garden between Inman Hall and the Anna
Young Alumnae House likewise date from this same period. Almost at
the same time as the erection of Buttrick Hall, the old Gymnasium and
Philosophy Hall were torn down. These two structures, which had
served the College well but which were completely outmoded, stood on
a line with the Murphey Candler Building in front of the present
McCain Library and Buttrick Hall.
82
Two important anniversaries occurred in 1929. In that year both
Dean Nannette Hopkins and Mr. Charles Murphey Candler cele-
brated forty years of continuous service to Agnes Scott. As already
noted, Miss Hopkins came in 1889 as Agnes Scott's first teacher and
principal. On the occasion of her fortieth anniversary, the Board
recorded its appreciation of her long service and presented her with a
new automobile. Mr. Candler, a leading local lawyer, was one of the
five original trustees and in numerous ways had given unselfish service
to the College, such as through his chairmanship of both the Executive
Committee and the Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Board.
By this time President McCain was well settled into the presidency
and was having much success at Agnes Scott. However, these very
successes were bringing him to the attention of other colleges. In 1927-
1928 the Trustees of Winthrop College made a strong bid to move him
to the presidency there, and a year or two later he had "feelers" from
Davidson, Hampden-Sydney, and the University of Alabama. His
comment concerning the Winthrop offer was, "I had cast my lot with
Agnes Scott and did not wish to move." Regarding the other three, he
says, "I never gave any consideration to any of these."
When Dr. McCain was elected president in 1923, he was provided
the same salary that the Trustees had been paying Dr. Gaines — $6,200
annually plus a house. In 1929, realizing what a valuable asset the
College had in its President, the Board took action raising his annual
compensation to $ 1 0,000, plus an additional $500 as an entertainment
or contingency fund. The minutes of the Board show that President
McCain tried to dissuade the Trustees from making this increase "until
further remuneration could be made for the teachers also." But the
Board refused to heed his request. Commenting in his unpublished
memoirs concerning this incident, Dr. McCain says, "I thought this
too much, and as a matter of fact I gave back to the College an average
of $2,500 a year for nearly 10 years."
Several brief passages from the 1929-1930 and 1930-1931 reports of
the President to the Board of Trustees will illustrate that even though
change and growth were taking place, Agnes Scott continued, never-
theless, to hold fast to its initial commitments to academic excellence
and fiscal soundness — all for the glory of God. In May, 1930, Presi-
dent McCain wrote as follows:
As we view the Session 1929-1930 in comparison with others, it
does seem to be really, not conventionally, "the best" we have had.
83
The first test we apply to our results is on the spiritual basis. Agnes
Scott has no excuse for existence unless we maintain a strong
Christian atmosphere. This year we have enjoyed fine leadership
in all our religious activities among the students, and the results
are gratifying.
In educational matters, the year has been characterized by
earnest work on the part of both faculty and students. We have
had fewer interruptions on account of sickness than for several
years; and our Freshmen, for example, show more merit grades
and fewer failures than any other class that has ever entered.
Our financial difficulties keep us humble and mindful of what is
needed yet in order to run Agnes Scott on a basis equal to that of
the best institutions for women in the country, but we manage to
stay out of debt and we do without things until we find the money
to pay for them.
Then in the annual report for 1930-1931, President McCain comes
to grips once again with what the founders viewed as the central and
controlling purpose of the College:
The ultimate test of the value of Agnes Scott, as viewed from the
ideals of the founders, is the religious element. We have a mission
in preparing young women to fill worthy places in life; we have a
missionary program in raising the standards of education in the
South; but we agree with the Founders that if our College does not
make a vital contribution to the advancement of the Kingdom of
God there is no need for the sacrifice and labor so many people are
putting into Agnes Scott. We believe that the results fully justify
all that has been invested here either in time, or life, or money.
The minutes of the Board of Trustees for January 18, 1927, show
that Agnes Scott was recognizing more and more the importance of
faculty members' having the Ph.D. degree. On that date authority was
granted to the President "to make some distinction in salaries of teach-
ers in favor of those who hold the Ph.D. degree." A few months later,
in May of the same year, the concept of probationary appointment to
the faculty received the attention of the Trustees. Here is their action:
That new appointments to the Faculty be made on a temporary
basis until the appointees prove satisfactory, and that other offi-
cers and teachers be chosen for tenure "at the Pleasure of the
Board of Trustees," it being understood that before such tenure is
announced to any given person the President be assured that the
individual is in harmony with the standards and ideals of the
College.
At the annual meeting of the Trustees in May, 1929, the question
84
was raised as to the advisability of granting "honorary degrees to
outstanding women whom we might desire to honor." The matter was
referred to the Executive Committee and two years later in 1931 the
Committee recommended "that for the present the College do not
exercise its privilege of granting honorary degrees" — a recommenda-
tion which was approved unanimously.
At the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees on May 25, 1928, an
apparently routine action was taken which was freighted with tre-
mendous significance for the long-range development of Agnes Scott.
Here is the action:
The Finance Committee was authorized to invest endowment
funds of the College in high grade common [italics mine] stocks if
the Committee should desire to do so.
The annual reports of the Treasurer prior to this authorization show a
limited investment in stocks; however, in the light of the 1928 action
just cited, it is reasonable to assume that these stocks were in the pre-
ferred rather than common categories. At any rate, the Treasurer's
report for 1929-1930 shows that Agnes Scott during that year acquired
80 shares of Coca-Cola Co. "A" stock, a small beginning from which
has developed the major part of the College's present very respectable
endowment.
At the meeting of the Board on May 24, 1929, the Student Govern-
ment Association, through Dean Nannette Hopkins, requested of the
Trustees a restatement of the powers and duties of Student Govern-
ment. At the time of this request, the students made "certain sugges-
tions as the basis for a new statement" — these suggestions having
already been approved by President McCain and Dean Hopkins. "The
Trustees were quite surprised at the extensive powers which were
expected, and felt that it would be unwise to grant the petition without
a thorough study of the matter." Therefore a committee of five trustees
including President McCain and Dean Hopkins (She had been elected
a trustee in 1 927.) was named "to investigate the whole situation and to
report later." In this entire process the faculty also had opportunity for
input through review and suggestion. The following autumn on Octo-
ber 1, 1929, the Board formally adopted the following statement
delineating the powers of the Student Government Association of
Agnes Scott College:
1. The maintenance of a high standard of honor in all academic
matters.
85
2. The enforcement of the regulations and of the ideals of the
College regarding order and decorum.
3. The supervision in the dormitories of the registration of ab-
sences and of chaperonage. (Not to affect such matters as are
now handled in the Dean's office.)
4. The control of the Point System, subject to the approval of a
Faculty advisor.
5. The direction of fire drills.
6. The supervision of church attendance.
7. The investigation of offenses and the giving of penalties, except
that in flagrant cases the decision reached is subject to review
and approval by the Faculty.
8. Such other powers as may hereafter be granted by the Ad-
ministration and faculty.
9. It is understood that this grant of power may be modified or
revoked by the Faculty, but any increase in authority is to be
approved by the Trustees.
Agnes Scott, like every other institution, felt the effects of the severe
economc depression of the early 1930's. However, in this time of
adversity, the integrity of the College and the sacrificial devotion of its
personnel set an example for all succeeding years. The Board of Trus-
tees was determined to take any steps to avoid a deficit or indebted-
ness. This resolve first became officially evident in 1931. Up until that
time Agnes Scott had made no reduction in salaries or personnel, but
by way of indicating their position and policy, the Trustees on May 29,
1931, took the following action:
That the President of the College arrange for the budget to be
balanced, even if it should mean the reduction of staff members or
their salaries. . . .
For the 1931-1932 session President McCain was able to report that
the faculty showed "the finest co-operation possible during this period
of financial difficulty, voluntarily offering any reduction in salaries
that may be necessary. . . ."During that year there were no salary cuts,
but for 1932-1933 a ten per cent cut across the board was imposed. This
reduction was not the end, for in the 1933-1934 session additional cuts
were necessary such that salaries were approximately 19% below the
normal level. Part of this cut was caused by the need to increase
scholarship assistance to beleaguered students whose parents were
likewise caught in the toils of the depression. The enrollment for 1933-
1934 was down to 441 students, and significantly the number of day
students was larger than the enrollment of residents — 23 1 to 2 10. For
86
this same year the report of the Treasurer shows that the nightmare of
a deficit was just barely avoided. Receipts exceeded expenditures by
only $355.30. This particular year was the financial nadir of the
depression so far as Agnes Scott was concerned, but a deficit was not
incurred! At this same time the Treasurer could report that the
College's investment portfolio remained stable, "that of all
investments held, on which there is any possible way of obtaining
markets, we could liquidate our entire holdings at a small profit over
their original costs to us." What an accolade for the Board's Finance
Committee — and in the depths of the depression! Happily the heavy
second salary cut was in force only one year, but it was a longer period
before the pay scale returned to normal. Commenting on this trying
period, President McCain writes that
The faculty and officers have shown a degree of loyalty and of
love for the College that excels anything I have ever found or
heard of in any college.
Apparently everyone contributed toward Agnes Scott's maintaining
its fiscal integrity — a policy which continues to be — along with
academic excellence — a hallmark of the College. In his financial
report for 1934-1935, Treasurer J. C. Tart put it this way:
... it is one of the traditions of our institution, to live within its
income regardless of what the income may be. This policy has
proven a very wise one and has enabled Agnes Scott to stand out
in her business management as well as in a scholastic manner, and
the excellent credit standing of the institution has been worth
thousands of dollars in our ability to purchase supplies at the very
lowest cash prices.
It is interesting to note that all through this period Mr. Tart main-
tained his long record of 100% collections on every penny that anyone
owed Agnes Scott. Also too much praise cannot be given to President
McCain. His determination, firmness, and almost Spartan economy
coupled with an uncanny ability to handle financial affairs were of
inestimable value to the College. It should be observed once again that
Agnes Scott through all the early years of the depression was also
engaged in collecting and soliciting subscriptions to a capital funds
effort which was eminently successful.
On July 9, 1935, the Board of Trustees, recognizing that President
McCain's "proverbial modesty" would almost prevent him, as Secre-
tary of the Board, from recording any praise of himself in the official
87
minutes, ordered that the following tribute be included in the Board's
records:
The Board of Trustees of Agnes Scott College hereby would
record their appreciation of the high efficiency, patience, courage,
faith and perseverence of our honored President, Dr. J.R.
McCain, in the leadership of our latest campaign for additional
equipment and endowment at a time when conditions apparently
made the success of such an effort almost impossible. Through his
tact and ability not only has he been able to secure the payment of
large amounts but he has also been able to arrange for the under-
writing of the uncollected amounts so as to meet the terms within
the given time and to secure in full the sum offered by the General
Education Board.
We desire further to express our gratitude to God for the favor
with which He has followed the efforts made in behalf of this
institution founded for His glory, and for His grace in furnishing
one so gifted both in mind and in spirit for its leadership.
Before this account proceeds further, it should be noted that in 193 1
HOASC (see p. 53) became affiliated with the national Mortar Board
organization, still, however, carrying forward the emphasis on leader-
ship, scholarship, and service.
Two of the structures included in the development program of 1 929-
1930 were an additional dormitory and an auditorium and fine arts
building. It was generally thought that one or the other or both of these
buildings would be the next to be constructed after the completion of
Buttrick Hall. Circumstances, however, altered these plans consid-
erably. The Presser Foundation of Philadelphia, which was com-
mitted to providing a major amount for the auditorium-music build-
ing, asked that this structure be postponed for a time. Further, a gift of
$15,000 for books from the Carnegie Corporation made the then
present library, built in 1 9 1 0, increasingly inadequate for the needs of a
growing college. As early as the President's annual report for 1931-
1932, the suggestion surfaced that a new library might be preferable to
a new dormitory. After all, some of the houses which the College was
purchasing could be converted to "cottages" for students; whereas, no
such arrangement was possible for the library. Since funds which
could be used for a dormitory or library were in hand from the finan-
cial effort of the early thirties, the Trustees on May 24, 1935, author-
ized the construction of a new library. The site chosen was between
Buttrick and the Gymnasium where West Lawn Cottage then stood.
Edwards and Sayward, the same architectural firm used for Buttrick,
was engaged to draw plans and supervise construction. A grant of
money from the Carnegie Corporation made possible using outside
librarians and architects as consultants in perfecting the plans. Agnes
Scott's librarian, Edna Ruth Hanley (later Mrs. Noah E. Byers), who
became librarian in 1932 and who remained with the College until her
retirement in 1969, was herself an expert on library buildings. In 1939
under the auspices of the American Library Association she published
a definitive volume entitled College and University Library Buildings.
It is not surprising then that she was of untold assistance all during the
planning and construction of Agnes Scott's new library. The finished
building completely equipped cost $233,000. The new library was
ready for use in the autumn of 1936 and was officially dedicated on
December 12 of that year. This writer was privileged to be present for
this dedication and clearly remembers the large assemblage in the
Gymnasium where Professor William W. Bishop of the University of
Michigan made the address, followed by open house in the new
library. Also participating in the dedication was Dr. T.W. Koch of
Northwestern University. This dedication was held during the same
weekend that Emory University was observing its centennial, and as a
result, representatives of many institutions who were at Emory came
to Agnes Scott for the library opening. Gothic in style, the new
structure was built of brick and Indiana limestone. It contained two
wings, one being two stories high and the other four. The bookstack
tower of six floors was located at the inside angle of the wings. It
afforded ample room for growth beyond the holdings of
approximately 35,000 volumes which constituted the collection in
1936. The fourth level of the new library was intended to be used as a
museum, but nothing ever came of this plan, and the area was used for
storage until it had to be claimed in 1977 for stack purposes. The new
building carried forward from the old library the name of Andrew
Carnegie, a name which continued until the building was redesignated
in 1951.
After the library moved into the new structure, the old building was
remodeled to serve as a student center. It was re-named in memory of
Charles Murphey Candler who, as already pointed out, was a charter
trustee of Agnes Scott and who served continuously for forty-six years
from 1889 until his death in 1935. However, the students through the
years since 1936 have called this building the "Hub." Although it was
never designed to be a student center, it has served this purpose use-
fully for over forty years.
89
Through President McCain's stature in the educational world, two
distinct honors came to Agnes Scott in 1936 and 1937, respectively. In
the former year he was elected to the presidency of the Association of
American Colleges and served the customary one-year term in that
office. Then in September, 1937, he was named a senator of the United
Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa.
Turningto other matters, on October7, 1935, the Academic Council
took action changing Agnes Scott's academic calendar from the
semester system to the quarter system. This new calendar became
effective with the 1936-1937 session and has continued ever since. The
specific action is as follows as set forth in the minutes of the Academic
Council:
That we change from a semester basis to a quarter basis.
That we require for graduation 180 quarter hours plus present
requirement in Physical Education. That major and minor re-
quirements, merit requirements, etc. remain unchanged but stated
in terms of quarter hours.
That present year courses remain just as they are now as to num-
ber of hours per week.
That each department be asked to refer to a special committee a
plan for semester courses now offered. Some of our present
semester courses should be offered four hours per week for a
quarter (the same time now given to those courses), while other
semester courses should be given three hours per week for a
quarter (equivalent of two semester hours). To avoid confusion in
schedule each department should offer some four hour and some
three hour quarter courses.
That each department be permitted to suggest a limited number of
five or six quarter-hour courses.
That a special committee be appointed to coordinate the courses
to be offered by the various departments.
A little later during the spring quarter of 1936-1937, the Academic
Council established on an experimental basis a "cut" system for class
attendance. Students on the honor roll had unlimited "cuts" except for
classes on days immediately before and after holidays. All other stu-
dents except those on the ineligible list and those having been officially
warned because of poor academic work were granted "one cut per
credit hour per quarter in each course." Except for illness all students
were required to be present for regularly scheduled tests. Absence from
a laboratory class counted as two cuts. Of course, absences could be
90
excused by the Dean or the College Physician. Any student not com-
plying with the "cut" regulations lost the privilege of the system and
was required to attend all classes. Faculty members were called on to
make a report of all absences by 5:00 p.m. each day. This system,
modified from time to time, continued until "voluntary" class attend-
ance was established many years later.
The end of the session in 1937 brought the first formal retirements
from the faculty and the naming of Agnes Scott's first emeriti. Pro-
fessor M. Louise McKinney and Dr. Mary Frances Sweet chose to
retire at that time. Miss McKinney had come to Agnes Scott in 1891
and had been a member of the English Department for forty-six years.
Fortunately, she continued to live on the campus until her death in
1965 when she was in her ninety-eighth year. Thus, Professor
McKinney was at Agnes Scott for a total of seventy-four years, the
longest time that anyone has been continuously on this campus before
or since her time. Dr. Sweet had come to the College in 1908 as College
Physician and Professor of Hygiene and in these crucial roles had
touched the lives of every student for twenty-nine years. Since in 1937
Agnes Scott had no retirement program, the Trustees very appro-
priately provided a "small annual allowance" for Professor McKinney
and "retained" Dr. Sweet in an "advisory" status.
Quite suddenly on September 18, 1938, Mr. J.K. Orr died. He had
presided over a meeting of the Trustees on September 7, just eleven
days before his death, and even though he was in his eighties, there was
no warning evidence that his life was nearing its end. On October 4,
sixteen days after his death, the Board met and elected Mr. George
Winship to succeed Mr. Orr as chairman. At this same meeting,
appropriate resolutions concerning Mr. Orr were adopted which read
in part:
Mr. Orr became interested in Agnes Scott Institute, as it was
then called, through his friendship with Mr. Samuel M. Inman,
and he was elected to membership on the Board of Trustees
February 9, 1904. He became Chairman of the Board on
December 26, 19 14, and for nearly twenty-four years has been the
unquestioned leader in the development of the institution.
When Mr. Orr became the Chairman, there were many diffi-
culties to be faced. It was during the first year of the World War.
Economic problems were numerous. Agnes Scott was not able to
secure the needed number of students. Her total assets were less
than $700,000. With characteristic energy, he assisted Dr. Gaines,
the President, to balance the budget, to promote the recognition
91
of the College throughout the country, and to increase both its
student attendance and its financial resources.
During the twenty-four years of Mr. Orr's leadership, a great
deal has been accomplished. The reputation of the College has
been widely established. It has received all of the recognition, both
in this country and abroad, that can be given to a college or uni-
versity. The student body has reached the capacity of the plant,
and is as large as the Trustees desire. The faculty and officers have
likewise been increased in number, and their training has been
decidedly improved.
During his administration, the assets of the College have
increased five-fold being now appropximately $3,500,000. The
buildings, grounds, and equipment total $1,700,000. The
endowment is nine times what it was in 1914 — $1,600,000. Most
of the increase in financial strength has come through special
campaigns, in all of which Mr. Orr was either the active or
honorary Chairman, and in which he was a very active
participant.
During the first twenty-five years of the history of Agnes Scott,
there were only 132 graduates. During the twenty-four years of
Mr. Orr's administration, there have been 1 ,75 1 college graduates
whose diplomas he has signed.
Aside from helping with the material achievements, Mr. Orr
has rendered notable service for Agnes Scott. He has had the
utmost confidence of his fellow Trustees, who have been pleased
with his leadership and happy to be associated with him. His ready
wit and good humor have often banished discouragement and
pessimism.
He has been much interested in the spiritual life of the College,
and has used every effort to promote right attitudes of the students
toward the finer things of life. His messages at the opening
exercises of each session and on Commencement occasions were
always heard with interest and appreciation and profit. He will be
greatly missed by Trustees, faculty, students, alumnae, and
friends of Agnes Scott.
Present-day alumnae who remember Mr. Orr's talks to students recall
that on almost all occasions he worked the following lines into his
remarks:
The truest test of woman's worth,
The surest sign of gentle birth
Is modesty.
George Winship, who succeeded Mr. Orr as Board Chairman, had
been elected a trustee on May 29, 1931, and served faithfully until his
92
death on June 20, 1956. He was born in Atlanta on June 30, 1884, and
received his education in the Atlanta Public Schools and at Emory
College (Oxford, Georgia) and the Georgia School of Technology.
Records at the Atlanta Historical Society show that in 1905 Mr.
Winship joined the Continental Gin Company where he remained for
eleven years. However, in 1914, while still employed by Continental
Gin, he formed the Fulton Supply Company of which he became the
president. This business was a distributor of mill supplies and
machinery. Under his leadership this enterprise flourished greatly. Mr.
Winship was active in many Atlanta organizations including the
Chamber of Commerce and the Atlanta Freight Bureau. His greatest
civic contribution was through the Y.M.C.A. of which he served for
five years as president. He was also an elder in Atlanta's Central
Presbyterian Church.
The last Trustee meeting at which Mr. Orr presided was called to act
on the resignation of Dean Hopkins. During the 1937-1938 year her
health had failed for the first time in all her long tenure at Agnes Scott,
and she had found it necessary to spend most of her time in her room in
West Lawn. It was fervently hoped that her health would improve so
that she could be in her usual active place during the 1938-1939 session
and thus complete fifty years at Agnes Scott. However, as the autumn
of 1938 approached, it became evident that Miss Hopkins could not
continue her work, and she herself insisted that the Board accept her
resignation. This action was reluctantly taken on September 7, 1938,
and she was named Dean Emeritus and given a quarterly stipend for
the remainder of her life. Seven weeks and two days later on October
28, 1938, death came for Nannette Hopkins. She was in her seventy-
eighth year. So ended a life of service to Agnes Scott the constructive
impact of which is incalculable. For almost half a century she was the
epitome of everything that the College stood for and sought to
accomplish.
On November 14 following Dean Hopkins' death, the Trustees
adopted a memorial, the concluding section of which reads as follows:
Force of character and an ideal spirit met in her, and those of us
who come after her can but rejoice that in some measure at least
we may follow her example and, drawing upon her Sources,
imitate her virtues. Her school and her church, her girls and her
Lord, her ideals', and her daily round — these were the walls that
bound her seventy-eight years, but they were walls that opened
onto eternity and the crown that is for those who love God's
appearing.
93
The faculty, who perhaps knew Dean Hopkins as few other groups
could know her, recorded their tribute in one of the most remarkable
set of resolutions that this writer has ever read. Selected excerpts from
these resolutions are here quoted:
In the death of Miss Nannette Hopkins, our beloved dean, we,
her friends and fellow-workers of the faculty, feel unutterably the
great loss to us and to the College. At the same time, we remember
with gratitude our association with her; we are daily aware of her
continuing influence among us, an influence that is gracious and
fortifying; we rejoice in the rare quality of her spirit and in the rich
completeness of her life.
Miss Hopkins' long association with this college is the moving
record of mortal life putting on immortality through the
identification of personal hopes and satisfactions with the large
impersonal aims and achievements of a great cause. The college
was Miss Hopkins' very life; it was the channel of her creative
energy; it nourished her spirit with joy and disciplined it to
fortitude; it deepened and enriched the experience of maturing
life; it was her being's heart and home. She gave herself to the
college, and she took its high ideals and its far-reaching purposes
for her own.
For generation after generation of students she blended the past
and the present, preserving tradition that enriched the life of the
campus and yet welcoming innovation that stimulated it. And so
the college at every stage of its development during the past fifty
years has been inseparable from this woman who loved it.
* * *
Her strength was inner peace. Hers was a serenity that
communicated itself to all who came near her. The flurried
committee chairman, the overbusy instructor, the deeply troubled
student or teacher felt her tranquilizing power. Often we sought
her presence merely for the quietness that it imparted to us. And
her peace of spirit evoked trust. We could rely on it. There was
granite back of it. Its source was independent of human beings:
abundant, secret, remote. Its source was God.
Her life was "hid with Christ in God." In this truth lay her
simple persuasive power. Here is gathered the wisdom of her long
life; here, the compassion that made her a refuge for troubled
souls, the humility that gave her grace, the courage that sustained
her. This was her spirit's deep repose. This was the invisible sun
within her, in whose clear light she lived and in whose radiance she
died.
So testified the Agnes Scott faculty about their Dean.
94
Anne Hart Equen, '21, President of the Agnes Scott Alumnae
Association, representing all her fellow alumnae, after observing that
Dean Hopkins was the "one common tie" that bound all former
students to Agnes Scott, said that
Miss Hopkins was to the manner born, one whose nature was
quiet dignity, whose spirit was graciousness, and whose sympathy
and understanding reached out abundantly to all who stood in
need of her help or counsel.
Jean Bailey, '39 (now Mrs. Edward W. Owen), speaking for the
students, commented on how Miss Hopkins' presence continued to
pervade the campus, on how "her force for good, her spirit of
unselfishness, her generosity, her enthusiasm, devotion and
sympathetic understanding, have remained" at Agnes Scott.
President James Ross McCain in his customarily incisive way
summed it all up, even for present times, when he said:
On the walls of Buttrick and also among the mottoes in the
Library you will find a Greek inscription to this effect: "Having
received torches, they pass them on from one to another." Some of
us may not realize that we have received torches at Agnes Scott,
but as we look back over the long years, we realize that Miss
Hopkins and others have been passing them to us and perhaps we
have been carrying them unconsciously.
At the next commencement season following Dean Hopkins' death,
at a special service held in remembrance of many Agnes Scott people,
the College received a handsome marble bust of Miss Hopkins carved
by the well-known sculptor Steffan Thomas. The bust is a remarkably
fine likeness and for many years adorned the foyer of the McCain
Library. It is now on display in the Special Collections Room of the
Library.
Fifteen years later in 1953, Hopkins Hall, a new dormitory was
dedicated to the memory of the late Dean. That her influence
continued to live in the lives of her associates was the ample testimony
of all participating in the dedication. Dean Carrie Scandrett spoke for
all when she said:
When I think of Miss Hopkins there come to my mind such
qualities as strength and gentleness, selflessness and self-control,
dignity, poise, charm, graciousness, a delightful sense of humor.
Such was Agnes Scott's first dean.
95
As a result of the resignation of Miss Hopkins, the Board amended
its bylaws to change the administrative organization of the College.
Miss Hopkins had been the "dean of everything." Now her responsi-
bilities were divided between two offices — dean of the faculty and
dean of students, respectively. The amendment to the bylaws described
these two new offices this way:
Dean of the Faculty
Under the President, this officer shall have general charge of the
academic work of the College, advising with members of the
Faculty in regard to instructional methods and results, making
studies of testing procedures and grades, assisting students in
getting adjusted to their work, and striving to maintain sound
standards in the making and administering of the curriculum.
Dean of Students
Under the President, this officer shall keep in close touch with the
students and endeavor to assist them with personal, social and
other problems. She shall advise with the various organizations as
to policies affecting students. She shall have general charge of the
social calendar of the year and shall make out the examination
schedules.
In the same action which amended the bylaws to create these two new
offices, the Board elected Professor Samuel Guerry Stukes to be Dean
of the Faculty and Miss Carrie Scandrett to be Dean of Students.
Professor Stukes had joined the Agnes Scott faculty in 1913 and at the
time of his election as Dean of the Faculty was also Registrar and Pro-
fessor of Philosophy and Education. He continued until his retirement
nineteen years later as Dean, Registrar, and Professor simultaneously.
Miss Scandrett had graduated from Agnes Scott in 1924 and had for a
number of years been serving as Assistant Dean under Miss Hopkins.
Thus, the administration of the College moved forward without
interruption.
Agnes Scott was fifty years old in 1 939. Although President McCain
has written that plans began by 1935, the first official reference to the
approaching semi-centennial occurs in the minutes of the Trustees for
June 4, 1937, when the Board authorized the appointment of a plan-
ning committee consisting of the following persons: S.G. Stukes,
chairman, George Winship, Mrs. S.M. Inman, J.J. Scott, Miss Louise
McKinney, Miss Llewellyn Wilburn, Philip Davidson, Miss Carrie
Scandrett, Mrs. D.B. Donaldson, Mrs. Crawford F. Barnett, Mrs.
96
Samuel Inman Cooper, and Mrs. J.F. Durrett. As appropriate the
committee was authorized to enlarge its membership and did so by
adding Mrs. Murdoch Equen, Miss Emma May Laney, and Miss
Annie May Christie. This listing shows that the committee was drawn
from trustees, administration, faculty, and alumnae. Understandably
the Trustees chose this anniversary occasion to set and work toward
financial goals for strengthening the College. Although all of these
objectives were not immediately realized, they show the continuing
confidence and foresight of the Trustees. Here are the semi-centennial
financial goals:
Fine Arts Building and Auditorium
$150,000
Additional Science Hall
200,000
A New Dormitory
150,000
Modernizing Present Dormitories
100,000
Faculty Apartments
50,000
College Infirmary
50,000
Additional Land and Improvements
90,000
Equipment, Art, Music, Laboratory, etc.
85,000
Additional Endowments
Department of the Home
$150,000
Upkeep of Buildings
300,000
Better Salaries
675,000
1,125,000
Total
$2,000,000
As a second part of the semi-centennial, the College, starting with the
Commencement season of 1939 and extending through the corre-
sponding period a year later, offered an exceedingly impressive array
of speakers and artists. Beginning with Dean Ernest C. Colwell of the
University of Chicago as baccalaureate preacher and President
Emeritus Mary Emma Woolley of Mount Holyoke College, who gave
the Commencement address, the series of presentations continued
during the next session when in November the Honorable Alfred Duff
Cooper, former First Lord of the Admiralty in the British Cabinet,
spoke on "The Survival of Liberty" — a most timely subject in the
autumn of 1939 as World War II was just beginning. In December the
Lecture Association sponsored an all Beethoven piano recital by
Ernest Hutcheson, who was at that time president of the Juilliard
School of Music in New York. On January 25, 1940, in connection
with the Phi Beta Kappa initiation and dinner, the honor guest and
speaker was Dr. Douglas Southall Freeman, editor of the Richmond
News Leader and author of the Pulitzer-prizewinning biography on
97
Robert E. Lee. Dr. Freeman's topic was "Adventures in Biography."
The distinguished astronomer, Dr. Harlow Shaply, Director of the
Harvard Observatory, spoke in March on "Exploring Stars and
Galaxies," and then in May the American poet Robert Frost returned
for one of his early visits to Agnes Scott and read his poetry. All of
these events were offered free of charge to the general public — not
Agnes Scott's usual practice at that time. The year ended with the Rev.
Wade H. Boggs, later to be moderator of the Presbyterian Church in
the United States, as baccalaureate preacher and President Harmon
W. Caldwell of the University of Georgia as commencement speaker.
Another facet of the fiftieth aniversary observance was a project to
collect "as many mementoes as possible" of Agnes Irvine Scott and of
her son George Washington Scott. This effort was, of course, open-
ended and still continues. Since no record is extant of what was se-
cured in 1939-1940, it is impossible to determine how successful that
effort was, but the College does now have books, pictures, letters, and
other memorabilia of Col. Scott and his mother. Among treasured
possessions are Agnes Irvine Scott's spinning wheel and one of her
bonnets as well as a suit of clothes which she made for George when he
was a small boy.
One of the long-term developments that surfaced as Agnes Scott
approached and observed its semi-centennial was what is now known
as the University Center in Georgia. This idea first appeared officially
in the minutes of the Board for May 26, 1933, when it is recorded that
President McCain reported "as to the progress that has been made
regarding a survey of the educational institutions of the Atlanta area,
with a view to seeing whether Emory University, Agnes Scott College,
and Georgia School of Technology may not together work out plans
for better cooperation." Three years later (1936) in his annual report to
the Trustees, the President wrote as follows:
Steady progress is being made in closer cooperation between
Emory University, Agnes Scott College, and various units of the
University of Georgia System. It is absolutely necessary that we
keep definitely in mind that our program does not call for co-
ordination or merging or any close or integral relationship. The
word "cooperation" expresses the extent to which we feel that our
institution ought to participate.
It is not planned, for the present at least, that there will be any
exchange of students between the institutions unless we should
decide that we would like to have our Practice Teaching or some
other professional element of the curriculum done at Emory
98
rather than to try to carry on the work here. However, in the re-
arrangement of our program on a quarter basis [see p. 89], in the
facilities with which we can exchange teachers where classes are
small, in a joint library catalogue for all of the institutions of the
community, in planning for summer work, and in other particu-
lars, we feel that progressive and yet conservative ideas are being
worked out.
President McCain follows these paragraphs by noting that Emory is
celebrating its centennial in 1 936 and that Agnes Scott will be "endors-
ing" Emory's appeals to the leading foundations for funds for a de-
veloping graduate school because such a school would be of much
usefulness to Agnes Scott.
In reality it was James Ross McCain who was the "father" of the
University Center idea. In his unpublished memoirs he sets forth his
role:
As early as 1935 there was a small luncheon of educators and
business men sponsored by Cator Woolford, a public spirited
business leader, to honor Edwin R. Embree, President of the
Rosenwald Fund in Chicago. The latter made an impressive
speech, in which he said, for example, "We have just granted to an
Agnes Scott graduate a large sum as a fellowship to study social
conditions in Ga., but she had to go 700 miles to Chicago to study
these conditions under a Ga. born professor (W.F. Ogburn). You
ought to have a university in Atlanta for such work. And you can
have it if you unite your forces and pool your interests." I caught
the point and asked him to suggest someone who might make a
survey and he named George Works of the University of Chicago.
I got in touch with him, and he suggested that it might take
$10,000 to get a really great committee and to make a survey. I
talked with Dr. H.W. Cox, President of Emory University, and he
was agreeable to making an effort. We got the Beck Foundation of
Atlanta to make the cash available; and a really good survey was
made and it was suggested that Agnes Scott, Emory, Ga. Tech,
Columbia Seminary, University of Georgia (though 70 miles
away) and Atlanta Art Association (though it was received with
hopes as to what it might become) unite for joint purposes; and
this was done at a dinner at the Biltmore sponsored by Harmon
Caldwell, then President of the University of Ga. I had had almost
the entire load of getting the folks together, and this was appre-
ciated by the General Education Board, who had kept in close
touch with our plans.
During the 1938-1939 years plans were formalized into a "general
agreement" which was signed by the six institutions that initially
formed the University Center. Here is the text of this agreement:
99
We, Agnes Scott College, Columbia Theological Seminary,
Emory University, High Museum of Art, and the University of
Georgia System (the University of Georgia and the Georgia
School of Technology), wishing to cooperate more effectively
toward the end of making a greater contribution to the educa-
tional development of Georgia and of the South, and, specifically,
for the purpose of establishing a University Center in Georgia,
agree upon the following points, subject to the laws of the State of
Georgia and the regulations of the Board of Regents of Georgia
and of the other authorities concerned.
1 . It is understood that our principal efforts will be centered on
the development of graduate work of a high order so that the
Ph.D. degree may be offered under conditions of high effi-
ciency. For this purpose, we realize that there may need to be
exchange of students as well as faculty.
2. We will seriously undertake to make available for one another
as many of our resources and facilities as may be practicable —
including an exchange of library books, laboratory equipment,
faculty services and the like.
3. In order that there may be a continuous study of admissions,
curriculum problems, advanced standing, educational costs,
and the needs of students, we hereby set up An Advisory
Faculty Council, with representatives from each of the
cooperating institutions, and with the responsibility of making
suggestions and recommendations. However, it is clearly
understood that such will not be binding on any institution.
4. An earnest effort will be made to avoid needless overlapping
and duplication of effort and of expense. To this end, we agree
to give careful study to the programs of study now in operation
among our group, and to study our own offerings in the light of
what our neighbors are attempting.
5. Realizing the need for a Joint Committee from the Boards of all
the cooperating institutions to consider the broader aspects of
joint undertakings, to promote the idea and spirit of
cooperation, to bring the need for higher education before the
State and the South, to assist in raising funds for particular
needs, and to distribute undesignated gifts, we agree to appoint
representatives to such a joint committee. It is understood that
this committee, which will have advisory powers only, may
associate with itself other distinguished people not now offi-
cially connected with any of the cooperating institutions.
6. It is definitely understood that no attempt will be made to
merge the institutions involved. Each is to maintain its identity;
each will operate under its own regents or trustees or directors;
and each will keep separate and distinct its own assets of every
kind.
Mutually agreed to this 15th day of October, 1938.
100
In addition to this agreement among six institutions, there was a
second one signed between Agnes Scott College and Emory
University. For Agnes Scott this agreement with Emory was at the
time of much more importance than the general one inasmuch as it set
forth in considerable detail how the two institutions proposed to
cooperate. The text is as follows:
This agreement, entered into on the date below named, between
Agnes Scott College and Emory University, both institutions
chartered under the laws of the State of Georgia, and located in
DeKalb County, Georgia,
WITNESSETH, as follows:
I.
OBJECTIVES
It is intended that the joint efforts of the two contracting institu-
tions shall accomplish some very definite results, namely:
1. The strengthening of the basic work at the undergraduate
level in each insitution.
2. Economy in operation through the elimination of duplicate
courses and the combining of other courses with very small
enrollments.
3. Economy through a general exchange of services between the
institutions, including faculty and students.
4. The elimination of competition as far as possible.
5 . A ugmenting the facilities for graduate work at the higher level
with a view to raising the educational standards in the South-
east.
6. Improving the quality of work in the professional schools
now operated by Emory University.
7. The combining, merging, or eliminating professional schools
within the State so as to have only one medical school, one
law school, and one engineering school.
8. Creating opportunities for professional training of a high
order in fields where such is now not available, including
business administration, social service, the fine arts, and
possibly others.
9. A very distinct emphasis on quality in higher education and a
joint effort to secure funds for the maintenance of quality
work in the Southeast.
II.
SPECIFIC STEPS ALREADY TAKEN OR APPROVED
1 . The change of the Agnes Scott calendar to correspond to that
of Emory.
10
2. The organization of the Agnes Scott work on the quarter
basis so as to fit in with the Emory program.
3. The adoption of the Emory Summer School by Agnes Scott
on an official basis, and the giving to it a unique status so that
it is the only summer school of any institution whose credits
Agnes Scott will accept at par, or count for "merit" grades.
4. Emory accepts the Agnes Scott student for summer work
without a matriculation fee and for such programs as are
arranged by the Agnes Scott faculty and committees. The
reports are sent directly to Agnes Scott.
5. Both institutions have appointed a joint Faculty Committee
on Summer School Work so as to consolidate and unify the
programs, and to make possible fuller offerings for students.
6. Emory University is discontinuing the enrollment of women
for undergraduate degrees, and all of these must matriculate
at Agnes Scott College to be eligible for Emory courses.
7. The closest cooperation has been arranged by the library
committees of the two institutions with particular reference to
purchases, inter-institutional loans, joint catalogue plans,
and free use by the students of either institution of the facili-
ties of the other.
8. Both institutions will push as rapidly as possible the securing
of a union catalogue for all the libraries in the Atlanta area.
9. The giving to Emory and Agnes Scott faculty members the
same financial consideration for the education of their chil-
dren that Emory now permits to its faculty, and an effort to
work cooperatively, providing for both faculties hospital
insurance and retiring facilities.
10. The appointment by both institutions of a joint Faculty-
Student Committee on extra-curricular activities and student
organizations. It is intended that there be inter-student
privileges and opportunities on both campuses for such
organizations as the Lecture Association, the Glee Club, the
Dramatic Club, and others.
1 1 . The continuance of joint sponsorship by Agnes Scott, Emory,
and the Georgia School of Technology for the Institute of
Citizenship, which for a long time Emory sponsored alone.
12. The assumption by Emory of the responsibility for develop-
ing a graduate school of a high order, capable of giving the
Ph.D. degree on a sound basis. It is understood that, while
this responsibility is centered at Emory, Agnes Scott will use
its resources as far as possible to make the development a
success.
13. Agnes Scott accepts the responsibility for planning develop-
ments in the Fine Arts on an undergraduate basis on the
Agnes Scott campus, with the understanding that Emory
University students may share in the facilities provided; and
102
the College further agrees to promote, when funds are avail-
able, a Fine Arts program which may include several institu-
tions of the vicinity and which would be open to others
besides the regular undergraduate students.
14. For allocation of emphasis on undergraduate subjects, it is
tentatively agreed that Emory will give particular attention to
Archaeology, Economics, Geology, Journalism, and Phi-
losophy. Agnes Scott will give emphasis to Latin, Greek,
French, Education, and the Fine Arts. It is understood that
both institutions will undertake jointly the promotion of
other departments not specifically named herein.
15. In undergraduate work, it is agreed that the objective will be
to give the individual student the program most nearly con-
forming to his or her individual need (in accordance with
sound educational policy), regardless of the institution in
which the particular courses are offered.
1 6. Both institutions will encourage the work of the Joint Faculty
Committee, with a view to the development of continuous
cooperation within the departments as well as between the
institutions in general.
17. Agnes Scott agrees to accept a division of 20% for itself and
80% for Emory in the case of gifts that are undesignated,
provided the resulting efforts will make possible the very
much desired graduate school of a high order.
18. Both institutions will seek to promote a hearty spirit of co-
operation not only between themselves but also with the
University of Georgia, Georgia School of Technology,
Columbia Theological Seminary, and the High Musuem of
Art.
19. It is definitely understood that no attempt will be made to
merge the two institutions. Each is to maintain its identity.
Each will operate under its own Board of Trustees. Each will
keep separate and distinct its assets of every kind and such
affiliations as have hitherto been maintained.
In token of the acceptance of both institutions of the terms
above outlined, the signatures of the presidents of the institutions
are herewith attached, and the seals of the contracting parties are
herewith affixed, this 15th day of October, 1938.
AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE
President
EMORY UNIVERSITY
President
103
The signatures on this joint agreement were of course those of J.R.
McCain and Harvey W. Cox for Agnes Scott and Emory, respectively.
This agreement with Emory was in force until 1952-1953 when a new
pact was negotiated. An account of this second arrangement will be
given subsequently in its appropriate time sequence.
When the University Center was inaugurated, its overall program of
education was in the hands of a Faculty Advisory Council made up of
representatives from each of the cooperating institutions. Agnes
Scott's representatives on this council were Dean S.G. Stukes and
Professor Philip Davidson, Jr., who was chairman of the Department
of History. By 1941 Professor George P. Hayes, chairman of the De-
partment of English, was also a member of this Faculty Advisory
Council. In the total University Center picture, the top policy-making
group was (and is) the Council of Presidents, composed of the chief
administrative officer from each of the participating institutions.
As has already been noted, it was through the generosity of the
Lewis H. Beck Foundation of Atlanta that an initial grant was made
which enabled a study to be conducted leading to the conclusion that
the Atlanta area with the institutions already there was the logical
location for a major university center in the South. Subsequently, the
General Education Board made a grant of $22,500 to underwrite the
work of the Faculty Advisory Council for its beginning years. How-
ever, for Agnes Scott and Emory there was the need of more
substantial funds to undergird their enlarged programs. Thus, the
stage was set again for another financial campaign — this one, so far as
Agnes Scott was concerned, to be meshed into the College's semi-
centennial goals.
In early 1939 the General Education Board offered Agnes Scott and
Emory jointly a grant of $2,500,000 provided an additional $5,000,000
be raised. Emory was designated to receive $2,000,000 of this General
Education Board grant because of the large expense involved in ex-
panding work and facilities for graduate and professional education.
Agnes Scott's share was $500,000, and the College understandably had
to raise its proportionate share of the joint total. Agnes Scott itself
made the proposal that Emory receive 80% of all undesignated gifts
and that the College receive 20%. One of the plusses of Agnes Scott's
excellent record with the General Education Board was that the Board
made an immediate outright donation of $100,000 to the College. This
money was placed in the endowment portfolio, a circumstance which
after the first year freed for other purposes undesignated funds, the
104
income from which had been used for activities normally financed
from endowment.
Agnes Scott's semi-centennial campaign committee consisted of
George Winship, T. Guy Woolford, John A. Sibley, J.J. Scott, and
J.R. McCain — all trustees. The joint overall campaign with Emory
was chaired by Preston S. Arkwright, President of the Georgia Power
Company and one of the most distinguished citizens the Atlanta area
has ever had. Suffice it to say, the total campaign was a success, as was
Agnes Scott's specific part. The University Center in Georgia was on
its way, and the College moved confidently into its second half
century.
What did the Agnes Scott faculty think of all these developments
and the attendant campaign? Professor Philip Davidson, Jr., chair-
man of the Department of History and subsequently, in turn, provost
of Vanderbilt University and president of the University of Louisville,
wrote as follows in the Agnes Scott Alumnae Quarterly in April, 1940:
The present campaign for a million and a half dollars will ob-
viously have important academic effects upon Agnes Scott
College. The previous campaigns certainly have. As we look over
the really inspiring campaign records, it is easy to see the results.
Each campaign may be identified, of course, by the buildings it
produced — Bucher Scott Gymnasium, Buttrick Hall, and the
new library — but these buildings themselves have had a strong
influence on the academic life of the college. Buttrick Hall has
made possible much more effective teaching, and the new library
has changed the whole atmosphere of study on the campus. Im-
proved physical equipment, indeed, can have direct academic
effects. A new dormitory, for example, can be constructed to be
conducive to study.
But previous campaigns have done more. The intellectual
growth of the college is intimately connected with them. The
steadily increasing endowment has meant better salaries, and
hence a more highly trained faculty. The financial growth of the
college has been, in fact, immediately and directly reflected in its
intellectual growth.
If Patrick Henry's lamp of experience can guide us here, you
will see the same intellectual invigoration as a result of this cam-
paign. Concretely, what will it mean to the academic life of the
institution?
In the first place, the campaign will mean a strengthening of the
present program. Agnes Scott is a good college, and its standards
are unquestioned, but the faculty is far from convinced that it is
doing the job that ought to be done. The objective of its efforts is
105
the best possible B.A. degree that it can give. That will mean,
among other things, higher standards of faculty salaries, addi-
tional instructors, greatly increased library facilities, enlarged
collections in the fine arts, and better laboratory facilities. These
additions to our present resources must be made in order to
strengthen the present program, not to expand it; we must first do
outstandingly well what we are now attempting.
In the second place, the campaign in relation to the cooperative
University Center movement will mean the enrichment of the
Agnes Scott degree.
As funds are available, offerings in new fields will surely come
as they have in the past. The strengthening of our present program
must come first, however, and it must come principally through
strengthening our own resources; the enrichment of our program
in the immediate future can come principally through co-opera-
tion with our neighboring institutions. Agnes Scott students
already have open to them the larger program at Emory with its
work in many subjects that we cannot offer, and as additional
funds become available to Emory, others will be added. Further-
more, by strengthening graduate work at Emory University and at
the University of Georgia and by increasing opportunities for
professional work in social service training, public administra-
tion, as well as in many other fields, the campaign will mean a
great deal to Agnes Scott students.
The very process of the campaign itself is stimulating to the
academic life of the campus. Faced with the opportunities the
campaign will present, faculty members will re-study and clarify
their objectives and examine their work for its points of weakness
and strength. The work is more enthusiastically undertaken be-
cause there is tangible hope that those weaknesses will be over-
come and those points of strength strengthened.
To the intellectual life of the campus, then, this campaign will
mean, as previous campaigns have meant, first strengthening;
then, enrichment; and throughout, stimulation.
The immediate tangible evidence on the Agnes Scott campus of the
results of the financial efforts of the late 1930's was the erection of
Presser Hall. For many years the Trustees had wanted to have a build-
ing for music, and ever since President Gaines's death in 1923, there
were plans to build a chapel in his memory. At first the chapel was to be
a separate building, and the College still has copies of the architect's
rendering of how this chapel might look. However, as the years passed,
the idea grew that the memorial chapel and the music building could be
incorporated into one structure. Such was the case when Presser Hall
was built. The new building was named for the late Theodore Presser
106
of Philadelphia, who established the distinguished Theodore Presser
Musical Publishing Company and who in 1916 founded the Presser
Foundation, an agency which contributed $65,000 toward Agnes
Scott's new building. Presser Hall was completed in the autumn of
1940 at a cost of $275,000, and the dedication of the building took
place on November 1 of that year with President James Francis Cooke
and Secretary John L. Haney of the Presser Foundation participating.
On January 12, 1941, Gaines Chapel was formally dedicated with
addresses by the Rev. Henry H. Sweets, Secretary of Christian
Education for the Presbyterian Church, U.S. and by President Walter
L. Lingle of Davidson College. The chapel was an all-purpose
auditorium seating 900. One of its most important features was (and is)
a four-manual Austin organ. In addition to Gaines Chapel, teaching
studios, faculty offices, and practice rooms, Presser Hall also contains
a small 300-seat auditorium named for Professor Joseph Maclean,
who headed Agnes Scott's department of music from 1893 to 1918.
One of the stories that grows out of the construction of Presser Hall
has to do with Agnes Scott's $10,000 dogwood tree. Many alumnae
and others who have been on the campus will remember the giant
dogwood tree that grows just outside the east wall of Gaines Chapel.
The original plans for the building called for the felling of this tree.
(These first blueprints are still in the possession of the College, and the
writer has seen them.). However, these plans were altered, and the tree
was saved and continues to glorify the campus each spring. According
to President McCain, this alteration cost an additional $10,000 in the
erection of the building — hence Agnes Scott's $10,000 dogwood tree.
From the time that Agnes Scott was established in 1889, the insti-
tution had been controlled, except for the two alumnae trustees, by
Presbyterians — never by the denomination as an ecclesiastical entity,
but by Presbyterians as individuals. To be a trustee of Agnes Scott,
other than an alumnae trustee, one had to be a Presbyterian. At the
annual meeting of the Board on May 31, 1940, the initial action was
taken to alter somewhat the denominational constituency of the Board
of Trustees, and a year later on May 30, 1 94 1 , the following resolutions
were adopted authorizing a change in the charter of the College:
1. That the paragraph' giving the qualifications of Trustees be
amended so as to read as follows: "The Board of Trustees shall
consist of not exceeding twenty-seven members, of whom at
least three-fourths shall be members of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States, but all of whom shall be members
107
of some evangelical church and sympathetic with the funda-
mentals of the Christian religion. The President of the College
shall be ex-officio a member of the Board and counted as a
Corporate Trustee."
2. That the President of the College take necessary steps to have
the Charter as amended renewed for so long a time as the laws
of the state now permit.
The "necessary steps" were taken, and on Octber 23, 1941, the Supe-
rior Court of DeKalb County, Georgia, amended the Charter to
incorporate the recently requested provisions concerning the denomi-
national affiliation of Trustees. The charter was also renewed for a
period of thirty-five years "unless otherwise amended."
In 1939 Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., having reached the age of
sixty-five, retired from membership on the General Education Board,
and Dr. James Ross McCain, at the request of John D. Rockefeller,
III, was asked to fill the unexpired term. When the unexpired term was
completed, President McCain was re-elected to the Board and con-
tinued to serve until he himself was sixty-five in 1946. Dr. McCain's
becoming a member of the General Education Board was, of course, a
great tribute to him, but it assuredly was a recognition of the record of
fiscal soundness and academic excellence which Agnes Scott had so
consistently maintained.
Until 1940 the finance committee of the Trustees and the President
and the Treasurer of the College were the principal agents in handling
investments for the Board. However, on November 14, 1940, the
Board of Trustees began an association which still continues and
which through the years has been of significant value to the College:
Agnes Scott employed the Trust Company of Georgia "as custodian of
its bonds and as general advisor as to investments."
A perusal of the minutes of the Board of Trustees for the decade of
the thirties reveals that on a number of occasions during this period the
Trustees were concerned to set up a retirement plan for the faculty and
principal administrative officers. The annual reports of the President
frequently support this concern of the Board. However, because of a
lack of funds and a determination not to incur a deficit, the Trustees
delayed consideration of any official retirement program. Finally at
the Board meeting on May 30, 1 94 1 , the following resolution from the
Trustee Committee on the Faculty was adopted:
The Committee recommends that the President and Treasurer of
the College be empowered to make arrangement with some well
108
known insurance company for the inauguration of a pension plan
for faculty members having the rank of Instructor and above and
for major officers of administration, with the following provisos:
1. Participation in the plan may be optional for those who have
been in the employ of the College for two years or more, but it
will be compulsory for those who hereafter enter and stay for
that length of time.
2. The time of retirement for faculty members and officers will
ordinarily be at 65 years of age, but the Board of Trustees may
re-elect from year to year such members of the staff as it feels
should be retained; but no re-election is to be held after an
individual has attained 70 years of age.
3. The College will deal with older members of the faculty (for
whom there will not be time to accumulate a retiring program)
on an individual basis as heretofore. Those who are now 70
years of age will be retained for the session 1941-1942 and, by
special action of the Board, maybe retained for 1942-1943, but
not for a longer time.
4. The College will plan to contribute 5% of the annual salary of
each officer or faculty member who will participate in the
pension plan; each such person shall likewise contribute at least
5%, but may contribute more if he or she desires to do so. The
College reserves the right to discontinue its payments at any
time by vote of the Trustees. The Treasurer will collect the
faculty payments.
5. It is hoped that the retirement plan may be later worked out for
all employees of the College if it proves to be satisfactory for the
limited group now recommended, but no commitment is to be
made about any extension of the program.
6. It is expected that the formal inauguration of the pension
program will begin on October 15, 1941.
On August 29, 1941, the College entered into a trust agreement with
the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford,
Connecticut, as the agent of the pension plan. Here is the trust
agreement:
PENSION TRUST AGREEMENT AND
DECLARATION OF TRUST
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of Agnes Scott College did
on May 30, 1941, adopt a Pension Plan for faculty members hav-
ing the rank of Instructor and above and for major officers of
administration and did set out in detail the provisos governing
said Pension Plan; and,
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of Agnes Scott College has
completed arrangements with Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance
109
Company of Hartford, Connecticut, for the adoption of said
Pension Plan — all as set out in the letter dated June 6, 1941, of
Dr. James R. McCain, President of Agnes Scott College:
NOW, THEREFORE, in order to carry out said Pension Plan
(which shall be known as Agnes Scott Pension Plan) a trust is
hereby created and the following provisions for the management
and operation of said trust shall govern Agnes Scott College and
the Trustees and the Beneficiaries:
1. The control, management and the administration of Agnes
Scott Pension Plan are hereby vested in a Board of Trustees to
be known as the Trustees and said Board shall consist of three
members, namely, the President of Agnes Scott College and the
Treasurer of Agnes Scott College and the Dean of the Faculty
of Agnes Scott College and their successors in office.
2. James R. McCain, President of Agnes Scott College, and J.C.
Tart, Treasurer of Agnes Scott College, and S.G. Stukes, Dean
of the Faculty of Agnes Scott College, shall constitute the first
Board of Trustees and their successors in office from time to
time, as above provided, shall constitute said Board of Trustees.
3. Reference is hereby made to the resolution of the Board of
Trustees of Agnes Scott College, passed on May 30, 1941,
adopting said Pension Plan and reference is also made to the
said letter of Dr. James R. McCain, President of Agnes Scott
College, dated June 6, 1941, to the Faculty and Staff of Agnes
Scott College, and the said resolution and the said letter of Dr.
McCain shall constitute a part of the Trust Agreement herein
set up.
4. The Trustees may adopt such other and further rules, regula-
tions, requirements and provisions as in their judgment seem
necessary and proper for the control, management and ad-
ministration of the Pension Plan.
5. All policies of insurance issued under the Pension Plan shall
contain a clause known as "Exercise of Privileges," providing
as follows:
"The right to receive the endowment benefit, all cash values,
loans, dividends, and other benefits accruing hereunder, to
change the beneficiary, to assign this Policy, to exercise all
privileges and options contained herein, and to agree with the
Company to any release, modification or amendment of this
Policy, shall, unless herein otherwise specially provided, be-
long and be available without the consent of any other person,
to the Insured, with the consent of the Agnes Scott College;
except the right to 'Change the Beneficiary' or to elect 'Optional
Settlements at Maturity' shall belong and be available to the
Insured alone."
110
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Agnes Scott College and the
Board of Trustees named herein have hereunto set their hands on
this 29 day of August, 1941.
AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE,
By Geo. Winship
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Attest:
J.R. McCain
Secretary, Board of Trustees
Meantime, on June 6, 1941, President McCain had addressed to the
Faculty and staff the following letter explaining the pension plan and
how one could participate in it:
AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE
Decatur, Georgia
Office of President
June 6, 1941
To the Faculty and Staff of Agnes Scott College:
The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the successful
completion of arrangements with the Connecticut Mutual Life
Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, for adoption of an
Agnes Scott Pension Plan, the effective date for beginning the
Plan to be October 15, 1941.
Installation of the Plan will begin immediately under the direc-
tion of Mr. Bealy Smith, General Agent of the Connecticut
Mutual, with Mr. J.S. Brail and Mr. Pete Mackey conducting the
individual interviews with each of you. The College offers its
fullest cooperation to these gentlemen in installing the Plan and
each of you will be approached by one of these representatives in
due course. The Student Government Room, No. 100 Buttrick
Hall, will be used as a temporary office.
Participation now is optional for those who have been in the
employ of the College for two years or more, but it will be com-
pulsory for those who hereafter enter and stay for that length of
time. While the Plan is optional now, it is, nevertheless, definitely
encouraged for your consideration.
The College has agreed to contribute 5% of the annual salary of
each officer or faculty member who will adopt the Plan; each such
person shall likewise contribute at least 5%, but may contribute
more if he or she desires to do so.
The pertinent facts of the Plan are:
1 . The Plan is singular in that it carries a death benefit in addi-
tion prior to maturity, but those of you who either are unin-
Ill
surable or desire the straight Pension Plan, can adopt the
Plan without this benefit, provided the required percentage is
met.
2. The retirement date shall ordinarily be age 65, but the Trus-
tees may re-elect from year to year such members of the staff
as it feels should be retained; but no re-election is to be held
after an individual has attained age 70. The fact that figures
are based on the age of 70 does not at all insure employment to
that age.
3. While the anniversary date of the Plan will be October 15, the
Plan may be binding on the Company for each of you from
the date you adopt it to October 15, 1941, if you wish to make
a small temporary deposit. This will be explained in more
detail by the Company representative.
4. In event of your withdrawal from the employ of the College at
any time after adoption, the College's contribution is given to
you for continuance or for a paid-up annuity policy. You shall
have the right with the Company of continuing all or part of
the program regardless.
5. Rights to the cash values, annual dividends, dividend
accumulation, or collateral rights shall be obtainable only
with the proper consent of the College authorities, during
your tenure of service with the College.
6. Beneficiary designations, and changes, and methods of pay-
ment to the beneficiary shall vest in you, prior to your death,
or in the beneficiary so designated after death. This pertains
to that portion purchased by the contribution of the College
as well.
7. Disability benefits will be offered in connection with a con-
tract including the death benefit only, providing for waiving
of all subsequent premiums by the Company for the one so
disabled. This benefit, however, is restricted to those able to
qualify according to the Company's standards. Under such a
circumstance all rights to the contract shall vest immediately
to the insured. The contract shall continue uninterruptedly
with no payments to be made by either you or the College. A
small extra charge is made for this benefit.
8. Individual contributions shall be deducted from your salary
by the College monthly, the first such deduction to begin
October 15, 1941.
9. Once the plan is adopted it cannot be dropped or discon-
tinued without consent of the College; but it reserves the right
to discontinue its contribution, with proper notice.
10. Salary increases as applicable to increases in the Pension Plan
on the part of the College shall be handled on an individual
basis if such occur.
1 1 . There are several options for retirement payments available
112
and selection of such option can be made upon beginning of
retirement; options such as an income for self and wife, or self
and husband, or the principal held at a guaranteed interest
rate, subject to withdrawal, etc., make the contract an ex-
tremely flexible and individual retirement plan, to suite the
individual situation.
12. The Company can arrange for voluntary retirement before
age 65 or for retirement by request before that age, the benfits
to be adjusted according to what has been jointly invested by
the College and the Individual.
Those who are generally over the insurance attained age of 61,
will be dealt with on an individual basis by the College as here-
tofore (since there will be little or no time to accumulate a retiring
program). I wish we could be sure that some provision can be
made. The matter will have to be determined later.
It is hoped that the Retirement Plan may be later worked out
for all employees of the College if it proves to be satisfactory for
the group now recommended and qualified to participate. No
commitment, however, is to be made now about such extension of
the program.
This type of plan was chosen after careful study. The proposals
of many other companies were considered, but it is felt that the
Connecticut Mutual offers the variety of choices which will suit
the different needs of our staff; and the Company has been well
and favorably known for nearly a hundred years.
We heartily endorse and commend the Plan to you.
Respectfully,
James R. McCain
President
Thus at long last, Agnes Scott had the beginnings of a retirement
program. Notice that the word "beginnings" is used. Since 1941 this
program has grown and evolved so that now virtually every employee
at the College has some sort of retirement arrangement — in addition
to the federally required social security.
It was during the period under consideration that Agnes Scott, like
all people and agencies in the United States, felt the effects of World
War II, though perhaps less markedly than many other institutions
since Agnes Scott was a college for women. All during the war years
enrollments remained stable and even increased. Thus, there was no
necessity for the College to seek government training programs such as
those which were found on many campuses — particularly on those of
men's colleges. For that matter, President McCain in his annual report
dated May 26, 1944, when the war was at its height wrote as follows:
113
The Agnes Scott campus is probably as free from the strain and
stress of war as any other place in our country. The activities of
both faculty and students are largely routine. The session (1943-
1944) has been unusually free from war tragedies among the kins-
people of the college community. The students are very busy with
their educational and social life and do not take much time for
reading the newspapers or listening to radios. There are minor
inconveniences of all kinds which remind us that something
unusual is in progress, and there are difficulties as to travel; but,
on the whole, we have had a very quiet and peaceful year.
We have been somewhat disturbed lest the students become too
oblivious to international affairs and so we have had a series of
discussions in chapel; we have brought speakers from many war
activity centers; and we have had representatives of the WAC,
WAVES, and other groups to offer enlistments to our students.
Our religious services have also kept in mind the sufferings of
people in other lands and our responsibility for some type of
ministry.
The Agnes Scott faculty have been giving serious study to the
impact of the war on our curriculum and on the College as a
whole, and they have had more study groups among themselves
this year than at any time since I have been connected with Agnes
Scott.
In other sections of this report, references will be made to some
of the problems that are involved; but, on the whole, we feel deep
gratitude to God that Agnes Scott has been so little burdened and
so little upset by present-day world events.
The problems which President McCain referred to were really com-
paratively minor. It was increasingly difficult to get adequate help for
the dining hall and for other such jobs. The College simply could not
compete with the wages paid by war-oriented enterprises, and many
long-time employees left. Mr. J.C. Tart in his report for the 1943-1944
year is characteristically forthright and plain spoken in his assessment
of the situation:
. . . there has never been a time in the history of the College where
labor has been so hard to obtain and when obtainable the
efficiency was at an almost zero point. The turn-over in servants
has been at such a rapid rate that few weeks during the session
have the same names appeared on the payroll.
To meet the situation somewhat, Agnes Scott for the first time began
to use student help in the dining room, a circumstance about which
President McCain made favorable comment, although Dean Scan-
drett remembered that the procedure had real drawbacks.
114
Because of the scarcity of help and supplies, the dining hall in White
House was closed and never opened again. All food service was con-
centrated in the Rebekah Scott facility, and the necessary equipment
was installed to change to the cafeteria method of serving meals — a
procedure which the College followed with reluctance.
Lest one think that Agnes Scott was an oasis of quiet during the
traumatic war years, let it be said that much worthwhile patriotic work
and many notable contributions to the national effort were part and
parcel of campus life. In January, 1942, just a month after Pearl
Harbor, the Faculty-Student War Council was organized and con-
tinued as the coordinating agency for a whole series of endeavors
during the next several years. Money was raised for the Red Cross, for
the World Student Service Fund, and for the Community War Fund.
The sale of war bonds was promoted at every opportunity; first aid
classes were offered as were courses in home nursing; conservation was
emphasized, and tin cans were collected and flattened for the de-tining
plants. (In the 1942-1943 session almost four tons of such cans were
collected.) Much knitting of sweaters, gloves, etc. was the order of the
day. Public instruction was a major thrust of the War Council. Every
other week in chapel Professor Catherine S. Sims reviewed current
happenings. Other speakers also addressed themselves to timely war
topics, and the Public Lecture Association brought outside national
figures to enlarge the understanding of the students. For example, in
the 1943-1944 session Henry Wolfe lectured on the theme "The Next
Act in Europe"; Kirtley Mather, esteemed Harvard geologist, spoke
on "Strategic Minerals in War and Peace"; and Norman Cousins of the
Saturday Review addressed the topic "Planning for the Post-War
World." Also visiting the campus in that same session was the great
philosopher-theologian Reinhold Niebuhr who spoke on "The Total
Crisis of Civilization." Air raid drills, black-out preparations, and
other mundane but necessary activities claimed the attention of the
students. In the early part of the War (February, 1943), the College
sponsored a day-long War Conference. Under the leadership of Pro-
fessor Susan Cobbs of the Department of Classics, this Conference
was well attended and applauded. Perhaps a paragraph from the
yearly report of the War Council will give an idea of the ambitiousness
of this Conference:
The program of the conference began Friday Evening, Febru-
ary 26, when Miss Billie A. Larson, head of the department of
mathematics and acting dean of Randolph-Macon Woman's
115
College, spoke in Presser Hall. Her lecture, "The Whole Armor,"
was a discussion of the place of the liberal arts college in a world at
war. On Saturday morning, February 27, the meetings opened
with a lecture by Miss Ernestine Friedman of the regional edu-
cational services of the Office of Price Administration in Atlanta.
Her subject was "The Challenge of the Economic Home Front."
Next, Miss Ruth Scandrett, of the United States Department of
Labor, division of labor standards, in Washington, D.C., dis-
cussed "Some Labor Problems." "A Right Attitude Toward
Racial Minorities" was the topic of the next address, delivered by
Dr. Herman L. Turner, of the Covenant Presbyterian Church in
Atlanta. The last session Saturday morning was a panel
discussion on labor and racial minorities in which Miss Scandrett,
Dr. Turner, Miss Friedman and Mr. William B. Stubbs of Emory
University, participated. Mr. J.J. Carvey, Jr., economist on the
War Manpower Commission in Atlanta, spoke at the first Satur-
day afternoon meeting on "The Role of Women in War
Production." "Opportunities for Women in the Enlisted Services"
was the topic of the next talk by First Officer Florence C. Jepson,
acting personnel director for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps,
Washington, D.C. Mr. Malcolm Henderson, British consul in
Atlanta, spoke on "British Women and the War." The last meet-
ing of the conference was under the auspices of the student lecture
association, which presented a lecture by Miss Margaret Mead,
assistant curator in the department of anthropology of the
American Museum of Natural History in New York. Her subject
was "Laying the Groundwork for a Constructive Peace," and her
lecture, which was given Saturday evening, closed the conference.
But Agnes Scott students were touched by the War in unnumbered
ways that President McCain apparently did not know about. One
alumna in the Class of 1946 — a student who was on campus for
almost the whole period — has emphatically stated that students were
aware of the outside world. Their boy friends were in military service,
and the only young men available for dates were in the V-12 or army
and navy R.O.T.C. programs at nearby colleges. This alumna spoke of
the absolute horror which permeated the entire campus when a student
received news of a war casualty in her family. There were two young
women enrolled at the time whose father was among those taken
prisoner on Bataan and who remained a prisoner for most of the War.
Occasionally letters would get through from him and the whole
campus would suffer with these young women. Professor Walter B.
Posey and Professor Mildred R. Mell and their associates in the
Departments of History and Economics and Sociology, respectively,
saw to it that their students were aware of the War. Rationing was the
116
order of the day, and day students had no food at home to which they
could invite their on-campus friends to give them a change from the
limited offerings of the dining hall. There was no gasoline; a girl's
wardrobe was limited; austerity was everywhere. Agnes Scott students
did know a war was going on — so says this alumna of 1946. Times
were grim, and the Agnes Scott campus felt the times.
But the War to the contrary notwithstanding, the academic "wheels"
of the College continued to turn. The first formal public announce-
ment of a program of "reading for honors" is found in the catalogue
dated January, 1944; however, the minutes of the Academic Council
indicate that the faculty was experimenting with such a program as
early as 1938. By the spring of 1 94 1 the Academic Council adopted the
following action embodying Agnes Scott's honors program and
directed that this program become effective with the 1941-1942
session:
The object of the Honors Program at Agnes Scott College is to
enable students who have already demonstrated unusual ability in
academic work to achieve intellectual values not possible in the
routine plan of courses.
These students should benefit from a program which, by a
distinctive method of study, permits them to develop their
individual interests and abilities and to increase their knowledge
and comprehension of their major fields.
The actual content of the honors work may differ with each
student. She may read to cover subjects in her major not now
offered at Agnes Scott; she may read in subjects in her major now
offered but which she was for some reason unable to take; or she
may be allowed to read widely in a special field which has
attracted her interest, doing more intensive reading than is
possible in the course or courses covering that subject. In every
case the program must necessarily be arranged by the head of the
department with the individual needs of the student in mind.
Whatever the content, the honors program will involve a
distinctive method of study calling for greater individual
initiative, greater ability in the organization of materials, greater
maturity of judgment in the interpretation of subject matter, than
are expected in regular course work.
Regulations
1 . Not later than September 1 5th of each year the highest 10% (on
basis of merit points) of the incomingseniors shall be invited by
the Dean of the Faculty to read for high honor during the
succeeding academic year. The list of those to be invited
together with the total merit points of each shall be certified to
117
the Dean of the Faculty by the Committee on Electives. In
counting 10% of the class a fraction shall be counted as a whole;
and in case two or more students are tied for the lowest position
within the 10%, all of those tied shall be included in the list.
Both student and major professor are to be notified; in case of
double majors the student shall be asked to select the depart-
ment in [which] she wishes to do the reading.
2. The honors program shall consist of not more than three or less
than two hours per week throughout the year, with specific
time allotted for systematic review for the comprehensive
examinations. Each student is expected to carry an average of
fifteen hours, including the honors work.
3. At the completion of this work, and within the period of senior
examinations, the student shall take an examination consisting
of two parts, a written examination not less than six hours long
and an oral not less than an hour long. The exact time of the
examination shall be set by the committee on honors work
provided for below.
4. The written examination shall cover the field of the major. It
may consist in part of a laboratory experiment or of a written
report on the reading done for honors.
5. The oral shall cover the major subject, including both course
work and honors reading. At each oral examination there shall
be present representatives from the major department and one
or more persons to be named by the Dean of the Faculty. It is
strongly recommended that the head of the major department
invite a representative from at least one of the co-operating
institutions to participate in the examination.
6. Students undertaking the honors program shall be exempted
from all course examinations in the spring quarter.
7. Upon the basis of the quality of the honors work, the written
examination and the oral examination, the head of the
department may recommend the student for graduation with
high honor. No student may be graduated with high honor who
has not completed the above program, who does not have the
recommendation of the head of the major department, or who
does not meet all present requirements for graduation with
high honor. Graduation with honor is to be automatic upon the
basis of merit points.
8. It is recommended that the President appoint annually a
committee on honors work to consist of not more than five
persons, of which the Dean of Faculty shall be ex officio a
member. This committee shall have authority to approve
examination programs and programs of study for honors and
to set the time for written and oral examinations. It shall also
pass finally upon all matters of detail arising under this
program.
118
9. A copy of the proposed honors program of each student shall
be filed with the committee on honors within two weeks after
the opening of the fall quarter, and a copy of the questions for
the written examination shall be filed with the committee
before the end of the spring quarter.
In May of 1945 a new statement was issued somewhat expanding and
refining the above procedures, and again in 1950 there was further
revision. This honors program remained in force until 1954 when the
College initiated the program of Independent Study which is still
operative — a program which will be discussed at the appropriate
time.
In 1943 President McCain completed twenty years as the chief
administrative officer of Agnes Scott. In his annual report to the
Trustees for the 1942-1943 session, he understandably reviewed the
progress which the College had made under his leadership — progress
that was indeed impressive by anybody's standards. However, he also
characteristically looked ahead and projected his hopes for the next
ten years: a new science hall, another dormitory, a dining hall, a new
infirmary, greatly increased endowment, as well as an enriched
curriculum. Interestingly, with the exception of the dormitory, all
these goals were achieved by the time President McCain retired in
195 1 . He did not neglect to comment on the spritual thrust either. Here
is what the report says:
It is not possible to tabulate the development in spiritual things
during the last twenty years or to set specific goals for the years
that lie ahead. From its earliest days, the College has been
dedicated to God, and it has no real excuse for existence if it does
not fulfill this high mission. We feel that religious objectives are
best reached through careful selection of faculty, officers, and
students. The planning of the curriculum is also a contributing
factor.
All indications are that we are coming to a great period of moral
decadence and of spiritual laxness. We are very anxious that
Agnes Scott College be a great power for good in standing for the
highest things.
Another of the priority items mentioned in President McCain's
plans for the remaining years of his administration was the erection of
a practice home for the Department of the Home. In the late 1930's
Agnes Scott published a special brochure setting forth the reasons and
plans and goals for such a department. This brochure points out that
the establishment of a Department of the Home had been before the
19
Trustees since 1920 when President Gaines first proposed it. In the
interim the College had had a Department of Home Economics, but it
had been dropped because it was not being operated at the same high
standard as were other departments. The Department of the Home
was to be, however, much more than a home economics department.
Its offerings would encompass, for example, human physiology, home
hygiene, child training, home management, dietetics, budgeting,
religious life, etc. A practice home was to be built where students could
put into use what they had learned. Moreover, it was suggested that the
College might sponsor a baby clinic as well as a nursery school — again
as laboratories for putting learning into practice. Anyone familiar with
Agnes Scott knows that a Department of the Home was never
established although it is highly likely that President McCain never
relinquished the idea. This writer has heard him, long after his
retirement, continue to talk about his dream of and the need for such a
department.
In 1944 a major change occurred in the workings of the Alumnae
Association. Under the leadership of Miss Margaret Ridley, '33,
President of the group and of Mrs. Crawford F. Barnett, '32, alumnae
representative on the Board of Trustees, a report was made to the
Trustees recommending a full reorganization of the alumnae program,
a discontinuance of dues, and the setting up of an annual gifts program
to take care of alumnae expenses and hopefully leave a surplus for the
College. In order to implement this program, the Trustees on May 26,
1944, adopted the following resolution:
Resolved that the Trustees approve the general reorganization
plans of the Alumnae Association and that the following specific
steps be approved toward the working out of details:
1 . That a grant of $2,000 from the current funds of the College be
made, payable at the end of each quarter in equal installments.
It is not expected that this be repaid for the year 1944-1945.
2. That the President of the College be authorized to direct an
"Alumnae Fund Campaign." This will probably take most of
the time of the Alumnae Secretary, but the College will guar-
antee $3,000 from the campaign office to the Alumnae budget,
payable in equal installments at the end of each quarter. It is
understood that this $3,000 will be repaid to the College from
the proceeds of the campaign if these are sufficient for the
purpose.
3. That the president of the College and the President of the
Alumnae Association be authorized to work out details as to
120
the exact time to be used by the Secretary for this purpose, or
by secretaries if more than one should be employed, and as to
the objectives which will be presented to the alumnae for their
gifts.
So begins Agnes Scott's annual giving program — a program which
over the years since 1944 has brought untold dollars to the College.
With the arrival of the mid 1940 's, the attention of the Trustees was
increasingly directed to choosing the third president of Agnes Scott.
President McCain would be sixty-five in April, 1946; and although the
Board could elect him President on an annual basis until he reached
the mandatory retirement age of seventy in 1951, it seemed
appropriate for the Trustees to prepare for this administrative change
well in advance. The Board wanted the President to recommend his
successor, but he requested that a committee be appointed to assist
him; consequently, the Trustees, at their annual meeting on June 1,
1945, authorized the following members to constitute a presidential
search committee: George Winship, chairman, Mrs. S.M. Inman,
John A. Sibley, J.J. Scott, and C.F. Stone. This committee was not
ready to make its recommendation until the spring of 1948; meantime
President McCain, having passed his sixty-fifth birthday, was being
annually elected to continue as President.
On March 19, 1948, the Board met in specially called session with
twenty-two of the twenty-seven trustees present. It is little wonder that
the attendance was so good, since the members knew ahead of time the
business of the meeting, namely, that the presidential search commit-
tee was ready to report. Here is the resolution which was unanimously
adopted:
Resolved that Dr. Wallace McPherson Alston be elected Vice
President and Professor of Philosophy at Agnes Scott College,
with the understanding that he is to succeed to the presidency no
later than July 1, 1951, the actual details to be worked out by the
President and the Finance Committee.
This action by the Trustees made possible an orientation period for
Dr. Alston prior to President McCain's mandatory retirement at age
seventy and at the same time meant that the new president had already
been named should any contingency develop before 1951.
In connection with the election of Dr. Alston, the Trustees took an
unusual action providing for the new president to sign a declaration
whenever he assumed the presidency. The adopting of this declaration
required a bylaw change. It was introduced at the March meeting in
121
1 948 and adopted on May 2 1 of the same year. The vote for adoption
was by secret ballot and was divided 1 2 for to 8 against. The new presi-
dential requirement read as follows:
On taking office, the President shall subscribe to the declarations
stated below, which shall be inscribed in the Minute Book of the
Board of Trustees and signed in the presence of the Chairman of
the Board:
1. I believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be
the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
2. I sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith and the
Catechisms of the Prebyterian Church in the United States as
containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures.
3. I promise that in the selection of teachers, officers, and other
helpers I will endeavor to find those who are active members of
some evangelical church and who believe in the fundamental
doctrines of [the] Christian faith including the deity of Jesus
Christ, the inspiration of the Bible, and the atonement for sins.
4. I further recognize that the College has been dedicated to the
glory of God from its earliest days, and in all its work I will try
to maintain its Christian ideals and standards.
This declaration was in force until May, 1968, when it was determined
by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees that the Presi-
dent was no longer restricted by its requirement because on October
12, 1965, the Board had adopted new bylaws which did not include this
declaration.
As President McCain moved into what were to be the last four years
of his administration (1947-1951), there was no relaxing of his ener-
getic leadership. On March 19, 1948, the minutes of the Trustees show
that Agnes Scott had recently received from an anonymous founda-
tion a grant of $500,000 for endowment provided the College raise an
additional $ 1 ,000,000 by December 3 1 , 1 949. The President cheerfully
and enthusiastically led the College into this campaign which was
completely successful within the time limit. As usual the campaign
began on the campus, and the students, faculty, and administration
raised in ten days more than $40,000, over twice the goal that had been
set for this campus effort. Mrs. Frances Winship Walters, Vice Chair-
man of the Board of Trustees, contributed $180,000 to build a new
infirmary. Mrs. Letitia Pate Evans of Hot Springs, Virginia, and some
of her friends provided the funds to erect a new dining hall. The W.C.
and Sarah H. Bradley Foundation of Columbus, Georgia, made a gift
sufficiently large to assume the construction of the observatory to
122
house the recently acquired 30-inch reflector telescope, funds for
which had been given by the Lewis H. Beck Foundation of Atlanta.
Also on Founder's Day, 1949, Mrs. Annie Louise Harrison Waterman
of Mobile, Alabama — an alumna and a trustee — gave the College
$100,000 to endow a professorship in speech. Funds were secured to
build a new home for the incoming president, and at long last, after
more than a decade of planning, a new and adequate science hall was
erected. Thus, in three short years (1948- 1951) five new buildings were
constructed — more than have ever been built in a comparable period
before or since. In addition the new archway entrance to the campus
on College Avenue was built at this same time.
The campaign of 1948-1949 saw the organization of alumnae
spouses into a Husband's Committee to solicit Atlanta businesses, an
effort which raised approximately $65,000. However, as in Agnes
Scott's first campaign in 1909, the final goal was not achieved until the
deadline day itself. Of this day President McCain wrote as follows:
As the 31st of December (1949) approached and it was realized
that this was the very last day of the campaign, our friends were
much in prayer and very active in work .... An anonymous
donor pledged $10,000 about noon of the closing day. More than
400 alumnae gifts came in that day, and by three o'clock in the
afternoon the final goal was reached. It was a time of very great
rejoicing on the part of all of us who had been working in the
campaign.
More will be said later about Mrs. Frances Winship Walters, who
was to become in the judgment of many the second founder of Agnes
Scott. However, it seems appropriate to pause here to comment on
Letitia Pate Evans, Annie Louise Harrison Waterman, and John
Bulow Campbell, for whom the new science hall was named.
Mrs. Evans was a trustee of Agnes Scott from 1 949 until her death in
1953. Jointly with her two sons, who predeceased her, she inherited a
large fortune from her first husband, Joseph Brown Whitehead. How
wisely and unselfishly she used this inheritance is attested to by her
many benefactions. Hospitals, colleges, and universities, both in her
native Virginia and in her adopted Georgia, were recipients of her
generosity; moreover, she gave liberally to the church, particularly to
causes sponsored by the Episcopal Church in Virginia. Helping war
victims of World War II also claimed her attention, and for this last
work she received recognition from countries abroad. She was inter-
ested in Agnes Scott over a period of years, and the outstanding evi-
Agnes Scott's Founder,
George Washington Scott,
in his thirties
Presidents of Agnes Scott College
Frank Henry Gaines
1896 - 1923
James Ross McCain
1923 - 1951
Presidents of Agnes Scott College (con't.)
Wallace McPherson Alston
1951 - 1973
Marvin Banks Perry, Jr.
1973 - 1982
Dean Nannette Hopkins,
a major administrative
officer for forty-nine years,
1889 - 1938
Chairmen of the Board of Trustees
Frank Henry Gaines
1889 - 1896
George Washington Scott
1896 - 1903
Chairmen of the Board of Trustees (con't.)
Samuel Martin Inman
1903 - 1914
Joseph Kyle Orr
1914 - 1938
George Winship
1938 - 1956
Chairmen of the Board of Trustees (con't.)
Hal L. Smith
1956 - 1973
Alex P. Gaines
1973 - 1979
Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr.
1979 -
Campus about 1900
Campus in 1923
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Dean Hopkins near the
end of her career
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123
dence of this interest is the College's dining hall which bears her name.
In her will she left Agnes Scott $ 1 00,000 to serve as an endowment for
the dining hall. More recently the foundation which she established
made a further grant to the College — a grant which made possible the
air conditioning of Evans Dining Hall.
Annie Louise Harrison Waterman attended Agnes Scott Institute
from 1 894 to 1 896. Although she did well in all her work, her particular
interest was speech. On April 3, 1896, she gave her graduating recital,
the program of which was included in the College catalogue for that
year. Her husband was the founder of the Waterman Steamship Cor-
poration, and from him she inherited considerable wealth which she
used in many benefactions, principally those dealing with child welfare
or stemming from the Church. She was elected a trustee of Agnes Scott
in 1947 and served until her death in 1953. She was constantly "boost-
ing" her alma mater. For that matter, the President of the College,
received from her a letter written the day before she died which said in
part: "Any news of progress is of interest to me, and I am always di-
recting young women in your direction. In fact I am an animated 'Ad'
for Agnes Scott."
John Bulow Campbell was elected a trustee of Agnes Scott on May
21, 1926, and served continuously until his death on June 28, 1940.
During this period he held membership on several of the Board's most
active committees and for a number of years was chairman of the all-
important Finance Commiteee. A Christian businessman in the high-
est sense of that term, he was active not only in the affairs of Agnes
Scott but also in those of the Berry Schools (now Berry College), of the
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, of the University Center in Georgia,
and particularly of Columbia Theological Seminary. Indeed, it was
Mr. Campbell, more than any other person, who was instrumental in
effecting the move of the Seminary from Columbia, South Carolina,
to Decatur. He was active in three of Agnes Scott's campaigns, and in
the one of 1939-1940, the joint University Center campaign, he was the
largest subscriber who designated his pledge for Agnes Scott. So out-
standing was his service to the College that in 1943 the Trustees took
action to name the science building for him whenever it could be built
— a construction that was not to be accomplished until more than
seven years later. Mr. Campbell's great continuing contribution to
education and religion was his establishment through his will of the
John Bulow Campbell Foundation, an agency which through the
124
ensuing years has been one of Agnes Scott's most supportive friends.
When the John Bulow Campbell Science Hall was dedicated on Octo-
ber 23, 1951, one of the speakers on the program was Agnes Scott
Trustee John A. Sibley. Here is part of what he said about Mr. Camp-
bell:
I consider it a privilege to speak here today. My talk will be in
the nature not of eulogy but of testimony about the life of a friend.
I have had a rather broad acquaintance with men, some of them
of unusual endowments and talents. I have had occasion to speak
of the character and accomplishments of many of them in terms of
sincere admiration.
Yet, in describing the life of John Bulow Campbell, the life that
we are here to honor today, I will use some words that I have never
used before in describing the quality of other men.
In fact, I will use a vocabulary that is almost obsolete even
among the scholarly and the learned.
When have you heard it said of a man that he was God's noble-
man, that he possessed that elevation of mind and spirit that we
associate with nobility? When have you heard it said of a man that
his life was characterized by purity, meaning that he was free from
the taint and suggestion of evil? When have you heard it said of a
man that he had great natural dignity, meaning that his bearing
reflects those innate qualities of mind and soul that command the
respect of all?
We are not living or thinking or speaking in such terms today.
Our lives and our thoughts are on a different and lower plane and
our manner of speech is adjusted to our lives.
But I am glad I knew a man to whose life these great words are
appropriate.
I can testify with truth and sincerity that John Bulow Camp-
bell's life was noble, was pure, traits which were reflected in his
great dignity of bearing and person.
When I meet a man who has these rare qualities I always want to
know why the difference between such a man and others.
In the case of John Bulow Campbell the answer is simple.
He believed in a living and loving God. He knew that he did not
have to walk the pathway of life alone; every step of the way he
had the companionship and the guiding hands of the Master. The
light of truth revealed in the Holy Word illuminated his pathway.
Now I want to turn to the vocabulary of today in describing the
qualities of the men we know. We say that a man is a great success,
that he is honest, able, courageous, and constructive; that he is a
good citizen. Those are significant and meaningful words. They
are the measure or the standard by which we judge men today.
They are the vocabulary of the modern man.
Each of those words is applicable to the life of John Bulow
125
Campbell. He had marked success in business, he was able,
honest, and constructive. He abhorred things that caused failure
to men and institutions, extravagance, waste, and self-indulgence.
He required high standards of performance of himself and of
others and would countenance nothing less. He was careful,
frugal, and industrious.
He had a keen sense of values, material, human and spiritual. I
have known many men who had the sense of material values.
Seldom have I known the same man who equally understood
material, human and spiritual values.
John Bulow Campbell was such a man. He knew the interde-
pendence of material, human and spiritual values. And he knew
that to achieve stability and permanence, material values must be
sustained and supported by human and spiritual values. Upon the
foundation of such qualities his success in life was built.
John Bulow Campbell's philosophy of life, his allegiance to
God, his desire to serve his fellowman, led him to consider himself
a trustee of the things he had accumulated and possessed. During
his life he administered his affairs as a good trustee, using his
talents and his wealth to help institutions and causes that honor
God and serve men.
In his Last Will and Testament he made the solemn declaration:
"There is nothing more worthwhile or of more lasting benefit to
humanity than the development and preservation of a love for
Jesus Christ. "
In that great document he established a trust and foundation
that is to be administered in the interest of those causes that honor
God and serve men.
Not only religion but public health, education, public welfare
are all included within the scope of his benevolences.
Through his life and through the foundation that he created the
develoment of an entire section of the country has been advanced.
The arm of the church has been made more far reaching; the
standards of education have been improved in our institutions;
the suffering of the weak and the helpless has been relieved; the
processes that make for new wealth have been stimulated; all these
things will continue for years to come and I hope in perpetuity.
As President McCain approached the close of his administration, he
decided to lift the ban on smoking which had been in force on the cam-
pus from the beginning in 1889. This action in no way implied that he
approved of smoking — far from it. This writer's contacts with Dr.
McCain over a period of years were convincing that he was thoroughly
opposed to smoking — especially in women. For that matter, in the
early 1930's, the College published a small pamphlet in which the
President explained why Agnes Scott prohibited smoking on the
26
campus. However, Dr. McCain was also a realist, and by 1950 it was
evident to him that sooner or later the smoking ban would be lifted;
thus, so that the responsibility for making this change would not rest
on his successor, he took the necessary action himself. Lest anyone
think that smoking immediately became campus-wide, it should be
said that lifting the ban meant that one could smoke in the basement of
the Hub (Murphey Candler Building) and there only — nowhere else,
an arrangement which continued for a number of years thereafter
before smoking was permitted elsewhere on the campus.
On April 9, 1951, James Ross McCain was seventy years old, and
under the rules of the Board of Trustees his retirement became manda-
tory on June 30 of that year. This birthday was celebrated with a sur-
prise party in the new Letitia Pate Evans Dining Hall. Every consti-
tuency of the College was represented in this recognition of Agnes
Scott's long-time leader. President-elect Alson presided; John Flint,
who had worked at the College since 1910, was the bearer of the lighted
birthday cake; the President-elect made the formal announcement of
the McCain Entrance on College Avenue — a tribute given by Mrs.
Frances Winship Walters; John A. Sibley brought greetings from the
Board and announced that the Trustees had named the library in
honor of President McCain; Dean S.G. Stukes presented a book list-
ing the names of those who had established the McCain Library Fund,
the income from which was to purchase books; Miss Eleanor N. Hut-
chens, Alumnae Director, presented the honoree with a bound volume
of 1,000 letters from wellwishers everywhere; George Winship on
behalf of a group of friends gave Dr. McCain the keys to a new auto-
mobile; Professor Emma May Laney spoke in tribute from the faculty;
and Mrs. Catherine Baker Matthews, President of th Alumnae Asso-
ciation, brought greetings from that group. The students sang an
original song which recalled Dr. McCain's many years at Agnes Scott.
The whole program was recorded for Mrs. McCain, who for reasons of
health was unable to be present. The day was a high event in Agnes
Scott's history.
One of the greatest honors to be accorded President McCain came
in the last month of his tenure as President. In June, 1951, he was
elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States — the highest honor that this denomina-
tion can accord to any person.
In Book IV, Section VIII, of John Brown's Body, Stephen Vincent
Benet writes of the Army of Northern Virginia. One of the vignettes
127
which Benet gives is of Stonewall Jackson, and about halfway through
this portrait are two arresting lines which not only are applicable to
Jackson but also epitomize James Ross McCain — at least in this
writer's judgment. Here are the lines:
The skilled man, utterly sure of his own skill
And taking no nonsense about it from the unskilled.
Such was President McCain. This it not to say that he was not kind and
sympathetic, for indeed he was. However, he was a man who was able
to do his own thinking, make his own decisions, and then act. For
more than a quarter of a century he dominated Agnes Scott. He did the
planning and supervised the execution of his plans. So confident was
the Board of Trustees in his abilities that there is no record that they
ever questioned his leadership. Dr. McCain was mild-mannered, but
aloof. He was usually terse and direct, but when the occasion called for
it, he could be as subtle as Machiavelli. He had an uncanny way of
getting immediately to the heart of a problem and of grappling with it.
He had iron self-control and led a life of disciplined simplicity. Once a
matter was decided, he closed the door on it and did not drag its weight
into the next problem. Fortunately, he had abounding good health,
else he could never have discharged the numerous responsibilities he
took on. Aside from his devotion to Agnes Scott, he was in the fore-
front of many other endeavors. He was probably the most highly
respected and effective layman in his denomination for almost half a
century. He was in the vanguard of every worthwhile community en-
deavor, and the mere mention of his name was an open sesame to many
a business inner sanctum. His leadership in southern education is
legendary. As leader of the committee on reports of the Commission
on Higher Education of the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools, he perhaps did more than any other single person to raise
institutional academic qualifications in the South.
During his administration at Agnes Scott, the endowment tripled;
the worth of buildings and grounds multiplied more than eight times;
annual income rose from $265,000 to $600,000, and salaries increased
from $85,000 annually to $298,000.
No thoughtful person would ever say that Dr. McCain was a scholar.
He had an excellent mind, but his interests were administrative. At the
same time, he was a consistent champion of high academic standards
and demanded that Agnes Scott be at the forefront of educational
excellence. In 1965 President Alston wrote as follows: "Dr. McCain in
128
the years from 1923 to the date of his retirement in 1951 remarkably
developed Agnes Scott, lifting it into the front rank of colleges for
women in America. With courage, unselfishness, and clear-headed-
ness, he did more than any one person to shape the character of the
college. He was brought to the college to lead — and he led!"
He was a man who sincerely believed in God, whose prayer life was
meaningful, and who took his faith into every decision. For him the
circumstance that Agnes Scott was founded for the glory of God had
real significance. Likewise the fact that the College was an educational
institution had similar significance. He saw no barrier to merging on
this campus both of these emphases, and the thrust of his presidency
with all its material accomplishments was to unite the Christian faith
and academic excellence in one dynamic, viable whole. It is appropri-
ate that the years of his administration be called the McCain Era.
129
Chapter 4
GIRDING FOR GREATNESS
When in 1973 Wallace McPherson Alston retired from the
presidency of Agnes Scott College after having served in that office for
twenty-two years (1951-1973), he could look back on almost a quarter
of a century of unsurpassed achievement. In a very real sense the Agnes
Scott of 1973 was the creation of Wallace Alston. Of course, he
received from his predecessors an excellent foundation on which to
build, but the remarkable way in which, during his administration, he
personally molded every aspect of the College was indeed significant.
Over 75% of the trustees in office in 1973 had been elected during
President Alston's administration, and he had been a leading
participant in the choice of each one. At the time of his retirement
every major administrative officer had been selected for and installed
in his or her position by him. Every secretary and clerical person had
been employed by him, and 84% of the faculty had been engaged
during his administration. In each instance he had made the final
decision on each one.
During the years of his presidency, the number in the faculty
increased from fifty-seven to more than eighty-five. In 1973 the
endowment (book value) was more than twelve times larger than when
he took office. The value of buildings, land, and equipment increased
by almost $7,000,000 under his leadership, and the size of the campus
doubled. Moreover, the number of students rose by approximately
35% between 1951 and 1973.
Ralph Waldo Emerson in "Self-Reliance" wrote that" An institution
is the lengthened shadow of one man." Agnes Scott in 1973 was the
"lengthened shadow" of Wallace McPherson Alston. Who was this
remarkable man, and what is the record of his administration at Agnes
Scott? This account now directs itself to answering these questions.
Wallace Alston was born at 184 South Candler Street, Decatur,
Georgia, on July 16, 1906, just across the street from the Agnes Scott
campus. His mother, the former Mary McPherson, had attended
Agnes Scott Institute in 1891-1892, and the future president was
named for his maternal grandfather, Wallace McPherson, who lived in
130
Decatur when his daughter was enrolled at the Institute. President
Alston's father, Robert Augustus Alston, was a local business man
who was born in the same house as his son. Young Wallace grew up in
Decatur and as a boy played on the Agnes Scott campus. He has
laughingly observed that on more than one occasion he was chased off
the campus by the night watchman. In 1924 he entered Emory
University, from which he subsequently received both the B. A. and the
M. A. degrees. Emory did not have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa when
Wallace graduated, but in 1944 his alma mater elected him to alumni
membership in this prestigious society. He is also a member of
Omicron Delta Kappa. Because of need for funds, he interrupted his
college career to teach in Avondale Estates, Georgia, where he served
as principal of the high school. In 1929 he entered Columbia
Theological Seminary and received his B.D. degree there in 1931.
During this period at Columbia he also did some part-time teaching in
New Testament Greek. On April 29, 1931, the Presbytery of Atlanta
ordained Wallace Alston to the Presbyterian ministry and thus began
one of the most distinguished ministerial careers of any person ever
ordained by that demonination — a career that continues with great
influence even as these lines are written. President Alston's first
pastorate was in the Rock Spring Presbyterian Church of Atlanta
where he remained from 1931 to 1933. He then moved to a two-year
pastorate at the Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church in Lexington,
Kentucky, where his work was so outstanding with the students of the
University of Kentucky that he was in 1935 called to Richmond,
Virginia, to direct the youth work for the entire Presbyterian Church
in the United States. The pull of the pastorate was not to be denied,
however, and in 1938 he accepted a call to the First Presbyterian
Church of Charleston, West Virginia — then and now one of the
largest congregations of the entire denomination. After over five very
happy and fruitful years in Charleston, Wallace Alston returned to
Atlanta in 1944 to become the minister of the Druid Hills Presbyterian
Church, from which he came to Agnes Scott in 1948. In 1937 he
received his Th. M. degree from Union Theological Seminary in
Virginia and in 1943 his Th.D degree from the same institution. Thus,
President Alston holds five earned degrees including his doctorate in
theology. He also was awarded three honorary doctor's degrees from
Hampden-Sydney College, Davis and Elkins College, and Emory
University. On May 27, 1931, Wallace Alston married Madelaine
Dunseith of Agnes Scott's class of 1928. Miss Dunseith was the older
daughter of the Rev. Dr. David Arthur Dunseith, who served as an
131
Agnes Scott trustee from 1928 to 1936. President and Mrs. Alston
have two children: the Rev. Dr. Wallace McPherson Alston, Jr., who
was elected a trustee of Agnes Scott on May 11, 1979, and Mary
McNall, the wife of John O. Leslie, Jr. The Alstons have four
grandchildren. During the years at one time or another, President
Alston served in the following educational, civic, or religious groups:
DeKalb County Merit System Council
Board of Sponsors, Atlanta School of Art
Board of Directors, Georgia Association of Phi Beta Kappa
National Commission on Accrediting
President, Southern University Conference
President, The Georgia Association of Colleges
President, Southern Association of Colleges for Women
President, Presbyterian Educational Association of the South
President, Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges, Inc.
Board of Trustees, The Westminster Schools, Atlanta
Board of Trustees, the Protestant Radio and Television Center,
Inc.
Board of Trustees, Columbia Theological Seminary
Commission on Religion in Higher Education, Association of
American Colleges
Board of World Missions, Presbyterian Church, U.S.
Board of Christian Education, Presbyterian Church, U.S.
General Council, Presbyterian Church, U.S.
In 1961-1962 Wallace Alston served as Moderator of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States -- the
highest honor that that denomination can give to any person. He is
also the author of three books: The Throne Among the Shadows
(1945), Break up the Night (1947), and Mirrors of the Soul (1953).
Prior to 1951 Agnes Scott had never had a presidential
inauguration. When Dr. McCain became president in 1923, there was
some thought of having a formal inauguration, and an invitation to be
guest speaker was extended to President Emeritus M. Carey Thomas
of Bryn Mawr. In his memoirs, Dr. McCain has this comment: "Her
[Miss Thomas's] reply was characteristic of her. In effect it was, i do
have another appointment at the time you suggest, but I would not
wish to come anyway, because I feel that no man ought to be president
of a woman's college.' That put a quietus on any inauguration, and I
was glad of it," wrote Dr. McCain.
No such "quietus" was placed on President Alston's inauguration,
however, and it is remembered as one of the most significant events in
Agnes Scott's history. This writer was present, and he can testify to the
appropriateness of each aspect of the occasion. The event began on
Monday night, October 22, 1951, and continued all day on Tuesday,
132
October 23. On Monday evening President Howard Foster Lowry of
the College of Wooster gave a superb address entitled "The Time
Beyond the Tower." Dr. Eleanor N. Hutchens, '40, who was the editor
of the Agnes Scott Alumnae Quarterly in 1951, has this comment
about Dr. Lowry's speech: "This address, made on the evening before
President Alston's inauguration, was felt by many of the faculty and
students to be one of the most memorable talks ever made at Agnes
Scott. The Editor of the Quarterly, having read it four times in the
process of preparing it for the printer as well as having heard it
delivered, has been more deeply impressed with its quality and flavor
with each reading."
More than two hundred representatives of other colleges and
universities and learned societies attended the actual inauguration
itself — 48 of them being the presidents of their respective institutions.
President Sarah Gibson Blanding of Vassar College was the principal
speaker and used as her provocative subject "As a Man
Thinketh ... So Is He." At the delegates' luncheon following the
inauguration, the speaker was President Theodore Henley Jack of
Randolph-Macon Woman's College. President Jack had taught
President Alston when the latter was an undergraduate in college, and
it was particularly appropriate for him to speak from his experience to
his former student on the topic "The Task of a College President." In
the early afternoon Agnes Scott formally dedicated the John Bulow
Campbell Science Hall (see p. 124) and at 4:00 p.m. gave a reception
honoring President and Mrs. Alston.
Of course, the high point of the inauguration was President Alston's
address of acceptance. This writer still remembers the thrill that he
experienced as Wallace Alston eloquently dedicated himself and his
administration to continuing and strengthening Agnes Scott's great
heritage a heritage which he delineated as three-fold and yet
inseparable: First, Agnes Scott had always placed emphasis on the
liberal arts as the best means for equipping one to live a rich, full life.
"The type of education offered at Agnes Scott is predicated upon the
conviction that a mind trained to think is essential if life is to be
unfettered, rich and free," said the President. Secondly, quality in the
work done had always been a hallmark of Agnes Scott's academic
credo. The new President stressed the need for an aristocracy of
competence if a democratic society is to realize its potential. Finally,
the President recommitted the College to its long-standing Christian
moorings, stating unequivocally that he would have no interest in
133
being at Agnes Scott "if it were not for the fact that [the College] is
determined to remain a Christian institution, not simply in name but in
fact." Emphasis on the liberal arts, work of high quality, and an
unashamed commitment to the Christian faith — the union of these
three strands into a unified whole had been the factors which had made
Agnes Scott a distinguished College, said the new president; and as has
already been stated, he dedicated himself and his administration to
continuing and strengthening these emphases.
In the first few weeks of his administration, President Alston made
two appointments which in their excellence and permanence revealed
the uncanny judgment of people that was to characterize his
presidency. After Mr. R. B. Cunningham's retirement in 1943 from the
post of business manager, the duties of that office for the remainder of
President McCain's administration were combined with those of the
treasurer, and Mr. J.C. Tart functioned in both capacities. However,
because the new president saw the wisdom of having two posts and
because Mr. Tart was in poor health, Dr. Alston, almost immediately
upon assuming office, relieved Mr. Tart of his duties as business
manager and appointed to that position Mr. P.J. Rogers, Jr., who for
several years had been Mr. Tart's assistant. No more felicitous
appointment was ever made at Agnes Scott than was that of Mr.
Rogers, and for the next eighteen years until his sudden and untimely
death at age 48 in 1970, he functioned with amazing efficiency and
good humor in one of the most varied and difficult posts in the entire
College. The second major appointment made by President Alston
was that of Miss Laura Steele, '37, to be Agnes Scott's first director of
admissions, a position which she was to fill with marked success for the
next twenty-two years. She continued to serve also as assistant
registrar until Dean Stukes's retirement in 1957 when she became both
registrar and director of admissions. Both of these people were far
more to President Alston than mere administrators. They became his
confidants whose advice he sought and whose judgment he listened to.
Such was also true of Dean Stukes and Dean Scandrett, who were
continued in their respective offices. Indeed, during President Alston's
administration, his principal administrative officers, no matter who
they were, became a team working harmoniously with him and with
one another — each one devoted to the President and fiercely loyal to
Agnes Scott. For them, with the President setting the example, the
College became a way of life.
President Alston at the beginning of his administration
134
understandably asked President Emeritus McCain for a copy of the
College's operating budget that had been drawn for 1 95 1 - 1 952. To the
new president's surprise and astonishment, he was told by his
predecessor that Agnes Scott had no formal budget. It was known how
much was obligated for salaries and fringe benefits, and from past
experience it could be estimated what the regular recurring expenses
would be, but as for having a budget allocating specific amounts to
definite areas, there was none. Thus, one of the first innovations which
President Alston initiated at Agnes Scott was the establishment of an
annual budgeting process and the drawing of an annual budget which
was approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.
He himself all through his administration stayed at the center of the
budget-making process, and the final document was his personal
handiwork. The budget was administered by the Treasurer, but it was
created by the President. Thus, in a real sense, Dr. Alston was not only
the president but also the chief fiscal officer of the College.
As has already been set forth (see p. 100), Agnes Scott and Emory
began in 1939 a program of cooperation which proved mutually
advantageous to each institution in the ensuing years. However, by
1951-1952 a real need had developed to modify this agreement.
Consequently, in Dr. Alston's first year as President ajoint committee
was named to study the cooperative arrangements and make
recommendations for changes as necessary. Agnes Scott's
representatives on this committee were President Alston, Dean of the
Faculty S.G. Stukes, and Professor Ellen Douglass Leyburn of the
Department of English. Emory was represented by Dean of the
Faculties Ernest C. Colwell, Dean of the College Judson C. Ward, and
Professor Samuel M. Shiver of the Department of German. These six
persons worked diligently and produced a new agreement which was
ratified by each institution. Here is the new agreement:
A PLAN FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN AGNES SCOTT
COLLEGE
AND EMORY UNIVERSITY
With a frank acknowledgment of the inadequacies of their
present inter-relationship Agnes Scott College and Emory
University agree to establish a more effective pattern of
cooperation.
The goals of this cooperation are:
First, to reinforce the quality of liberal arts education;
Second, to increase the range of studies within which students
may follow their special interests;
135
Third, to use the resources of each institution for the
enrichment of the curricula rather than for unnecessary
duplication;
Fourth, to establish a community to which the members of both
faculties will belong.
I. THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COOPERATION
IT IS RECOMMENDED:
1. That in undergraduate work the objective be to give the
individual student the program most nearly conforming to
his or her need, regardless of .the institution in which the
particular courses are offered;
1 A. That each institution carry this first principle to the point of
encouraging a student to take his major subject in the other
school when to do so is to the student's advantage;
2. That in undergraduate work the institutions in consultation
allocate instruction in particular areas;
2A. That this allocation be any one of the following patterns:
Type 1: All instruction in the subject be given at only one
institution; e.g., at present Geology at Emory and
Astronomy at Agnes Scott.
Type 2: Instruction in the subject be given in both
institutions, but one institution assume a larger
responsibility than the other; e.g., at present Art at
Agnes Scott, Economics as Emory.
Type 3: Instruction in the subject be given in both
institutions with approximately equal
institutional responsibility; e.g., at present,
Education.
NOTE: Identical departments and courses where the need
exists will be maintained.
2B. That where a specific allocation of any one of these three
types is established, the pattern of major and departmental
requirements for students be worked out on a cooperative
basis;
3. That it be definitely understood that no attempt will be
made to merge the two institutions, but that each will
maintain its identity, operating under its own board of
trustees and keeping separate and distinct its assets of every
kind and such affiliations as have hitherto been maintained;
4. That each institution arrange its course offerings in such
credit-quantities that the option offered the student of
taking work in the other institution is a live option;
5. That graduate and professional degrees normally be given
by Emory;
6. That in the development of this program each school
136
recognize the desirability of admitting members of the
other's college faculty to one faculty community; and in
pursuit of this goal;
6A. That a new title (other than Visiting Professor) be adopted
for faculty teaching in the second institution;
6B. That the graduate and professional faculties at Emory admit
qualified members of the Agnes Scott faculty to participate
in their work when such participation is regarded as
desirable by the officers of the two schools;
7. That cooperation be continued between the libraries in
purchases, loans, catalogue, etc.;
8. That the institutions encourage cooperation in extra-
curricular activities;
9. That all items in the previous (1939) agreement between
Agnes Scott and Emory not here specifically restated or
revised be abrogated.
II. ALLOCATIONS
IT IS SUGGESTED:
Type 1
Geology — Astronomy
Emory Agnes Scott
1 . That each dean arrange for course offerings so scheduled as
to be easily available to students in the second school as an
option for the satisfaction of the basic science requirement;
that these courses be advertised on the second campus.
Type 1
Anthropology
Agnes Scott
2. That Agnes Scott undertake to develop instruction in
cultural anthropology.
Type 1
Librarianship
Emory
3. That efforts be exerted to make Agnes Scott students aware
of the undergraduate offerings in Library Science.
Type 2
Economics and Political Science
Emory Agnes Scott
4. That Emory assume major responsibility for the continued
development of these subjects.
Type 2
Music and Art
Agnes Scott (Emory)
5. That Agnes Scott assume a major responsibility for
instruction in Music and Art.
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Type 3
Education Modern Languages
Agnes Scott-Emory Agnes Scott-Emory
Classics Bible & Religion
Agnes Scott-Emory Agnes Scott-Emory
Philosophy
Agnes Scott-Emory
6. It is to be noted that this type of cooperation is already
functioning in Education. It is suggested that explorations
be carried out with other respective faculty groups as to the
desirability and feasibility of Type 3 allocations.
III. ADMINISTRATION
IT IS RECOMMENDED:
1. That the cooperation between the two institutions be
supervised by a Liaison Committee;
2. That the Liaison Committee be directed to review the status
of cooperation at least once a year;
3. That recommendations on major changes in or extensions
of cooperation be sent from the Liaison Committee to the
presidents of the institutions for report to their Boards;
4. That adequate notice be given by either institution of desire
to withdraw from any part of the agreement;
5. That the annual calendar be set up in consultation between
representatives of the two institutions;
6. That the schedule of course offerings be planned in the
Autumn for the following year on each campus; that each
school consult the other in the development of these plans;
and that those who are involved in the making of class
schedules and the catalogue of course offerings confer in
some established annual routine;
7. That each faculty continue to have the authority to arrange
the course of study which its students take in the other
institution (including summer work taken at Emory by
Agnes Scott students); and
That the reports on such work be sent directly to the
controlling institution.
IV. FINANCIAL
IT IS RECOMMENDED:
That one institution not charge the other for courses
taken by its students up to the level of the bachelor's degree
(except that this shall have no reference to those courses
138
taken by Agnes Scott students in the Emory summer
school);
That the Liaison Committee work toward an
approximate equivalence in the instruction which each
school provides to the other;
That the improvement of transportation between the
schools be a joint responsibility;
That Emory accept the Agnes Scott student for summer
work without a matriculation fee;
That each institution continue to give to full time faculty
members of the other the same financial consideration for
the education of their children that it gives to members of its
own faculty;
That students in one institution may use the other's
library facilities without charge.
Two excellent comments, one about the effectiveness of the old
arrangement and the other concerning the working out of the new,
were made by Professor Margret G. Trotter and Professor Ellen
Douglass Leyburn, respectively, in issues of The Agnes Scott A lumnae
Quarterly contemporary with these happenings (see XXX, No. 3 and
XXXI, No. 2). Both were highly commendatory in their appraisals.
One of the provisions in the original agreement which was dropped
from the new was that which prevented Emory from enrolling women
in its College of Arts and Sciences. In 1939 Georgia State University
was really non-existent as a college; DeKalb College did not exist, and
Oglethorpe's enrollment was not large. With Emory prevented by its
own agreement from enrolling women in its undergraduate college,
Agnes Scott was the principal institution, along with Spelman College,
where a local young woman could go to college and still live at home.
The new agreement effectively changed this circumstance and directed
Agnes Scott toward becoming increasingly a residential college with
more and more of its students coming from outside the Atlanta area.
In 1951-1952, there were 473 students — 317 residential and 156 day
students. Ten years later there were 650 students — 592 boarders and
58 day students — figures which illustrate one of the results of the new
agreement.
Student housing was rapidly becoming an acute problem at Agnes
Scott. In 1951-1952 there were only three dormitories — Main,
Rebekah Scott, and Inman — plus six cottages (Boyd, Cunningham,
Gaines, Lupton, Mary Sweet, and Ansley) accommodating 317
boarders and all full. To begin to deal with this situation, the Trustees
39
in November, 1952, authorized the construction of a new dormitory to
be known as Hopkins Hall in memory of the College's first dean. Ever
since Dean Hopkins' death, it had been planned to erect a dormitory in
her memory, and during the period 1939-1944, the alumnae raised
$100,000 for this project. Conditions occasioned by World War II
made it impossible to go forward with the building at that time, and
although the College added $25,000 to the amount raised, the post-war
rise in prices continued to prevent starting construction. By 1952 it
became apparent to the Trustees and the administration that the
building must be erected. It was estimated that this new dormitory
would cost $200,000, and although all the money was not in hand, the
Board authorized the building and named President Alston, President
Emeritus McCain, and Chairman Winship a committee to supervise
the building and the raising of the additional funds. Hopkins was
completed in time for the opening of the College in September, 1953. It
houses fifty students and a senior resident, and the total cost was
$227,205, including furnishings and landscaping. The architects were
Logan and Williams, and the builders were Barge-Thompson. The site
of the new dormitory is just north of the alumnae garden, which the
building fronts. In the summer of 1952, White House, which was no
longer used except for storage purposes, had been razed, and this
removal had made room for Hopkins Hall. It will be recalled that
White House (originally the Allen House) had formerly stood where
Main now is and that it was the building occupied by the Decatur
Female Seminary in 1889. In 1890 it had been purchased by Col.
George Washington Scott and moved to a site just north of where
Inman Hall now stands.
Hopkins Hall was officially dedicated on September 30, 1953.
President Alston presided, and the two principal addresses were made
by Dean Carrie Scandrett and President Emeritus McCain. Dean
Scandrett's topic was "My Personal Impression of Miss Hopkins,"
and Dr. McCain's address was titled "The Permanent Contribution of
Miss Nannette Hopkins to Agnes Scott."
At the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees on May 30, 1952,
President Alston, at the end of his first year in the presidency, made the
following recommendation which was unanimously adopted:
That a strong committee from our Board be appointed to advise
with me about plans for the future development of the college, and
to chart a long-range program, possibly culminating in the
seventy-fifth anniversary of the College in 1964.
140
Chairman Winship, having been authorized to appoint this
"Development" Committee, named the following persons: J. R.
McCain, chairman; George Winship, George W. Woodruff, G. L.
Westcott, Mrs. Letitia Pate Evans, Mrs. Annie Louise Harrison
Waterman, John A. Sibley, and Hal L. Smith. A year later on June 5,
1953, this committee presented its report and recommendations. No
more important action was ever taken by the Board than when it
approved this report, for by this action Agnes Scott was launched on
its Seventy-fifth Anniversary Development Program which by 1964
was to add more than $ 1 2,000,000 to the assets of the College. As set
forth in detail, this report was as follows:
AGNES SCOTTS LONG-RANGE DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM
(culminating in the observance of the seventy-fifth anniversary
of the College in 1964)
I. BUILDINGS, GROUNDS AND EQUIPMENT
Hopkins Hall — construction of new
Freshman dormitory to house fifty
students, furnish building and landscape
area adjacent to Alumnae Garden $ 225,000.
Modernization and Renovation of
Buildings — fire-proof stairs and other
improvements of Inman, Rebekah Scott
and Main 150,000.
Large Additional Dormitory to
accommodate approximately one hundred
fifty students, enabling us to discontinue
the use of cottages for student housing 575,000.
Faculty Center probably a homelike
one-story building with ample parlor and
kitchenette facilities 75,000.
Art Building classrooms, lecture rooms,
gallery, etc. 300,000.
Faculty Housing — addition of several
houses for faculty families, improvement
of faculty houses now in possession of
College, and erection of attractive unit of
faculty apartments 225,000.
Arboretum, Outdoor Amphitheatre,
Landscaping improvements on campus
(i.e. removal of cottages, old science hall,
etc.) 125,000.
141
II.
Student Center — with recreation rooms,
offices for student publications, student
activities, snack bar, etc. 300,000.
$
1,975,000.
ENDOWMENT
Scholarships
$
500,000.
Lectureships
30,000.
Frances Winship Walters Infirmary
185,000.
Letitia Pate Evans Dining Hall
500,000.
History and Political Science
500,000.
Biology
500,000.
Chemistry
500,000.
Physics
300,000.
*English
300,000.
Astronomy
250,000.
Modern Languages — French, German,
Spanish
535,000.
Classics
250,000.
Economics
200,000.
Sociology
300,000.
Anthropology
175,000.
Physical Education
325,000.
Music
500,000.
Art
500,000.
Speech
200,000.
Bible
300,000.
Philosophy
300,000.
Mathematics
300,000.
Psychology
300,000.
Education
300,000.
8,050,000.
Total
$10,025,000.
*Our English Department is our largest
and is the only department for which
considerable endowment has already been
secured.
This total goal of $10,025,000 was subsequently augmented by
$450,000 to care for a second large dormitory, so that by the time the
Anniversary Development Program moved into the intensive
campaign stage, the goal was $10,475,000. Nobody knew where this
142
money was coming from; thus, the Trustees took a "leap of faith"
based on the College's needs. The story of how this goal was more than
reached will be of concern later in this account.
As has already been pointed out, Agnes Scott in 1938 began its
honors program for particularly well qualified seniors (see pp. 1 16).
However, by the early 1950's there was a growing judgment in the
faculty that this program needed to be "opened up" so that more
students could benefit from the experience of doing independent
research. The possibility of a change was thoroughly studied by the
Curriculum Committee, and on April 1, 1953, the Academic Council
enacted a program of independent study to replace the honors
program which had served for fifteen years. One of the principal
changes in the new program was the elimination of the written and oral
examinations which had frightened some capable students away from
the honors program. Here is the program of independent study as
enacted by the Academic Council — a program which continues with
little change to the present time:
Program of Independent Study
In lieu of our present 415 and 499 courses we offer Independent
Study as course 490.
That the basis for admission to the program be a minimum of 240
merit points at the end of the second quarter of the junior year.
The Dean of Faculty will notify eligible students in the third
quarter of the junior year after prior consultation with major
departments and will advise them to consult with the major
department on the advisability of their undertaking the program
of independent study.
It is understood that the final decision as to a student's
participation in the program will rest with the major department
and that no department should feel obliged to offer independent
work when staff limitations make it inadvisable.
That the program of independent study be offered for one, two, or
three quarters and for three or five quarter hours, at the discretion
of the major department. However, under no circumstances will a
student be permitted to take more than ten hours in this program.
A student may count a maximum often hours of the independent
study beyond the present major limitations.
That a copy of the paper or other written work submitted by the
student be filed with the faculty committee supervising the
program.
143
Each department shall prescribe the methods of testing students
on the independent work. It is understood that all students will
take examinations in regular courses.
That the basis for graduation honors be as follows:
For graduation With Honor:
450 merit points, of which at least half shall be earned in the
junior and senior years, with not more than eighteen hours
below C in the entire program
OR
400 merit points, of which at least half shall be earned in the
junior and senior years, with not more than eighteen hours
below C in the entire program, and provided that a
minimum of six hours, distributed over two quarters, be
earned in independent study.
For graduation With High Honor:
450 merit points, of which at least half shall be earned in the
junior and senior years, with not more than eighteen hours
below C in the entire program, and provided a minimum of
six hours, distributed over two quarters, be earned in
independent study.
Three-year students must meet the following requirements:
For graduation With Honor:
350 merit points, of which at least two-thirds shall be earned
in the junior and senior years, with not more than eighteen
hours below C
OR
320 merit points, of which at least two-thirds shall be earned
in the junior and senior years, with not more than eighteen
hours below C in the entire program, and provided a
minimum of six hours, distributed over two quarters, be
earned in independent study.
For graduation With High Honor:
350 merit points, of which at least two-thirds shall be earned
in the junior and senior years, with not more than eighteen
hours below C, and provided a minimum of six hours,
distributed over two quarters, be earned in independent
study.
Two-year students must meet the following requirements:
For graduation With Honor:
240 merit points, with not more than nine hours below C.
OR
225 merit points, with not more than nine hours below C,
!44
and provided that a minimum of six hours, distributed over
two quarters, be earned in independent study.
Note: two-year students may not graduate With High Honor.
Every student graduating With Honor or With High Honor must
be recommended by her major department and must have been on
the honor roll at least one year, and that the junior or senior. All
graduation honors must be voted by the faculty.
That a standing committee on the program of Independent Study
be created in lieu of the present committee on the honors program.
Less than two weeks after the action establishing the program of
independent study, the faculty adopted a report which slightly altered
procedures in the determining of academic policy as far as the
curriculum was concerned.
As previously noted (see pp. 59-60), responsibility for academic
policy was, under the Board of Trustees, lodged with the Academic
Council, not with the faculty. Apparently there was some restiveness in
the faculty concerning this procedure, so much so that President
Alston appointed a special faculty committee to investigate this whole
area of academic activity and make recommendations, as appropriate.
At a faculty meeting on April 10, 1953, the following report was
submitted and adopted:
Report of the Special Committee on Academic Policy
This committee was appointed by President Alston to study the
problem of the determination of academic policy, specifically the
organization and procedure by which changes in curriculum and
academic requirements are effected, with the object of achieving
greater democracy and more general faculty participation in
policy formation. We wrote to sixteen liberal arts colleges, and
received detailed replies from all sixteen, together with printed
matter from several of them. In each of these there exists a faculty
committee, elected or appointed from the various divisions of
learning, to whom such matters are referred for study. In all
sixteen any proposed curricular changes are brought before the
entire faculty for discussion, and in fifteen of the sixteen changes
can be made only by vote of the faculty. At one of these colleges
only does final action rest in the hands of a committee.
It is the feeling of this committee that our system under which
the Curriculum Committee is the deliberative body and the
Academic Council the executive body has in the past been
somewhat less than democratic, and has not been conducive to a
lively interest in matters of curriculum on the part of those faculty
members who were not members of either of these two bodies.
145
Under our present system the constitution and functions of the
Academic Council are prescribed by the By-Laws of the trustees,
which state that the Council "shall consist of the President, the
Deans, and the heads of the various College departments," and
that "the Council shall have the power to determine the academic
policy of the College, to fix requirements for admission and for
the degree, and to approve the courses of instruction offered by
the various departments." Hence any change in the system would
require a change in the By-Laws of the trustees, and such action as
we may propose is only in the nature of suggestion or
recommendation.
The committee makes the following recommendations:
1. That the Curriculum Committee, appointed by the President
in consultation with the Committee on Committees, shall
continue as that body to which all suggestions for changes in
curriculum or academic requirements are brought, whether by the
Administration, the departments, or individual faculty members;
that this Committee shall continue to be an advisory and
deliberative body, whose function it is to consider all problems
connnected with the curriculum and to study all proposed changes
with such help from sub-committees as it may deem advisable.
2. That proposed changes in curriculum, educational policy, or
academic requirements shall be brought before the faculty for
discussion in faculty meetings before action is taken by the
Curriculum Committee, and that the faculty shall indicate by vote
where it recommends to the Academic Council that such changes
be adopted or rejected.
3. That the final decision in matters of the determination of
academic policy shall rest, as it does now, with the Academic
Council, and that this Council shall consist of the President, the
Deans, and representatives of the various academic departments,
to be appointed by the President in consultation with the
Committee on Committees.
Added by faculty action: Final decisions to be reported by
the Council to the faculty as information.
4. That the title "Head of Department" shall be changed to
"Chairman of Department," with the suggestion that in the future
a system be devised by which the chairmanship may rotate among
the members of a department.
Respectfully submitted,
Muriel Harn
George P. Hayes
S.G. Stukes
Leslie J. Gaylord
146
Two comments seem appropriate to this report: (1) The authority of
the Academic Council over academic policy remained unchanged; (2)
the term "Chairman of Department" came into use. Prior to this time
"Department Heads" were appointed, and they served until they
retired or resigned. Under the new procedure, the President could
rotate department chairmen. It should be noted, however, that for all
practical purposes this new procedure was not retroactive; thus, it took
many years for the procedure of rotating departmental chairmen to
become fully operational.
Beginning in the 1953-1954 academic year, under a grant from the
Fund for the Advancement of Education of the Ford Foundation,
Agnes Scott became a participant, along with Emory, Oglethorpe, and
the Westminster Schools, in an activity called the "Atlanta
Experiment in Articulation and Enrichment." The purpose of this
experiment, as President Alston stated in his annual report for 1953-
1 954 was "the enrichment of the curriculum in the last two years at the
Westminster Schools and the first two years of the colleges involved." A
steering committee made up of representatives from the four
institutions (Dean S.G. Stukes and Professor Emma May Laney were
Agnes Scott's members.) supervised the experiment, and subject-
matter committees from the disciplines of English, history,
mathematics, foreign languages, and science worked together to
coordinate the curricula of the institutions with the purpose of
enrichment and the elimination of duplication between the last two
years of secondary school and the first two years of college. In
addition, observers from the Atlanta, Fulton County, and DeKalb
school systems also participated. The whole experiment was designed
to last seven years before being gradually phased out. The program
was ambitious and freighted with potential, but its ultimate goals were
never fully realized. To have achieved its purposes the participating
students at Westminster would have needed to attend college at one of
the participating institutions, and no way was provided for controlling
a secondary school student's choice of college. On the plus side, the
experiment developed a more acute awareness on the part of the
secondary school and the colleges of the need to coordinate more
effectively the work of the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth
years of a young person's education.
During 1952-54, the faculty was engaged in a rather thorough self-
evaluation study of Agnes Scott College. This study was undertaken
on the recommendation of the Committee on Higher Education of the
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Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States. It was quite comprehensive in nature, involved a
sizeable number of faculty members, and preceded by approximately
ten years, the first decenial self-study subsequently required by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Something of the
scope of this study can be ascertained from the six major areas to
which it directed itself:
1. Objectives of the educational program.
2. Student clientele.
3. Adequacy of staff including levels of preparation and
compensation.
4. Adequacy of physical plant and equipment.
5. Efficiency ol business management.
6. Program of financial support.
This study involved only the faculty, and the final recommendations
went to this group. The Trustees were not brought in; thus, the effort
was not a fully definitive one. As a result of this study, several
committees were established to work with the President concerning
the size of the student body, the area of sophomore counseling, and the
adequacy of the bookstore. Also growing out of this study, the
curriculum committee was to effect an on-going program for
evaluating requirements for admission; the public relations area was to
be strengthened; a student-aid program based on need was endorsed;
the efforts to improve both faculty compensation and opportunities
for study leaves were commended; the policy of not allowing a major in
education was approved; the library committee was asked to seek to
have the library open for longer hours with trained personnel on duty;
and a strong recommendation was adopted asking for a "combination
post-office-mimeo-supply room to be operated under the supervision
of the Business Manager's office with a competent staff employee and
service throughout the day." The submitting of annual requests each
spring for departmental needs also resulted from this study. President
Alston took all these recommendations very seriously and over a
period of time found ways and means to implement them, and in many
instances far exceeded the expectations and hopes voiced in this self-
study of the early 1950Y
November 14, 1954, is a watershed date in the history of Agnes Scott
College — a date of equal importance with July 17, 1889, when the
little group first met to consider establishing a school in Decatur. On
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November 14, 1954, Mrs. Frances Winship Walters died, and by her
will Agnes Scott became the residuary legatee of her estate. At the time
of her death, Mrs. Walters1 bequest amounted to over four and a
quarter million dollars more than doubling the College's
endowment. The Walters Fund, which is maintained as a separate
entity in Agnes Scott's endowment portfolio, has today a value of over
$30,000,000. President Emeritus McCain called Mrs. Walters the
second founder of Agnes Scott — and indeed she was!
Mary Frances Winship was born in Atlanta on September 25, 1 878.
She was the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Winship and
grew up in the Inman Park section of the city. She enrolled in Agnes
Scott Institute in the autumn of 1 892 and continued for two years until
the spring of 1894. On October 2, 1900, she was married to George C.
Walters, and every evidence indicates that this union was a very happy
one. Young George Walters died after a brief illness in 1914, and
thereafter his wife remained faithful to his memory and never re-
married, living as a childless widow for forty years. Mrs. Walters made
her first gift to Agnes Scott in 1920 when she contributed $1,000 to
establish the George C. Walters Scholarship -- later augmented to
$5,000. In 1940 she gave $50,000 to set up the Frances Winship Walters
Foundation at Agnes Scott. She contributed twice toward the erection
of Hopkins Hall, provided the funds for the McCain Entrance to the
front campus, and in 1949 gave the money to build and equip the
infirmary (see p. 121). The memorial adopted by the Trustees on
December 13, 1954, reads, "She never waited to be asked for support,
but always volunteered her generous donations." In 1937 Mrs. Walters
was elected a trustee of Agnes Scott, and in 1947 the Board named her
its vice chairman, a post she filled until her death. Dr. McCain has
commented that during the dark, post-depression days, she called him
one day to encourage him by telling him that she was including Agnes
Scott in her will. However, it was the seventy-fifth anniversary
development program, projected in the first year of President Alston's
administration, that opened up for Mrs. Walters what a really
substantial legacy could do for Agnes Scott. She was an "insider" in
the group that drew up this development plan, and she apparently
caught a new vision of the kind of college her alma mater could
become, provided the necessary funds were available. As a result, she
re-wrote her will and made Agnes Scott her residuary legatee. Mrs.
Walters very wisely divided her bequest into two equal parts. One part
came immediately to the College; however, in order to receive the
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second part, Agnes Scott was required to match its corpus dollar for
dollar with new money. Meanwhile, as this matching process was
going on, the College received the income from the total legacy. Suffice
it to say, through gifts received during the seventy-fifth anniversary
campaign, Agnes Scott met the terms of the matching provisions in
full.
Two other bequests that came to Agnes Scott in the early 1950's
should be noted, particularly in that they came from faculty members.
On February 27, 1952, death came for Dr. Elizabeth Fuller Jackson,
who was a member of the Department of History from 1923 until 1952.
By the terms of Professor Jackson's will, the College was the residuary
legatee of her estate, a bequest which amounted to more than $78,000.
In like manner, Agnes Scott received the residuum from the estate of
Dr. Mary Frances Sweet who served as College Physician and
Professor of Physiology and Hygiene from 1 908 until her retirement in
1937. Until her death in 1954 she continued to live on the campus,
blessing all who had contacts with her. The resolutions adopted by the
Board of Trustees at the time of her death called her one of the "greats"
in Agnes Scott's history. By the terms of Dr. Sweet's will the College
received more than $183,000.
In late 1955 the Ford Foundation announced a gift of $210,000,000
to be distributed among America's 6 1 5 fully accredited private colleges
and universities, the amount each institution received to be
approximately that of its " 1 954-55 payroll for full-time teachers in the
Arts and Sciences. In addition, 126 carefully chosen colleges and
universities [were] given Accomplishment Grants." The statement
from the Ford Foundation concerning these 126 Accomplishment
Grant institutions reads as follows:
The colleges and universities offered grants under the latter
(Accomplishment Grant) programs are those which appear,
among the institutions of similar type in their regions, to have
made outstanding effort throughout the period since World War
II to raise the economic level of their teachers and to recognize in
other ways the central importance of the faculty in the educational
process.
Agnes Scott was understandably gratified to be the recipient of both
types of grant, the total amounting to $285,300 to be used to provide
endowment income for improving faculty salaries.
In this connection, it is interesting to note that in the first five years
of President Alston's administration the minimum salaries for each
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faculty rank increased by the following percentages: "professor, 41%,;
associate professor, 46%; assistant professor, 57.7%; instructor,
54.7%." It is not surprising then that Agnes Scott was among the 126
institutions receiving a Ford Accomplishment Grant.
Another significant step of this period was Agnes Scott's
introduction of the tests of the College Entrance Examination Board
as one of the criteria in the admission of students. In June of 1954,
Dean Stukes reported to the Trustees that all "new students accepted
thus far for 1954-1955 have taken these national examinations."
Because of the increasing number of applicants and because of the
need for housing students in facilities other than the "cottages," there
was an increasing necessity that the College build another large
dormitory. Mrs. Walters fully understood this need, and prior to her
death she had committed herself to provide the funds for this building
and had even selected its site. Thus, subsequent to her death, the
Trustees took immediate steps to carry out her plans. On December
13, 1954, the Board in a special meeting unanimously adopted this
recommendation from its Finance Committee and the administration:
In view of the College's critical need for a new dormitory and
Mrs. Walters' explicit desire and intention, the Finance Commitee
joins with the Administration of the College in making the
following recommendations to a special meeting of the Board of
Trustees called for December 13, 1954:
1. That we proceed as soon as feasible to erect and
furnish adequately the new dormitory as planned by
the Administration working with Ivy and Crook,
Architects, and Barge-Thompson, Builders.
2. That the new dormitory be named the "Frances
Winship Walters Hall," dedicated to the memory of
Mr. and Mrs. George C. Walters.
3. That the dormitory be financed by involving part or all
of the income from the Walters' estate for the period
necessary to pay for the enterprise, and that the
Officers of the College be authorized to borrow from
the Trust Company of Georgia sufficient funds to erect
the dormitory and acquire the necessary or desirable
furnishings, and to repay the same from the income of
the Walters' estate or trust.
Walters Hall was completed in time to be used at the beginning of the
1956-1957 session. Its approximate cost was $700,000. It
accommodated 146 students plus the requisite senior residents. It also
15;
provided both a suite for College guests and a large recreation area. To
make room for Walters Hall, it was necessary to raze both the Lowry
Science Hall, which was no longer used, and the Mary Sweet Cottage,
the name given to the old infirmary. The erection of Walters Hall also
permitted the College to raze both Boyd and West Lawn Cottages as
well as to convert other cottages for faculty housing and to utilize
Lupton as a faculty club.
During this same period extensive renovations were carried out in
Main, Rebekah Scott, and Inman. These rather costly renovations
were necessary to bring these three dormitories up to the standards of
the Fire Marshal of Georgia. Also as a part of general improvements,
these years saw the conversion of the boilers in the steam plant from
coal to oil and gas.
A situation freighted with tremendous significance developed in the
spring of 1956. President Alston had followed the usual practice of
inviting the baccalaureate preacher well in advance (in this instance 1 8
months). For the 1956 commencement the person selected was the
eminent theologian Nels F.S. Ferre', Professor of Philosophical
Theology in the Divinity School of Vanderbilt University. Many
months before Commencement, Professor Ferre' accepted Agnes
Scott's invitation. Some weeks prior to the Commencement season,
two long-time Trustees of the College requested that the President
cancel the invitation to Dr. Ferre' on the grounds that his beliefs,
doctrines, and writings were not theologically "sound." The demands
of these two trustees were so serious and insistent that Acting Board
Chairman George W. Woodruff (Chairman Winship was mortally ill.)
appointed a special committee "to study criticisms of the writings of
Dr. Ferre' and to consider the advisability of his appearing for his
engagement in June." At the annual meeting of the Board on May 1 1,
1956, this committee presented its findings and recommendations:
Your Committee has been informed that a request to cancel the
engagement with Dr. Nels F.S. Ferre, as Baccalaureate Speaker
for the Class of 1956, of Agnes Scott College, has been presented
to the officials of the College by two respected Trustees, by a
petition signed by sixteen alumnae and friends of the College, by
the urgent demand of a small group of interested friends in the
Atlanta area, and by a few anonymous letters and telephone calls.
It has further been informed that this request for the cancellation
of Dr. Ferre's engagement is on the grounds that he is a
blasphemer of Christ and a person unfit to appear at Agnes Scott
College. The Committee has read rather widely distributed
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pamphlets attacking the Christian theology of Dr. Nels F.S.
Ferre, which pamphlets have been cited by the above-mentioned
groups. We find them to be, in part, an attack on the National and
World Council of Churches, which Councils the pamphlets
declare to be apostate, with the specific criticism of Dr. Ferre as
one who is 'highly recommended by practically every high official'
of these Councils. We have read the quotations from Dr. Ferre's
works, set forth in these pamphlets, and have read them within the
context in which Dr. Ferre wrote them. It is our conviction that
the attacks and criticisms of these pamphlets are unjust and
misleading since the meaning of most of the statements quoted
from Dr. Ferre's writings is limited or perverted by their being
lifted out of the context in which they were originally written. We
recognize that it is easy to lift quotations from writings, which
quotations thus lifted, completely misrepresent the meaning the
author intended to convey.
We recognize that there are elements in Dr. Ferre's thinking
which may not be in complete accord with the theological position
of members of the Board, the Administration, or the Faculty of
Agnes Scott College. However, we in no way agree that Dr. Ferre
is a blasphemer of Christ, or is in any manner unfit to appear at
Agnes Scott College as a speaker. We recognize that Agnes Scott
has been, and continues to be, a Christian liberal arts college with
emphasis in its curricula and in its devotional life on evangelical
Protestant Christianity. We also recognize the long established
policy of academic freedom in which preachers and lecturers have
been, and continue to be, invited to speak on the campus of Agnes
Scott, expressing a variety of theological, educational, philo-
sophical, economic, and political points of view. We believe such a
policy of academic freedom is consistent with the position of
Agnes Scott as a Christian college and essential to the adequate
liberal arts training of our students. We reaffirm our opposition to
the view that students, in their Christian academic training, must
be protected from reading or hearing points of view not in accord
with the particular theological position of members of the Board
and Administration and of the Church with which Agnes Scott
College has been long associated.
We, therefore, recommend to the Board of Trustees of Agnes
Scott College that the Board support the Administration in its
refusal to cancel its invitation to Dr. Nels F.S. Ferre to be the
Baccalaureate Speaker for the Graduating Class of 1956.
We further recommend that the Board reaffirm its unbroken
policy of inviting to the campus lecturers and speakers who are
leaders in their respective fields of endeavor, with the confidence
that the Administration of the College will exercise all possible
wisdom and discrimination in such invitations, constantly
keeping in mind that the College exists to develop Christian
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character to the glory of God. It is specifically understood that (as
in all the past) such invitations do not imply complete
endorsement or approval of all that the lecturers or speakers have
to say.
Respectfully submitted,
(signed) J.R. McCain
(signed) John A. Sibley
(signed) Harry A. Fifield, Chairman
As an addenda to the report, Dr. Fifield, who was minister of
Atlanta's First Presbyterian Church, informed the Board that
subsequent to the completion of the report, twenty-three elders of the
Decatur Presbyterian Church had signed a petition "urging the
cancellation of Dr. Ferrers engagement." Dr. Fifield moved the
adoption of the report, and Trustee John C. Henley, III, of
Birmingham seconded the motion. After voting down a substitute
motion to rescind the invitation, the Board overwhelmingly voted to
adopt the committee's report (20 votes for — 2 against). This action by
the Trustees was a great victory for the College. It meant that Agnes
Scott was a place where all points of view might be heard and that
censorship of the choice of speakers was not to be countenanced. The
Board's action was also a ringing endorsement of confidence in
President Alston and his leadership.
All through this episode Acting Board Chairman George W.
Woodruff evidenced wisdom of the highest order. His steadying
influence on the Trustees and his fairness in approaching the whole
matter place the College forever in his debt.
On the afternoon of the day the Trustees met, the faculty held its
regular monthly meeting at which time President Alston informed the
group of the Board's action concerning the invitation to Dr. Ferre' and
shared with them the report which the Trustees had adopted. At the
conclusion of the President's summary, on motion by Professor Emma
May Laney, the faculty gave a rising vote of thanks. Subsequently, on
May 17, 1956, the faculty met voluntarily and unofficially, the
President not being in attendance, and adopted the following
resolution:
The faculty of Agnes Scott College wishes to convey to the Board
of Trustees its profound appreciation of the firm stand which the
Board has taken on the matter of the invitation to Nels F.S. Ferre'.
We all rejoice in the strong re-affirmation by the Board of the
principles of academic freedom, and we as a faculty pledge our
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continuing loyalty to the convictions expressed in the resolution
of the Board concerning the purpose and function of the College
as a liberal arts institution with an avowed Christian commitment.
We are grateful for the privilege of having our part in the life and
work of the College under such leadership as has been exercised in
this situation and look forward to continued happy relationships
under the leadership of the Board of Trustees and the President.
The committee appointed to communicate this resolution to the
Trustees consisted of Professors Emma May Laney, chairman,
Catherine S. Sims, Paul L. Garber, and Henry A. Robinson.
Prior to the Board meeting on May 1 1, 1956, Agnes Scott had no
official statement on academic freedom as applied to the faculty. At
that meeting the Trustees approved the following statement, written
by President Alston, as the College's position on academic freedom:
We are proud of a tradition that assumes and safeguards the
freedom of the faculty members to think, to speak, to write, and to
act. It is expected that faculty members will exercise this freedom
with due regard for the purposes and ideals of the College, with
common sense, and with a maturity that discriminates between
the irresponsibility of license and the responsibility of true liberty.
This particular statement of the Board was followed up by an
equally unequivocal statement by the President concerning his
conviction that faculty and staff members should support the
Christian purposes and ideals of Agnes Scott:
The faculty and staff members at Agnes Scott support
wholeheartedly the Christian ideals of the College and the
religious program that is integrated with the whole academic
procedure. The long-time policy of the College is to choose only
those who are sincerely committed to Jesus Christ as Lord and
Saviour, encouraging them to affiliate actively in the church of
their choice in this community. While it is true that the President
of the College, under the rules of the Board, is required to sign a
theological and ecclesiastical credo, there is absolutely no
theological or ecclesiastical requirement of a member of our
faculty or staff. It seems to me that this practice is in line with the
ideals and purposes of the College. It is my recommendation that
the Board reaffirm this policy and that the President be
authorized to make use of this statement [the one on academic
freedom] at his discretion. It is my firm intention, no matter how
scarce teaching personnel may become, to continue to use this
criterion (i.e. to find people committed to the Christian faith and
practice) in the selection of those who are brought to Agnes Scott.
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It is, of course, no surprise that the Trustees endorsed this practice and
intention of the President.
As has already been set forth (see p. 34), the birthday of George
Washington Scott (Februrary 22) was designated as Founder's Day at
the College. For many years this date was celebrated as a holiday;
however, the Board at its annual spring meeting of 1956 directed that
"the College discontinue Founder's Day (February 22) as a holiday,
effective in 1957, in order that the day be observed in a more significant
fashion and also to add a much needed day of class work for the winter
quarter."
On June 20, 1956, Mr. George Winship died after a long illness. He
had become a member of the Board of Trustees in 1931 and had been
elected chairman in 1938, a position he filled continuously until his
death. The official statement of appreciation of Mr. Winship is quoted
herewith in full:
GEORGE WINSHIP
The death of George Winship on June 20, 1956, removed from
Atlanta and Georgia one of our great leaders. He was in his 72nd
year, and his life had been full of service. In his own business he
had been quite successful, and he had been called to serve as
director in many other important enterprises.
He will be longest remembered in the community for his
services to the church and to several educational institutions. In
all those relations, he gave unstintingly of his time, thought,
prayers and his own personaltiy.
Agnes Scott College has the greatest cause to be thankful for
him. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for eighteen
of its most fruitful years. He was the fifth Chairman in the sixty-
seven years of the College, and one of the very best.
Mr. Winship was elected to membership on the Board on May
29, 193 1 , in the midst of the depression years. Almost immediately
he was asked to lead one of the most difficult campaigns ever
undertaken by Agnes Scott, and it was a great success. He served
as chairman of the other three large campaigns while he was a
member of the Board, and all of them exceeded their goals.
On the death of Mr. J.K. Orr, Mr. Winship was chosen as
Chairman of the Board on October 4, 1938, and continued until
the time of his death. During this period of 18 years, the assets of
the College increased from $3,500,000 to $12,500,000, and his
strong leadership was most valuable in the growth.
Among the notable buildings erected during his period as
Chairman are Presser Hall, the Infirmary, Bradley Observatory,
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Evans Dining Hall, Hopkins Hall, Campbell Science Building,
and the new Walters Dormitory. In addition, Main Building,
Inman, and Rebekah Scott were thoroughly renovated at a
greater expense than their original cost.
The trustees, faculty, students and alumnae enjoyed having Mr.
Winship as their official head. He took a real interest in all groups
and in many individuals. He was always on hand when needed,
never missing a Board meeting or any important function which
he was to share. He greeted the college community at the opening
of each session, and delivered the diplomas with a happy smile to
the graduates at commencement.
He was quick to express his appreciation of any effort in behalf
of Agnes Scott and was always steady and dependable in any time
of stress or discouragement. His connection with the College was
widely known and was a great asset to the institution. He valued
the spiritual emphases on the campus and often spoke to others of
them.
He was always modest and retiring. He was a man of faith and
of strong Christian character. His own character gave meaning to
his efforts in character-building for others. The whole Agnes Scott
family have lost a true friend and a great leader, and we will long
honor his memory.
On November 16, 1956, the Trustees in a called meeting elected Mr.
Hal L. Smith to be the sixth chairman of the Board of Trustees — a
post he was to hold until his resignation in 1973. The new chairman
was a native Atlantan and a graduate of the Georgia Institute of
Technology. At the time of his election, he was president of the John
Smith Company, one of Atlanta's major automobile dealerships — a
business which his grandfather and father had formerly headed and
over which his son presently presides. Mr. Smith was for a number of
years active in such local enterprises as the Georgia Tech National
Alumni Association, the Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross,
and the Community Chest. He also served a term as the President of
the Atlanta Rotary Club and was for many years an elder in the First
Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. He was likewise a long time director
of the Atlanta Citizens and Southern National Bank. Mrs. Smith is the
former Julia Thompson of Agnes Scotfs Class of 1931. For the next
seventeen years Hal L. Smith played a major role in everything having
to do with Agnes Scott.
At the same meeting in which the Trustees elected Mr. Smith as
chairman, the Board received a proposal from the Charles Loridans
Foundation, Inc., offering to establish at Agnes Scott the Adeline
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Arnold Loridans Chair of French in memory of the wife of Charles
Loridans. The Trustees, with great appreciation, accepted this offer,
which has been considerably augmented financially in ensuing years
by this Foundation. Mrs. Loridans graduated from Agnes Scott
Institute in 1901 and subsequently taught French in the Atlanta Public
Schools. It was very appropriate that Agnes Scott's first named
professorship should be in memory of an alumna. The Adeline Arnold
Loridans Professorship through the years has ordinarily been held by
the chairman of the Department of French.
In the spring of 1957 an important change was made in the College
calendar when Alumnae Day was shifted from commencement
weekend to a date in April. For years Alumnae Day had been on the
Saturday preceding baccalaureate Sunday and commencement
Monday. After a careful investigation by the Executive Board of the
Alumnae Association, the change of date was made. Understandably
the seniors and their parents were on "center stage" at the
commencement season. Also the returning alumnae merited full
attention. It was, therefore, very difficult for the President, the Deans,
and the faculty to concentrate appropriately on either group. The
separation of these two events has proved through the years to be a
very happy resolution of this dilemma.
After forty-four years at Agnes Scott, Dean Samuel Guerry Stukes
reached the mandatory retirement age on June 30, 1 957. Over the years
Professor Stukes filled many posts, and at the time of his retirement he
was Dean of the Faculty, Registrar, and Chairman of the Department
of Psychology. March 29 was S.G. Stukes Day! Plans for this
celebration had been in formulation since the preceding autumn, and
everybody was aware of what was planned. The celebration was a
surprise to him. A "this is your life" skit was presented in Gaines
Chapel, followed by a luncheon in Evans Dining Hall. Then, after the
luncheon, he was presented with a new automobile. The whole event
was one of great fun and appreciation for an Agnes Scott "great." The
editor of The Agnes Scott News had this comment:
"We love you, Mr. Stukes." So read the dinner napkins at a
recent festive occasion, and so run our sentiments. Never has there
been a friend so consoling, or dean so deserving of love and praise.
Six hundred strong, united in secret, then openly exultant, wejoin
to express a portion of our gratitude to one who has ever given
untiringly of himself in service to students and the college. Truly,
there will never be another S.G. Stukes!
58
Also in tribute to Dean Stukes, the Trustees established three Samuel
Guerry Stukes Scholarships. These scholarships are awarded each
year to the "three students who rank first academically in the rising
sophomore, junior, and senior classes." Receiving one of these
scholarships is obviously one of the highest honors a student can
achieve. It is highly fitting that Dean Stukes' memory is perpetuated in
academic excellence.
To fill the administrative vacancies occasioned by Professor Stukes'
retirement, the Board of Trustees, on President Alston's
recommendation, named Professor C. Benton Kline, Jr., to be Dean of
the Faculty and Miss Laura Steele to be Registrar. Professor Kline had
joined the Agnes Scott faculty in 1951 and had already proved to be
one of the most effective teachers in the College, respected and
admired by faculty and students alike. A graduate of the College of
Wooster, he received graduate degrees from Princeton Theological
Seminary and Yale, earning his Ph.D. degree from the last named
institution. Miss Steele, an Agnes Scott graduate in the class of 1937,
with a master's degree from Columbia University, was already
Director of Admissions and Assistant Registrar. She just added
another full-time job to those she already had.
A post World War II development in American higher education
was the establishment of state associations by non-tax supported
colleges to appeal jointly to business and industry for contributions to
the current operating budgets of colleges in their area. Legal
interpretations of tax statutes had given the "green light" to businesses
to make benevolent gifts from corporate earnings. Some method was,
therefore, needed to provide businesses with a unified way to make
gifts to independent higher education. The state association was the
answer. Beginning in Indiana and spreading to Ohio and then to
Pennsylvania, this idea soon caught on in many states. In fact by 1956
there were such associations in thirty-nine states. The time seemed ripe
for such an organization to be established in Georgia. Accordingly, in
the spring of 1956 representatives from the then nine accredited private
undergraduate colleges in Georgia met at Agnes Scott to initiate action
looking to a Georgia organization. As a result of this meeting and
subsequent ones, the Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges
came into being, with Agnes Scott as a founding charter member.
President Alston in his annual report for 1956-1957 wrote that the
purpose of this Foundation "is the solicitation of monetary gifts to be
shared by member institutions on a fixed formula basis (sixty percent
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on an even basis, and forty per cent prorated on the basis of
[undergraduate] enrollments at the individual institutions)." Initially
the nine presidents themselves, in teams of two, did the soliciting.
Gradually other persons, including business executives, also became
solicitors. A central office was established, and funds came in and were
distributed there. A member institution was in no way restricted in its
own fund raising activities except that solictation for funds from
businesses to support current operations had to be carried on through
the Foundation. A college, however, was completely free to solicit
businesses for capital purposes. Through the years the Georgia
Foundation for Independent College has served and continues to serve
a useful function. Agnes Scott has benefited both financially and
otherwise from this working association with its sister accredited
private colleges in the state.
The great upsurge of students desiring to go to college which
characterized the fifties and sixties was felt very markedly at Agnes
Scott. Because there were many more applying than the College could
possibly accommodate, the Admissions Committee was able to
become increasingly selective. Mention has already been made that
Agnes Scott had started using the tests of the College Entrance
Examination Board as a criterion in determining admission. In time,
the tests of the American College Testing Service were also used. In
addition to the Scholastic Aptitude Tests, Agnes Scott began early to
require three subject matter achievement tests, one of which had to be
in English. Although standardized tests were becoming an important
factor in a student's admission to Agnes Scott, the high school
transcript still was the single most important element in the decision to
admit an applicant.
Two other developments in admissions are set forth in President
Alston's annual report for 1957-1958. During that year the College
implemented the Early Decision Plan which provided for acceptance
of a limited number of "qualified" students prior to Christmas of their
senior year in high school, provided up until that time Agnes Scott was
their first and only choice of a college. This plan was being increasingly
used by leading colleges and was designed to limit multiple
applications and to reduce tension and uncertainty among good high
school students during their senior year.
At about this same time Agnes Scott also began to grant advanced
placement to entering freshman who could demonstrate proficiency in
college-level courses as a result of high school training. This plan
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reduced needless duplication but did not shorten a student's time at
Agnes Scott. It enabled her, however, to have opportunity to enrich
her college program by taking additional elective courses.
In 1957-1958 Agnes Scott became a member of the College
Scholarship Service, an agency which enabled its member institutions
to use the same standards in determining the financial need of
applicants for scholarship aid. The College Scholarship Service has
been and continues to be of tremendous assistance in enabling the
College to apportion scholarship funds equitably on the basis of need.
Too much praise cannot be accorded to Miss Laura Steele and the
Admissions Committee as they coped with the augmented number of
applications and tried to select those students who would do well at
Agnes Scott. The whole application process was conducted on a highly
personal basis. Each item of correspondence was handled in an
individual way, such that many students came to think of Miss Steele
as a real friend, deeply interested in them long before they ever entered
Agnes Scott.
The reader is aware that this section of this narrative concerns the
1950's at Agnes Scott. One of the recurring events that made this
decade memorable at the College was the annual visit of the
distinguished American poet Robert Frost. He had first been on the
campus in 1935 when, at the invitation of Professor Emma May
Laney, he had come for a single lecture. He returned again for a similar
engagement in 1940, and then beginning in 1945 he came every year
thereafter through 1962 and was already scheduled to be here in
January, 1963, the month of his death. All in all, Robert Frost visited
Agnes Scott twenty times, the last eighteen visits being of several days'
duration. While here, he would be "in residence" on campus — talking
with faculty and students, autographing books, and generally making
himself a felt presence. The high point of his visit was, of course, his
public lecture when in Gaines Chapel he "said" his poetry to standing-
room-only audiences. Beginning in 1952 and continuing until his last
visit in 1962, he was the house guest of President and Mrs. Alston, and
as a result they came to know him better than anyone else at Agnes
Scott. After Mr. Frost's death President Alston with keen insight
wrote of his recollections of the poet. These impressions may be read in
Robert Frost: Read and Remembered, published by Agnes Scott in 1976.
Shortly after Mr. Frost's first visit, he sent Professor Laney some
autographed first editions of his poems — volumes which she very
generously gave to the College library where they formed the nucleus
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of what has developed into one of the most outstanding collections of
Frost materials anywhere. The size and quality of the collection are
largely the work of Edna Hanley Byers, who was the college librarian
for thirty-seven years and whom Mr. Frost called his "indefatigable
collector.'" It is highly appropriate that upon Mrs. Byers' retirement in
1969 the College named the Robert Frost collection in her honor. One
of the College's most prized possessions is a fine portrait of the poet
painted by Ferdinand Warren, who was chairman of the Agnes Scott
Department of Art from 1950 to 1969. Mr. Frost sat for the portrait
during his visit in 1958, and the finished work was unveiled at Mr.
Frost's public lecture in 1959, the poet and the artist standing together
by the portrait at the time.
In this same period, the Superior Court of DeKalb County in
November, 1959, amended the charter of Agnes Scott College
increasing the number of trustees from twenty-seven to thirty-two by
the addition of spaces for five new corporate trustees. In all other
respects the charter remained the same.
Another development of 1959 was the establishment of a major
medical program for employees of the College. This program ranks in
importance with the retirement arrangements which had become
effective some years before. Here are the details of the major medical
recommendations that were adopted:
1. That the College enter a new Blue Cross plan — the 30 day
Preferred Contract.
2. That the College contract with Home Life Insurance
Company for a Major Medical plan on the Blue Cross base
with provisions for $200.00 deductible and $10,000
maximum.
3. That the College pay the cost of Blue Cross for all
individuals on annual contract (faculty status upon
employment; non faculty after one year service).
4. That the College pay the cost of Major Medical insurance
for the same group on the same terms.
5. That the College pay the cost of Blue Cross for families of
employees on anuual contract.
6. That the College pay the cost of Blue Cross for individual
non-contract employees with 5 years' continuous
satisfactory service as approved by the Business Manager.
7. That Employees on annual contract be given the privilege of
taking Major Medical coverage on their families under the
terms of the plan.
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8. That retired faculty and staff members who are presently
subscribing to Blue Cross be covered on the new Blue Cross.
9. That the Business Manager handle the operation of the plan,
the Treasurer providing the payments for the College's share
of costs on the required basis.
So pleased were the faculty with these new fringe benefits that official
resolutions were sent to the Board as follows:
Whereas the new program of medical insurance greatly increases
the financial and health security of the faculty and staff and their
families,
Whereas the new program of medical insurance demonstrates
once again the great concern of the Trustees for the well being of
the members of the college community,
Therefore the Faculty extends heartfelt thanks to the Trustees.
As a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown vs. Board
of Education in 1954, there was aroused, as everyone knows, much
strong feeling and resistance particularly in the deep South. Georgia
understandably was caught up in this movement so much so that as the
decade of the fifties drew to a close there seemed to be a real likelihood
that the State might abandon its program of public schools. This
whole matter was of great concern to all, and no group was more
troubled than those in the teaching profession. The Agnes Scott
faculty, although not directly affected by the Supreme Court's ruling,
was nevertheless convinced that the loss of public education would be
a tragedy of the worst sort. Thus, unofficially and as individuals,
Agnes Scott's teachers in December of 1958 prepared and signed a
statement setting forth their conviction of the importance of
preserving the public schools of Georgia. This statement was sent to
the Atlanta newspapers, and on Sunday, December 14, 1958, appeared
as a page-one article in the edition for that date. Here is the statement
with the names of its signers:
As members of the faculty of Agnes Scott College and citizens
deeply concerned for the welfare of the South, we wish to express
our earnest hope that the public schools will be preserved. We feel
that closing them would be a major disaster to that region.
We assent entirely to the warning published by the Emory
faculty of the loss in people qualified for every sort of work
demanding special training, which the suspension of public
education would cause.
Another even more far-reaching evil would be the spread of
actual illiteracy. For the past fifty years we have struggled to build
163
up the public schools in order to combat exactly this handicap and
to give every person the educational equipment to function as a
citizen in a democracy. It seems the height of folly to jeopardize
now the fruits of the struggle. The substitution of private for
public schools, haphazard at best, would work a peculiar hardship
on the children of parents with small incomes, who would be left
largely without any schooling at all. Since numerically this group
is far the largest in our population, a great proportion of our
people would have little or no education.
Furthermore, illiteracy is now a much more serious economic
handicap than it was fifty years ago, when the society of the region
was largely agrarian and much of the work was hand labor. In this
day of mechanization there are very few jobs which can be
performed by illiterates. The deterioration of the working group
because of lack of education would make a still further gap
between the per capita income of the region and that of the rest of
the nation.
We feel also that closing the schools and thus making idle a
great number of boys and girls would be inviting them to turn
their energies to mischief or more serious trouble making. This is
said in no disparagement of our young people. There is real
danger to the community in depriving any large group of its
normal fruitful occupation.
Any dislocation in our educational system would accelerate the
migration from our region of its most gifted young people. We are
just beginning to be able to hold them because of the influx of
industry, which would itself be endangered by uncertainty about
education and a supply of trained workers.
It is sometimes said that if the schools close, they can be re-
opened. But it is wishful thinking to suppose that the re-opening
would be the simple performance of opening the doors. A closing
of the schools for however brief a period would bring about the
loss of the best teachers and of many students who would never
return. Re-opening would mean starting again the whole arduous
and costly process of building up the organization and
establishing standards.
We urge, therefore, that our public schools be kept functioning
without any break in the continuity of their service, so essential to
the very life of the community.
FACULTY MEMBERS WHO SIGNED THE MANIFESTO
John Louis Adams William A. Calder
Mary Virginia Allen Kwai Sing Chang
Ruth M. Banks Anne M. Christie
Judith Berson Melissa A. Cilley
Mary L. Boney Frances Clark
Josephine Bridgman W. G. Cornelius
Edna Hanley Byers Elizabeth A. Crigler
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FACULTY MEMBERS Continued
S. L. Doerpinghaus
Mrs. Miriam K. Drucker
Florene J. Dunstan
Mrs. William C. Fox
Jay C. Fuller
Paul Leslie Garber
Julia T. Gary
Leslie J. Gaylord
Lillian R. Gilbreath
M. Kathryn Glick
Mrs. Netta E. Gray
Nancy Groseclose
Roxie Hagopian
Muriel Harn
Irene L. Harris
George P. Hayes
Richard L. Henderson
Marie Huper
C. Benton Kline, Jr.
Edward T. Ladd
Ellen Douglass Leyburn
Kay Manuel
Raymond J. Martin
Michael McDowell
Kate McKemie
W. Edward McNair
Mildred R. Mell
Timothy Miller
lone Murphy
Lillian Newman
Katherine T. Omwake
Rosemonde S. Peltz
Margaret W. Pepperdene
Margaret T. Phythian
W.B. Posey
Janef Newman Preston
George E. Rice, Jr.
Mary L. Rion
Sara Ripy
Henry A. Robinson
Anne Martha Salyerds
Carrie Scandrett
Catherine S. Sims
Anna Greene Smith
Florence E. Smith
Chloe Steel
Laura Steele
Koenraad W. Swart
Pierre Thomas
Margret G. Trotter
Sara Tucker
Merle G. Walker
Ferdinand Warren
Robert F. Westervelt
Llewellyn Wilburn
Roberta Winter
Mrs. J. Harvey Young
Elizabeth G. Zenn
Since this statement was an expression from the faculty and not of
the administration, President Alston was not asked to sign it, but his
support was a felt force as is evidenced by his reaction:
This statement, issued by members of the Agnes Scott faculty,
has my complete approval. It comes voluntarily from honest and
concerned members of the teaching profession who have
evidenced their interest in the welfare of young people by their
sacrificial and devoted service. It is a measured, realistic warning
that closing our schools will prove to be an ill-considered action,
destructive of the economic, intellectual, moral, and spiritual life
of our state.
165
Hal L. Smith, chairman of the Board of Trustees, also endorsed the
faculty's action when he issued the following comment:
The statement that came from the members of the Agnes Scott
faculty is a fine one. They have a perfect right to express their
beliefs in this manner since Agnes Scott stands for academic
freedom.
It was not inspired by the administration of the college, but is an
expression of the deep concern of the faculty members who have
signed it. Speaking solely as an individual I concur with their
position.
President Emeritus McCain, who was at the time chairman of the
Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, made this observation
about the faculty statement:
I quite approve of it. The emphasis is on a single point — the
importance to education at all levels of the public schools of the
State.
There is no group of my acquaintance better qualified to testify
on educational matters than the Agnes Scott Faculty. In academic
training, in experience, in all tests of good citizenship, in unselfish
and devoted service through teaching, and in other ways, they
have proved to be wise and helpful counselors.
Georgia's public schools were preserved. In a time of strain and
stress, Agnes Scott's teachers spoke out with conviction and courage!
In October of 1959 Agnes Scott was evaluated by a visiting team of
educators from colleges related to the Presbyterian Church in the
United States. When the visit was concluded, the Team filed its report
with the Division of Higher Education of the denominational Board of
Christian Education. The following paragraph from this report
expressed the Team's judgment of the College:
The Visitation Team concluded that the overall effectiveness of
the college program was not due to the use of special techniques or
devices, but rather to the honest administration of a simple basic
curriculum dealing with fundamental matters of learning. As one
member of the team put it, "There are no gimmicks or frills here."
An observer hoping to find some unusual educational device
responsible for the educational success of Agnes Scott would be
disappointed. At heart it is the harmonious and effective
combination of three elements: a dedicated and well trained
faculty and administration, a very carefully selected student body,
and the advantages of a splendid physical plant, including a fine
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collection of library books and scientific equipment. It was
evident in all of the discussions that the faculty and administration
of Agnes Scott College believe in a liberal arts education within
the Christian context and are dedicated to providing it for their
students in a full and rich measure. The Team was impressed with
the intelligence of the planning and the essential soundness of the
constructive measures taken by administration and faculty. The
students seemed unusually responsive to the challenge of
becoming liberally educated; those with whom members of the
Team talked were aggressive in their attitude toward the academic
program in contrast to the passivity which is felt on other
campuses. For the Agnes Scott student, "going to college" seems
to have a significantly positive and genuine meaning. The care and
foresight with which the construction of the campus buildings had
been undertaken was clearly evident. Unusually good provision
has been made in past years for equipping these buildings in the
form of ample budgets for library and scientific materials. The
present richness and variety of these collections is an eloquent
tribute to the continuing and patient efforts of those in charge of
the college program. The character of the physical plant was
impressive, but the Visitation Team came to the conclusion that in
the final analysis the real strength of Agnes Scott College rested in
the character and intelligence of those who have been responsible
for administering the policies of the school. It is to do no more
than to state a simple fact to declare that they have done a splendid
job.
From the early days of the College, instruction in speech and drama
had been a part of the curriculum of the English Department. By
action of the Trustees in May, 1 960, this area of the academic program
was established as a separate department and became the forerunner
of the present Department of Theatre.
President Alston in his report to the Board in the summer of 1960
delineated with great perception the elements that he most desired for
Agnes Scott's image. These aims and ideals and hopes were set forth in
the President's own inimitable style:
I
Our educational responsibility is to continue to offer the
bachelor of arts degree to young women in a relatively small
student body (presently 640 students).
II
We are trying to provide a rich curriculum integrating the
Christian interpretation of life with a high quality of academic
(67
work in an environment where personal relationships among
members of the educational community obtain.
Ill
We undertake to offer a liberal arts training that touches life
vitally and determinatively. We are convinced that, so far from
being visionary, vague, and unrelated to life, a liberal arts
education ought to fit young people to live with themselves; it
ought to contribute to marriage, to vocational success, and to
good citizenship; it ought to help with the highest level of
adjustment — the relationship of man with God. The type of
education offered at Agnes Scott is predicated upon the
conviction that a mind trained to think is essential if life is to be
unfettered, rich and free. Moreover, as a liberal arts college,
Agnes Scott tries to place at the disposal of the student some of the
accumulated wealth of the ages, all the while attempting to guide
the effort to acquire a working knowledge of the clues and the
tools essential to an appreciation of the intellectual and spiritual
treasures that so many are neglecting.
IV
Agnes Scott has always valued integrity in education. We have
little faith in pedagogical gadgetry and novelty. We are interested
in better teaching methods, new equipment, and certainly in
improved library and laboratory facilities; but we are convinced
that there is no substitute for the well-prepared student and the
dedicated, competently trained teacher in the educational process.
The account of Agnes Scott's rise to distinction as a college is the
story of a faculty characterized by loyalty, commitment to high
purposes and ideals, professional excellence, faithful and
sacrificial service to young people. Good teaching is the
indispensable heart and core of a great college.
V
In all of the procedures at Agnes Scott, academic and
extracurricular, we are concerned with the whole person — her
mind, her physical welfare, her social development, and her
spiritual life. We consider that we have failed a student when we
merely provide information without insight, facts with little
increase in wisdom, fragments of knowledge with no real help in
forming a whole view of reality, and stimulation of the intellect
with no compelling motivation of will and molding of character.
We believe profoundly in the validity of offering an academically
demanding program of liberal studies in a community of
Christian concern where personal relationships are both creative
and satisfying.
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VI
The confrontation of a student with the insights of the Christian
faith, with no effort at coercion but with respect for the
personality of the student (which is an essential tenet of the
Christian faith), is, we believe, an intgral part of our purpose as a
college. Christian thought and action constitute a live option for
intelligent people in a bewildering world. For a college with Agnes
Scott's background and history to be indifferent to the task of
making possible an acquaintance with classical Christianity and
an encounter with God in Christ would be unpardonable.
VII
We believe that truth is of God and is imperious; that it
transcends all attempts to codify and delimit it, all forms of
partisanship, professionalism, and propagandizing zeal; and that
it requires humility, honesty, courage, and patience of all who are
concerned to discover it (even in approximation), understand it,
and follow where it requires them to go in their thinking and
living. Freedom of inquiry in the college community is a sine qua
non. We are proud of a tradition that assumes and safeguards the
freedom of faculty members to think, to speak, to write, and to
act. It is expected that faculty members will exercise this freedom
with due regard for the purposes and ideals of the college, with
common sense, and with a maturity that discriminates between
the irresponsibility of license and the responsibility of true liberty.
So wrote the President in 1960.
Mention has already been made of Agnes Scott's Seventy-fifth
Anniversary Development Program — a program which the Board of
Trustees adopted in 1953 and which had as its goal the adding of
$ 1 0,025,000 to the College's resources by 1 964 (see pp. 1 39- 1 42). At the
annual meeting of the Trustees in May, 1 957, this goal was augmented
by $450,000 to make provisions for an additional dormitory, bringing
the 75th anniversary target to $10,475,000. By the early part of 1959,
without an intensive financial campaign, $6,500,000 of the total
anniversary goal had been realized — thanks largely to the munificent
bequest of Mrs. Frances Winship Walters in 1954. Thus, as Agnes
Scott moved to the end of the sixth decade of the twentieth century,
$4,000,000 in round figures remained to be raised, and the Trustees
officially adopted this figure on March 13, 1959. The catalyst that
finalized the goal was a conditional grant of $500,000 from an
anonymous foundation, provided Agnes Scott raise $4,000,000
between early 1959 and January 26, 1964. So, including this
anonymous conditional grant, the total amount to be raised in the
Seventy-fifth Anniversary Development Program now became
169
$11,000,000. Suffice it to say, by the College's 75th anniversary
$12,767,479 was raised — but more of this later.
Prior to entering an intensive campaign, the College engaged the
firm of Marts and Lundy of New York to conduct a fund-raising
survey to ascertain the feasibility for Agnes Scott to conduct a
financial campaign among its constituency. A representative of Marts
and Lundy conducted this survey in late 1958 not only on the campus
and in Decatur and Atlanta but also in Charlotte, North Carolina,
Richmond, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and New York, New York.
As a result of this survey, Marts and Lundy recommended in early
1959 "that Agnes Scott College begin at once to organize as fully as
possible all the fund-raising procedures which will be useful in
achieving the $4,000,000 fund to complete the 75th Anniversary
Program."
The Board of Trustees met on March 13, 1959, and
. . . unanimously voted to set the goal for the capital funds
effort of the next five years in the amount of $4,500,000. This
decision was made in view of:
a. The $4,000,000 balance to be raised in order that the
college may complete the original development
program that was begun in 1953 and
b. The conditional grant from [an anonymous]
Foundation in the amount of $500,000.
As already stated, Agnes Scott was more than successful in reaching its
anniversary goal. This account now directs itself to the way this goal
was achieved.
At the same meeting just referred to, the Trustees authorized the
Development Committee to engage Marts and Lundy, Inc., to provide
direction and assistance to the intensive campaign to be launched in
1960. On January 1 of that year Mr. William C. French, a
representative of Marts and Lundy, Inc., set up his office on the
campus and remained in residence for eighteen months until June 30,
1961. About two-thirds of the area campaigns were completed by the
time Mr. French concluded his stay at Agnes Scott, and the remainder
of these campaigns were completed in 1961 and 1962 by the present
writer, who at the time was the College's Director of Public Relations
and Development.
Initially, under Mr. French's direction, printed materials were
published, lists of prospects were compiled, mailing procedures were
170
instituted, and a campaign organization was established. Also a very
effective campaign film "Quest for Greatness" was prepared.
On invitation from President Alston, Mr. Robert Frost graciously
consented to be the honorary chairman of this financial effort. Mr.
John A Sibley, trustee of the College, and Mrs. Catherine Marshall
LeSourd, '36, trustee and well-known author, were honorary co-
chairmen; and Mr. Hal L. Smith, chairman of the Board of Trustees,
served as active chairman of the campaign. Working with Mr. Smith
were three vice chairmen: Ivan Allen, Jr., R. Howard Dobbs, Jr., and
J.R. McCain. For the Atlanta part of the campaign the chairman for
special gifts was Charles E. Thwaite, Jr., and the co-chairmen for gifts
from business and industry were I.M. Sheffield, Jr., and Paul E.
Manners. In addition, there was an overall steering committee
consisting of the following:
Ivan Allen, Jr. Atlanta, Georgia
D. Brantley Burns Knoxville, Tennessee
Marshall C. Dendy Richmond, Virginia
R. Howard Dobbs Atlanta, Georgia
Eleanor N. Hutchens, '40 Huntsville, Alabama
Mary Wallace Kirk, '11 Tuscumbia, Alabama
Isabella Wilson Lewis, '34 Decatur, Georgia
J. R. McCain Decatur, Georgia
J. R. Neal Atlanta, Georgia
Mary Warren Read, '29 Atlanta, Georgia
John A. Sibley Atlanta, Georgia
Hal L. Smith Atlanta, Georgia
William C. Wardlaw, Jr. Atlanta, Georgia
G. Lamar Westcott Dalton, Georgia
Diana Dyer Wilson, '32 Winston-Salem,
North Carolina
George W. Woodruff Atlanta, Georgia
Wallace M. Alston, ex officio Decatur, Georgia
The campaign began on the campus on April 5, 1960, under the
leadership of Professor Llewellyn Wilburn, '19, and Mary Hart
Richardson, President of the Mortar Board chapter and a member of
the class of 1960. A goal of $75,000 was set. When the campus effort
concluded on April 20, President Alston announced that the students,
faculty, staff, and other employees had subscribed approximately
$104,000. As a reward, a holiday was granted for April 25.
The campaign then proceeded to forty-five area centers scattered
over a large part of the United States, wherever there was a
171
concentration of Agnes Scott alumnae. In each instance there was an
area chairman, who, assisted by the campaign director, set up an
organization of team captains and workers. There were advance
training sessions and follow-up report sessions. The high point of each
area campaign was a dinner at which the local chairman presided, and
the campaign film was shown. President Alston attended and spoke at
every dinner except two (The death of his mother prevented him from
being present in these two instances.); Dean Carrie Scandrett
represented him at these two dinners. It was the good fortune of this
writer to attend every dinner, except one. These area campaigns were
spread over a two-year period from the spring of 1960 to the spring of
1 962. The debt of the College to these area chairmen and their workers
can only be acknowledged — never repaid. Their service to Agnes
Scott was tremendous. Here are the names of these chairmen and the
area for which each was responsible:
Celia Spiro Aidinoff, '51
Nancy Parks Anderson, '49
Augusta King Brumby, '36
Kathleen Buchanan Cabell, '47
Marion Black Cantelou, '15
Anna Marie Landress Cate, '21
Jane Puckett Chumbley, '52
Jane Crook Cunningham, '54
Susan Lawton Daugherty, '48
Ann Herman Dunwoody, '52
Frances Bitzer Edson, '25
Sarah Stansel Felts, '21
Margaret Powell Flowers, '44
Julia Grimmet Fortson, '32
Helen Claire Fox, '29
Mary Jane Knight Frazer (parent)
Sybil Annette Grant, '34
Ruth Conant Green, '32
Mary Catherine Vinsant Grymes, '46
Louise Sams Hardy, '41
Louise Hertwig Hayes, '51
Mary Helen Phillips Hearn, '49
Fannie Bachman Harris Jones, '37
Mitzi Kiser Law, '54
Marie Geraldine LeMay, '29
Marjorie Wilson Ligon, '43
Mary Jane Auld Linker, '43
New York, New York
Augusta, Georgia
Miami, Florida
Richmond, Virginia
Montgomery, Alabama
Nashville, Tennessee
Asheville, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Athens, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Birmingham, Alabama
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Thomasville, Georgia
Shreveport, Louisiana
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mobile, Alabama
Washington, D.C.
Louisville, Kentucky
Memphis, Tennessee
Jackson, Mississippi
Marietta, Georgia
College Park-
East Point, Georgia
Dalton-Rome, Georgia
Northern New Jersey
Savannah, Georgia
Greenville, South Carolina
Lynchburg, Virginia
172
Margaret Hopkins Martin, '40
Margaret Patricia Home Martin, '47
Joyce Roper McKey, '38
Elsa Jacobsen Morris, '27
Eugenia Slack Morse, '41
Ruth Anderson O'Neal, '18
Mary Louise Duffee Phillips, '44
Betty Brown Ray, '48
Mary Warren Reed, '29
Barbara Connally Rogers, '44
Helen Lane Comfort Sanders, '24
Jean Robarts Seaton, '52
Mary Amerine Stephens, '46
Louise Reid Strickler, '46
Mary Ellen Whetsell Timmons, '39
Lura Johnston Watkins, '46
Margaret Anne McMillan White, '55
Diana Dyer Wilson, '32
Jacksonville, Florida
Dallas, Texas
Orlando, Florida
Los Angeles, California
Decatur, Georgia
Raleigh-Durham,
North Carolina
Columbus, Georgia
Houston, Texas
Atlanta, Georgia
Tampa, Florida
New Orleans, Louisiana
San Francisco, California
Little Rock, Arkansas
Roanoke, Virginia
Columbia, South Carolina
Charleston, West Virginia
Knoxville, Tennessee
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Understandably, one of the most important local campaigns was
that conducted in Atlanta. After weeks of preparation and of
recruiting and training of workers, this effort was launched at a gala
dinner on February 28, 1961. The enthusiastic crowd filled the main
ballroom of the Dinkier-Plaza Hotel, with student hostesses at each
table. The College Glee Club performed with skill, and the long
speaker's table was graced by most of the Board of Trustees and their
spouses. Mr. Hal L. Smith, General Chairman of the total campaign,
presided. The high point of the evening was an address by the Hon.
John A. Sibley, long-time Agnes Scott trustee and the man considered
by thousands to be Georgia's "first citizen" at that time. Mr. Sibley
delivered an excellent speech entitled "The Unique Role of Agnes
Scott College in Education Today" and set the stage for the Atlanta
campaign, which was highly successful.
By mid-summer of 1962, when all the area campaigns had been
completed, Agnes Scott had raised $9,417,848.81 in cash and pledges
since 1953 when the Seventy-fifth Anniversary Development Program
began, with a remainder of $ 1 ,082, 1 5 1 . 1 9 to be secured by January 26,
1964, if the College was to claim the anonymous challenge grant of
$500,000. During the remaining months of 1962 and for all of 1963 a
quiet but steady effort was made with individuals, businesses, and
foundations such that, as 1964 approached, the goal was in sight. It
was decided to have the final effort on the campus. A whole new
73
generation of students from those of the campus campaign of 1960 was
now enrolled, and there were also a number of new faculty and staff
members. This time the effort was chaired by Professor Walter B.
Posey, chairman of the Department of History and Political Science,
and by Sarah Hodges, president of Mortar Board and a member of the
Class of 1 964. The campaign began on January 9, 1 964, and concluded
on January 2 1 . The goal was $64,000. On the morning of January 22 at
a Victory Convocation, President Alston announced that $83,888.98
had been raised. This amount put Agnes Scott over the top in its
eleven-year effort and enabled the College to claim in full the
anonymous challenge offer. For that matter, when the whole Seventy-
fifth Anniversary Development Program was totaled up in the
summer of 1964, it was revealed that between 1953 and 1964 the
College's assets had increased by $12,156,725.72 with $610,753.44 still
outstanding in pledges, bringing the grand total of the effort to
$12,767,479.16. Agnes Scott had won again!
While the campaign was in full progress, the College in late 1961
received its first application from a black student for admission in
September, 1962. Almost immediately thereafter, four more such
applications were received, and there were several inquiries from black
students. At this time none of these applications was complete enough
to be handled by the Admissions Committee. Convinced that the
advice of the Trustees was needed in this situation, President Alston
brought this matter before the Board's Executive Committee on
December 15, 1961. At this meeting the Committee took action
directing "That this and subsequent applications from Negro students
be acknowledged and processed in the customary manner." The
Executive Committee met again on January 4, 1962, and authorized a
sub-committee to prepare a "clarification" of Agnes Scott's policy
concerning admitting Negro students. This sub-committee consisted
of Hal L. Smith, J.R. McCain, Alex P. Gaines, John A Sibley, and
President Alston. The sub-committee's statement of clarification was
approved by the Executive Committee on February 8, 1962, and was
submitted to the full Board of Trustees on February 22 where it was
overwhelmingly endorsed. Here is the statement:
Applications for admission to Agnes Scott College are
considered on evidence of the applicant's character, academic
ability and interest, and readiness for effective participation in the
life of our relatively small Christian college community that is
largely residential. Applicants deemed best qualified on a
consideration of a combination of these factors will be admitted
without regard to their race, color, or creed.
174
Agnes Scott had never had any prohibitions against applicants on the
basis of race, color, or creed. By this policy clarification the Board of
Trustees simply re-stated what had all along been Agnes Scott's
position. The first black student was admitted in the fall of 1965; the
first black student to receive a degree from Agnes Scott graduated in
1971.
In 1959 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools began a
new procedure for evaluating its member institutions of higher
education. A college or university was required every ten years to
conduct an exhaustive in-depth self-study, followed by an evaluative
visit from a team of educators appointed by the Commission on
Higher Education of the Association. Prior to its visit, the team would
carefully review the findings and recommendations of an institution's
self-study and then spend several days at the college or university
inspecting, probing, verifying. Following such a visit, the team would
prepare a written report and recommend whether an institution's
accreditation should be continued.
In January, 1961, Agnes Scott began a detailed self-study
preparatory for a visiting team's evaluation in early 1963. Under the
leadership of Dean of the Faculty C. Benton Kline, Jr., the entire
Agnes Scott constituency — trustees, administrators, faculty,
students, alumnae — became involved. Understandably the faculty
took the leading roll in this evaluation. The results of this self-study
were published in two sizeable volumes — one the narrative report and
the other the results of questionnaires and statistics supporting the
narrative. In volume one of the report, one may read this excellent
summary of the method of the study:
Agnes Scott's Self-Study for the Southern Association has been
planned since the I.S.S.V. program was first announced. The
steering committee was appointed in the late fall of 1960 and
began to outline the procedures. Sub-committees in six areas
[purpose, financial resources, educational program, library,
faculty, student personnel] were appointed in the winter of 1961.
All committees were composed of faculty and students as well as
alumnae. These committees organized their work immediately.
Departmental self-studies were carried on in the spring of 1961,
with both faculty members and senior majors participating by
questionnaires. Special studies of the independent study program
and of the teacher-education program were made. All student
organizations made self-studies and prepared reports. The sub-
committee on purpose prepared a working statement for the use
of other sub-committees.
75
During the summer of 1961, questionnaires prepared by the
sub-committees were edited. In the fall of 1961, two long
questionnaires were filled out by faculty members — one for the
sub-committee on faculty, and one on educational program,
library, and student personnel. During the same period, two
extensive questionnaires were filled out by all students — one for
the student personnel committee, and one on educational
program and library. The reports and tabulations of these
questionnaires are available as an appendix to the Self-Study
Report. Other data were gathered from library staff and
administrative personnel. A detailed questionnaire was sent to
graduates of four classes, and a more general questionnaire to all
alumnae. The winter and early spring of 1962 were devoted to
study of data and the writing of the reports. Reports from all areas
except financial resources were reviewed by the steering
committee in the late spring of 1 962. The reports were edited in the
summer of 1962 by the chairman, although some sections were
being revised during the summer and early Fall. Final review by
the steering committee was completed in the fall of 1962 and
winter of 1963.
The visiting team arrived in February, 1963. Its members were:
John R. Hubbard, Dean of Newcomb College, Tulane University
Sara L. Healy, Dean of Women, University of Alabama
Marguerite Roberts, Dean of Westhampton College, University
of Richmond
James A. Servies, Jr., Librarian, College of William and Mary
Edwin R. Walker, President, Queens College
Dean Hubbard served as chairman of this team.
After the visit which lasted three days, the visitors prepared their
report and filed it with the Southern Association. A copy was also sent
to President Alston for such use as he chose to make of it. Needless to
say, Agnes Scott's accreditation was completely re-affirmed. For that
matter, one paragraph in the visiting committee's report well
summarizes its findings:
That Agnes Scott is a college for women is self-evident. That it
is a liberal arts college in the best sense of the term becomes
quickly evident from an examination of the curriculum leading to
the degree of Bachelor of Arts, the only degree granted. The
degree is an honest one; vocational or vocationally oriented
subjects have not made inroads into the curriculum, and every
graduate has had experience in depth in the core subject-matter
areas generally encompassed in a liberal arts program. Breadth is
assured by the distributional requirements. In brief, the
176
Committee feels that Agnes Scott is in a gratifying way pretty
largely what it sets itself out to be; it is probably a good deal more,
but there was not the slightest evidence that it is anything less.
Mention has been made earlier of the College's annual alumnae
giving program which was begun in 1944 (see pp. 1 19-120). Through
the years between 1944 and 1960, this alumnae fund developed fairly
well and brought in welcome revenue. In 1960, however, on the advice
of Agnes Scott's campaign fund-raising consultant, this annual giving
program was merged into the capital funds effort for the seventy-fifth
anniversary campaign. Thus, when the intensive phase of the capital
funds campaign was concluded, the College was confronted with the
necessity of almost beginning all over again its annual giving program.
This time the decision was made to make annual giving a program of
much larger scope than formerly. A whole series of efforts were now to
be pulled together in what was to be known as the Agnes Scott Fund.
Constituent thrusts of the Agnes Scott Fund would be directed not
only to alumnae but also to parents, friends, foundations, and business
and industry. Gradually over several years the Agnes Scott Fund
became fully operative, with class chairmen and class agents among
the alumnae and with other carefully designed appeals planned by the
Development Office. The new program has been increasingly
successful, such that for the 1 980- 1981 fiscal year the amount received
in gifts and grants for the current operating budget totaled $249,363.
In this same year (the most recent one for which figures are available)
Agnes Scott realized from gifts and grants a grand total of $ 1 ,097,4 1 9.
The Agnes Scott Fund has now become one of the basic sources of
annual revenue for the College.
In the midst of the final stages of the campaign, Mr. J.C. Tart
reached the mandatory age for retirement. His service as treasurer
spanned the period from 1914 to 1962, forty-eight years — one of the
longest tenures in Agnes Scott's history. He was succeeded by Mr.
Richard C. Bahr.
Also the summer of 1963 saw the completion of a new dormitory
named Winship Hall "in honor of the Winship family, and particularly
in grateful recognition of the distinguished service rendered to Agnes
Scott by the late George Winship, chairman of the Board during the
years 1938-1956." The building makes provision for 146 students and 3
residents and also has a large and well-appointed reception area. The
firm of Ivey and Crook served as architects, and the builder was Barge
177
and Company of Atlanta. The approximate cost including furnishings
was $700,000.
In the minutes of the Trustees' Executive Committee for May 9,
1963, there appears for the first time in the official records of the
College a reference to student agitation to have the regulations
changed concerning drinking alcoholic beverages and visiting
unchaperoned in the living quarters of men. The President reported to
the Executive Committee that questionnaires regarding these two
matters had been circulated to students, their parents, and the faculty.
Responses to these questionnaries were in hand, and the Committee
voted to ask the Board to authorize a committee to study the whole
question, including the answers to the questionnaires, and make
recommendations. The records show that this action in no way
diminished the full confidence which the Trustees had in the President
and his administration. The committee subsequently named was
chaired by Mr. Ben S. Gilmer and on August 28, 1963, brought its
report to the Executive Committee acting for the Board. The report
was unanimously adopted and was as follows:
RESOLUTION
of
Special Study Committee, Board of Trustees
Agnes Scott College
WHEREAS: The students at Agnes Scott College, through their
duly elected representatives and many as individuals on
their own behalf, have raised the question of the need for
revision in the rules of the College with respect to
consumption of alcoholic beverages and inter-visitation,
and
WHEREAS: The administration of the College did circulate a
questionnaire on this subject among the students, the
students' parents, and the faculty for the purpose of
determining the views of these groups on this question, and
WHEREAS: The Board of Trustees of Agnes Scott College
appointed a special committee composed of Trustees to
study this whole matter, and
WHEREAS: Said committee from the Board of Trustees has
reviewed the summary of returned questionnaires, many of
the individual questionnaires themselves, the rules of
personal conduct included in this inquiry and the
circumstances surrounding the need for such rules both in
the past and as conditions obtain today, now therefore be it
178
RESOLVED: That the committee of Trustees appointed to study
the rules of Agnes Scott College affecting personal conduct
of students with reference to consumption of alcoholic
beverages and inter-visitation recommend to the Board of
Trustees of the College that it strongly reaffirm the two
policies under consideration, these being
1. that Agnes Scott students are not to drink alcoholic
beverages while directly under the College's
jurisdiction;
2. that Agnes Scott students are not to visit men's living
quarters (hotels, motels, apartments, etc.) individually
or in groups (except under circumstances which, in the
judgment of the dean of students, assure adequate
protection to the students and to the good name of the
College).
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That this committee
recommends to the Board of Trustees that it support the
administration of the College in the implementation of these
policies. A suggested statement to this end follows:
The Board of Trustees recognizes that the reaffirmation
of these broad policies leaves matters of definition and
implementation as heretofore, in the hands of the
Administration, working with Student Government. Such
decisions as the meaning and extent of "the College's
jurisdiction" and "adequate protection, etc." will require
careful consideration and determination, and, under-
standably re-examination from time to time. The Board
expresses confidence in the time-honored channels of proce-
dure at Agnes Scott whereby Administration and Student
Government define and enforce college policies.
The Board is convinced that the governing body of a
college, dedicated to the service of God and committed to
the Christian education of young people, has the right and
the duty to determine the policies that are needed in order to
maintain and strengthen the college's academic, moral, and
spiritual life and witness. We regard the broad policies
covering the two matters under consideration as consistent
with the purposes and standards of Agnes Scott College. We
urge that students, prospective students, faculty and staff
members be fully informed of the Board's position on
drinking while students are under the College's jurisdiction
and on visiting in men's living quarters. Furthermore, we
expect good faith and cooperation in making these policies
effective on the part of all who comprise the college
community. Membership in Agnes Scott's academic
179
community should always be limited to those who willingly
accept the obligations as well as the advantages of such a
relationship.
Since the Trustees' action left "matters of definition and imple-
mentation ... in the hands of the Administration, working with
Student Government," President Alston set up a faculty-student-
administration committee to formulate a new statement of College
policy concerning the use of alcoholic beverages by Agnes Scott
students. The committee's statement was unanimously adopted by
Representative Council of Student Government. On May 25, 1965,
this statement was unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees
and is as follows:
POLICY REGARDING THE USE OF
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
I
Agnes Scott College does not approve the use of alcoholic
beverages by students enrolled in the College. The College
exercises full jurisdiction over the actions of students on the
campus and on other campuses in the Greater Atlanta area. The
College shares jurisdiction with parents when the student is away
from the campus. In all circumstances, the student is responsible
for her good behavior under the provisions of the Honor System.
II
Students are prohibited from the possession or use of alcoholic
beverages on the Agnes Scott campus and at any function
sponsored by Agnes Scott College or any organization within the
College.
Students are prohibited from the use of alcoholic beverages
when representing the College or any organization in the College
in the course of any official activity (conferences, debates, etc.).
The use of alcoholic beverages by visitors on the campus and
the possession of such beverages in College buildings is
prohibited. Each student is responsible for seeing that her guests
(dates, parents, etc.) abide by this regulation.
Students are prohibited from the use of alcoholic beverages on
any college or university campus in the Greater Atlanta area or at
any event sponsored by these colleges and universities or any of
their organizations (including fraternities).
Ill
Agnes Scott College recognizes that it shares with a student's
parents the responsibility for her welfare in situations not directly
180
involved with the life of the campus or of other campuses in the
Greater Atlanta area. In such situations, the College must assume
that parental authority and counsel will be honored by the student
in decisions concerning social drinking.
Agnes Scott College expects her students to uphold the laws of
the state. Under the statutes of the State of Georgia, a person
under twenty-one can legally neither buy alcoholic beverages nor
be served alcoholic drinks without written permission from her
parents for each specific occasion. When a student is away from
the College, she is expected to know and observe the laws of the
state in which she is visiting.
A student carries with her the name of the College at all times
and is expected to maintain a high standard of conduct so that her
behavior will not be subject to criticism or be in any way
deterimental to the College, her fellow students, or herself.
IV
The College places reliance upon the honor and goodjudgment
of students in their social life off campus (in the Greater Atlanta
area and when visiting in other communities). This means that the
student is expected to conduct herself in off-campus situations so
that her behavior will be above reproach. It also means that when
returning to the campus, she must be fully able to resume a
normal, responsible place in the community.
A student who abuses the College's confidence in her forfeits
the privilege of membership in the Agnes Scott student body.
Behavior contrary to the provisions of the policy stated above will
be regarded as a major offense, and the student will be subject to
suspension or expulsion from the College.
Agnes Scott's policy regarding the use of alcoholic beverages
puts major responsibility for a student's behavior in her own
hands and in the hands of her fellow students, to whom and for
whom each student has pledged her honor.
Beginning on Founder's Day, February 22, 1964, and extending
through the commencement season in the following June, Agnes Scott
celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary. The expectation of the
celebration was that its events would "point the college forward" to the
final quarter of its first century. The observance began with a
Founder's Day Thanksgiving Convocation. The scripture was Psalm
1 03 read by Mr. Alex P. Gaines, a trustee of the College and grandson
of Agnes Scott's first President; Dr. James Ross McCain, second
President of the College, gave a brief review of the College's history;
"God of the Marching Centuries" was sung. However, the high
moment of the Convocation was President Alston's prayer of
rededication. Here is that prayer:
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Almighty God, our Father, Source of our life, Inspiration of
our labors, and Goal of all our hopes and purposes -
We rejoice in the knowledge that in Thee we live, and move, and
have our being; that Thou hast created us for Thyself, so that our
hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee; and that in Thy light
we may see life clearly, and in Thy service find our freedom and
Thy purpose for us.
We offer up to Thee in this moment something that Thou hast
loved and hast committed to us in sacred stewardship — a vine of
Thine own planting, tended and nourished by Thy providential
care since the day of small beginnings.
We humbly and deliberately rededicate this college to Thy glory
and to the service of mankind in the name and spirit of Jesus
Christ. We gladly renew the vows of commitment to truth,
solemnly assumed by those who have gone before us in the work
of this institution. Grant to us, we pray, a full measure of devotion
to excellence in scholarship, to integrity of life both in and out of
the classroom, and to freedom of the mind and spirit in every
aspect of our experience as a college. Grant to us the courage to be
and to do what Thou dost expect of us. Forbid that we shall ever
be afraid of that which is high, or distinctive, or difficult. Keep us
from false pride in past achievements and from self-satisfaction
and complacency in present responsibilities. Grant that we may
continue to be dissatisfied with everything that is tawdry or
shoddy, with premature arrangements and compromises that
reduce tensions but that result in mediocrity.
Help us to live a contemporary life, willing to face new issues
and to discover new truth, holding fast that which is good out of
the past, and faithfully conserving and interpreting to young
people timeless truth and values. Grant that we may place our
obligation to Thee above every other allegiance, no matter
whether this appears to be popular or unpopular. May it please
Thee, Our Father, to sustain and strengthen our intellectual and
spiritual life so that our witness to the truth may be clear and
strong.
Accept our gratitude for every mercy of the past and present.
Accept all that we have and all that we are, and consecrate our
offering of this college to Thee that it may be acceptable as a torch
of light and a means of blessing and hope in Thy Hands for all the
tomorrows.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord — Amen.
Following the Convocation, the assemblage adjourned to Letitia Pate
Evans Dining Hall where all enjoyed a huge birthday cake.
182
Between Founder's Day and Commencement, Agnes Scott, through
the College Lecture Committee, presented to the campus and to the
metropolitan community the following series of events which were
exceedingly distinguished in scope and presentation:
LECTURE, Wednesday, February 26, by Viktor E. Frankl, head
of the neurological department at the Polyklinik Hospital at the
University of Vienna. Dr. Frankl spoke on "Man in Search for
Meaning." This distinguished Austrian psychiatrist is noted for
his development of the theory of logotherapy.
BUDAPEST STRING QUARTET, Friday, March 6. Works by
Mozart, Bartok, and Beethoven were included in a program
presented by this world-renowned musical group composed of
Joseph Reisman, Boris Kroyt, Alexander Schneider, and Mischa
Schneider.
LECTURE, Wednesday, April 1, by Margaret Mead, associate
curator of ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History
and adjunct professor of anthropology at Columbia University.
Dr. Mead's subject was "Looking a Generation Ahead."
LECTURE, Thursday, April 16, by Charles P. Taft, distinguished
son of the twenty-seventh President of the United States, and a
leading tax and trial lawyer, churchman, and statesman. Mr.
Taft's lecture had as its topic, "The European Common Market:
Threat or Opportunity?"
LECTURE, Friday, April 24, by Alice Jernigan Dowling, 1930
graduate of Agnes Scott, who has served with her husband,
Walter C. Dowling, in diplomatic posts in Oslo, Lisbon, Rome,
Rio, Vienna, Seoul, and Bonn. Mrs. Dowling was the featured
speaker of Alumnae Weekend, using the topic, "Women of
Conscience in a Changing World."
LECTURE, Tuesday, May 5, by Mark Van Doren, lecturer,
writer, and teacher. Dr. Van Doren, whose Collected Poems won
for him a Pulitzer Prize in 1940, read his poems in one of the most
delightful lectures of the entire anniversary series.
LECTURE, Monday, May 18, by Sir Charles P. Snow, British
scientist and novelist. Sir Charles and Lady Snow (Pamela
Hansford Johnson) were on the campus May 16-20, meeting with
classes and with groups of students and faculty members.
The baccalaureate preacher on June 7 was the Rev. George M.
Docherty of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in
Washington, D.C., and the commencement speaker on June 8 was the
Hon. LeRoy Collins, distinguished former governor of Florida. In
addition, on Friday, April 24, the Trustees gave a dinner in honor of
183
the area chairmen who served so admirably in the various area
campaigns held over a vast part of the United States (see pp. 171-1 72).
During the 1 963- 1 964 college year, Agnes Scott, along with fourteen
other U.S. women's colleges, became a participant in the U.S. -India
Women's College Exchange Program — an endeavor providing for an
exchange of "outstanding" teachers between women's colleges in India
and the participating institutions in the United States. The American
colleges, in addition to Agnes Scott, were Barnard, Bennett,
Connecticut, Elmira, Goucher, Hood, Mary Baldwin, Mary
Washington, Mount Holyoke, Queens, Randolph-Macon, Sweet
Briar, Western, and Wheaton. The cooperating institutions in India
were Indraprastha College (Delhi), Isabella Thoburn College
(Lucknow), Maharani's College (Bangalore), Miranda House (Delhi),
University College for Women (Hyderabad), and Women's Christian
College (Madras). The project was financed by grants from the U.S.
Department of State and from the Danforth Foundation, as well as by
the participating U.S. colleges, who provided the stipends for teachers
and administrators from India. The broad purposes of the Exchange
as stated in the promotional brochure were
To enrich the curriculum offerings in the colleges of both
countries.
To identify and cooperate in the study of common educational
concerns.
To deepen the understanding and appreciation of faculty and
students of another culture.
Agnes Scott's first visiting teacher under this program was Mrs. Aley
Thomas Philip of University College for Women in Hyderabad who
taught political science in the fall quarter of the 1965-1966 session. In
1966-1967 Professor Nancy P. Groseclose of Agnes Scott's
Department of Biology taught at Miranda House in Delhi, and Miss
Mercy Samuel of Women's Christian College in Madras was a
member of the Biology Department at Agnes Scott. Professor
Groseclose is the only Agnes Scott professor who taught in India
under this program; however, two additional visitors from India were
in the Agnes Scott faculty before this exchange program was
terminated.
Prior to 1964-1965 there was at Agnes Scott no chapter of the
American Association of University Professors. From time to time the
possibility of having such a chapter came up in faculty meetings, but
184
although President Alston consistently offered to support the
formation of a chapter, there was not enough interest in the faculty for
a group to be organized. However, during the 1964-1965 session, a
chapter was formally established and became a forum for faculty
concerns and opinions.
During the summer of 1965, the College's long-time dietitian, Mrs.
Ethel J. Hatfield, retired, and the time seemed ripe to experiment with
having a food-service organization take over providing meals for
students; thus, beginning with the 1965-1966 session and continuing
thereafter for three years Agnes Scott used the services of such an
organization — Campus Chefs, Inc., at first, and then Saga. In the
autumn of 1 968, the College returned to providing its own food service
through a college dietitian or food service manager, and Mrs. Barbara
F. Saunders began her association with Agnes Scott, a relationship
that still continues.
The Charles A. Dana Fine Arts Building was dedicated in October,
1965. Designed by John Portman of the architectural firm of Edwards
and Portman and built by the J. A. Jones Construction Company of
Charlotte, North Carolina, the building took more than a year in
construction and cost $1,100,000. The dedication took place at a
convocation on October 1 3 with the dedicatory address being given by
Mr. Richard H. Rich, Chairman of the Board of Rich's, Inc., and in
1 965 Chairman of the Board of the Atlanta Arts Alliance, Inc. The title
of his address was "The Arts in Atlanta and at Agnes Scott." Present
also were Mr. Dana and most of the trustees of the Charles A. Dana
Foundation, which had made the largest single gift toward the erection
of the building. From that day to the present, this building has been the
"show place" on the Agnes Scott campus. Perhaps it is appropriate for
the designer himself to speak about the building. Here is what John
Portman wrote in the dedicatory booklet:
To provide a building of contemporary design to house the varied
needs of the departments of art and of speech and drama at Agnes
Scott and to have this contemporary building blend comfortably
with its predominantly Gothic neighbors was the problem given
us to solve in the Charles A. Dana Fine Arts Building. The
functional requirements of the building called for painting,
sculpture and ceramics studios, a small theater for the performing
arts — primarily drama — and accompanying galleries,
classrooms and offices. In addition, it was our conviction that
since a fine arts building is dedicated by its very nature to the
185
world of creativity, the teaching environment should provide an
inspirational atmosphere for the students.
Our basic philosophy in design revolves around taking a set of
conditions and evolving an individual solution that is true to those
conditions in a natural and uninhibited way — taking the human
being and his natural reaction to space and space psychology to
create stimulating, exhilarating buildings, functioning through
the use of modulated space. The Dana Building brings back into
architecture the grand, luxurious use of space — in a legitimate
way — born of the problem — not forced or superficial.
The Dana Building is a study in the relationship of space within
space. The concrete folded plate roof over the studios evokes in a
thoroughly modern manner the spirit of other gabled roofs on
campus. The building is basically a cathedral to art, and the grand
Gothic space, which is authentically buttressed, contains the
floating platforms or studios with the gabled roof opened to the
north for light. The platforms have further been perforated to
reveal space flow and interrelated space relationships. The
columns on the exterior are expressed to reveal the buttressing of
the grand space. They are working as true buttresses.
The exterior courts have many varied uses: they provide work
areas off the sculpture and ceramics studios on the lower level,
space for sculpture displays and drama activities on the upper
level, along with rest and relaxation areas.
To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, "a wall is a wall is a wall," and
the juxtaposition of the exterior screen wall of Dana with the glass
and concrete wall inside the courtyard sets up the counterpoint
which makes the building still a part of the campus and yet a
distinct entity unto itself. The arched, corbeled, pierced brick wall
relates in a contemporary manner to the style and texture of older
buildings on the campus. Its lacyness allows the visitor, as he
approaches the building, gradually to become aware of the
excitement that lies beyond.
Another distinctly new facility of the building is the theater
which manages to combine many of the new ideas in theater
design with a spirit and feeling of the Elizabethean theater.
Designed to be used for new experimental techniques as well as
conventional productions, the stage breaks into the seating area to
provide a rare intimacy between audience and actors.
We believe the Charles A. Dana Building is a functional
building adaptable to the change and growth that lie ahead. We
are very pleased that the building has a quiet repose in its
surroundings and solves the problem without compromising its
own integrity. It has been evolved naturally from its conditions
and speaks for itself.
John Portman/ Edwards & Portman, AIA
86
Approximately ten days later, on Sunday afternoon, October 24,
1965, Agnes Scott officially opened the Dalton Galleries in the Charles
A. Dana Fine Arts Building. Named in honor of Harry L. Dalton and
his wife, Mary Keesler Dalton, '25, of Charlotte, North Carolina, these
galleries form the central public area on the main floor of the building.
This opening event featured an exhibition of fifty-five fine paintings
which Mr. and Mrs. Dalton had given to Agnes Scott to augment the
College's permanent art collection. This Dalton Collection, along with
other art holdings, has grown through the years to a point where
Agnes Scott's permanent collection of worthwhile art has increasingly
become one of the truly enriching dimensions of the College.
Another special attraction in the building is the little theater,
designed by James Hull Miller, well-known consultant in theater
planning. The theater seats 212 on the main level and an additional 100
in a balcony. This octagonal room utilizes a thrust stage and provides a
most satisfying intimacy between performers and audience. In 1974
this theater was named in honor of Professor Roberta Powers Winter,
who taught speech and dramatic art at Agnes Scott from 1 939 to 1 974.
Amid all the physical changes that were taking place in the early
1960's, there was likewise a constant and continuing effort to improve
and enrich the academic life of the College. Illustrative of these
changes are the following sentences from the report that Dean C.
Benton Kline, Jr., made to the Trustees on May 21, 1965:
Every department has made some change in its program for the
next academic year. Significant changes have taken place in the
department of speech and drama (which now is prepared to offer a
major), in Bible, Spanish, history and political science,
mathematics, philosophy, German, and English. In mathematics,
for example, five years ago the course in freshman calculus had
twenty students; this year we had six sections of calculus and now
it will become the basic course for freshmen. There were more
students taking beginning German this fall than we had taking all
the courses offered in German four years ago. At every turn, we
must take care of students who, while probably not brighter, are
each year better prepared when they come to Agnes Scott.
As a result of the decennial self-study required of Agnes Scott in the
early sixties by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (pp.
174-176), the Board of Trustees at its annual meeting in May, 1963,
authorized a study of the structure and functions of the Board itself. A
special committee under the chairmanship of J. Davison Philips was
appointed to conduct this study. On October 12, 1965, the report of
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this committee, as amended, was adopted by the Trustees. After a
preamble, this report discussed (1) the nature of Board meetings, (2)
the role of Trustees, and (3) the Agnes Scott Trustee himself or herself.
The report concluded with a recommended revision of the bylaws of
the Board including a re-structuring of Trustee committees. This
report also left open-ended a re-study of the College's relationships
with its three Synods, a circumstance that would in a few years lead to
a complete change in these relationships (see p. 205). This action
revising the bylaws of the College was the first such revamping in a
number of years, and it was of real significance.
Quite unexpectedly, on Saturday, October 30, 1965, President
Emeritus James Ross McCain died in his eighty- fifth year. He had
seemed to be in his usual good health — the preceding spring he had
taken a trip around the world alone, and on the day before his death,
he had addressed a luncheon meeting of a civic club in Decatur and
then that same evening had attended the Ten Club of which he was the
"czar." At the time he was stricken with a fatal heart attack, he was at
his desk. Death came a few hours later in a local hospital. On Monday,
November 1 , private interment services were held in the early morning
in the Decatur Cemetery, followed at 1 1 :00 A.M. by a great memorial
service of worship in the Decatur Presbyterian Church, characterized
by the singing of Dr. McCain's favorite hymns, the reading of his
favorite scriptures, and the offering of prayers following the daily
prayer disciplines which he himself had used. The service was an
outpouring of thanksgiving for and celebration of his life and was
attended by a capacity congregation.
Two days later, on Wednesday, November 3, the College itself at its
weekly convocation held a memorial service recognizing the fifty years
that Dr. McCain had been associated with Agnes Scott. Dean
Emeritus S. Guerry Stukes read the 103rd Psalm; Dean C. Benton
Kline, Jr., offered the memorial prayer; Mr. Hal L. Smith brought a
tribute from the Board of Trustees; and President Alston gave the
memorial address.
Local newspapers editorialized on Dr. McCain's service to the
community; the Presbytery of Atlanta and the Synod of Georgia
adopted resolutions in his memory as did the Agnes Scott Board of
Trustees at its next annual meeting following his death.
President Alston in the remarkable memorial address which he gave
at the College convocation summed up Dr. McCain's greatness in
these terms:
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If I were asked to select the most impressive qualities in Dr.
McCain's character and in his service to this college, I think I
would choose four:
(1) Self-discipline was one of the secrets of Dr. McCain's
effectiveness. His was one of the most orderly, habitual,
regularized lives that I have known. If he was ever late for an
engagement, I never heard of it. We went many places together,
early and late. He was always ready and waiting, usually on his
front porch, sometimes on mine. He had learned self-control, self-
management, self-discipline; he was thereby enabled to focus his
enormous energies, even when past eighty, upon the task to which
he had given himself.
(2) A second quality of Dr. McCain's life that will stand out in
my remembrance of him was his faithfulness to his commitments.
It mattered not what they were, whether the weekly round-robin
letter to his family, Rotary attendance, some one of a score of
committee meetings that he scheduled almost every week of his
later life, or some duty undertaken for the church or the college —
Dr. McCain did what he had agreed to do. I have never known a
person who surpassed him in this respect.
(3) Another aspect of Dr. McCain's life that I have particularly
valued was the youthfulness and flexibility of his mind. He had the
ability to think, to face contemporary issues, even to change his
mind. In the past fifteen years, he and I have talked about every
conceivable thing concerning the present and the future of the
college. I have never seen him run for shelter in some shibboleth
about "the good old days." His mind had a growing edge. I came
to realize that he was probably as youthful, as receptive to change,
and as realistic a person as any who serve on the Agnes Scott
Board of Trustees.
(4) The heart of the matter, when all else has been said is that
Dr. McCain was a devout man, a genuinely dedicated Christian
gentleman. He doesn't make sense unless this is understood. God
was real to him. His faith was quite simple and uncomplicated. It
was Biblical to the core, with a strong Presbyterian accent. He
believed it and tried with every power of his being to live it. How
many times those of us who knew him have heard him close a
prayer with a phrase that to him was no cliche but rather a
summary of his faith: "in the all-prevailing name of Jesus." Dr.
McCain made everything he faced, all that he did, a matter of
prayer. When I came to Agnes Scott, I was shocked at first by the
legend that it never rained on May Day, or on one of the other
days when Agnes Scott scheduled out-of-doors events, because
Dr. McCain and the Almighty were working things out together. I
once asked him about this. He didn't claim to have anything to do
with the fact that we always had good weather on such occasions
89
but he didn't deny that he might have been in on it! He simply
shrugged his shoulders in typical fashion, took a tug at his
trousers, smiled and answered: "Well, I think the Lord will do
what He thinks is best."
A life of great consequence has been lived in our midst. This
college has been the residuary legatee of wealth — the wealth of
character, conviction, consecrated service, and faith. Let us thank
God that we have been thus favored and blessed. Let us thank God
and take courage for the days ahead!
Understandably steps were immediately taken to establish at Agnes
Scott some living, on-going memorial to the late President Emeritus.
As has already been set forth, the library was named for him and the
McCain Library Fund was established when he retired, but now it was
agreed that some new memorial was appropriate. A committee of
faculty, alumnae, and students considered various possibilities and
recommended that a fund be raised to establish the James Ross
McCain Lectureship. In a brief time students, faculty, alumnae and
other friends of Dr. McCain's contributed to make this lectureship a
reality. As these lines are written the corpus of this fund totals $30,740.
The regulations which the originating planners drew up for the
McCain Lectureship Fund were stated as follows:
The James Ross McCain Lectureship Fund is established by
students, faculty, alumnae, and friends of Agnes Scott College in
memory of President Emeritus James Ross McCain.
The income from the fund shall be used to provide a lecture or
series of lectures on some aspect of the liberal arts and sciences
with reference to the religious dimensions of human life.
Ordinarily the lecture(s) shall be given annually, but if in the
judgment of the committee it is deemed wise to omit one or more
years, the income shall be held to be used for succeeding years.
The lecturer shall be chosen by a committee composed of the
President of the College, the Dean of the Faculty, two members of
the faculty selected in the same manner as members of other
faculty committees, the President of Student Government, the
President of Christian Association, the President of Mortar
Board, and a junior designated by Representative Council.
When circumstances permit, the James Ross McCain lectures
shall be published in order that they may have wider circulation.
The announcement of lectures and any publication of them
shall carry a statement concerning James Ross McCain and his
distinguished service to Agnes Scott College and in the
educational and religious community.
As indicated above, only the income from this Lectureship would be
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used; thus, it took several years before the Fund was operative. The
first McCain Lectures were presented in February, 1972, when Agnes
Scott celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of John
Donne. The Lectureship was used again in 1974 for the observance of
the one hundredth birthday of Robert Frost. Both of these
celebrations resulted in the publication of the papers and addresses
which were presented. The Lectureship also sponsored Agnes Scott's
observance of the Bicentennial of the United States. Accordingly,
through the James Ross McCain Lectureship, the campus continues to
be reminded of this distinguished man and his dedication to
intellectual excellence.
In passing, it is perhaps appropriate to note that beginning in 1966,
baccalaureate and graduation were held on the same day instead of on
two days as formerly. Commencement now occurs on Sunday, the
baccalaureate sermon in the morning and the graduation exercises in
the early evening.
In the waning days of 1966 and the early days of 1967, Agnes Scott
endured one of the most distressing periods in its entire history. Quite
erroneously the College and its President were accused of anti-
Semitism, bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination. This whole situation
came about because it was mistakenly thought that the President had
canceled an appointment with a prospective candidate for a teaching
position because she was Jewish. The truth of the matter is that the
young woman involved never had an appointment with the President;
in fact, she had not even applied for a faculty position at Agnes Scott.
To make a long story short, the "cause" was picked up on the campus
of a neighboring institution and from there got into the press, both in
news stories and on the editorial page, and ultimately became a
concern of the Atlanta branch of the American Jewish Committee.
The situation soon became so strident that the President concluded
that the Board of Trustees needed to become involved. The Executive
Committee of the Board first considered the matter and determined
that the principle at stake was sufficiently important to be addressed
by the Board itself. Accordingly, the Trustees met in special session on
January 27, 1967, and after careful deliberation and discussion issued
a policy statement on faculty employment which re-affirmed Agnes
Scott's dual commitment to academic excellence and to the Christian
faith. Here is this policy statement:
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FACULTY POLICY
Since its inception in 1 889, Agnes Scott College has been a Christian
liberal arts college, striving for excellence in the higher education of
women. As stated in its charter, it was established for the purpose of
perpetuating and conducting a college for the higher education of
women under auspices distinctly favorable to the maintenance of
the faith and practice of the Christian religion, hut all departments
of the College shall he open alike to students of any religion or
sect, and no denominational or sectarian test shall be imposed in
the admission of students.
In order that the purposes for which the College was founded
and the principles upon which it has been operated for seventy-
eight years may be most effectively implemented, it is essential to
sustain on the campus conditions "distinctly favorable to the
maintenance of the faith and practice of the Christian religion."
The Trustees of Agnes Scott College therefore believe it is
imperative to continue to secure for the faculty of the College men
and women of the most competent scholarly training and teaching
ability who are sincerely committed to the Christian faith as it is
expressed historically in the mainstream of Christian thought and
action, and in the ecumenical nature of the contemporary
Christian church. Other than this commitment, the Trustees do
not require of faculty or administration any theological, sectarian,
or ecclesiastical preference.
So stated the Board of Trustees.
In the early 1920's the Boston firm of Cram and Ferguson submitted
to Agnes Scott a rather comprehensive campus plan. As has already
been pointed out (see p. 72), this plan, as modified by the Atlanta firm
of Edwards and Sayward, became for many years the College's guide
for campus development. By 1967, however, it was increasingly
evident that Agnes Scott needed new guidelines for further expansion.
For that matter, as far back as May, 1964, the Board had approved a
recommendation of the Buildings and Grounds Committee that the
Administration be authorized "to employ a landscape architect to
study our campus and prepare an overall plan." Meanwhile, the
neighborhood surrounding the campus — particularly to the south
and west — was in a state of rapid transition with some attendant
deterioration. Indeed, at the Board meeting on May 5, 1967, the
chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee told the Trustees
that the "most pressing matter" facing the Board "has to do with the
deterioration of the residential areas on the west and south of present
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college property." At this same meeting it was reported that Chairman
Smith and President Alston were "conferring with Mr. Clyde D.
Robbins of the Georgia Institute of Technology, a community
planning consultant, concerning the possibility of a relationship with
Agnes Scott for a limited period in order that we might have the
advantage of expert counsel in future campus expansion and
development." Approximately one month later, on June 14, 1967,
after Mr. Robbins had made a presentation to the Buildings and
Grounds Committee, this Committee recommended that the President
employ Mr. Robbins as Agnes Scott's campus planner. By October
Mr. Robbins had his findings ready for the Trustees, complete with
charts, slides, and a fourteen-page report of text and maps. The thrust
of this study was two-fold: (1) The College for the foreseeable future
would remain at its present location, seeking to serve as a stabilizing
agent in a changing community, and (2) plans for campus expansion
and development were formalized for a number of years to come based
on growth up to 1,500-2,000 students. (In 1967-1968 Agnes Scott had
760 students; thus, campus projections were based on gradually
doubling the size of the student body.) For the expanded campus the
over-all boundaries would actually be College Avenue and the Georgia
Railroad on the north, Avery Street on the east, Green Street, Kirk
Road and Oakview Road on the south, and Adams Street on the west.
This plan called for altering some streets, the development of a new
academic center across Candler Street, and the establishment of new
student residential areas not necessarily adjacent to present
dormitories. No price tag was attached to these plans, but it was
obvious that they called for greatly increased endowment and
additional investment in physical plant. All these plans required the
cooperation of the community and the local government. After the
recommendations of the "Robbins Report" were approved in principle
by the Executive Committee and the Buildings and Grounds
Committee meeting jointly on October 26, 1967, the "plan" was
publicly presented on November 2 1 at a breakfast attended by officials
of the City of Decatur, representatives of county and state boards and
agencies, other community leaders, and members of the press.
Subsequently an open hearing was held in the Winnona Park School
so that any interested member of the community might have input and
become informed. Agnes Scott constantly emphasized that the College
in all its plans was seeking to be a responsible citizen of the community
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with both collegiate and community needs sharing in paramount
importance. The first apparent result of the "Robbins Study" was a
greatly stepped-up emphasis on the acquisition of property around the
campus. Mainly through a series of generous grants from an
anonymous Atlanta foundation, Agnes Scott, over a period of a
decade following 1967, was able to acquire approximately one
hundred additional pieces of property within the perimeter of the
projected campus. These properties were not actively sought, but if a
parcel became available at a reasonable price, Agnes Scott would
purchase the piece. Once purchased, some houses were razed; some
were rented to members of the faculty and staff, and some were
handled as general rental property available to the community. Thus,
for more than ten years the "Robbins Study" was the controlling
element as Agnes Scott expanded its land-holdings and looked to the
future.
At the Trustees' meeting on May 5, 1967, Dean of the Faculty C.
Benton Kline, Jr., reported (1) that Agnes Scott was offering credits
for advanced placement courses taken in high school, (2) that juniors
and seniors were being allowed to take "a limited number of hours
outside their major field on a pass-fail basis with no letter grade or
quality points being earned," (3) that new standards had been
established for class promotion, (4) that a committee of the faculty was
looking into the use of computers at Agnes Scott and the feasibility of
"buying computer time" at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and
(5) that a committee was investigating the wisdom of eliminating
classes on Saturday. This last committee was made up of faculty and
students and was called the Committee on Academic Problems (CAP).
This committee's work was not limited, of course, just to the schedule,
but rather encompassed a large area of academic matters. By the
spring of 1968 it could be reported to the Board's Executive
Committee that both the Faculty and the Academic Council had
approved a plan for a five-day academic week on an experimental
basis. The Executive Committee approved this plan, and the Board
subsequently concurred. The five-day academic week became effective
with the 1968-1969 session. This new schedule continued fifty-minute
classes on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and,
in addition, provided for seventy-five minute classes on Tuesday and
Thursday. Understandably, only three-hour courses were affected;
five hour courses continued to meet for fifty minutes, Monday through
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Friday. The new plan proved quite satisfactory and has been
continued since.
From the student standpoint, a matter of real significance occurred
in 1 966- 1 967 when individual telephone facilities were installed in each
dormitory room. This development meant that each student could
have her own direct-line telephone if she was willing to pay the
telephone company's charges.
Quite unexpectedly in the summer of 1967, Mr. Richard C. Bahr
resigned his position as Treasurer in order to accept a post with a local
business firm. By mid-September Mr. William M. Hannah had been
appointed to this very important vacancy. During the brief interval
between Mr. Bahr's leaving and Mr. Hannah's arrival, this writer, in
addition to his other responsibilities, served as acting treasurer.
The Board of Trustees on May 17, 1968, formally adopted a new
statement on academic freedom and tenure for Agnes Scott. This
statement had been in formulation for some months. It had been
studied by the faculty and approved by the Academic Council of the
faculty and the Executive Committee of the Board. President Alston
stated that the new policy statement was "in essence" what Agnes Scott
had been following for a long time; however, the formal adoption of
this statement would affirm that the Trustees, in principle, were in
agreement with the Association of American Colleges and with the
American Association of University Professors in their positions on
academic freedom and tenure. Here is the statement as adopted by the
Board of Trustees:
Statement on Academic Freedom and Tenure
Agnes Scott College endorses in substance the 1940 Statement
on Academic Freedom and Tenure of the Association of
American Colleges and the American Association of University
Professors. The following statements of policy are designed to
fulfill the provisions of that statement.
I. Preamble
Agnes Scott College is dedicated to the free search for truth
and its free exposition.
Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies
both to teaching and research. Freedom in research is
fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic
freedom in its teaching aspect is fundamental for the
protection of the rights of the teacher in teaching and of the
student to freedom in learning. It carries with it duties
correlative with rights.
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Tenure is a means to certain ends: specifically, (1) freedom
of teaching and research and of extramural activities, and
(2) a degree of economic and professional security sufficient
to make teaching at Agnes Scott College attractive to men
and women of ability. This freedom and security, hence
tenure, are indispensable to the success of the College in
fulfilling its obligations to its students and to society.
II. Academic Freedom
1. A member of the faculty at Agnes Scott College is
entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing his
subject, but he should be careful not to introduce into
his teaching controversial matter which has no
relation to his field. While the charter of the College
states that the program of the College shall be carried
out under auspices "distinctly favorable to the
Christian faith," no limitations of academic freedom
are thereby intended.
2. A faculty member is entitled to full freedom in
research and in the publication of the results, subject
to the adequate performance of his other academic
duties; but research for monetary return shall be
undertaken only upon the consent of the President and
the Dean of Faculty.
3. The faculty member is a citizen, a member of a learned
profession, and an officer of an educational
institution. When he speaks or writes as a citizen, he is
to be free from institutional censorship or discipline,
but his special position in the community imposes
special obligations. As a man of learning and as an
educational officer, he should remember that the
public may judge his profession and his institution by
his utterances. Hence he should at all times be
accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should
show respect for the opinions of others, and should
make every effort to indicate that he is not an
institutional spokesman.
III. Appointment and Tenure
1. Tenure is not automatic but is awarded as early as
practicable following a probationary period during
which a faculty member has demonstrated his
effectiveness. At the conclusion of such a period a
member of the faculty shall have permanent or
continuous tenure, and his service shall be terminated
only for adequate cause or, under extraordinary
circumstances, because of financial exigencies.
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2. The probationary period following initial appoint-
ment on a full-time basis to the rank of instructor or
above shall not ordinarily exceed seven years.
3. The probationary period will take into consideration
full-time teaching service at other institutions of
higher education, and when such service has been for
three years or longer, the probationary period will not
ordinarily exceed four years at Agnes Scott.
4. During the probationary period the faculty member
shall be on annual contract unless otherwise provided.
In the case of non-reappointment during such period
notice of termination shall be given in writing by
March 1 of the first year or by December 15 of
succeeding years. If tenure is not to be granted, notice
shall be given one year prior to the end of the
probationary period.
5. In special circumstances, by mutual consent, annual
contracts may be continued beyond the stated
probationary period.
6. During the probationary period a faculty member
shall have the full rights of academic freedom of all
members of the Agnes Scott faculty.
7. At the close of the college session in the calendar year
in which a faculty member attains the age of 65,
permanent or continuous tenure shall terminate. By
action of the Board of Trustees the faculty member
may be approved for service on an annual basis until
the end of the session in the calendar year in which he
attains the age of 70.
8. Termination for cause of a continuous appointment or
the dismissal of a faculty member for cause prior to the
expiration of a term appointment will follow the rules
of procedure set forth by the American Association of
University Professors and accepted by the Board of
Trustees of Agnes Scott College.
9. This statement of policy on academic freedom and
tenure shall be given to each person being offered an
appointment to the faculty at the time he is offered in
writing the terms and conditions of his appointment
and shall be part of the terms of such offer and of its
acceptance.
Note: The provisions for the probationary period herein set
forth shall not be applied retroactively to faculty
members in service prior to the adoption of these
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provisions. These faculty members will come under
the statement of tenure policy previously adopted,
which sets a probationary period of four years at
Agnes Scott with the proviso for extension of annual
contracts beyond the stated period.
Even though the Trustees had on January 27, 1967, adopted a clear
policy statement on faculty employment at Agnes Scott, there
continued to be misunderstanding in some quarters, and some
Trustees themselves felt that the statement did not completely reflect
what the Board wanted it to say. Accordingly, over the next year and a
half, the Executive Committee had a running discussion of this matter
such that by early autumn of 1968, the Board of Trustees formally
adopted a revised policy statement as follows:
The Charter of Agnes Scott provides that the College was
established for the purpose of
perpetuating and conducting a college for the higher
education of women under auspices distinctly favorable to
the maintenance of the faith and practice of the Christian
religion, but all departments of the College shall be open
alike to students of any religion or sect, and no
denominational or sectarian test shall be imposed in the
admission of students.
In selecting faculty and staff, the Board of Trustees, upon
the recommendation of the President, shall elect those who can
best carry out the objectives as set forth in the Charter, giving
consideration to any person who is in accord with these purposes.
As is readily apparent, this re-statement of policy greatly broadened
the consideration to be applied in the employment of faculty and staff.
As everyone knows, the decade of the '60' s was a very difficult time
on most college and university campuses. Because of the Vietnam War
and for other reasons, student unrest was highly evident, and although
Agnes Scott was spared the upheavals that wracked some institutions,
students on this campus were not immune to the changes in attitudes
and conduct that were affecting all young people in this entire nation.
Perhaps the Agnes Scott person who was best able to assess the effects
on this campus was Dean Carrie Scandrett, whose position brought
her into almost daily contact with these changes. On September 16,
1968, Miss Scandrett addressed the Trustees, giving her reactions to
the '60's, and fortunately a summary of her remarks has been
preserved:
Our students, Miss Scandrett stated, in common with students
198
everywhere, are vocal, are questioning, are disinclined to accept
arbitrary authority. While she does not anticipate a riot on our
campus, or a disruption of the academic program of the College,
Dean Scandrett said that we must realize that students have
learned the power of protest, particularly of joint protest. We
must believe that they want the finest education they can obtain.
We must believe in them enough to talk with them openly and
frankly. Stating that she has been here since the fall of 1925, Dean
Scandrett said that Agnes Scott has always listened to students.
Students want to be here because on this campus they are people,
not numbers. Here, they have the opportunity of a fine education,
and here, they have people who care about them. Working with
student leaders today is exciting. They want to be a part of
everything at the College. While emphasizing that we must
continue to be willing to talk about any requests which students
might have, Dean Scandrett stated that as long as her position
gives her responsibility for students, she must continue to be given
the opportunity to express her convictions and her judgment on
matters under discussion. Administrative officers have a
responsibility to maintain the College, Dean Scandrett feels, and
to try to produce here women, strong in heart, mind, and soul,
who will be able to make a positive contribution to the world in
which they live.
The 1968-1969 year confronted President Alston with the necessity
of making three major administrative appointments. In the fall of 1968
Dean of the Faculty C. Benton Kline, Jr., indicated his intention to
resign effective December 31 in order to become Dean of the Faculty
and Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary. Dean
Kline, an ordained Presbyterian minister, felt that he could no longer
resist the call to give himself full-time to theological education, an area
that was increasingly engaging his interest and attention. His
resignation was deeply regretted by both faculty and students. He was
an excellent administrator as well as an exceedingly able and popular
teacher. Upon Dean Kline's resignation, the students initiated a
movement which led to the establishment of the C. Benton Kline, Jr.,
Library Fund. To fill the vacancy created by Dean Kline's resignation,
President Alston appointed Professor Julia T. Gary to be Acting Dean
of the Faculty, a post which she filled for five months until May, 1969,
when the Trustees, on the recommendation of the President and with
the concurrence of the Academic Council, elected her Dean of the
Faculty, a post she was to fill with great distinction until 1 979 when she
was named Dean of Agnes Scott College, a position which she holds as
these lines are written. Dean Gary came to Agnes Scott in 1957 as a
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member of the Department of Chemistry. In 1962 she was named
Assistant Dean of the Faculty and became Associate Dean in 1967.
Dean Gary is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman's College and
received her master's degree from Mount Holyoke College and her
Ph.D. degree from Emory University.
The second administrative appointment to be made in 1968-1969
was that of Dean of Students. Dean Scandrett had become eligible to
retire in the summer of 1967 but was persuaded to remain two
additional years, mainly because it was very difficult to find anyone to
replace her. President Alston has commented that he couldn't make
any progress at all until he realized that it was impossible to find
another Carrie Scandrett. In May, 1969, the Board of Trustees
adopted a glowing tribute to Dean Scandrett, a part of which is quoted
on pp. 348-349.
Dean Scandrett's successor was Miss Robert K. Jones who came to
Agnes Scott from the position of Associate Dean of Students at
Valdosta State College, Valdosta, Georgia. A graduate of the
University of Georgia with a master's degree from Ohio State
University, Miss Jones had had other professional experience in the
Office of the Dean of Women at the University of Georgia and as
Assistant to the Dean of Women and Residence Hall Director at Ohio
State.
At a meeting of the Executive Committee on March 6, 1969,
President Alston recommended that an additional person be brought
to the campus to be responsible primarily for raising capital funds and
nominated Paul Moffatt McCain for this post of Vice President for
Development. The Executive Committee approved this
recommendation, and the Board gave its confirmation on May 9,
1969. Paul M. McCain was the son of Agnes Scott's second president
and for seventeen years prior to returning to Decatur had been
President of Arkansas College in Batesville, Arkansas. Like his late
father, he was a graduate of Erskine College. He also earned a master's
and doctor's degree from Duke University. Vice President McCain
began his duties in the autumn of 1969 following his election.
Up until 1969 the College's non-contract employees were not
included in Agnes Scott's medical program; however, in that year on
the recommendation of the President, the Executive Committee of the
Board approved a plan which would admit these employees to the
program under the same terms as those in effect for contract
employees. The only limitation was that a non-contract employee
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must have served for one year prior to admission to the program.
In the spring of 1966, the College sustained the death of Professor
Ellen Douglass Leyburn who had been a member of the English
Department since 1934. In all its history Agnes Scott has never had a
more distinguished scholar-teacher than Professor Ellen Douglass
Leyburn, '27. Before the year was finished, the Trustees, on the
recommendation of the Executive Committee and the President, had
taken action establishing the Ellen Douglass Leyburn Professorship in
the Department of English, to be funded by friends of the late
Professor Leyburn and by unallocated funds in the College's general
endowment portfolio. This action by the Board brought to three the
number of named professorships at Agnes Scott. In 1969, Professor
Margaret W. Pepperdene was designated to be the first Leyburn
Professor.
About the same time, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Charitable Trust
gave Agnes Scott $400,000 to establish a named professorship in the
College. On June 17, 1969, the Board's Executive Committee
unanimously elected Professor W. Joe Frierson, who had joined the
faculty in 1943, to be the College's first William R. Kenan, Jr.,
Professor of Chemistry, a post which he held until his retirement in
1975 when Professor Marion Thomas Clark succeeded to the Kenan
Professorship. The present occupant is Professor Alice J.
Cunningham, who was named to this post in 1980.
In the spring of 1 969 there occurred another development in the area
of named professorships. The Callaway Foundation, Inc., of
LaGrange, Georgia, in a laudable endeavor to attract distinguished
professors to Georgia colleges and universities, offered to establish
Fuller E. Callaway Professorships in a number of institutions in the
state. Agnes Scott was honored to be one of these institutions. On June
17, 1969, the Executive Committee, on President Alston's
recommendation, agreed to establish a Callaway Chair at Agnes Scott
but requested a year's delay in naming the Callaway Professor. The
reason for the delay was that the terms of the Professorship were very
difficult in that the College would pay from its own funds its highest
teaching salary to the Callaway Professor and then the Foundation
would add 50% more in compensation. This circumstance meant that
the remuneration for the occupant of the Callaway Chair would be
50% higher than that of any other professor in the College. The
agreement required that whenever base salaries were raised, that of the
Callaway Professor would rise proportionately and, therefore,
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continue to be completely out of balance with other Agnes Scott
compensation. Also, the professorship would not rotate. The
President and the Executive Committee believed that some very
distinguished teacher had to be found to fill this post and that, for the
sake of faculty morale and of the effectiveness of the Callaway
Professor, it would be unwise at that time to promote someone to this
new post — hence the request for the delay. Now, more than ten years
later as these lines are written, the Callaway Professorship at Agnes
Scott is just now being implemented. In the interim, the Callaway
Foundation has considerably relaxed its rather rigid requirements
such that Agnes Scott can now enthusiastically name a Fuller E.
Callaway Professor, confident that faculty morale will not be
jeopardized (see p. 269).
The arrival of Dean of Students Roberta K. Jones in 1 969 seemed a
good time to re-assess the social rules and regulations which governed
the lives of Agnes Scott students; consequently, Representative
Council of Student Government in October of 1969 authorized a
committee to work with Dean Jones on this task. This committee
consisted of eight students (3 seniors, 2juniors, and 3 sophomores) and
was known as the Special Commission on Rules and Policies, more
popularly called by the acronym SCRAP. The group worked regularly
and diligently and saw as its responsibility not only a thorough review
of present social rules and regulations but also the projection of anew
system. SCRAP proposed to base its new system on giving a student
the "maximum amount of individual freedom within the framework of
community." Certain "non-negotiables" were the starting point of the
Commission's work — non-negotiables such as "academic honesty,
respect for property and rights of others, and a sense of community."
The over-arching goal was "the maximization of human potential." In
its final report SCRAP outlined policies in the following areas: (l)use
of alcoholic beverages, (2) use of illegal drugs, (3) smoking, (4) sign in
and out procedures, and (5) appropriate dress. The most noticeable
changes were in the signing in and out procedures, which were greatly
simplified, and in the area of parental permissions, which were
discontinued. Other matters, such as living off campus and parietals,
were considered but were postponed for later decision. Of course, all
recommended alterations had to be approved by Representative
Council and by the Administrative Committee of the faculty. It goes
without saying that all changes had to be within the broad policies of
the Board of Trustees. The record of Dean Jones' report to the Board
on May 15, 1970, reads as follows:
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. . . Miss Jones talked of the work which she and a committee of
students have done this year on the social regulations of the
College. They have tried to look at the existing regulations and the
reasons behind them, evaluating them in terms of the situation in
which students live today. Miss Jones and the committee hoped to
achieve a code of behavior for students which maintains the
standards of the College and, at the same time, gives students a
sense of freedom with responsibility. Of particular concern in
formulating new rules and policies were the physical security of
students, the enhancement of the academic atmosphere, and the
protection of the rights and property of others .... Miss Jones
pointed out that these new rules and policies recognize the fact
that Agnes Scott cannot watch over a student when she leaves the
campus nor govern off-campus behavior. The College must rely
upon the judgment of the students.
A graphic way to ascertain the extent of the changes in rules is to
examine the appropriate parts of the Student Handbook for 1969-
1970 and 1970-1971, respectively. Basic requirements in the main are
still there, but much of the minutiae is altered.
Another change that became effective with the 1970-1971 session
was the decentralization of the office of the Dean of Students. A great
deal of the detail formerly handled in the Dean's office was shifted to
the student living units — a circumstance which meant that the Dean
of Student's Office could now maintain daytime office hours and be
closed at night and during weekends.
In January, 1970, Agnes Scott received word that the College had
been invited to be a part of the Charles A. Dana Scholarship Program.
Inaugurated by the Charles A. Dana Foundation, this program was
initially established at ten colleges. The Foundation in the first year
provided funds for assistance to fifteen sophomores, in the second year
to fifteen sophomores and fifteen juniors, and in the third year to
fifteen students from all three upper classes. Freshmen were not
eligible. The size of the scholarship depended on need and ranged from
$100 to full tuition. Need was the basis for a grant, but no student was
to be considered unless in the judgment of Agnes Scott's Scholarship
Committee she demonstrated "academic promise and leadership
potential." Continuance of a Dana Scholarship depended on the
recipient's performance. Phase I of this program was designed to
conclude in 1975, to be extended to 1980 as Phase II if the Dana
Directors so chose. In January, 1973, President Alston received
information that Agnes Scott was to be continued into Phase II. The
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amount received by the College once the program became fully
operative was $40,000 per year. The continuance of the College into
Phase II was with the understanding that at the end of the 1979-1980
session the Collge would carry on this program from its own funds. It
was the Foundation's hope that this program would "result in a corps
elite" among the scholars, and Agnes Scott's experience has borne out
this hope. Selection as a Dana Scholar has been considered a great
honor and a considerable esprit de corps has developed among these
students. In various ways they, as a unit, have rendered service to the
College.
In March, 1 970, Agnes Scott sustained the unexpected death of P.J.
Rogers, Jr., who had been the College's Business Manager since 1951.
No more useful person has ever been at Agnes Scott, and his loss was
felt by everyone. Mr. Rogers' duties were distributed for the time being
among several persons with the President himself assuming the
direction of these people. One of the persons who was of particular
assistance to the President during this crucial period was Joe B. Saxon
who was superintendent of buildings and grounds. It was Mr. Saxon
who took over the important responsibility of supervising non-
contract employees. For various reasons, it took much longer than
anticipated to fill Mr. Rogers' post, so much so that it was not until the
spring of 1974 that a replacement was found. In appreciation of Mr.
Rogers and his service to Agnes Scott, the Trustees in November,
1970, named the steam plant in his memory and also established a
small credit operation for non-contract employees --a group for
whom Mr. Rogers always felt great concern and whom he personally
had often helped.
As early as February, 1970, President Alston reminded the
Executive Committee that on July 16, 1971, he would be sixty-five
years old and that the Trustees might well begin to think about his
successor. This whole matter was further discussed by the Executive
Committee on May 11, 1970, at which time a resolution was
unanimously adopted for presentation to the Board itself on May 15.
Here is the resolution which the Trustees approved:
WHEREAS, under the policy established by the Board of
Trustees, normal retirement of faculty members and
administrative officers of Agnes Scott College is age sixty-five
which may be extended by resolution annually of the Board of
Trustees until age seventy, at which time retirement is mandatory.
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BE IT RESOLVED that the eligibility of President Alston to
continue to serve in the capacity of President of Agnes Scott
College be and is hereby extended to the mandatory age of
seventy.
RESOLVED that it is the wish and desire of this Board that Dr.
Alston continue to serve until the mandatory retirement age is
reached unless he requests and insists upon retirement at an earlier
age.
This resolution is neither sought nor suggested by Dr. Alston. It
originated as the unanimous wish and desire of the members of the
Executive Committee, looking solely to the best interest and
progress of Agnes Scott College.
This action meant that the Trustees wanted Dr. Alston to continue as
President until the mandatory age without the necessity of annual
election after age sixty-five. The Board's decision expressed unlimited
approval of and confidence in the President. The Trustees were in no
mood to consider changing presidents when the College had two new
deans, a new vice president for development, and the position of
business manager vacant. President Alston expressed his great
gratitude to the Board but observed that he felt "it is extremely unwise
to 'put the face of age' upon this institution." He recognized that the
Trustees' resolution gave "complete freedom to him and the Board"
concerning when he might choose to retire.
Beginning in the summer of 1970 and continuing almost every
summer thereafter up until the present time, Agnes Scott has offered a
summer study abroad program sponsored by one or more of the
academic departments. At least one faculty member has on each
occasion accompanied a group of students and supervised and
participated in the program. The work offered has carried academic
credit for the Agnes Scott degree. Programs have been offered in
English history, art, classical archaeology, German, and Spanish. In
this program, students have studied in England, Spain, Italy, and West
Germany. The whole endeavor has proved most useful and is in reality
now a regular part of the College's academic program.
For the second time in one year, Agnes Scott in 1970 sustained the
death of a major administrative officer. On October 5, Miss Ann
Worthy Johnson, '38, Director of Alumnae Affairs since 1954, died
after a brief illness. At its meeting on November 1 6, 1 970, the Board of
Trustees adopted a special memorial for Miss Johnson — a memorial
presented by the alumnae trustee who was the immediate past
president of the national Agnes Scott Alumnae Association. To fill the
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vacancy caused by Miss Johnson's death, the College appointed Mrs.
Barbara M. Pendleton, '40.
After more than two years of study by the Board's Executive
Committee, the Trustees on November 5, 1971, adopted a restated
charter for the College, a document now termed The Articles of
Incorporation and officially issued by the office of Georgia's Secretary
of State on November 11, 1971. The new "charter" made six major
changes from the document previously in effect. These six changes
were as follows:
1. The recently adopted statement on qualifications for the
faculty (see p. 197) was made a part of Article 2.
2. The arrangement whereby the Synods of Alabama, Florida,
and Georgia confirmed certain trustees was abolished. The
College however, continued its affiliation with the
Presbyterian Church in the United States.
3. The terms of "corporate" and "synodical" trustee were
dropped.
4. The terms of the alumnae trustees were lengthened from two
to four years, and these two trustees were to be the two
immediate past presidents of the Alumnae Association.
5. Provision was made for the mandatory retirement of
Trustees at age 72, except that any Trustee who had reached
this age prior to May 14, 1971, was exempt from this
requirement.
6. On nomination by the Chairman of the Board, any Trustee
retiring by reason of age might be elected a Trustee-
Emeritus by an affirmative vote of 3/4 of the Trustees. Such
Trustees-Emeritus would serve for life and would have the
privilege of attending Board meetings and of participating in
discussions. Trustees-Emeritus would not have the right to
vote nor could they be counted in determining the presence
of a quorum.
As has already been pointed out, Agnes Scott's retirement program
was arranged through the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance
Company (see pp. 108-112). However, in the spring of 1971, the
Trustees expanded this arrangement by offering participants the
option of the Connecticut Mutual program or of that provided by the
Teachers Insurance Association of America (T.I. A. A.), effective with
the College's 1 972- 1 973 fiscal year. This option meant that new faculty
members who already had T.I. A. A. retirement arrangements from
another institution could continue the retirement plan that they had, if
206
they so desired. Of course, they had the privilege of choosing the
Connecticut Mutual plan just as those in the Connecticut Mutual
arrangement could shift to T.I. A. A.
For a number of years, the Trustees and certain members of the
administration had been discussing whether or not Agnes Scott
needed another group besides the Board itself to serve as an advisory
body to the College. Finally, on May 14, 1971, on the recommendation
of the Executive Committee, the Board adopted a motion approving
"the establishment of a President's Advisory Council and authorized
the President of the College to proceed with this at his discretion." At
this same time the Trustees sanctioned the following set of bylaws
under which this Advisory Council would function.
BYLAWS
PRESIDENTS ADVISORY COUNCIL
AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE
ARTICLE I NAME
The organization shall be known as the President's Advisory
Council.
ARTICLE II PURPOSE
The purpose of the Council shall be to promote the program
and objectives of Agnes Scott College by advising with the
President and other administrative officers. Individually, each
member shall provide two-way communication between the
College and its publics and shall serve as a center of influence for
the College in his or her community.
ARTICLE III MEETINGS
The regular annual meeting shall be held in the spring on a date
determined by the Chairman of the Council and the President of
the College. These same persons may call a special meeting when
circumstances justify.
ARTICLE IV OFFICERS
The Council shall have as its principal officers, a Chairman,
Vice Chairman, and Secretary whose duties shall be those usually
associated with these offices.
ARTICLE V ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Officers shall be nominated and elected at the annual meeting of
the Council. The Chairman shall appoint a Nominating
Committee prior to the annual meeting. The officers shall be
elected to a term of one year and shall be eligible to be reelected to
serve one additional term.
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ARTICLE VI MEMBERSHIP
The Agnes Scott Board of Trustees shall elect the members of
the President's Advisory Council for a three-year term with the
possibility of reelection. Terms shall be overlapping to provide
continuity. The Council shall consist of twenty-four or more
members.
ARTICLE VII AMENDMENTS
These Bylaws may be amended by the Agnes Scott Board of
Trustees.
In subsequent months the President invited a select group of Agnes
Scott friends to become members of the President's Advisory Council,
and by May, 1972, the Council was convened in its first meeting. The
initial twenty-six members of this group reads almost like a "Who's
Who." Here are the names:
Martha Eskridge Ayers (Mrs. Nathan M.), '33
Alumna, Greensboro, North Carolina
Eugene L. Bothwell
Architect, Bothwell, Jenkins, Slay & Associates, Decatur,
Georgia
Harllee Branch, Jr.
Former Chairman, The Southern Company, Atlanta, Georgia
Lawton M. Calhoun
President, Savannah Foods and Industries, Inc., Savannah,
Georgia
Charles S. Daley
President, The Fourth National Bank, Columbus, Georgia
Harry L. Dalton
Chairman, Executive Committee, American Credit Company,
Charlotte, North Carolina
Kenneth W. Dunwoody, Jr.
President, Cherokee Brick and Tile Company, Macon, Georgia
Edward E. Elson
President, Atlanta News Agency, Atlanta, Georgia
Margaret Powell Flowers (Mrs. Langdon S.), '44
Alumna, Thomasville, Georgia
Harriet Griffin Harris (Mrs. George), '56
Alumna, Bartow, Florida
W. T. Harris
Chairman, Harris-Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., Charlotte,
North Carolina
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Raymond A. Jones, Jr.
Executive Vice President, J. A. Jones Construction Company,
Charlotte, North Carolina
Monroe M. Kimbrel
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
Bert Lance
Director, State Highway Department, Atlanta, Georgia
J. Erskine Love, Jr.
President, Printpack, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
Julius A. McCurdy
Chairman, Decatur Federal Savings and Loan, Decatur,
Georgia
Evangeline Papageorge, Ph.D., '28
Alumna, Associate Dean, Emory University School of
Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Ida Louise Brittain Patterson (Mrs. Fred), '21
Alumna, Atlanta, Georgia
John C. Portman, Jr.
Architect, John Portman & Associates, Atlanta, Georgia
Louis Regenstein
Attorney, Kilpatrick, Cody, Rogers, McClatchey, &
Regenstein, Atlanta, Georgia
Dean Rusk
Distinguished Professor, University of Georgia School of Law;
Former United States Secretary of State, Athens, Georgia
Carl E. Sanders
Attorney, Troutman, Sanders, Lockerman & Ashmore;
Former Governor of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia
Miriam F. Smith, M.D. '57
Alumna, Psychiatrist, Decatur, Georgia
John W. Thatcher
President, Banana Supply Company, Miami, Florida
Pollard Turman
Chairman, J.M. Tull Industries, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia
Margaret Weeks, "31
Alumna, New Orleans, Louisiana
Mr. Charles S. Daley of Columbus, Georgia, was elected the first
chairman of this Council, and the whole endeavor got off to a good
start and continued to function for several years. However, because
the group was advisory and had no real authority, interest gradually
209
began to wane, and in time this Council ceased to function. The real
problem was that the College never found an effective way to utilize
the talents and abilities of this "high-powered" group of men and
women — a circumstance that was a real loss to Agnes Scott.
In 1970 the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation of Atlanta gave the
College $50,000 to air condition the dining hall which was named for
Mrs. Evans, a late Agnes Scott trustee (see p. 121). Thus, this building
became the first structure to be air conditioned many years after its
erection. The Charles A. Dana Fine Arts Building was air conditioned
from its beginning, and since the time that the dining hall was cooled,
four other buildings have been air conditioned (Winship, Presser,
Buttrick, and the McCain library), and at this writing plans are under
way to provide the same comfort for Campbell Hall.
As the 1 970's opened, Agnes Scott began to gear up for the decennial
self-study required by the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools. However, prior to the actual start of the "official" self-study,
the faculty initiated a preliminary analysis of most of the thrusts of the
College. One of the most important groups was the one designated to
formulate a statement of purpose for Agnes Scott. This committee,
made up of representatives from the faculty, the students, and the
alumnae, submitted its report to the Trustees in the fall of 1 97 1 . After
an introductory section, this report dealt with four aspects of Agnes
Scott as they related to the purpose of the College, namely, (1)
academic standards, (2) the liberal arts, (3) the relationship to the
Christian faith, and (4) the composition of the student body:
In a rapidly changing world of increasing mechanization and
complexity, Agnes Scott College continues to put its faith in the
life of the mind and the spirit and in the liberating power of
knowledge. As a liberal arts college, our purpose is
1. to help the student gain a basic acquaintance with each of
three broad areas of knowledge — the humanities, natural
sciences, and social sciences — and competence in some
particular phase of one area;
2. to develop through such study those qualities of mind —
analytical, critical, and imaginative — which will enable the
student to use the treasure of the past as well as
contemporary contributions to knowledge, not only to
enrich her own life but also to seek solutions to age-old and
new problems;
3. to develop an appreciation for excellence and for man's
creative achievements in all fields;
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4. to encourage the student to find for herself a spiritual
commitment and a set of values which will give vitality,
meaning, and direction to her life;
5. to foster a concern for human worth and needs, and to
cultivate in the student a sense of responsiblity to the society
in which we live.
An important part of liberating the mind is the exercise of liberty
in the pursuit of education. The student should be accorded that
independence consonant with disciplined activity. She must be
invested with the trust that makes her not just a passive receptacle
for the ideas of others but rather a co-worker in the search for
truth. It is hoped that a liberal arts foundation will give the student
the means and stimulate the desire to continue her education
throughout her life.
On Academic Standards:
Agnes Scott has earned national respect as an academic
institution of high quality; it is generally considered to be among
the best of its kind. We do not feel, however, that we dare take this
reputation for granted. In an age of academic compromises and
confusions, we at this college need to come down hard for
academic excellence. If we are to continue to remain a small,
Christian-oriented liberal arts college for women, we must do so
with pride. We must do what we do as well as it can be done.
Efforts to hire exceptionally well qualified faculty members, who
can endorse Agnes Scott's purposes and support her standards,
must be pursued vigorously by those empowered to do so.
Energies spent in recruiting promising students need to be
intensified. As an academic community, we need to stay well
informed so that we can recognize educational innovations of
genuine merit, and we need the flexibility to implement them; we
also need the good sense to continue to reject those notions and
fads that jeopardize our strong curriculum. We must do whatever
is necessary to strengthen our standards of academic excellence;
we cannot afford to let them slip. As one alumna put it, we need to
measure up to our standards — not change them.
On the Liberal Arts:
The intensity of our commitment to the liberal arts is obvious
from our interpretation of the college's purpose. One aspect of the
statement that we have formulated may not be clear — our sense
of the respective yet cooperative function served by each of the
three broad areas of learning with their distinctive methodologies.
1. The HUMANITIES acquaint the student with the
accumulated wisdom that defines the human condition and
with the artistic expression which man has given to his
deepest insights and emotions.
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2. The NATURAL SCIENCES involve the student in the
human activities of observing, recording, and forming ideas
which foster an understanding and appreciation of the
conceptual schemes describing the physical world; and they
make the student aware that the results of such activities
have had and continue to have a profound effect upon the
conditions of all human activities.
3. The SOCIAL SCIENCES afford the student an
opportunity for speculative and empirical investigation of
the structural and dynamic properties of persons, groups,
institutions, and societies as these reflect themselves in
characteristic responses to situations.
There are many fervid and well-meant arguments today for
broadening the traditionally conservative liberal arts curriculum
to accommodate the pragmatic desires of students to be equipped
for employment when they graduate. We recognize the plight of
today's graduates, and we are aware that more and more women
plan to join the labor force and remain a part of it. We are
convinced, however, of the humanizing force of a liberal arts
education; we feel, too, that such an education produces thinking
men and women who can quickly acquire the skills they need for a
specific occupation. To impose upon our liberal arts program
courses which are primarily professional or technical in their
orientation is to undermine its efficacy. Having recognized that
each area of the liberal arts has its distinctive method, we do not
exclude any course which legitimately employs the method of its
discipline. Courses of a purely practical nature might well be
available on a non-credit or non-graded basis, and indeed they
have been from time to time. Good counseling to students who are
seeking employment opportunities must of necessity be provided.
But by no means should we as an institution be shaken in our
dedication to the liberal arts; a student privileged to be enrolled in
a course of study in the liberal arts should be expected to engage
willingly in the pursuit of knowledge — because she desires to
know the truth.
On the College's Relationship to the Christian Faith:
The following statement is found in the Charter of Agnes
Scott College:
Said corporation is constituted for the purpose of
establishing, perpetuating, and conducting a College
for the Higher Education of Women under auspices
distinctly favorable to the maintenance of the faith and
practice of the Christian religion, but all departments
of the College shall be open alike to students of any
religion or sect, and no denominational or sectarian
test shall be imposed in the admission of students.
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Agnes Scott continues to affirm this purpose. The College aims to
implement it in our pluralistic culture with a high degree of
liberality, tolerance, and flexibility by:
1. stimulating the student to examine the relation
between reason and commitment and to develop
standards for the evaluation of the meaning and
function of religious symbols, since to ignore the
religious dimension of human life in education would
leave the student with an unexamined faith and
unexamined life;
2. encouraging the student to find for herself an ultimate
commitment and a set of values which will give
direction and meaning to her life through a disciplined
study of the Judeo-Christian roots of western culture
and an openness to all interpretations of truth;
3. cultivating an atmosphere of warmth, concern, and
support for each individual in the college community;
4. imposing no religious, ethnic, or racial restrictions in
the choice of faculty, and staff as well as students.
On the Composition of the Student Body:
The Committee believes firmly in the desirability of diversity in
the student body and in broadening the academic experience of
the student by cooperation with other institutions. We urge that
students be recruited from as varied backgrounds as possible.
Increased cooperation among the academic institutions in the
Atlanta area is highly desirable for Agnes Scott. Investigations
into our University Center revealed alack of interchange and the
absence of any existent channels for this interchange on the
student and class levels. The Committee strongly recommends an
attempt to rectify this situation.
At present there seem few clearly compelling reasons to urge the
reconstitution of Agnes Scott as a coeducational college. We
believe that it would be highly desirable, however, for a joint
committee (composed perhaps of faculty, administration,
students, and Board mmbers) to continue to study this matter and
remain alert to any circumstances that might require altering our
structure in this regard. We suggest an open mind on the question
of coeducation, and we support programs to bring male students
on the campus for academic encounters with our students. For
instance, our committee believes that residential interchange with
other colleges would be most valuable, and we suggest that the
question be pursued by the proper authorities to discover which
comparable institutions would be interested in participating in
such a program with Agnes Scott, either for the special education
we can offer or for the attraction of the Atlanta area, or both.
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Some of these suggestions obviously are contingent on the size,
location, and financial ability of the college; all relate to our
ability to offer quality education, a course of study which
preserves the best of traditional approaches and methods but
which reflects the innovation and updating required to meet the
student's needs in a changing world. All contribute to our success
in providing the type of education that gives the private institution
one edge over the state institution: an education tailored in so far
as possible to the individual student. We believe, therefore, that
these recommendations are an appropriate part of a consideration
of the purpose of Agnes Scott College.
Prior to coming to the Board itself, this statement of purpose was
carefully reviewed by the Executive Committee, which at that time was
also functioning as the Board's ad hoc committee on the purpose and
direction of the College. The minutes of the Trustees show "that since
the report [statement of purpose] was originally prepared, a number of
questions [had] been raised by individuals about it — for example, the
whole area of physical and social development and well-being of
students is apparently omitted and there are questions about the way
in which the College's Christian commitment is interpreted, etc." The
Executive Committee considered whether the Board (1) should adopt
the statement, (2) should amend it, (3) should write its own statement,
or (4) should reaffirm the statement set forth in article 2 of the Restated
Articles of Incorporation. On the recommendation of the Executive
Committee, the Trustees chose simply to receive "with appreciation
and commendation" the joint faculty-student-alumnae statement and
then reaffirmed the historic charter statement as setting forth the
official purpose of Agnes Scott College. By way of reminder, the
central thrust of this statement reads as follows:
Said corporation is constituted for the purpose of establishing,
perpetuating, and conducting a liberal arts college for the higher
education of young women under auspices distinctly favorable to
the maintenance of the faith and practice of the Christian religion.
By the autumn of 1971, the decennial self-study required by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools was in full operation
under the leadership of Professor Myrna G. Young, who served as
director. In the spring of 1973, the self-study and its attendant
publications were complete, and during the period April 1-4, 1973, the
Visiting Committee came to Agnes Scott and made their evaluations.
This committee consisted of:
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Cecil Abernethy, Professor of English, Birmingham-Southern
College, Chairman
Edward Allison, Comptroller, Mary Washington College
James Clark, Professor of Biology, Radford College
Gladys Collins, Professor of Education, Virginia State College
Mildred Iddins, Librarian, Carson Newman College
Mary Bland Josey, Director of Admissions, Meredith College
Robert Mills, President, Georgetown College
Gresham Riley, Acting Provost, New College
Albert Sanders, Professor of History, Furman University
When the Visiting Committee had completed its work and submitted
its report, the accreditation of Agnes Scott was reaffirmed and
continued.
On September 2, 1972, the Executive Committee adopted the
following statement concerning full-time faculty members who may
engage in employment other than that at Agnes Scott:
Any member of the Agnes Scott College faculty who is under
contract for a full-time position will be expected to inform the
Dean of the Faculty concerning employment other than and in
addition to the position held at Agnes Scott. It is the responsibility
of the Dean of the Faculty to counsel with a faculty member who
is accepting work outside the College, determining that the duties
of that faculty member having to do with teaching assignments,
office hours, committee responsibilities, etc. are being
satisfactorily fulfilled before giving approval to such work.
President Alston on June 27, 1972, addressed a letter to the three
principal officers of the Board indicating his purpose to retire no later
than November 1, 1973, but preferably on June 30 of that year. As
already indicated, the Trustees had elected him president until the
mandatory retirement age of seventy, but he chose to retire before that
age. Here are the pertinent paragraphs of the President's letter:
Mr. Hal L. Smith
Chairman, Board of Trustees, Agnes Scott College
Mr. Alex P. Gaines
Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, Agnes Scott College
Dr. J. Davison Philips
Chairman, Executive Committee, Board of Trustees, Agnes
Scott College
215
My dear Friends:
This letter is written after months of prayerful consideration.
This is my official request to the Board of Trustees, through you as
the principal officers of the Board, to cooperate with me in
preparing for and effecting my retirement as President of Agnes
Scott not later than November 1, 1973. It is my desire that the
1972-1973 session — which will complete twenty-five years at
Agnes Scott — be my last one. If my successor is found and is
ready to take office in the summer of 1973, 1 would, of course, be
pleased. For a number of reasons, I would not be able to continue
my service to the College beyond November 1, 1973. You know
my thinking about retirement while I am still able to give the
College my very best service. I will be sixty-seven years old on July
16, 1973. I am strongly convinced that it will be in the best interest
of the College that my retirement shall be planned for and
arranged during the next twelve to sixteen months. I pledge you
my complete cooperation in any manner in which you need my
help as the Board moves to find the person who is to be the next
President.
In addition to my strong conviction that retirement at age sixty-
seven is in the best interest of the College, I think you ought to
know that there are some rather compelling personal reasons that
have entered into my decision. I want to try to meet some of the
needs of my family that require more attention than I have been
able to give. Moreover, I am hopeful that Madelaine and I can
travel while we are both in good health. I plan to do some
preaching, a lot of reading, and some writing. The past twenty-
four years have been wonderful ones, so far as I am concerned,
and I cannot conclude this letter without saying that the
wholehearted support that you and other members of the Agnes
Scott Board have given me has been a major source of strength
and encouragement throughout the whole period. Your generous
provision for my retirement, expressed in the letter from the
Executive Committee dated November 1 1, 1971, has enabled me
to make plans for retirement with a clear understanding of what
will be possible for Madelaine and me. Believe me when I say that
I am deeply grateful to the three of you — and, indeed, to all of the
members of our Board.
With the assurance of my prayers and of my desire to help in
every possible way as you set in motion the steps that you and
other members of the Board deem desirable in the selection of my
successor, I am
Sincerely, your friend,
Wallace M. Alston
WMA:bb
216
On September 7, 1 972, the Executive Committee met and with great
reluctance acceded to the President's request. Subsequently, on the
next day, September 8, the Board itself convened and "regretfully"
agreed to President Alston's retirement and in the same action
recorded "its sincere appreciation for his outstanding service to Agnes
Scott College." On recommendation of the Executive Committee, the
Board adopted a resolution establishing a Special Committee to
nominate a President of Agnes Scott College. By this resolution the
following trustees were named to this Search Committee: Neil O.
Davis, Alex P. Gaines, L.L. Gellerstedt, Jr., Ben S. Gilmer, Gene S.
Morse, '41, Suzella Burns Newsome, '57, and J. Davison Philips. Hal
L. Smith was named an ex officio member of the Committee. Dr.
Philips was designated chairman. This same enabling resolution urged
that the Search Committee "consult with representatives of the
Faculty, the Study Body, and the Alumnae." As a result, an advisory
committee representing these constituencies, plus a member from the
administration, was set up. In the process of finding a new president,
the Search Committee received more than three hundred names for
consideration. After careful screening, the Committee began
interviewing candidates and ultimately narrowed its choice to four
persons — all of whom were brought to the campus to see and to be
seen. On March 22, 1973, the Trustees on the unanimous
recommendation of the Search Committee, unanimously and
enthusiastically elected Dr. Marvin Banks Perry, Jr., to be the fourth
president of Agnes Scott College, effective July 1, 1973.
The last year of President Alston's administration was a good one,
as indeed all the years of his presidency had been. The President was in
full vigor of health — both mentally and physically — and his youthful
outlook and enthusiasm continued unabated. He presided over Agnes
Scott as if he had an indefinite number of years ahead as President.
Also in the same year, the Trustees undertook to provide greater
income from the College's endowment portfolio. Certain stocks with
low yield were sold, and other stocks providing larger income were
purchased. By this process the operating income was considerably
increased, and the value of the portfolio was also augmented. When
President Alston began his administration in 1951, Agnes Scott's
assets were $6,684,000; when he retired in 1973, these assets totaled
$48,646,829.
The records in the Board's minutes for May 11, 1973, show that
during President Alston's last year a greatly revised curriculum had
217
been approved. All the changes, proposed by the Curriculum
Committee of the faculty and approved by the Academic Council,
"were made in an effort to preserve excellence in the liberal arts while
bringing the curriculum somewhat more in line with that of other
institutions." Elaborating on this purpose, the minutes continue:
The new curriculum preserves the integrity of the Agnes Scott
degree while allowing a greater flexibility to students in meeting
requirements. A number of outdated rules have been removed and
additional options have been provided for meeting degree
requirements. The new curriculum includes, as did the older one, a
requirement in English composition, foreign language, Biblical
studies, and physical education. A student must also elect some
work in literature, historical studies, mathematics or science, and
social studies. Provision is made for a double major and for
certain inter-departmental work.
Another academic development of 1972-1973 was in the area of
advanced placement. The College "modified its policy concerning the
acceptance of [honor quality scores on the Advanced Placement
Examination of the College Entrance Examination Board] and, for
the first time, a student entering Agnes Scott in the fall of 1972 was
given sophomore classification on the basis of these examinations."
In this same year Agnes Scott became a participant in the
Washington Semester, a program provided by American University
whereby a limited number of seniors in the fall quarter might spend
time in the nation's capital studying and observing both the federal and
international governments at first hand. This Washington semester
carried Agnes Scott credit as did the internship in the Georgia
legislature, a program which had been established several years earlier.
The matter of the use of alcoholic beverages continued to agitate the
students, but in 1972-1973 no proposal developed which caused the
Board to consider changing its policy concerning this matter.
Two important developments occurred in the Alumnae Association
during the final year of President Alston's administration. The
Association for the first time established an Alumnae Council made up
of members of the Executive Board plus regional vice presidents, club
presidents, class presidents and secretaries, alumnae admissions
represenatatives, and fund chairmen. Also in this same year the
Alumnae Association initiated another "first" — a conference of the
past Association presidents with the President of the College.
As the year drew to a close, the thoughts of all were on honoring the
218
retiring President, and a series of events was carried out. On April 13,
the evening before the annual Alumnae Day, the Association gave a
gala reception for Dr. and Mrs. Alston at which time it was announced
that gifts from former students and other friends had made possible a
scholarship fund honoring the President and had provided a special
bank account for him and Mrs. Alston — possibly to be used for
subsequent travel. The Association also presented Dr. Alston with a
bound volume of letters from alumnae.
On May 1 1, the Board of Trustees gave a formal reception for the
Alstons to which many friends from Atlanta and Decatur were invited.
Earlier in the day the Board had honored the President by establishing
the Wallace McPherson Alston Professorship of Bible and Religion
and by directing that when a student center is built at Agnes Scott, it be
named the Wallace McPherson Alston Student Center. This naming
of the proposed Student Center for President Alston honored a
request that had earlier come to the Trustees from the students
themselves. The Board also gave Dr. Alston a cash gift and transferred
to him the College car which he had been using.
Perhaps the most impressive recognition that came from the
Trustees, however, was a handsome silver plaque engraved as follows:
Wallace McPherson Alston
President
Agnes Scott College
1951-1973
Distinguished Scholar Effective Administrator
Creative Leader Eloquent Preacher
Compassionate and Gracious Friend
Presented by
The Agnes Scott Board of Trustees
with Affection, Admiration, and Appreciation
May 11, 1973
Engraved beneath this inscription were the facsimile signatures of
every living Trustee, both active and emeriti.
Just before the end of the College year, the students honored the
219
Alstons at a "Monday-Sundae" party in the amphitheater and
presented them with rocking chairs for the porch of their new home at
Norris Lake near Lithonia, Georgia, as well as with other appropriate
gifts.
At the final faculty meeting of the year, the President's colleagues in
the faculty adopted the following resolutions in appreciation of their
long-time leader:
Whereas Wallace McPherson Alston has served Agnes Scott
College with great distinction for twenty-five years, twenty-two as
President,
And whereas President Alston has by his example challenged and
stimulated the faculty, has constantly demonstrated his concern
for each of us, has always been available for counsel and has
provided the highest quality of moral, intellectual, and
professional leadership,
Therefore, be it resolved, and it is resolved by the faculty of Agnes
Scott College:
That we acknowledge our debt of gratitude to Wallace
McPherson Alston; that we count ourselves fortunate to have
been at Agnes Scott concurrently with him; that we assure him
of our admiration and esteem; and that, as he retires from the
presidency, we wish for him and Mrs. Alston health, happiness,
and a continuing sense of fulfillment.
The Faculty of Agnes Scott
College
In May, 1973, Agnes Scott published a newsletter paying tribute to
President Alston and his twenty-two years of outstanding leadership.
In this newsletter were a number of quotations about the President
from alumnae, students, faculty, administration, and trustees.
Perhaps it is in order to cite a few of these quotations:
In the person of Dr. Alston, all those qualities of excellence and
sensitivity exist which seem almost too unreal to be the possession
of one individual. One great word — strength — comes to mind
when I think of him — strength of character, strength of integrity,
and strength of purpose and faith.
President Alston, a scholar, an administrator, and a man of
deep Christian faith, has unceasingly confronted the Agnes Scott
College community with excellence in education.
220
To Dr. Alston it matters — whether it's your birthday, whether
your mother is ill, whether you made Mortar Board, whether you
have a date or don't — to Dr. Alston it matters.
President Alston epitomizes all that is high, noble, strong,
courageous, and honest. He is incapable of littleness, meanness,
or selfishness. His whole personality is cast in a large mold.
The Dr. Alston I know honestly speaks his mind and also listens
to opinions. He is unafraid to engage openly in a time of prayer.
He also enjoys jelly beans, Hershey kisses, and cook-outs.
President Alston is a warm and sensitive person with a
delightful sense of humor. His own inspiring Christian
commitment, coupled with his genuine concern for all those
individuals with whom and for whom he makes decisions daily
marks him a giant among men .It is a rare privilege to work with
one in whose wisdom and integrity I have placed absolute trust.
If one were to search for one word to characterize the Alston years in
Agnes Scott's life, that word, in this writer's opinion, would be
"greatness." His vision for the College was greatness, and he strove and
inspired others to strive toward that vision. It seems appropriate,
therefore, that "girding for greatness" be the proper term with which to
describe Agnes Scott's life between 1951 and 1973.
221
Chapter 5
TOWARD A NEW CENTURY
Marvin Banks Perry, Jr., who on July 1, 1973, became Agnes Scott's
fourth president, was born in Powhatan, Virginia, on September 29,
1918, but almost immediately thereafter came with his father and
mother to Atlanta where he spent the first ten years of his life. Mr.
Perry, Sr., a native of Georgia and a graduate of the University of
Georgia, was in the textbook publishing business and became the head
of the Atlanta office of D.C. Heath and Company. In the late 1920's,
Mr. Perry was transferred to the Heath home office in Boston, where
he rose to be chairman of the board and chief executive officer of D.C.
Heath. Mrs. Perry, Sr., prior to her marriage, had been a teacher. The
move to Boston meant that Marvin, Jr., spent his adolescent years in
Newton, Massachusetts, where he completed his secondary education.
In 1940 he received his B.A. degree from the University of Virginia
and the same year entered the Harvard University Graduate School
where he took his M.A. degree in 1941. This graduate study was
interrupted by World War II when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. In
1942 he was commissioned and sent to sea where he saw all his
subsequent military action. He participated in convoy duty in the
Atlantic Ocean, was involved in the African and Sicilian invasions,
and later saw action in engagements on Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and the
coastal areas of Japan. He terminated his regular duty in 1946 but
continued active in the Naval Reserve from which he retired in 1969
with the rank of Commander.
On his release from active duty, President Perry returned to
Harvard to complete his Ph.D. degree, which he received in 1950. His
doctoral dissertation dealt with the poet John Keats and was directed
by Professor Hyder Rollins. While at Harvard, Dr. Perry also served
as student assistant to Professor Douglas Bush. During the time that
he was doing his research for and writing his dissertation, Dr. Perry
was an instructor in English at his alma mater, the University of
Virginia, a post from which he resigned in 1951 to join the faculty of
Washington and Lee University as assistant professor of English.
Within the next six years, he advanced to full professor and chairman
of the Department of English there. In 1960 he returned to
Charlottesville to become Professor of English and Dean of
222
Admissions at the University of Virginia. In 1 967 he was elected to the
presidency of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, a position
which he held until he came to Agnes Scott in 1973.
President Perry has a number of publications, among which are
Modern Minds: An Anthology of Ideas, edited with Howard
Mumford Jones and Richard M. Ludwig, and Nine Short Novels,
edited with Richard M. Ludwig. Each of these volumes has gone
through two editions. He has also published reviews and articles in The
Georgia Review, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Notes and Queries,
The Keats — Shelley Journal, Shenandoah, and College English.
In recognition of his achievements, President Perry has been
awarded honorary doctorates by Washington College, Washington
and Lee University, and Oglethorpe University. He is a member of Phi
Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa. He is a Presbyterian elder and
an active churchman. He likewise is a member of a number of
professional and scholarly organizations and societies. Prior to
coming to Agnes Scott, he was a director of the Chesapeake and
Potomac Telephone Company of Maryland as well as a trustee of the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Gilman and Bryn Mawr Schools
of Baltimore, and the Maryland Academy of Sciences. He has also
served as a trustee of Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia. He
was a founding member of the Maryland Independent College and
University Association of which he was president. After coming to
Agnes Scott, he was equally involved in the local scene in the Atlanta
area where he served as a trustee of the Atlanta Arts Alliance and the
Lovett School. He was a director of the Association of Private
Colleges and Universities in Georgia of which he was president in
1976-1978. During the same two-year period he was also president of
the Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges. At the national
level, he has been a member of the Commission on Liberal Learning of
the Association of American Colleges.
On April 6, 1950, Marvin Perry married the former Ellen Coalter
Gilliam of Lynchburg, Virginia. They have two daughters: Elizabeth
Gray Perry Sweet of New York and Margaret McCluer Perry of
Atlanta.
Although President Perry took office on July 1, 1973, his formal
inauguration did not occur until the spring of 1974. Necessary time
was needed to prepare properly for this significant event, and it is a fact
of nature that Decatur weather is better in the spring than in the
autumn or winter. Plans were in the hands of a committee made up of
trustees, faculty, administrators, students, and alumnae, chaired by
223
Lawrence L. Gellerstadt, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
President Perry very much wanted the intellectual life of the College to
be high-lighted, and, understandably, the committee kept this desire in
the forefront of its planning. Saturday, May 18, 1974, was the day
chosen for the actual celebration itself, but a large part of the preceding
week was taken up with inaugural events.
On Wednesday, May 15, the College presented as convocation
speaker Mrs. Josephine Jacobsen, poet, short-story writer, critic, and
former consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress. Mrs.
Jacobsen's address was entitled "Beginnings" and was received with
much applause and praise. The thrust of her remarks was the necessity
— albeit difficult — of making fresh starts — of breaking with the
limitations of alignment, of charting a new — or, at least, a different -
course.
Two days later on May 17, a second convocation speaker was
presented — this time a distinguished Agnes Scott alumna, Dr. Jeanne
Addison Roberts, '46, Dean of the Faculties and Professor of
Literature at American University in Washington, D.C. Dean
Roberts' topic was "Shakespeare's Prince Hal as a Model for Career
Women." This address was also applauded with enthusiasm. Although
she used the male Prince Hal as the model in her talk, Professor
Roberts traced with keen insight the remarkable parallels between the
maturing of the future Henry V and any young person — male or
female.
Friday, May 17 was concluded by a program entitled "Invitation to
Music" which featured the music faculty and the Glee Club of Agnes
Scott, assisted by the Glee Clubs from Spelman and Georgia Tech.
The first event on Inauguration Day itself, May 18, was a brief
chapel service conducted by the Rev. J. Davison Philips, Pastor of the
Decatur Presbyterian Church and an Agnes Scott trustee.
The inauguration began about mid-morning in the quadrangle
between Buttrick and Presser Halls. Alex P. Gaines, recently elected
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, presided and inducted the new
president into office. President Emeritus Wallace M. Alston returned
to the campus for the first time since his retirement to offer the
invocation and pronounce the benediction. Greetings were brought to
President Perry from the following constituencies by the persons
indicated:
224
State of Georgia G. Conley Ingram
Associate Justice
Georgia Supreme Court
City of Decatur Wiley S. Ansley, Mayor
Agnes Scott Alumnae Memye Curtis Tucker, '54
President
Agnes Scott Students Mary Gay Morgan, '75
President, Student Government
Association
Agnes Scott Faculty M. Kathryn Glick
Professor of Classical
Languages and Literatures
Agnes Scott Trustees Hal L. Smith
Chairman of the Board, 1956-1973
President Perry's address was titled "To What Green Altar ..." and
will be summarized subsequently.
Immediately after the inauguration there was a gala luncheon for
the almost two hundred guests representing various colleges and
universities and scholarly and professional societies and
organizations. In the evening an inaugural ball closed the day. This
writer wrote at the time that it was "a glorious day — a day which will
be remembered as a high water mark in Agnes Scott's remarkable
history."
As has already been stated, the title of the President's inaugural
address was "To What Green Altar . . ." — a quotation, as many will
recognize, from the fourth stanza of John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian
Urn." After appropriate introductory remarks, President Perry
launched into what this writer perceives as a seven-fold credo for
Agnes Scott: (1) The College is concerned primarily with moral and
educational values and only tangentially with political matters; (2)
Agnes Scott is committed to liberal learning with specific courses for
job training in addition to, never in lieu of, the traditional liberal arts;
(3) the College, as it has always been, will be open to academic change
and innovation; (4) the commitment to academic quality will continue
as a hallmark of this institution; (5) Agnes Scott's position as a college
for women was re-affirmed; (6) the importance of educating whole
persons, and not just minds was stressed; and (7) Agnes Scott was re-
committed to its Hebraic-Christian principles with strong emphasis on
its vigorous Presbyterian heritage. This speech was scholarly in
quality, highly perceptive in approach, and most appropriate to Agnes
Scott. It set forth the new president's blue print for his administration
and was lofty in its aspirations.
225
It has been noted that Alex P. Gaines, as Chairman of the Trustees,
inducted President Perry into office. Hal L. Smith, who became
Chairman of the Board in 1956 (see p. 156), chose to resign his
chairmanship concurrently with the end of President Alston's
administration. For seventeen eventful and profitable years Mr. Smith
headed Agnes Scott's governing body. His leadership, dedication, and
example were always of the highest order, and Agnes Scott can never
thank him adequately for his service. With great reluctance and regret,
the Board accepted Mr. Smith's resignation, grateful that he would
continue as a trustee.
To fill the chairmanship, the Board unanimously chose Alexander
Pendleton Gaines, who had been serving as vice chairman since 1964.
Alex Gaines has known Agnes Scott all his life. As a child he was
frequently on the campus, inasmuch as his grandfather, Dr. Frank H.
Gaines, was the first Chairman of Agnes Scott's Board of Trustees and
subsequently the first President of the institution. Alex Gaines was
born in Atlanta on May 27, 1910. A graduate of the University of
Georgia in 1932, he received his law degree from Emory University in
1935 and was admitted to the Georgia bar in the same year. From 1942
to 1 945, he served in the Army Air Corps in the South Pacific Theater
and was separated from military service with the rank of major. He
returned to law practice in Atlanta and in time helped form the
distinguished law firm of Alston, Miller, and Gaines in which he
continues as a senior partner. In addition to being a trustee of Agnes
Scott (elected in 1959), Mr. Gaines is or was also a trustee of Berry
College, the John Bulow Campbell Foundation, the Charles Loridans
Foundation, the J.M. Tull Foundation, the Vasser Woolley
Foundation, the University of Georgia Foundation, and the Southern
Academy of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. He is a member of the
American, Georgia, Atlanta, and District of Columbia Bar
Associations as well as of the American Judicature Society, the
Atlanta Lawyers Club, and the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. He is
likewise a fellow of the American College of Probate Counsel and is an
elder in Atlanta's Central Presbyterian Church. His mother, his aunt
(the late Professor Lucile Alexander), and his two sisters graduated
from Agnes Scott. It is not too much to say that no man on the present
Atlanta scene has been actively involved in more worthwhile activities
than has Alex P. Gaines. Such is the person who became the Chairman
of the Agnes Scott Board of Trustees as President Perry began his
administration.
As would be expected the new president started his administration
226
cautiously but also with notable vigor. The initial weeks were devoted
to becoming acquainted with the major administrative officers and
their work as well as with the chairmen of the various academic
departments. The first significant administrative change of the first
year was the decision to separate the work of the registrar from that of
the director of admissions. For seventeen years since 1 956 the work of
these two positions had been admirably handled by Laura Steele, '37,
but it was now determined that admissions was so important that the
attention of a full-time director was needed. President Perry discussed
this matter thoroughly with Miss Steele, and she concurred in his
decision to have two officers. The President then gave Miss Steele her
choice of which position she would retain, and she chose to continue as
registrar. Ann Rivers Thompson, '59, who had served as assistant
director of admissions since 1972, was thereupon appointed to this
directorship. It should be noted that these changes of function did not
become effective until the 1974-1975 academic session.
The second major administrative change of President Perry's first
year was in the area of business affairs. Since the sudden and untimely
death of Mr. P.J. Rogers, Jr., in 1970, this part of Agnes Scott's
activity had been functioning without an overall head, with many
people reporting to the President. Dr. Alston elected not to make this
appointment in the closing years of his administration, feeling that the
new president should select his own chief business officer. After a
careful and detailed search, President Perry in January, 1974,
announced the appointment of Mr. R. James Henderson to be Agnes
Scott's Vice President for Business Affairs. A graduate of the
University of Kansas with a master's degree from Ohio University and
a certificate from the Institute of Educational Management of the
Harvard University School of Business, Mr. Henderson had held
various positions in business management in several colleges. He
began his duties at Agnes Scott on March 15, 1974, where he had
"overall responsibility, directly under the President, for the Business
Office, the Treasurer's Office, Buildings and Grounds, purchasing,
security, and such auxiliary services as the dining hall, the bookstore,
the mail room, telephone service, and general housekeeping and
maintenance." In President Perry's words Mr. Henderson soon made
his "skill and energies . . . impressively apparent in the comprehensive
reorganization and innovations underway in the area of business and
plant administration at Agnes Scott." A man of unbounded energy
and self-confidence, R. James Henderson made his presence felt in
every facet of campus life.
227
Two other major personnel changes became necessary during
President Perry's first year. In September, 1973, Barbara Murlin
Pendleton, '40, Director of Alumnae Affairs, died very unexpectedly,
after only three years in her important post. To fill this vacancy, the
President, assisted by a committee of alumnae, chose Virginia Brown
McKenzie, '47. Also during this same year Roberta K. Jones, Dean of
Students since 1969, indicated her wish to resign in order to be
married. After a careful search and with the assistance of a committee
of faculty, students, and administrators, the President appointed
Martha C. Huntington (Mrs. William R. - - Now Mrs. William J.
Kirkland) to this crucial administrative post. She had graduated from
the University of Illinois and had earned a master's degree at Georgia
Washington University. Dean Kirkland came to Agnes Scott from
Mount Vernon College in Washington, D.C., where she had served
successively as Chairman of the Department of Physical Education
(1965-1969), Dean of Students (1969-1971), and Dean of Student
Affairs (1971-1974). She began her duties on this campus in the
summer of 1974 and has enjoyed a fine rapport with students and the
entire College community.
Near the end of 1973 the Charles A. Dana Foundation gave Agnes
Scott $250,000 toward the establishment of four Dana Professorships.
Under the terms of this gift, the College was required to match the
grant, and the combined income from this fund would supplement the
usual compensation of those selected to be Dana Professors. The first
Dana Professorship was in the Department of Art, and the incumbent
was Dr. Marie H. Pepe, who at this writing continues in this position.
Subsequently five additional Dana Professors have been named:
Nancy P. Groseclose in Biology, Mary Boney Sheats in Bible and
Religion, Michael J. Brown in History, Ronald L. Byrnside in Music,
and Miriam K. Drucker in Psychology. In this same period, the
William Rand Kenan, Jr., Charitable Trust chose in the spring of 1974
to augment by $100,000 the Professorship in Chemistry which had
been established in 1969 (see p. 200).
The Executive Committee, on the recommendation of the
President, took a very significant action on January 22, 1974, when it
increased the retirement compensation of emeritus faculty members.
Many of these persons had retired on an income which was pitifully
small and woefully inadequate for the cost of living index in the mid-
228
seventies. Here is the Committee's action:
That effective immediately, emeritus members of the faculty as
of December 31,1 973, shall receive a minimum retirement income
based on a payment of $5.00 per month for each year of service to
the College.
By this Trustee action the College committed itself to supplement
retirement pensions to bring a retiree's income through College
arrangements up to the level set forth in the Executive Committee's
resolution.
The Executive Committee also in the 1973-1974 year approved a
new policy on sabbatical leaves as follows:
I. Definition
A sabbatical leave is defined as release from teaching
responsibilities for the purpose of engaging in a program of
scholarly activity other than pursuit of an advanced degree.
Absences from the College for pursuit of advanced degrees or for
reasons of health or unusual family responsibility are not
considered sabbatical leaves and are not covered by this policy.
Special arrangements for such absences may sometimes be made
with the President and the Dean when circumstances permit.
II. Eligibility
A faculty member becomes eligible for a sabbatical leave after six
years of continuous teaching at Agnes Scott College or after six
years of teaching since the last leave. Two years of full-time
teaching at another institution of higher education may be
counted toward a faculty member's initial eligibility at Agnes
Scott, provided there was no break in service between the former
position and the initial appointment at Agnes Scott.
Professional leaves will not automatically be granted for the year
of eligibility if the number of applications in a year exceeds the
number of absences that the College or the department can
tolerate, either financially or academically. An applicant denied
leave during the year of eligibility because of the number of
requests will be given priority the following year.
In considering applications for sabbatical leaves, the following
criteria shall be employed: (1) years since appointment or previous
leave (2) the nature of the project and its potential scholarly return
to the applicant and to the College (3) effect on the continuity of
program in the applicant's department.
Consideration will be given to applicants outside the eligibility
schedule when the projected leave involves an extraordinary
professional opportunity for the applicant.
229
A faculty member desiring to be absent from the college for
reasons other than engaging in a program of scholarly activity
may, on occasion, be considered for an absence without stipend
from the College.
III. Financial Considerations
When the period of leave is one quarter, the College will pay full
annual salary; when the leave is for two or three-quarters, pay will
be one-half of annual salary for that year. A faculty member may
not accept any employment during a period of leave unless such is
a central part of the leave project. College travel and research
funds are not normally available to persons on leave.
Since it is obvious that the cost to the College of leaves must be a
factor in considering the number of leaves which can be granted
for any session, departments are urged to cooperate in minimizing
the cost of leaves without damaging the academic program of the
department. The department shall, where possible, be expected to
handle the load for a quarter's leave or to assume responsibility
for a year's leave such that the difference in the regular salary of
the individual granted leave and the leave stipend shall be
sufficient for part-time replacement. In very small departments,
exceptions will, of necessity, be made to this expectation.
Applicants for leave should make every effort to secure grants or
fellowships outside the College. In the event that the applicant is
able to secure some assistance from off-campus sources, the
amount of aid given by the College may be decreased if the sum of
the fellowship or grant and the College stipend exceeds the normal
full-time salary. The needs of the individual and the nature of the
scholarly project will be contributing factors in making the
adjustment.
IV. Fringe Benefits
For faculty members on leave for a quarter with full salary, both
the College and the individual will continue to pay proportional
shares of medical coverage and retirement payments.
For faculty members on leave with part salary for two or more
quarters, the College and the individual will continue to pay
proportional shares of medical coverage. The College will
contribute to the retirement plan an amount equivalent to ten
percent of the full salary for the current session; the individual will
pay five percent of the salary for the current session into the
retirement program.
For faculty members granted leaves without pay, the College will
assume no responsibility for medical coverage or for retirement
plan payments. The College will, however, cover the individual on
the College group medical plan provided the individual assumes
230
responsibility for the total premium. A faculty member who is
granted a leave to teach at another institution should arrange with
the other institution for retirement and medical payments.
V. Procedure
Applications for leaves should be submitted no later than May 1
for a leave during the session beginning a year from the following
September. Applications should be addressed to the Dean of the
Faculty, as chairman of the Committee on Publication and
Research with a copy to the President. Each application should
clearly set forth the value and purpose of the research or study to
be undertaken. An application must be accompanied by a letter
from the chairman of the department concerned, approving the
leave and indicating what arrangements can be made to maintain
the department's program during the period of the leave. The
committee will make recommendations to the President who will
then present his own recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
In this same vein of seeking to help those who work at Agnes Scott,
President Perry was able in the spring of 1974 to send out two
communications — one to the faculty and administrative staff and one
to the hourly paid employees — detailing improvements in the
College's benefit programs. These two communications are as follows:
To: Members of the faculty and administrative staff
From: Marvin B. Perry, Jr.
Subject: Announcement of benefit programs
I am pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees has
approved alterations and additions to our staff benefit programs
at Agnes Scott College. You will recall my earlier statements that
my priorities at the College would be the welfare of the people of
the College as well as the strength of its academic program. I
believe this advancement in our personnel program not only
addresses the first of these commitments but also puts Agnes Scott
College in a leadership position in terms of its employee benefits
program. These new programs, to be carried by TIAA-CREF,
feature the introduction of a retirement plan for the maintenance
and service employees of the College and new life insurance and
long term disability insurance programs for all employees.
Complete descriptions of these new programs, together with
detailed administrative procedures, are being drafted by the
Business Office for distribution and publication in the
appropriate handbooks. In this letter I shall summarize these new
programs as they relate to our faculty and administrative
personnel.
231
1 . Long-term disability insurance. Effective July 1 , 1 974, all
full time faculty and administrative personnel are eligible to
enroll in this program, the entire premium to be paid by
Agnes Scott College. This plan insures continuation of an
employee's salary in the case of long-term or permanent
disability. In the event of such disability the College will
continue the employee at full salary for six months after the
date of disability. At that time the insurance plan will
provide continuing payment of 60 percent of the first $1,500
of the employee's monthly salary plus 40 percent of the
monthly salary in excess of $1,500 including income from
Social Security, Workmen's Compensation or other plans.
(Total monthly income shall not exceed $1,500.) Such
payments will continue for the duration of the disability or
until the employee reaches age 65.
2. Group life insurance. Effective July 1, 1974, all full-time
employees will be covered by our new group life insurance
program. The College will provide, at no cost to the
employee, one unit of term insurance. Faculty and
administrative personnel are eligible to enroll at the
beginning of the quarter following their date of
employment. This insurance provides decreasing coverage
with increasing age. To illustrate, estimated coverage of one
unit of insurance for three male employees is shown below:
Age Estimated coverage
25 $11,720
45 3,820
65 660
3. Retirement program. One significant change has been
made in the retirement program for faculty and
administrative personnel. Effective July 1, 1974, employees
participating in TIAA-CREF will be able to treat their own
five percent retirement contribution (plus any additional
amount up to the legal limit) as deferred taxable income. By
electing a "salary reduction" program as opposed to a
"salary deduction" program, the employee's contribution is
not taxed until the retirement years. Each TIAA-CREF
participant will need to study this option carefully to
determine whether it is advantageous to his/her own
financial plan. Of course, Bill Hannah or Jim Henderson
will be happy to provide personal counsel on this option.
I am very happy that Agnes Scott will inaugurate these new
benefit programs in the next fiscal year. They are indicative of the
concern and support of our Board of Trustees for the loyal people
who serve the College in many different ways. I am confident that
232
these programs will be of significant help to all of us in our
planning for financial security.
To: Hourly Paid Employees
From: Marvin B. Perry, Jr., President
Subject: Retirement and Life Insurance Plan
It is with great pleasure that I announce the establishment of a
retirement plan and life insurance plan for our hourly paid
employees, these plans to become effective July 1, 1974. All costs
of these new programs will be paid by Agnes Scott College.
You will become eligible for the retirement plan after five years
of continuous full-time serivce. The college will contribute the
equivalent of five percent of your regular time wages to the plan.
This money is kept in your name by an insurance company
(TIAA-CREF) until you retire (normally at age 65), and then you
will begin receiving a monthly retirement pension.
If you have had ten years or more of continuous full-time
service when you retire, the college will guarantee that you receive
at least $2.00 per month for each year of service, including your
regular retirement plan benefits. Premiums for individual
coverage for Blue Cross-Blue Shield (not including major
medical) will be paid by the college after retirement of employees
with ten years or more of service.
A life insurance policy will be provided to employees after 90
days of service to the college. This amount is higher for the
younger employees where the need is usually greater and
decreases in amount in each year. For example, the following
estimated coverage will be provided.
Man —age 25 $11,720
Woman — age 35 10,100
Man — age 45 3,820
Woman — age 55 2,020
If you have any questions about these new programs, I am sure
that your supervisor can provide answers or get them for you. This
is only a brief announcement, and the details will follow later. It
will be necessary for you to fill out forms in order to participate in
these programs, and you will receive instructions on this later.
I recognize that it is the people of Agnes Scott who make it a
great college. I count you and your associates as a great asset to
the college, and installing these plans has been one of my primary
goals. I sincerely hope that they will be of great benefit to you and
your families.
233
During the early part of April, 1974, Agnes Scott presented its
second Atlanta Environmental Symposium. Of course, other
symposia had preceded this one on campus — for example, the one on
The Conscience of a Blackened Street (1967) or the one on Developing
Nations (1969) or the first Atlanta Environmental Symposium (1973)
dealing with the limits to growth; but the number of off-campus people
who came to the 1974 Symposium made it particularly noteworthy.
For instance, such speakers as Ralph Nader or Stuart Udall drew
capacity audiences — to mention only two. A third such event was
presented in 1981 when the The Ethics of Scarcity was the over-all
topic. Meanwhile in November, 1974, the College presented a similar
conference on Bio-Ethics. Each of these symposia or conferences was
characterized by a group of distinguished speakers presented over a
period of more than one day. In addition to being a stimulus to
students and faculty, events of this type emphasized Agnes Scott's
desire to be of useful service to the community-at-large in offering
programs dealing with pressing contemporary considerations.
Early on in his administration, President Perry, working with the
Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Board of Trustees, gave
much attention to improving the outdoor lighting on campus and the
installation of directional signs for visitors. In conjunction with this
latter project, a new College logo was designed and used. New lighting
and new signs were in place by the summer of 1974.
Attention was also being given to air-conditioning Winship
Dormitory as well as the McCain Library and the auditoriums in
Presser Hall. The first part of this enterprise was completed by the end
of the 1974 summer, but the magnitude of the library renovations
stretched over four summers since this facility had to remain
operational during the academic year. A fuller comment on the library
will be made subsequently.
On November 27, 1973, President Perry announced that the
Carnegie Corporation had made a grant of $290,000 to be shared by
sixteen women's colleges "to support a program of internships in
college administration for young women." Agnes Scott was one of the
sixteen colleges, and beginning with the 1974-1975 session and
continuing for four academic years thereafter, one of these interns was
in training on this campus while at the same time an Agnes Scott
graduate was interning at another woman's college. The program was
quite beneficial to all concerned.
234
From its earliest days, the campus and buildings at Agnes Scott,
with the exception of administrative offices, had remained unused
during the summer. Between academic years in 1974, the College
began making its facilities available for summer conferences, a
practice which has continued ever since. Room, board, meeting and
recreational facilities have been provided for a fee and the whole
endeavor has proved worthwhile. Much of the hourly staff were given
work for the summer; the visitors became cognizant of Agnes Scott,
and although the income was negligible, the public relations factor has
been considerable. Apparently the visitors liked what was offered.
Many have returned; in fact, one group has been here every year since
the program began. The approaching summer (1982) bids fair to being
a busy one with campus conference visitors continuing.
Beginning with the 1 974- 1 975 year Agnes Scott embarked on a two-
year experiment of altering the College calendar such that the fall
quarter began early in September and concluded just before
Thanksgiving with the winter and spring quarters remaining
unchanged. This alteration gave students an extended period for
Christmas jobs and eliminated one round-trip transportation fare
necessary under the calendar which asked students to return to the
campus between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It also enabled the
College to economize on its fuel and utility bills as the winter began.
After the two years' experiment, the faculty voted to return to the
traditional calendar, but a few years later, the new calendar was voted
in again and continues as these lines are written.
An action of far-reaching significance was initiated at the Board
meeting on May 17, 1974, when Chairman Gaines announced to the
Trustees that he had asked Mr. Scott Candler, Jr., to work with him
and President Perry in formulating recommendations for up-dating
the Board's bylaws. The upshot of this enterprise was that the Trustees
on September 6, 1974, unanimously adopted revised bylaws and
directed that they become effective immediately. Two major
alterations were reflected in these revised bylaws: (1) changes that had
already become effective in the administrative structure of the College
(e.g. the position of vice president for business affairs) and (2) a return
to the full faculty of the academic life of the College. This last item was
of real significance. It has already been pointed out that since 1921
responsibility for the academic activity of Agnes Scott was lodged in
the Academic Council (see pp. 59-60). This new action of the Board
abolished this Council and placed responsibility for academic policy in
235
the faculty, under the Board and the President. So important is this
latter change that it is quoted in full:
Article III, Section 3, Functions of the Faculty
Under the authority of the Board of Trustees and the
President, the Faculty shall determine the academic policy
of the College, establish standards for admission, fix
requirements for the degree, approve the courses of
instruction offered by the various departments, and
administer the curriculum. The Faculty shall have general
charge of instruction, attendance of students, examinations,
and the academic discipline of the College. The faculty may
make rules for its organization and conduct of business and
may organize councils and committees for the proper
discharge of its responsibilities.
As a result of this bylaw change, the faculty, under the guidance of a
temporary executive committee elected by the faculty, developed its
own bylaws, committee structure, and procedures to carry out its new
responsibilities. These new faculty bylaws were thoroughly discussed
and were ratified by a series of votes in the spring of 1975.
Subsequently amended from time to time, these bylaws continue to
constitute the framework within which the faculty functions and does
its work. Presently there are thirteen committees responsible to the
faculty as follows: (1) Committee on Academic Standards, (2)
Admissions Committee, (3) Committee on Campus Development and
Use, (4) Committee on Committees, (5) Committee on Compensation,
(6) Curriculum Committee, (7) Executive Committee, (8) Committee
on the Future of the College, (9) Committee on Independent Study,
(10) Committee on Professional Development, (11) Teacher
Education Committee, (12) Committee on Technical Facilities, and
(13) Grievance Committee. In addition, there are five College
committees that are not responsible directly to the faculty, namely, (1)
the Administrative Committee, (2) the Financial Aid Committee, (3)
the Lecture Committee, (4) the Library Committee, and (5) the
Committee for Sophomore Parents' Weekend. All of this information
including definitions, committee personnel, and important legislation
by the faculty has been gathered together into a faculty handbook of
more than ninety pages covering almost every conceivable situation
that might confront a faculty member at Agnes Scott. This change has
given the faculty a renewed sense of formulating and directing the
academic policy of the College.
236
The Trustees, ever mindful of the welfare of the Agnes Scott faculty
and other employees, approved in November, 1974, an arrangement
whereby College personnel could affiliate with the DeKalb County
Teachers Federal Credit Union — a benefit which the College could
not offer on its own because of a limited number of employees. The
DeKalb Credit Union was thoroughly investigated and was found
worthy of its excellent reputation. Thus, another fringe benefit became
available to faculty, staff, and other workers.
By the early seventies it had been twenty years since Agnes Scott had
engaged in a long-range study of goals. As a result of a
recommendation from its Development Committee, the Board on
November 15, 1974, authorized a planning committee "to analyze
Agnes Scott's position in today's world and to present to the Board in
due course its recommendations for actions it considers would be
helpful or necessary in enabling Agnes Scott to achieve its goals." This
committee, when appointed, was made up of students, faculty,
administration, alumnae, trustees, and a representative from the
President's Advisory Council. Through this committee the Board of
Trustees was looking ahead to the next major thrust which the College
would make toward new educational and financial objectives (see pp.
257-259).
During the 1974-1975 year, the Trustees, on the recommendation of
the faculty, approved a dual degree program with the Georgia Institute
of Technology. Under the stipulations of this program, a student may
attend Agnes Scott for three years, meeting all requirements for the
B. A. degree, and then attend Georgia Tech for two years. At the end of
the five-year period she receives a B. A. from Agnes Scott and a B.S. in
engineering from Georgia Tech.
Another significant development of the 1974-1975 year was the
beginning of the program for "women beyond the usual college age."
Initially called the "Non-traditional Student Program," it in time came
to be denominated the "Return to College Program." In his annual
report for 1974-1975, President Perry wrote
These women range in age from the mid-twenties to the sixties,
their academic backgrounds vary from high school equivalency to
a Ph.D., but most have had some previous college work. Most
have children and are juggling babysitters and car pools in order
to return to college, and a few are employed full time and have
worked out arrangements which enable them to come to campus
for a course. Half of them are receiving financial aid from Agnes
237
Scott in the form of work scholarship or tuition grants. They are
taking a wide variety of courses and some are degree applicants.
Although most were apprehensive about "returning to college,"
all have done well so far.
This program has expanded since 1974 from "about a dozen" to a
total of sixty-nine such students in 1980-1981. Seventeen of these
return-to-college students received the B.A. degree at the 1981
commencement. All of these women have added much to campus life
and have made valuable contributions to class discussions. Already, as
just noted, some have received their Agnes Scott degree, and there are
many others who have set receiving the B.A. degree as their aim. This
program has become so much a part of Agnes Scott's life that it is
difficult to think of the College without it.
Two matters of considerable importance to students were enacted in
1974-1975 to become effective with the 1975-1976 year. The first of
these had to do with the student health service. For years Agnes Scott
had operated an infirmary under the supervision of a college physician
who was on the regular Agnes Scott staff. Now after considerable
study, in which the Dean of Students, the Dean of the Faculty, the Vice
President for Business Affairs, and student leaders were involved, the
College decided to utilize a "cooperative health care program" for
students and all employees and their dependents. The program chosen
was one operated by the Emory Community Nursing Service.
Commenting on this innovation, the President in his annual report for
1974-1975 wrote as follows:
It [the new service] will involve no additional cost to students but
will offer them a broader health program. Our Health Center
(formerly called the Infirmary) will be staffed 24 hours a day by
Nurse Practitioners (Registered Nurses with masters degrees) who
will be qualified and prepared to carry out medication and
treatment at any hour. Patients in need of specialized services will
be referred to a staff of consulting internists, psychiatrists, and
other specialists in the area. In addition to service to students, the
Health Service will make available to our faculty and staff and
their dependents for a modest fee, such services as allergy and
immunization shots, blood pressure measurement, nutrition
guidance and screening diagnostic tests.
The second major student matter which saw a change with the
beginning of the academic session in September, 1975, concerned the
use of alcoholic beverages by students — a matter which had
previously been before the Board of Trustees. Perhaps the best thing to
238
do is simply to cite the rule change:
AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE: POLICY REGARDING THE
CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ON
CAMPUS
WHEREAS, the majority of Agnes Scott students are 18 years
or older, and
WHEREAS, a college atmosphere should lend itself to student
responsibility in both academic and social policies; therefore,
RESOLVED, that the Agnes Scott College "POLICY
REGARDING THE USE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES," as
stated in the Student Handbook, be amended as follows:
Alcoholic beverages are permitted, in compliance with state
and local laws', on the Agnes Scott campus at campus-wide social
functions held in designated areas, as coordinated and evaluated
by B.S.A.* and as approved by the Dean of Students. Alcoholic
beverages which may be served at such functions are beer, wine,
and "spiked" punches.
No College or Student Government funds will be used for the
purchase of alcoholic beverages at any function held off or on
campus and sponsored by the college or any organization within
the college. Only a student over 18 years may serve the alcoholic
beverage, and a non-alcoholic beverage must also be served.
Alcoholic beverages are not to be transported into or away
from the designated area of the social function, nor are alcoholic
beverages to be transported to the function except by authorized
persons of the sponsoring board. Other violations of this policy
include falsification of ID to purchase alcoholic beverages,
purchasing alcohol by those over 18 years of age for a minor, and
the possession of alcoholic beverages by those students under the
age of 1 8. Students are on their honor to obey campus policy when
obtaining drinks at campus functions.
'Students must comply with Georgia and Decatur laws
regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages as follows:
Georgia:
1. The legal age for purchasing alcholic beverages is 18. It is
against the law in Georgia either to sell or furnish alcoholic
beverages to minors.
2. It is illegal to appear in an intoxicated condition or to
evidence boisterous or vulgar behavior on any public street,
in any public place, in any private residence other than one's
own, or on any mode of public transportation.
Decatur:
It is unlawful to drink in automobiles parked or moving on
the streets, highways, or alleys of the city.
*Board of Student Activities
239
The student is responsible for exemplifying a high standard of
conduct so that her behavior will not be detrimental to herself, her
fellow students, or to the college. Hostessing boards are similarly
responsible for insuring that guests are aware of the expected
standard of conduct.
The first violation by a student of the Policy Regarding the Use
of Alcoholic Beverages shall be handled by the Dormitory
Council. The Dormitory Council shall automatically refer to
Interdormitory Council any case involving a second infraction.
Any subsequent violations shall be automatically referred to the
Honor Court. As is the practice with any particularly serious or
flagrant violations of any policy, Dormitory Council reserves the
right to refer any such case involving this policy to a higher court
than the one stipulated above.
As always in matters of student policy, the Administrative
Committee has the right to rescind this privilege at any time. One
year after this policy takes effect, the Administrative Committee
will automatically review and reevaluate it.
Suffice it to say, this change was just the beginning of permitting
alcoholic beverages on the Agnes Scott campus. Other more sweeping
changes were soon to come. One more thing should be said. At no level
of the voting process Representative Council, Administrative
Committee, Executive Committee of the Board, or in the Board itself
— was the vote unanimous.
A rather far-reaching action took place in 1974 and 1975 when the
Board of Trustees took the steps which resulted in amending the
section of Agnes Scott's Articles of Incorporation (Charter) which set
forth the qualifications of trustees for membership on the Board. It
will be recalled that initially all Agnes Scott Trustees were required to
be members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. In 1941
the Charter was amended such that only three-fourths of the Trustees
had to be members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States,
the remaining one-fourth being required to "be members of some
evangelical church and sympathetic with the fundamentals of the
Christian religion." Now the Articles of Incorporation (Charter) were
amended again, with only two-thirds of the Trustees being required to
be members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States "but all of
whom shall be in sympathy and accord with the objectives of the
College as set forth in these Articles of Incorporation." Thus, this
change permitted one third of the Board to be members of any
evangelical church, of any non-Christian church, or of no church — so
long as he or she was in sympathy with the objectives of the College.
240
This change in the make-up of the Board of Trustees was fundamental,
and it has resulted in some non-Christian members of the Board. It
should be pointed out, however, that the Charter purpose or objective
of the College has remained unchanged, and the phrase that all
Trustees "shall be in sympathy and accord with the objectives of the
College as set forth in [the] Articles of Incorporation" would obviously
require that all Trustees be in sympathy with the Christian religion.
Here again is the official statement of the purpose of Agnes Scott:
Said corporation [the Board of Trustees] is constituted for the
purpose of establishing, perpetuating, and conducting a liberal
arts college for the higher education of young women under
auspices distinctly favorable to the maintenance of the faith and
practice of the Christian religion.
Change is a part of any viable institution, and changes were coming
thick and fast at Agnes Scott in the middle 1970's. One change which
may seem quite radical to some alumnae had to do with parietals or
having men visit students in their dormitory rooms. After going
through the various channels of Representative Council of Student
Government, the Administrative Committee, and the Executive
Committee of the Board, the following proposal was enacted by the
Trustees on May 14, 1976:
AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE: POLICY REGARDING OPEN
DORMITORIES ON SUNDAY AFTERNOONS
WHEREAS, a college atmosphere should lend itself to
responsibility of students in academic and social realms, and
WHEREAS, such a measure would promote an atmosphere of
welcome and relaxation, increase social contact on the Agnes
Scott campus, and share a vital part of our lives with fathers,
brothers, and friends, and
WHEREAS, the present policy is inadequate in facilitating this
atmosphere; therefore,
RESOLVED, that the Agnes Scott College policy regarding
male visitation ... be amended as follows:
Men will be allowed to visit a student's room on Sunday
afternoons from 1:30 to 5:00 with the following stipulations:
241
1) A student must sign her guest in and accompany him to and
from the lobby. No male may come to a room unescorted; he must
call for a student from the lobby.
2) Men must use the men's restrooms in the lobbies.*
3) Male guests must abide by all our policies in regard to
alcohol, drugs, fire drills, quiet, etc. It is the responsibility of the
student to inform her guests of these polices.
4) Violation of any rules will result in an automatic Dormitory
Council case.
This new policy became effective with the 1 976- 1 977 academic session
and has operated successfully. A safeguard which the Trustees built
into their action in this matter is an annual review by appropriate
College officers. As of this writing, the authorization for visitation by
men in the dormitories has been extended to include Saturday
afternoons as well as Sunday afternoons.
At the next meeting of the Board of Trustees after which parietals
were authorized, a double action was taken establishing a new
statement on academic freedom and responsibility and setting forth
revised policies and criteria for appointment, reappointment,
promotion and tenure in the faculty. This whole package of legislation
had been before the faculty for some months and had progressed
through the Board's Executive Committee to two subsequent meetings
of the Trustees. With the endorsement of the President and the
Executive Committee, the Board itself on October 27, 1976, approved
the following:
*Inman will have to make some concession since it does not have
facilities for men.
242
STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND
RESPONSIBILITY
and
POLICIES AND CRITERIA FOR
APPOINTMENT, REAPPOINTMENT, PROMOTION, AND
TENURE
OF AGNES SCOTT COLLEGE1
Statement on
Academic Freedom and Responsibility
Agnes Scott College is dedicated to the fostering and preservation
of the free search for truth and of its free exposition. Academic
freedom is essential to this purpose: freedom in research is
necessary to the advancement of truth; freedom in teaching is
fundamental to the protection of the rights of the teacher in
teaching and of the student in learning. The free search for truth
and its free expression carry with them responsibilities correlative
with rights.
All components of the Agnes Scott College community have the
responsibility to exemplify, support, and preserve the intellectual
freedom of teaching, learning, research, expression, and debate in
the interest of reasoned inquiry. This responsibility also imposes
on the students, the faculty, administrative officials, and the
Board of Trustees the obligation to respect the dignity of others,
to acknolwedge their right to express differing opinions, and to
foster and defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry and
instruction, and free expression by faculty and students both on
and off campus.
Every member of the Agnes Scott College faculty, whether
tenured or on temporary appointment, is entitled to full freedom
in research and scholarship and in the publication of the results.
Research for pecuniary return, however, should be undertaken
only with the consent of the President and the Dean of the
Faculty.
'The substance of this statement is taken from the 1940 Joint
Statement on Academic Freedom and Tenure and 1970
Interpretive Comments, Statement on Professional Ethics (1966),
Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students (1968),
Report on Retirement and Academic Freedom (1968), AAUP
Council's Statement on Freedom and Responsibility (1970), 1972
Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom
and Tenure, and Procedural Standards for appointment,
reappointment, promotion, and tenure of the American
Association of Unviersity Professors, found in A A UP Policy
Documents and Reports (1973 ed.)
243
Every member of the Agnes Scott College faculty, whether
tenured or on temporary appointment, is entitled to full freedom
in the classroom to discuss any matter relevant to the subject of
the course being taught. It is the mastery of the subject which
entitles the instructor to this freedom of presentation, and it is
improper and, in extreme cases may be a denial of the students'
freedom to learn, for an instructor persistently to introduce
material into the course which has no relevance to the subject or to
fail to present the subject matter of the course as it has been
approved by the Faculty in its collective responsibility for the
curriculum. It is the responsibility of the instructor in the
classroom and in conference to encourage free discussion,
inquiry, and expression. Evaluation of a student's work and the
award of credit must be based on her academic performance
professionally judged and not on matters irrelevant to that
performance.
Every member of the Agnes Scott College faculty, whether
tenured or on temporary appointment, has the rights and
obligations of any citizen, and there shall be no institutional
censorship or discipline of a faculty member who speaks or writes
as a citizen. However, as a member of the academic profession and
as an officer of Agnes Scott College, the faculty member holds a
special position of influence in the community and should make
every effort at all times to be accurate, to exercise appropriate
restraint, to show respect for the opinions of others, and to make
clear that he or she is not a spokesman for the College.
The students of Agnes Scott College are entitled to an atmosphere
conducive to learning and to fair and even-handed treatment in all
aspects of teacher-student and administrator-student
relationships. A student must be free to take reasoned exception
to the data or views offered in any course of study, but she is
responsible for learning the content of any course for which she is
enrolled and for maintaining standards of academic performance
established for that course. The student shall be protected against
prejudiced or capricious academic evaluations or disciplinary
measures and against any exploitation by faculty and
administrative officials for personal advantage. As a citizen, the
student has the same rights and obligations of any citizen, and
there shall be no institutional censorship or discipline of a student
who speaks or writes as a citizen. However, it is the responsibility
of the student to make clear to the academic community and to the
larger community that she is not a spokesman for the College.
In determining the administrative policies and procedures of the
College it is the responsibility of administrative officials and the
Board of Trustees to foster and preserve the academic freedom of
faculty, students, and administrative officers with faculty status.
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For many years the Board of Trustees has endorsed the policy of
granting permanent or continuous tenure to full-time teaching
faculty who have satisfactorily completed a probationary period
of teaching. Tenure, which gives a degree of economic and
professional security to the individual faculty member and
stability to the faculty as a whole, is one of the most effective
means of fostering and protecting academic freedom. The policy
of granting tenure also creates a climate of free inquiry and
expression in which students and non-tenured faculty may share
academic freedom equally with tenured faculty. The Board of
Trustees and the administrative officials of the College, together
with the faculty, support the continued policy of tenure as a means
of protecting academic freedom.
The Board of Trustees and administrative officials have a
particular responsibility to foster and preserve the freedom of
expression and debate outside the classroom. The right of duly
authorized committees and academic departments to invite to the
campus guest lecturers, performers, or exhibitors of their choice
shall be preserved, and guest speakers shall be given the
opportunity to be heard and their freedom of speech shall be
protected. The student press shall be free of censorship and
advance approval of copy and its editors and managers free to
develop their own editorial policies and news coverage. However,
the editorial freedom of student editors and managers entails
corollary responsibilities to be governed by the canons of
responsible journalism, such as the avoidance of libel,
undocumented allegations, attacks on personal integrity, and the
techniques of harrassment and innuendo.2 While the charter of
the College states that the program of the college shall be carried
out "under auspices distinctly favorable" to the Christian faith, no
limitations of academic freedom are thereby intended.
Agnes Scott College can successfully foster and preserve the free
search for truth and its free exposition only by the affirmation and
exercise of academic freedom and responsibilities by all members
of the College community.
2The Board of Trustees of Agnes Scott College, on May 14,
1 976, asked that the Faculty consider amending this sentence and
the one that precedes it to read as follows:
The student press shall be free of censorship and advance
approval of copy and its editors and managers free to
develop their own editorial policies and news coverage, so
long as student editors and managers fully accept the
responsibility to be governed by the canons of responsible
journalism, such as the avoidance of libel, undocumented
allegations, attacks on personal integrity, and the
techniques of harrassment and innuendo.
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Policies and Criteria for
Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure
Agnes Scott College Faculty
I. Initial Appointment
Initial appointment to the teaching faculty shall originate in the
academic department concerned, which after consideration of
qualified candidates shall recommend for appointment the
candidate of its choice to the Dean of the Faculty and to the
President. Appointment to the faculty is made by the Board of
Trustees on nomination by the President of the College.
In making recommendation for an initial appointment the
department and administrative officials are selecting a potentially
permanent member of the faculty. The candidate selected,
therefore, should be the one who gives best promise of performing
in accordance with the minimal criteria established by the faculty
for appointment, reappointment, promotion, and tenure,
delineated in Article III.
Initial appointment may carry any faculty rank appropriate to the
position filled, except that those appointed to the rank of
Assistant Professor and above must hold the highest earned
degree in the discipline to be taught; those appointed to the rank
of Associate Professor and Professor must have successful
teaching experience in a college or university equivalent to
experience required for promotion to these ranks in the Agnes
Scott Faculty; and those appointed to the rank of Professor must
have achieved distinction in scholarship or, if in the disciplines of
applied arts, distinction in creative accomplishment.
Initial appointment to the teaching faculty does not carry tenure
of office, and newly appointed faculty shall be on one-, two-, or
three-year contracts until such time as employment is terminated
or tenure is granted.
All faculty on temporary appointment shall have the full rights of
academic freedom accorded tenured members of the faculty.
II. Reappointment
Reappointment of a non-tenured faculty member shall originate
in the department concerned and procedures shall follow those
used in making initial appointments.
In recommending a candidate for reappointment the department
should be fully satisfied that the candidate fulfills the expectancy
upon which the initial appointment was based in accordance with
the minimal criteria for appointment, reappointment, promotion,
and tenure, delineated in Article III.
If reappointment is not recommended, notice of termination of
employment shall be given in writing by the appropriate
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administrative official (1) not later than March 1 of the first
academic year of service; (2) not later than December 15 of the
second academic year of service; (3) at least twelve months before
the expiration of an appointment after two or more years of
service at Agnes Scott. If requested, reasons for non-
reappointment shall be given in writing.
III. Minimal Criteria for Appointment, Reappointment,
Promotion, and Tenure
Effectiveness in Teaching. In an undergraduate college the ability
to teach effectively is of first importance in the criteria for
selection and retention of faculty. Because individuals achieve
success in teaching in such a variety of ways, no rigid set of
standards or requirements for measuring this ability is feasible.
However, there are certain qualifications and characteristics
which every effective teacher may be expected to possess: (a)
intellectual alertness and enthusiasm for learning that are likely to
make teaching more than a mere imparting of information; (b) a
thorough knowledge of the subject being taught; (c) the ability to
present this subject at the level necessary to arouse and maintain
the interest of the students; and (d) a recognition of the various
academic needs of students and the willingness and ability to meet
them.
Scholarship. Of equal importance with effective teaching is a
continuing interest in new ideas and knowledge in the discipline
taught by the candidate. Acquaintance with current books and
periodicals, attendance at meetings of learned societies,
continuing study in the fields being taught, and the incorporation
of new discoveries into the material taught are important
indications of the maintenance of scholarly standards.
Independent research and publication are desirable and should be
encouraged, but they are not the only evidence of scholarly
interest. In the applied arts creative accomplishment may replace
scholarly activity as an appropriate basis for estimating an
individual's value to the teaching faculty.
Professional Responsibility. In addition to evidence of effective
teaching and of scholarly interest and capacity of creative
accomplishment, the candidate should display a high level of
professional ethics in dealing with students, colleagues, and
administrative officials of the College, should have sufficient
health and sense of responsibility to meet the academic
obligations required by the normal teaching load of the
department, should show a willingness to cooperate and
participate in the non-teaching responsibilities of the faculty, and
should foster concern for human worth and needs, physical as well
as intellectual and spiritual, in accordance with the stated
purposes of Agnes Scott College.
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IV. Promotion
A candidate for promotion in rank must meet the minimal criteria
for appointment, reappointment, promotion, and tenure
delineated under Article III. The level at which the candidate is
expected to fulfill these criteria rises with the level of academic
rank.
In addition, for promotion to the rank of Assistant Professor and
above the candidate must hold the highest earned degree in the
discipline taught; for promotion to the rank of Associate
Professor the candidate must have at least six years of full-time
teaching experience in a college or university; and for promotion
to Professor the candidate must have substantial full-time
teaching experience (no less than six years) in a college or
university and have achieved distinction in all areas of the
minimal criteria. Promotion to Professor is a recognition of
professional achievement and outstanding service to the College
community.
V. Tenure
Permanent or continuous tenure of office is not automatic but is
granted as early as practicable following a probationary period in
which the faculty member is on temporary appointment.
The probationary period following initial appointment of faculty
on a full-time basis to the rank of Instructor or above shall not
normally exceed seven years. A maximum of three years of full-
time service in other institutions of higher learning may be
included within the seven years. In an unusual circumstance and
by mutual written consent the probationary period may be
extended, but extension of the probationary period shall not be
used to circumvent the granting of tenure.
During the probationary period faculty members shall have the
full rights of academic freedom accorded tenured members of the
faculty.
To be eligible for continuous or permanent tenure following the
probationary period the candidate must meet the minimal criteria
delineated under Article III at the level of performance expected
in the rank held by the candidate.
Once tenure is granted employment cannot be terminated before
the age of retirement at 65 except for adequate cause or, under
extraordinary circumstances, for financial exigencies.
Termination of employment for adequate cause or for financial
exigencies or the dismissal for cause of a faculty member on
temporary appointment prior to the expiration of the period of
appointment shall follow the rules of procedure set forth by the
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American Association of University Professors and accepted by
the Board of Trustees of Agnes Scott College.
At the close of the academic session in the calendar year in which a
tenured member of the faculty attains the retirement age of 65
permanent or continuous tenure shall cease. By action of the
Board of Trustees the faculty member may be approved for
annual appointment until the end of the academic session in the
calendar year in which he or she attains the age of 70. Procedures
for this annual reappointment shall follow those covered in
Section II. Reappointment.
One of the happiest events of Agnes Scott's recent life occurred in
April, 1976, when the College celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the
establishment of its chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Months of preparation
went into the observance which stretched over more than two days and
to which all Agnes Scott Phi Beta Kappas were invited. At a
Wednesday Convocation Dr. Catherine S. Sims, a Senator of the
United Chapters, gave the lead-off address, following which newly
elected members were announced. On Thursday evening at the fiftieth
anniversary dinner, greetings were brought by Dr. Kenneth M.
Greene, Executive Secretary of the United Chapters of Phi Beta
Kappa, and after the dinner the anniversary address was given by Dr.
Rosemary Park, former President of Barnard College and immediate
past President of the United Chapters. Then on Friday two seminars
were conducted and a convocation address was delivered by Dr.
Juanita M. Kreps, Professor of Economics and Vice President, Duke
University, later U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The whole event
highlighted Agnes Scott's continuing commitment to academic
excellence and to liberal learning.
A project which concerned Agnes Scott for four summers beginning
in 1974 was the major renovation of the McCain Library.
Understandably, this work was restricted to summers because the
Library could not be out of use during the academic sessions. During
the first summer the building was completely air-conditioned,
followed the next year by cleaning and waterproofing plus the
installation of a new stairway from the ground to the top floor and the
construction of a new larger elevator shaft. The third summer (1976)
witnessed much further alteration to the inside of the building
including new lighting, new furniture and carpeting, increased display
areas as well as greatly expanded stack space allowing for growth for
the next ten to fifteen years. The final summer (1977) saw the
completion of the new board room for the Trustees along with a very
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handsome special collections room and display space on the old
second floor. Also an improved facility for Agnes Scott's archives was
provided. Thus, the McCain Library was virtually rebuilt. All of this
improvement was financed without drawing on regular sources of
income but was accomplished through gifts designated for this project.
Henry Howard Smith of Atlanta was the architect for this renovation.
The 1976-1977 year saw the final working out by the faculty of
grievance procedures, should anyone feel the need to use them. The
rules and regulations were approved by the Board of Trustees on
February 1 1, 1977, and are as follows:
GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE*
Functions:
a. Upon written request the Committee shall investigate
impartially the complaint of any faculty member who feels abused
or unfairly treated by a college committee, another faculty
member, or the administration of the college. These complaints
should involve serious matters such as salary, reappointment,
promotion, tenure, violation of academic freedom, sabbaticals,
and similar concerns; and the complaints should come to the
Grievance Committee only after the faculty member has pursued
a resolution through the initial steps of the Grievance Procedure
(see p. 35 of the Faculty Handbook). If the Committee believes the
complaint warrants its consideration it shall conduct an
investigation of the matter.
b. In cases of non-reappointment, denial of tenure, or dismissal
of a faculty member, the Committee, following A AUP guidelines,
as embodied in college policy, shall determine whether the proper
procedures for such action have been followed.**
c. In cases of dismissal of a tenured faculty member, upon that
faculty member's written request, the Committee shall determine
whether in its view formal proceedings to consider the dismissal of
that faculty member should be instituted. It shall advise the
President of its recommendation. AAUP guidelines for formal
dismissal hearings, as embodied in college policy, shall be
followed.
*Because of the nature of this committee, the usual procedure for
reporting committee actions as outlined in 3.g [of the Faculty
Handbook] will not be followed.
**See A A UP Policy Documents & Reports, 1973 edition.
(Faculty Handbook II, 32, 33)
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d. When a faculty member asks the Committee for a review of
the decision of another faculty body (a committee or a
department, for example), the Grievance Committee shall
determine in its view whether the decision received adequate
consideration according to the relevant standards of Agnes Scott
College. The Grievance Committee shall not substitute its
judgment on the merits of the decision for that of the other faculty
body.
e. If the Grievance Committee determines that a faculty
member's case has not received adequate consideration, it shall
request in writing that the appropriate faculty body review the
case and shall inform the President and the Dean of the Faculty of
its request.
f. In all cases the Committee shall present a written
recommendation based on its findings to the aggrieved faculty
member, the head of any other faculty body involved, the Dean of
the Faculty, and the President; and it shall discuss its findings with
the faculty member, the head of the faculty body, the President
and the Dean of the Faculty.
g. The Committee shall try to bring the parties involved to a
mutually satisfactory agreement.
h. Where its investigation necessitates the Committee's having
access to a faculty member's personnel file, the Committee shall
request written permission for such access from the faculty
member. Material in faculty personnel files prior to the approval
by the Board of a Faculty Grievance Committee (February 11,
1977) will be accessible only with the permission of the author.
i. The Committee shall cease its investigation upon the request
of the aggrieved faculty member.
j. The Committee, acting as an agent for the faculty, may
submit its findings through the President to the Executive
Committee of the Board of Trustees in cases where it believes a
faculty member has been grievously treated and where no
resolution can be effected with the President.
Membership:
The faculty shall elect three members of the teaching faculty,
two tenured and one untenured, each from a different
department, to serve for three years. No member may serve
consecutive terms. At the same election the faculty shall choose
three alternate members of the Committee from three other
departments to serve if one or more members of the regular
Committee are involved in a particular case. If it should be
ncessary to use an alternate, the Committee shall select the
replacement. The untenured member of the regular Committee
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shall resign at the end of the year during which he or she is notified
of the receipt of tenure, and a replacement shall be selected at the
general election of committees in the Spring.
The Grievance Procedure:
1. The faculty member should discuss the complaint with the
chairman of his or her department, with the chairman of the
faculty committee, with other faculty members, or with the
administrator whose decision has elicited the complaint, as
appropriate.
2. If the issue is not satisfactorily resolved, or if the faculty
member receives no response in ten calendar days, he or she
should submit the complaint in writing to the Dean of the Faculty
and the President.
3. If there is no response in ten calendar days, or if the response
is unsatisfactory to the grievant, he or she may solicit the
participation of the Grievance Committee by a written request for
help, a copy of the original complaint sent to the Dean of the
Faculty and the President, and, if necessary, an authorization for
the Grievance Committee to have access to the faculty member's
personnel file.
4. The Grievance Committee shall determine the merits of the
case in its opinion. If it decides to investigate, it will render an
opinion within twenty calendar days of its receipt of the grievant's
request. This opinion will be given in writing to all persons
concerned.
5. The Grievance Committee shall, at this point, try to effect a
resolution between the parties in conflict.
6. If the Grievance Committee finds the President
unresponsive to what it considers an egregious violation of a
faculty member's rights, the Committee, acting as an agent of the
faculty, may submit its findings through the President to the
Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees for final
resolution.
7. Time limitations at each stage in the procedure may be
extended by mutual agreement of the parties.
Reference has already been made to certain changes in major
administrative officers early in President Perry's administration. Such
changes continued for several more years. In 1976 Mr. R. James
Henderson resigned his post as vice president for business affairs to
accept the position of business manager at Duke University and was
replaced by Mr. Doyle M. Dillard, who remained one year. In 1977
Mr. Lee A. Barclay was appointed to this position and is still in office.
252
Mr. Barclay brought to his office approximately a quarter of a century
of experience in college business administration as well as graduate
training for his particular responsibilities.
The summer of 1977 also saw the sudden and untimely death of
Laura M. Steele. To fill her place President Perry appointed Lea Ann
Grimes, '76 (now Mrs. James Hudson) to be registrar. At this same
period (1978) Judith Maguire Tindel, '73, became director of
admissions, replacing Ann Rivers Hutcheson, '59, who resigned to
give more time to her family. Both Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Tindel had
had the good fortune to work under Laura Steele, and Mrs. Tindel had
had further opportunity to serve as assistant director of admissions
under Mrs. Hutcheson. Both of these appointments have been
fortunate for Agnes Scott.
In recent years considerable attention has been given to
strengthening the College's career planning office. First under the
leadership of Miss lone Murphy and more recently under the direction
of Mrs. Kathleen K. Mooney, this activity has taken on growing
significance both for students and for alumnae. So important has this
aspect of Agnes Scott's service become that the current catalogue
statement is quoted in full:
The Office of Career Planning offers undergraduates and
alumnae a comprehensive program, the primary goals of which
are an expanded awareness of career and lifestyle options, the
ability to make informed career decisions, and the development of
successful job-search strategies.
To help attain these goals, the Office provides individual
counseling, conferences, and workshops on such topics as specific
career fields, skills assessment, decision making, job hunting,
resume writing, and interviewing techniques.
A major component of the career planning program is
experiential learning, with several options for off-campus
experiences offered each year. Through the Shadow Program,
students spend an afternoon or longer during the academic year
talking with Atlanta-area sponsors who work in career fields of
interest to the student. By participating in the Extern Program,
students themselves have a greater opportunity to perform some
aspect of the job as they spend a concentrated five-day period
during a school vacation with sponsors and their colleagues.
Continually expanding internships and cooperative education
opportunites are an integral part of the program.
Each student who seeks counseling has access both to self-
assessment aids and vocational testing, as well as to an alumnae
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advisory network that provides career advisers and role models. A
number of prospective employers and graduate schools send
recruiters to the campus each year. Full-time, summer, and part-
time job referrals are provided for alumnae.
A Career Resource Room contains books and pamphlets about
traditional and non-traditional careers, lifestyles, the status of
woman in the work world, occupational outlook, and
opportunities with specific employers. Graduate and professional
school catalogs and directories are available.
Beginning in her freshman year, each student is encouraged to
complement her academic work and extracurricular activities by
participating in career-related activities both on and off the
campus. Counseling, information, and job placement services are
available to alumnae as well as to current students.
It will be recalled that in 1967 Agnes Scott undertook to follow a
long-range plan of campus expansion looking toward a student
enrollment of 900 in the near future and of possibly 2,000 by the end of
the century (see p. 192). However, by the mid-1970's, because of
declining enrollment — a circumstance not limited to Agnes Scott —
the Trustees concluded that another survey was needed to serve as a
guide for campus planning in the immediate future. This time Arkhora
Associates, Inc., Architects and Planners of Atlanta, were engaged to
make a survey, and their recommendations were ready by the autumn
of 1976. These planners painted a bright future for Agnes Scott and its
environs but recommended that the campus projections of the 1967
study be somewhat reduced and that some of the property acquired in
the interim be sold. This new study was predicated on a student body
of 750 possibly rising to 1,000 sometime in the future. After careful
study, the Board's Executive Committee on February 23, 1978, took
action revising a previous decision on what constituted the "campus
core," thereby making available a fair number of campus properties
for sale. Here is this action which continues as the frame of reference
for land acquisitions and sales:
Upon motion, duly seconded, the following "Revised Guidelines
for the Sale of College Property," as amended, were adopted by
the Executive Committee:
A. The College designates as the "campus core" the property
south from East College Avenue along the west side of
South Candler Street to East Davis Street, thence west
along the north side of East Davis Street to South
McDonough Street, and north along the east side of South
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McDonough Street to West College Avenue. The College
will hold the property within this area for present and long-
range needs for campus expansion. The College will move to
acquire the remaining parcels not owned by the College
within this core as such property becomes available.
B. The College may sell certain other properties, described
below, with a buy-back provision at the option of the
College. Properties which may be sold with such a buy-back
provision are those on the east side of South Candler Street
from East College Avenue to Bucher Drive, on the west side
of South McDonough Street from West College Avenue to
West Davis Street; also the property bounded by the south
side of West College Avenue, south along the west side of
South McDonough Street, west along the north side of
Ansley Street, thence north along the east side of Adams
Street back to West College Avenue. The repurchase under
the buy-back provision will be at fair market value at the
time of buy-back.
C. Property now owned by the College on Adams Street south
of Ansley Street, on Avery Street, on Bucher Drive, on the
south side of Davis Street, and on Candler and McDonough
Streets south of Davis Street may be sold outright with no
buy-back provisions.
D. The sale price of all properties will be the fair market value
as determined by the President. The College will not finance
the purchase of houses and lots, and financing must be
obtained through the regular commercial sources. To the
extent legally permissible, a restriction will be put in all
deeds limiting the use of property sold to residential use.
E. Present tenants will have first opportunity to buy the
property they occupy. Next priority will go to Agnes Scott
faculty and staff. College houses currently furnished to
"Agnes Scott employees as part of their compensation will
not be offered for sale.
F. Receipts from the sale of college-owned houses will be
maintained in a separate account to buy the remaining
parcels within the "campus core." After the remaining
parcels of land have been bought, the receipts from the sale
of property can be used for capital expenditures.
G. Agnes Scott will enter into the sale of property on a low-key
approach with no advertising so as not to disturb the present
market status. In order not to disturb the economy, it is
envisioned that no more than twelve parcels of property
would be sold within the first year.
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H. The College will continue to adjust rental charge rates for
houses until the rate reaches the average commercial rate.
With fewer houses to be responsible for and with a higher
rental rate, the College can provide better service to the
remaining properties.
Eight months later the Board amended this action by altering in
section B the phrase "buy-back provision" to read "with a first refusal
buy-back option to the College."
The Arkhora study also maintained that for the foreseeable future
Agnes Scott would need no new buildings except a physical education
structure and a campus center, even suggesting that these two facilities
could be combined into one building. Should the number of students
rise above 750, an additional dormitory would, of course, be
necessary.
One of the faculty highlights of the 1976-1977 year was a retreat
conference held at Unicoi State Park, in the mountains of north
Georgia, on Saturday and Sunday, January 8 and 9. The theme for the
conference was "The Liberal Arts Tradition and the Changing Status
of Women." Outside panelists were brought in in addition to Agnes
Scott professors. There was animated discussion in an informal
atmosphere amid the invigorating setting of beautiful natural scenery.
Four panel discussions dealt with (1) The Liberal Arts Tradition, (2)
The Changing Status of Women, (3) The Liberal Arts Tradition and
the Changing Status of Women at Sister Institutions, and (4) The
Liberal Arts Tradition and the Changing Status of Women: Agnes
Scott College. In a subsequent "President's Newsletter" published
about a month after this conference President Perry referred to it as
"one of the best 'happenings' that we have had at Agnes Scott in a long
time." More recently Professor Michael J. Brown has recalled that the
idea for what has led to the College's preparatory program for business
had its beginnings as a result of this conference. So successful was this
retreat that it was repeated in 1978 and 1979 at Pine Isle, a resort on
Lake Lanier near Gainesville, Georgia. The theme for the 1978
conference was "Building a Great Faculty" and featured group
discussions related to the following three topics: (1) "The Faculty as a
Community," (2) "Faculty Effectiveness: Teaching Skills and
Methods," and (3) "Faculty Leadership." President Perry again in his
annual report for 1977-1978 observed: "From this second annual
faculty retreat . . . came a number of productive ideas for the future as
well as an increased sense of mutual appreciation and friendship
256
among colleagues." A third faculty retreat conference was held in
January, 1979, this time under the leadership of the faculty Committee
on the Future of the College. The general theme was "The Next Five
Years," and discussion was carried out under the general format of a
town meeting with three sessions on Saturday afternoon and one on
Sunday morning. Topics for each meeting were as follows: (1) "The
Freshman Year," (2) "Student Life Outside the Classroom," (3)
"Admission and Enrollment," and (4) "The Purpose and Nature of the
College." Prior to the conference a fifty-three page paper was
circulated for study — a paper prepared by the Committee on the
Future of the College. As on the two previous occasions, this retreat-
conference served a number of useful purposes.
On January 30, 1978, the Board of Trustees sustained the death of
Miss Mary Wallace Kirk who had been a trustee continuously since
1917 — over sixty years. For all the years of her relationship with
Agnes Scott, which began in 1907 when she entered the College as a
freshman, she had staunchly supported her alma mater. In death this
support continued, for by her will Agnes Scott received approximately
$900,000.
It will be recalled that Buttrick Hall, the major administration and
classroom building and the nerve center of the campus, was built in
1930. For over half a century this structure served Agnes Scott
uncommonly well; however, by the late 1970's it was apparent that the
building was in dire need of renovation and refurbishment.
Accordingly, during the 1978-1979 year the ground floor, second
floor, and third floor were completely closed. Faculty offices were
scattered about the campus from Rebekah Scott date parlors to the
second floor of the infirmary to an unused house across Candler
Street. Classes were held in almost any available place. But professors
and students endured this year-long disruption cheerfully in
anticipation of the excellent facilities that awaited them in the "new"
Buttrick. No major changes were made on the first floor in the
administrative offices because these had been previously refurbished
over a period of several years. Duringthis 1978-1979 year Buttrick was
reroofed, was completely air-conditioned, was rewired and relighted,
was carpeted wall-to-wall in classrooms and corridors, and was fitted
out with completely new up-to-date audiovisual facilities and
equipment. All of this improvement cost over a million dollars — more
than three times what the building cost initially — but the result was a
first-rate building capable of giving many more years of constant
257
service. Henry Howard Smith of Atlanta was the architect for this
renovation.
By the fall meeting of the Board of Trustees in 1 978, President Perry
was able to report that the dual degree program with the Georgia
Institute of Technology had been expanded to include a degree in
industrial management and one in computer science in addition to the
earlier program in engineering. At this same time it was reported that
Agnes Scott students were being permitted to enroll in the Naval
R.O.T.C. program at Georgia Tech in addition to the one in Air Force
R.O.T.C. which already was an option for Agnes Scott students.
Reference has already been made to the Long-range Planning
Committee appointed in 1974 (see p. 236). This committee spent some
months formulating its report which was referred to the Board's
Development Committee for review and recommendation. After
careful study and a preliminary report to the Board, the Development
Committee on January 26, 1979, recommended to the Trustees a long-
range plan entitled "Agnes Scott Looks to the Future." This report was
formally adopted and approved and has become the framework for
launching the College into a new century. The Trustees have taken no
more important action since the adoption in 1953 of long-range goals
which precipitated the Seventy-fifth Anniversary Development
Program. Here is the action which is even now charting the direction of
the College:
Agnes Scott Looks to the Future
As Agnes Scott approaches its centennial in 1989 and then
prepares for the twenty-first century, the Long-range Planning
Committee recommends to the Board of Trustees for its
consideration the following development program.
1. Attract and retain a select student body of at least 700 by
maintaining a curriculum strong in the traditional liberal
arts disciplines and values, yet responsive to the needs of
young women interested in professional and business
careeers.
2. Attract and retain highly qualified faculty through
competitive compensation and ongoing opportunities for
their professional growth.
3. Encourage the factors which strengthen the College's
Christian emphasis and heritage, its Honor System, and its
representative student government.
4. Plan and construct new physical education and recreational
facilities as well as a new Student Center and complete the
258
renovation and improvement of the present buildings on
campus.
5. Organize and launch a financial drive which will provide as
soon as possible the $50,000,000 Agnes Scott needs to
accomplish the above objectives.
During the months since January, 1979, several re-allocations of the
amounts within the total goal have been made, but the total objective
of $50,000,000 has remained constant. As of this writing, the time
frame and the various allocations are as follows:
AGNES SCOTT LOOKS TO THE FUTURE 1979-2000
1979-1983
Endowment $ 1,500,000
Science Building Addition 3,000,000
Physical Education Facilities 3,000,000
Sub-Total $ 7,500,000
1983-1986
Campus Center $ 3,000,000
Building Renovation 3,000,000
Student Loan Funds 1,500,000
Sub-Total $ 7,500,000
1986-1989
Building Renovation $ 3,000,000
Endowment 7,000,000
Sub-Total $10,000,000
CENTENNIAL GOAL 1979-1989 $25,000,000
1989-2000
Endowment $17,500,000
Building Renovation 6,000,000
Student Loan Funds 1,500,000
21st CENTURY GOAL 1989-2000 $25,000,000
TOTAL GOAL $50,000,000
259
Recapitulation
Endowment $26,000,000
New Construction 9,000,000
Building Renovation 12,000,000
Student Loan Funds 3,000,000
TOTAL $50,000,000
The on-campus use by students of alcoholic beverages was by no
means laid to rest by the action of the Trustees in September, 1975 (see
pp. 238-239). Discussion and agitation continued since students
wanted more latitude than the 1975 policy permitted. Finally after
action by the Representative Council of Student Government and by
the Administrative Committee, the matter came to the Board where it
was considered in depth and at length both by the Committee on
Student Affairs and by the Executive Committee. After the most
careful and almost agonizing consideration, the Board of Trustees on
May 11,1 979, by a vote of 1 8 for to 7 against took the action which for
the first time in Agnes Scott's history permitted liquor in the
dormitories. Here is the action:
Policy Regarding the Use of Alcoholic Beverages
WHEREAS: The majority of Agnes Scott College students are at
least 18 years of age and are therefore of legal drinking age in
Georgia, and
WHEREAS: The inaccessibility of alcoholic beverages on
campus forces students to leave in order to consume them, thereby
increasing the risk to the individual by driving or riding with
someone who is under the influence of alcohol, and
WHEREAS: The accessibility of alcohol on campus will allow
each student to exercise responsibility by giving the individual a
freedom of choice of whether or not to drink, and
WHEREAS: The present policy does not allow for such freedom
of choice, but rather fosters an atmosphere not consistent with the
responsibility accorded the students at Agnes Scott College, and
WHEREAS: One purpose of the College as stated in the Agnes
Scott College Handbook, page 7, is "to cultivate in the student a
260
sense of responsibility to the society in which she lives, both within
the College community and beyond."
BE IT RESOLVED: That the present policy regarding the use of
alcoholic beverages as stated in the Agnes Scott Handbook, page
22, be amended as follows:
Alcoholic beverages are permitted, in compliance with the state
and local laws, ' on the Agnes Scott campus at campus-wide social
functions held in designated areas, as coordinated and evaluated
by the Board of Student Activities, and as approved by the Dean
of Students, and in the designated areas of the dormitories.2
Alcoholic beverages which may be served at campus-wide
functions are beer, wine, and spiked punch. There are no
restrictions on the type of alcohol a student may have in her
private possession.
No College or Student Government funds will be used for the
purchase of alcoholic beverages at any function held off or on
campus and sponsored by the College or any organization within
the College. Only a student 18 years or older may serve the
alcoholic beverage, and a non-alcoholic beverage must also be
served at the function.
Alcoholic beverages are not to be transported into or away
from the designated area of the social function, nor are alcoholic
beverages to be transported to the function except by authorized
'Students must comply with Georgia and Decatur laws
regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages as follows:
Georgia
1. The legal age for purchasing alcoholic beverages is 18.
It is against the law in Georgia either to sell or furnish
alcoholic beverages to minors.
2. It is illegal to appear in an intoxicated condition or to
evidence boisterous or vulgar behavior on any public
street, in any public place, in any private residence,
other than one's own, or on any mode of transporta-
tion.
Decatur:
It is unlawful to drink alcoholic beverages in automobiles
parked or moving on the streets, highways, or alleys of the
city.
designated areas of the dormitories are:
a) dormitory rooms, b) hall-way kitchens, c) a designated,
public room in each dormitory.
261
persons of the sponsoring board. Other violations of this policy
include falsification of ID to purchase alcoholic beverages,
purchasing alcohol by those 18 years of age or over for a minor,
and the possession of alcohol by those students under the age of
18. Students may not drink alcoholic beverages in any part of the
dorms or grounds except in the designated areas of the dormitory
and designated areas at campus-wide functions. When
transporting alcoholic beverages to the designated parts of the
dormitories, a student must carry them in a bag or similar
covering, unless transporting them between dormitory rooms or
from kitchen to dormitory room.
The student is responsible for exemplifying a high standard of
conduct so that her behavior will not be detrimental to herself, to
her fellow students, or to the College. Students are similarly
responsible for insuring that guests are aware of the expected
standard of conduct.
The first violation by a student of the Policy Regarding the Use
of Alcoholic Beverages shall be handled by the Dormitory
Council. The Dormitory Council shall automatically refer to
Interdormitory Council any case involving a second infraction.
Any subsequent violations shall be referred automatically to the
Honor Court. As is the practice with any particularly serious or
flagrant violation of the policy, Dormitory Council reserves the
right to refer any such case involving this policy to a higher court
than the one stipulated above.
As always in matters of student policy, the Dean of Students
and/ or the Administrative Committee has the right to rescind this
privilege at any time.
This new policy became effective with the 1979-1980 academic session
and has worked effectively.
February 22, 1979, marked the 150th birthday of George
Washington Scott. From his death in 1903, his tombstone in the
Decatur Cemetery had carried the usual information found on such
stones, but not a word about his connection with Agnes Scott. His
150th birthday seemed an appropriate time to rectify this oversight.
With the permission of the Scott family this inscription was incised on
his grave stone:
George Washington Scott
Founder of Agnes Scott College 1889
Inscribed by the College in grateful recognition — 22 February 1979
On Founder's Day afternoon a small ceremony was held at the plot at
which time the inscription was unveiled in the presence of Col. Scott's
262
three living grandchildren and of a group representing the College. As
yet no inscription has been placed at Agnes Irvine Scott's grave in
Alexandria, Pennsylvania, indicating that the College was named for
her.
Beginning with Alumnae Day in 1 975 and continuing thereafter, the
Agnes Scott Alumnae Association has designated certain graduates as
"distinguished alumnae." On the first of these occasions, only one
alumna was recognized — Mary Wallace Kirk, '11, who was born the
year the College was founded and who served her alma mater as a
trustee for more than sixty years. Each year since that time, an alumna
in each of three categories has been recognized, these categories being
(1) distinguished career; (2) service to the community, and (3) service
to the College. Any alumna can be nominated, and a special committee
selects those to receive the awards. Those alumnae so honored through
1982 are the following:
1976
Distinguished career
Service to the community
Service to the College
1977
Distinguished
Service to the
Service to the
1978
Distinguished
Service to the
Service to the
1979
Distinguished
Service to the
Service to the
1980
Distinguished
Service to the
Service to the
1981
Distinguished
Service to the
Service to the
1982
Distinguished
Service to the
Service to the
career
community
College
career
community
College
career
community
College
career
community
College
career
community
College
career
community
College
Patricia Collins Dwinnell, '28
Carolyn Essig Frederick, '28
Sarah Frances McDonald, '36
Rachel Henderlite, '28
Margaret McDow MacDougall, '24
Mary West Thatcher, '15
Page Ackerman, '33
Bertha Merrill Holt, '38
Betty Lou Houck Smith, '35
Goldie Suttle Ham, '19
Martha Stackhouse Grafton, '30
Penelope Brown Barnett, '32
Evangeline Papageorge, '28
Juanita Greer White, '26
Carrie Scandrett, '24
Marybeth Little Weston, '48
Laura Brown Logan, "31
Mary Ben Wright Erwin, '25
Betty Fountain Edwards Gray, '35
Goudylock Erwin Dyer, '38
Sarah Hamilton Fulton, '21
263
For many years scholarship assistance at Agnes Scott has been
based on need. However, by the late 1970's, it was becoming apparent
that the College needed to reassess its financial aid program with a
view to including in it grants based solely on merit. At the meeting of
the Trustees on January 20, 1978, President Perry introduced the
subject, and presentations of the pros and cons of "merit" scholarships
were given by both the Director of Admissions and the Director of
Financial Aid. As a result of this discussion, the Board authorized the
appointment of an ad hoc committee to study this matter and report
back with recommendations. At the next meeting of the Trustees, the
ad hoc committee unanimously recommended that the Board endorse
the initiation of a "merit" scholarship program, the details and
mechanics to be worked out by the administration and reported back
to the Trustees for approval. Mr. G. Conley Ingram, Chairman of the
ad hoc committee, noted in his report "that such a program will
reinforce Agnes Scott's commitment to the recognition of academic
excellence." In approving this new program, the Board made it crystal
clear that "the financial aid budget based on need will not be
diminished in any way." The new scholarship program would be
financed by additional funds to be sought and added to the College's
endowment. The document that the Board approved is given herewith:
General Objectives of the Scholarship Program:
1. To improve the academic quality of the student body
2. To increase the number of applications from students
applying for the scholarships who might not have applied
for admission otherwise
3. To increase numbers of enrolled students through the
anticipated high yield from scholarship group[s] brought to
the campus
4. To increase yield of high quality applicant group[s] who
previously might have declined our offer of admission to
accept a merit scholarship elsewhere
5. To increase the amount of funds from sources willing to
sponsor merit-based scholarships
6. To increase national public awareness of Agnes Scott and its
commitment to academic excellence through public
relations efforts associated with the scholarship program
7. To provide alumnae with an opportunity for involvement in
admissions which may result in beneficial feelings toward
the College in general
264
8. To provide active involvement for faculty members in
improving the academic quality of the student body
9. To increase enrollment of students from distant regions of
the country
Program Management
The scholarship program will be administered by a College
committee appointed by the President and chaired by an
administrative coordinator. The committee will consist of three
members of the teaching faculty, the director of admissions, the
director of financial aid, and the administrative coordinator, the
Dean of Academic Affairs (ex officio), and the President (ex
officio).
Selection Process
The basic criteria for a student's entering the Agnes Scott merit
scholarship competition are (1) outstanding secondary school
record as shown by grades, class standing, SAT scores, etc., and
(2) evidence of all-round achievement and promise. The student
must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien, as well as an
accepted applicant for admission to Agnes Scott. In order to
determine who the applicants for the scholarships are, the regular
application form will contain a statement such as:
I am applying as an Agnes Scott Honor Scholar as
described on page of the Bulletin.
yes no
A separate counselor's recommendation form is sent with the
application material for scholarship applicants. A waiver will be
needed on the application for scholarship applicants in order that
application materials can be released to the alumnae selection
panels and campus interview panel.
In order to allow sufficient time for the selection process, a
student's application for admission must be received and
completed by November 1-15 (specific date to be published). The
Admissions Committee acts on the applications, and acceptance
letters are sent out by November 15-December 1 (specific date to
be published).
From this point, the selection process involves two stages:
selection of finalists from all scholarship applicants and selection
of the Scholars from the finalists. Our proposal is that up to 30
finalists be chosen from all scholarship applicants by alumnae
panels in each of four geographical regions (to be determined).
Three of the regions nominate up to 5 finalists each, with the
Southeast region nominating up to 15.
The alumnae selection panels will be appointed by the College
265
committee with the advice of the Alumnae Director and the
President of the Alumnae Association. Each regional panel will
have a representative from the College (faculty or
administration).
The alumnae selection panels will meet in locations determined
by the Committee in consultation with the Alumnae Director for a
period not to exceed two days. Expenses incurred by the alumnae
will be reimbursed by the College. The finalists are to be chosen by
the end of the 2nd week in December. The College notifies the 30
finalists by the end of the 3rd week in December.
The next stage of the process is selecting up to 1 0 Scholars from
the 30 finalists by means of campus visits and interview sessions,
probably in mid-January or early February. Transportation
expenses up to $300 each will be paid by the College. Through the
campus visit it is hoped not only to select the 10 Scholars but also
to give all 30 finalists a good impression of life at Agnes Scott. In
addition to the interview sessions, such college activities as classes,
a student panel, an alumnae panel, and tours of the campus and
Atlanta are to be planned.
The final interview sessions are to be conducted by a faculty-
administrative panel which may include alumnae representation.
(If a single panel proves impractical, consideration will be given to
two or three smaller panels of similar make-up.). Interviews are
limited to 30 minutes each. Final selections will be made by
February 15, and Scholars will be notified immediately thereafter.
The President will send congratulatory letters to each of the
winners, and awards will be sent to the high schools for
presentation at honors day or graduation ceremonies.
Awards Process
Students winning merit scholarships will receive grants equal
each year to the amount charged for tuition and fees. (In 1978-79,
this amount is $3,250.) Renewal is automatic for those who
maintain honor roll status and who are members in good standing
of the college community. Students having at least a 2.0 average
with no grade below D but who do not meet honor roll criteria will
have 50% of their scholarship awarded, with the possibility of
reinstatement in subsequent years. Students whose grade point
averages fall below 2.0 (at the end of the academic year) lose their
scholarships for subsequent years.
Students receiving merit scholarships are apt to receive other
merit-type awards, and the College reserves the right to adjust its
merit scholarship when a student's total awards exceed the "cost
of education." In 1978-79, the "cost of education," as defined by
the Office of Financial Aid, is $5,275 (excluding transportation)
for boarding, dependent students. Students, then, can receive
266
more than $2,000 in outside aid without having their merit
scholarship adjusted.
Wherever the donors' terms of gift permit, present merit award
funds should be incorporated into the total merit scholarship
program in order that comparable present merit awards are not
downgraded in prestige or stipend as a result of the new program.
Follow-up Provisions
Recent studies by the College Scholarship Service indicate that
most institutions do not have a plan for assessing the effectiveness
of their merit scholarship programs. The Agnes Scott Merit
Scholarship Program is to have an ongoing evaluation process
which will measure not only the program's effectiveness as a
recruiting tool, but also its effect on retention, the classroom
environment, alumnae affairs, and development. The primary
means of measuring the effects will be through questionnaires
addressed to the students themselves (winners and losers) and to
members of the faculty whose classes they attend.
The application and screening process for the new Agnes Scott
Honor Scholars Program became operative in the 1979-1980 session.
In February of that term 35 finalists out of approximately 85
applicants came to the campus to be interviewed. From this number 2 1
were chosen with expectation of a 50% acceptance. Actually 16 elected
to attend Agnes Scott, entering in September, 1980. Again in the
session of 1980-1981, 35 finalists from 1 15 applications came to the
campus. Seventeen of these received Honor Scholarship awards, and
nine enrolled for the 1981-1982 year. For the year that has just ended,
43 finalists were interviewed, and 27 were offered scholarships.
Thirteen of these have signified their expectation to enter Agnes Scott
in September, 1982. The whole program has in every way lived up to
expectations, and the College has not only received some good
students but also gained excellent publicity in many secondary
schools.
A further effort of the Admissions Office to attract good students is
accomplished through OktoberQuest and Applicants' Weekend,
respectively. OktoberQuest is held in the fall when high school juniors
and seniors who have indicated an interest in the College are invited to
the campus for a weekend. Applicants' Weekend comes in the spring
and is a time when those who have actually applied for admission the
following September are invited for a visit.
At the spring meeting of the Board of Trustees on May 1 1, 1979,
Lawrence L. Gellerstedt was elected Chairman. Mr. Gaines had asked
267
that his name not be nominated again for the chairmanship, and the
Trustees reluctantly acceded to his request. At the next meeting of the
Board the following resolution was adopted:
It is always difficult to capture the contributions of a wise and
effective leader in sentences, paragraphs, or color portraits! A
language which does this with precision and insight is not yet
invented. How then, shall we describe the contributions of
Alexander Pendleton Gaines to the life and mission of Agnes
Scott College? He has been a Trustee for twenty years and has
served as Vice Chairman of the Board 1964-73 and as Chairman
1973-79.
What prepared him for wise, effective, and progressive service
during these twenty years?
For one thing, his heritage did this. His grandfather, The
Reverend Frank Henry Gaines, D.D., was a co-founder with Mr.
George Washington Scott of the College in 1889. While pastor of
Decatur Presbyterian Church, he and Col. Scott shared a vision of
first-rate education for women to be conducted "under auspices
distinctly favorable to the maintenance of the faith and practice of
the Christian religion," as the Charter puts it. Alex Gaines was
further nurtured in his own educational experience. He graduated
at the University of Georgia . . . and at Emory University School
of Law. He was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1 935, in the depths
of the economic depression of that decade. It was not a fortuitous
time to begin the practice of law, but no lawyer in Georgia has had
a more distinguished professional career than has Alex Gaines. As
a Senior Partner of Alston, Miller and Gaines, he has the respect
of his colleagues and the admiration of his competitors.
Most of all, he is motivated by a sense of service which led him
to agree to devote time, energy and thought to the life of Agnes
Scott. As a life-long member of Central Presbyterian Church and
a Ruling Elder, he has led that Church through decisive and
redemptive years of mission to the City of Atlanta and, indeed, to
the world. What is more, he has used his time carefully and well to
strengthen the innumerable boards, groups and organizations
which bring quality to the lives of all the people of this City.
At Agnes Scott College, Alex Gaines has led the College
through significant events and programs. These include successful
financial campaigns, the revision of the curriculum, the election of
most of the present faculty and the selection of the present
President, Marvin B. Perry. His Chairmanship has coincided with
President Perry's tenure.
President Emeritus Wallace M. Alston says: "Alex Gaines
belongs to the succession of dedicated men and women who have
268
served Agnes Scott College with unselfish, loyal devotion. He
deserves the gratitude of all who deeply care about the College and
who work for its welfare."
President Marvin B. Perry says: "I am grateful to Alex Gaines
on three counts: his quietly efficient leadership of the Board in a
crucial period of Agnes Scott's history, his straightforward but
always kindly education of a new President, and his unfailing
support of that President through six happy years."
On the evening before the meeting at which the above resolution was
adopted, the Trustees gave a dinner in Chairman Gaines' honor. Also
the Executive Committee at its meeting on September 27, 1979, set up
two funds of $50,000 each — one to honor Alex P. Gaines and the
other to honor Hal L. Smith .The income from both of these funds is to
be used to support the Honor Scholars Program.
Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr., the new Board Chairman, has many
ties to Agnes Scott. His wife, his daughter, and his sister are all
alumnae. His father was an active trustee for twenty-six years (1944-
1970) and then served as an emeritus trustee until his death in 1978.
Lawrence Gellerstedt, Jr., became an Agnes Scott trustee in 1969 and
served as vice chairman of the Board from 1973 until his election to the
chairmanship in 1979. A native of Atlanta, he graduated from the
Georgia Institute of Technology in 1945. After being discharged from
the U.S. Navy in 1946, hejoined the Beers Construction Company and
became president of this company in 1960, a position he continues to
hold. He is a past president of the Georgia Tech National Alumni
Association and has chaired the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Tech
Foundation. A simple listing of his responsibilities in the community is
most impressive:
Past President, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Director and Past Chairman, Board of Trustees of Central
Atlanta, Inc.
Director, Cerebral Palsy Center of Atlanta, Inc.
Director, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Director, Atlanta Association for International Education
Past Chairman, Board of Trustees, Atlanta Arts Alliance, Inc.
Past President, The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta
Mr. Gellerstedt is also a director of the Citizens and Southern National
Bank and a trustee of Northwestern Mutual Life Mortgage and Realty
Investors. He is a director of the Atlanta Gas Light Company and finds
time to serve as a trustee of Atlanta University, of the Gatchell School,
and of Wesley Homes, Inc. He likewise is active as an officer in a
269
number of organizations related to the construction business. He is
married to the former Mary Duckworth who graduated from Agnes
Scott in 1946 and is the father of three children. The Central
Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, where he is a member, claims much of
his attention. As a person Mr. Gellerstedt is youthful, dynamic,
vigorous, and decisive. He is a worthy successor to a remarkable line of
Agnes Scott Board Chairmen.
The reader will recall that in 1969 the Callaway Foundation of
LaGrange, Georgia, offered to establish at Agnes Scott a Fuller E.
Callaway Professorship but the College for excellent reasons deemed
it unwise to accept the professorship at that time (see pp. 200-201). By
early 1980 the terms of the offer had been modified by the Callaway
Foundation such that Agnes Scott was ready to accept the
professorship. Accordingly, the Executive Committee on February 28,
1980, on the recommendation of the President, nominated to the
Callaway Trust Professor Mary Boney Sheats of the Department of
Bible and Religion to be Agnes Scott's first Callaway Professor. The
Dana Professorship which Dr. Sheats already held was thus freed to
rotate to another faculty member.
In the area of named professorships, another one developed in 1980-
1981 raising the number of such "special chairs" at Agnes Scott to
eleven. Over a period of years Hal L. Smith, former chairman of the
Board of Trustees, and his wife, Julia Thompson Smith, '3 1 , had made
gifts to the College toward a special fund, the income from which was
used for scholarship purposes until such time as Mr. and Mrs. Smith
saw fit to designate otherwise. In May, 1980, the Executive Committee
accepted from this couple a gift of property which when sold and
added to the fund already established brought the Smiths' gifts to
approximately $400,000. In order to bring this fund to half a million
dollars, the Trustees on May 8, 1981, added from unrestricted
endowment the necessary amount to do so and directed that the whole
fund function as endowment to establish in the Department of
Economics the Hal L. and Julia T. Smith Chair of Free Enterprise.
During 1981-1982 the search was conducted to find a suitable person
to become Agnes Scott's first Hal L. and Julia T. Smith Professor.
Federal legislation enacted in March, 1979, amended the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act, raising the mandatory retirement
age from sixty-five to seventy, but tenured faculty members in colleges
and universities were exempted from the provisions of the amendment
until June 30, 1982. For many years tenure at Agnes Scott has ended
270
on June 30 of the calendar year in which one's sixty-fifth birthday
occurs, although an employee could be continued on a year-to-year
basis to 70 if the Board of Trustees so desired. To deal with any
changes required by this Federal Act, an ad hoc committee of Trustees
was appointed to bring in recommendations. Meanwhile the Board
itself on October 24, 1980, reaffirmed that the "normal retirement age"
at Agnes Scott is sixty-five. At the request of this ad hoc committee
President Perry reviewed the publications dealing with the ADEA
legislation and discussed the matter with some dozen presidents of
women's colleges comparable to Agnes Scott. Finally following all this
investigation and after much discussion, the Board on May 8, 1981,
adopted this resolution:
That, on the recommendation of the President and with the
approval of the Ad Hoc Committee on Tenure and the Executive
Committee of the Board, the following retirement policies be
adopted:
1. That Agnes Scott's share of retirement payments to
employees cease at the present normal retirement age.
(Under present Age Discrimination in Employment Act
legislation such reductions are permissible, although this
policy may be challenged in the courts.)
2. That faculty tenure, in accordance with present college
policy, shall cease "at the close of the academic session in the
calendar year in which a tenured member of the faculty
attains the normal retirement age of 65." (Agnes Scott
Faculty Handbook: "Policies and Criteria for
Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure,"
II, 33, v.)
3. That, by action of the Board of Trustees on
recommendation of the President, a faculty member may be
approved "for annual reappointment until the end of the
academic session in the calendar year in which he or she
attains the mandatory retirement age of 70." (Agnes Scott
Faculty Handbook: "Policies and Criteria for
Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion and Tenure." II,
33, v.)
4. That present college policy with respect to health benefits,
life insurance, and workmen's compensation be continued
until mandatory retirement age.
5. That present college policy with respect to all benefits for
retired Agnes Scott employees be continued.
6. That Agnes Scott continue to study these and other
271
pertinent aspects of present ADEA legislation, together
with possible new college policies providing, where feasible,
for early retirement and /or phased retirement.
As the 1970's waned and the 1980's began, the Agnes Scott faculty
continued strong, able, and highly qualified. For example, for the
1980-1981 year, out of 71 persons at the rank of assistant professor or
higher 65 held an earned doctorate. Teaching has remained the central
interest of the faculty, although research and publication claim a share
of time of almost every faculty member. Stability and experimentation
are present in the curriculum. The basic core of the time-honored
liberal arts program is ever present, but new courses are regularly
offered. In recent years work in political science has been made into its
own department separate from history. Economics and sociology have
also each become independent departments, and the offerings in the
department of music have been completely revamped. Computer
science has likewise become a part of the program. Inter-departmental
majors and double majors are now a frequent part of course offerings,
and students desiring courses preparatory for professional or business
careers can make appropriate selections. Desert biology and marine
biology are offered on location in the summer in addition to those
courses already provided in Europe in art, history, and language.
Looking to improving the teaching facilities in the sciences, the
Trustees on May 8, 1981, authorized the complete renovation and
modernization of the John Bulow Campbell Science Hall which is
now completely outmoded. The cost of this renovation is estimated at
$3,000,000. In June, 1981, the Atlanta architectural firm of Nix,
Mann, and Associates, Inc., was engaged to prepare the plans and
specifications for this renovation. As Dean Julia T. Gary pointed out
to the Trustees, young women are increasingly interested in careers in
the sciences, and they will seek out those institutions having the best
facilities, the most modern equipment, and the best qualified faculty.
The modernization of Campbell Hall is a "must" if Agnes Scott's
excellent science faculty are to have an adequate place to do their
work.
That Agnes Scott does a good job for and with its students is
confirmed by the circumstance that of the students eligible to return
each year, over 85% do so. Furthermore, about 65% of each entering
freshman class remain to graduate — a very high percentage compared
with that of other colleges and universities.
In 1979 the National Endowment for the Humanities approved a
272
grant of $250,000 to Agnes Scott provided the College raise $750,000
in a three-year period. This amount to be raised was required to be
over and above what donors may have given in 1978-1979. Happily,
President Perry on Founder's Day, 1981, was able to report that the
NEH challenge had been met. Of this $1,000,000 total, the NEH
stipulated that one half be used as endowment to purchase library
books and the income from the other half be used for the professional
development of faculty members in the humanities.
The two most pressing physical needs that continue at Agnes Scott
are for a new student center and for a new physical education facility.
These needs are not new — both were part of the 75th anniversary
development program in the 1 950's and 1 960's. Now they have become
so acute that they may be detrimental to the admissions program.
Asking entering students accustomed to excellent high school
gymnasiums, for example, to use Agnes Scott's outmoded, outgrown
gym is almost a travesty. As for a student center, the present "Hub"
was built for a library in 1910 and since 1937 has at best been only a
make-shift for a student center. Hopefully both these needs will soon
be met through the fund-raising program recently approved by the
Board of Trustees.
A circumstance in which Agnes Scott takes justifiable pride
occurred in December, 1980, when Ila Leola Burdett, '81, was named
Georgia's first woman Rhodes Scholar. These prestigious scholarships
were initially opened to women in 1976, and Miss Burdette was the
first nominee that Agnes Scott recommended. That she achieved this
signal recognition is a tribute not only to the College but to all her prior
education. Incidentally, she entered Agnes Scott in 1977 as Georgia's
top star student. Miss Burdette was a mathematics major and plans for
a career in architecture. At Oxford she is in Christ Church College and
will seek her degree in the Final Honors School of English.
In the late summer of 198 1 , President Perry addressed the following
letter to the Agnes Scott constituency:
To the Agnes Scott Community:
It is with very real regret that I inform you that I have submitted
to the Board of Trustees my notice of retirement from the office of
President of Agnes Scott College, effective no later than June 30,
1982. As most of you know, my health has been uncertain in
recent months, and, accordingly, I believe my decision is the right
one at this time, for the College and for me and my family.
273
For more than eight years, I have been your president, and
together we have continued to weather - - with honor and
responsible progress, I believe — perhaps the most trying period
in the history of American higher education. We have kept our
academic program strong in the traditional disciplines while
adding new courses and opportunities needed by women in
today's world. We have fashioned a more responsive machinery of
college governance, with greater voice in policy making for both
faculty and students. We have entrusted students with virtual
autonomy over their own social and extracurricular life, and they
have effectively honored this trust. We have increased
significantly faculty and staff salaries and benefits for both active
and retired personnel. Finally, despite the pressures of a period of
financial stringency, we have maintained each year a balanced
budget free of debt. In summary, I believe that together we have
kept faith with the vision of our founders and the efforts of our
predecessors here, mindful both of our great heritage and of the
educational needs of women preparing for life in this turbulent
age.
Agnes Scott is a great college, and ours is a precious heritage. I
am convinced that the College has a firm if challenging future. I
believe that such a future can now be enhanced by fresh and
vigorous new leadership. Mrs. Perry and I shall always love and
admire Agnes Scott and its people. We shall leave here a large
measure of ourselves, and we shall carry with us cherished and
happy memories of our life here. Let us urge you to continue to
love Agnes Scott, to support it, and to work for it and for each
other.
Good luck, and God bless you all.
signed/ Marvin Perry
The Trustees were obviously full of regret at the President's
decision; nevertheless, they met in September, 1981, to set in motion
the search for Agnes Scott's fifth president. A special committee of
Trustees was named to make a recommendation to the entire Board.
On this search committee were Alex P. Gaines, chairman, Harry A.
Fifield, Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr., Mary D. Gellerstedt, Suzella B.
Newsome, Horace H. Sibley, Nancy H. Sibley, and Augustus H.
Sterne. An advisory group to the search committee consisted of three
faculty members, two administrators, three alumnae, and three
students.
274
One of the most important developments of President Perry's last
year in office was the inauguration of the Kirk Concert series,
honoring Mary Wallace Kirk, '11, who was a trustee of the College for
sixty-one years. Made possible partly by a generous bequest from Miss
Kirk, this series brings annually to the campus persons who have
achieved great distinction in the arts. During 1981-1982 the Kirk
offerings featured Tomas Vasary, pianist; Abbey Simon, pianist; and
the Guarneri String Quartet assisted by Lydia Artyniw, pianist. In its
first year this series was well received by both the students and the
general public.
Another major thrust of 1981-1982 was the effort to raise $3,000,000
for the renovation and modernization of the John Bulow Campbell
Science Hall (see p. 124). A full-scale financial campaign was
undertaken under the overall leadership of Lawrence L. Gellerstedt,
Jr., Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Others involved in the
leadership of this campaign were G. Conley Ingram as chairman of
Trustee solicitation and Edward P. Gould as chairman of special gifts.
Alumnae heading up various parts of the effort were Suzella Burns
Newsome, '57, as chairperson of Georgia Lead Alumnae, Nancy
Thomas Hill, '56, as chairperson of National Lead Alumnae, and
Dorothy Halloran Addison, '43, as chairperson of Greater Atlanta
Alumnae. Other alumnae leaders were Jacqueline Simmons Gow, '52,
and Laura Whitner Dorsey, '35. Chairperson of the Faculty and Staff
Committee was Judith Maguire Tindel, '75. Of course, President Perry
was involved in every phase of this effort — making calls on special
prospects and speaking at numerous campaign functions not only in
Atlanta but over a considerable part of the country as well. By
Founder's Day, 1982, $1,000,000 had been pledged, and more than
half of the total goal was subscribed by the time Dr. Perry's retirement
became effective.
A campus theme which pervaded all of the 1981-1982 year was
"Women and Mind Power." Under the general leadership of Dr. Ayse
Ilgaz-Cardin, '66, three symposia were held throughout the year and
involved faculty, students, and distinguished off-campus persons. The
first emphasis came at Honors Day and dealt with "Women and
Scholarship." Convocation speaker was President Alice F. Emerson
of Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts, who spoke on "Women's
History: Education's Biggest Oil Field." The second emphasis
occurred with Founder's Day. Convocation speaker was Marie W.
Dodd, chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University System in
275
Georgia. Her topic was "Women and Achievement." The third thrust
on this theme coincided with the Mortar Board Convocation in mid-
April. Speaking on the subject "Reconstructing Culture: Women and
the Curriculum" was President Mary S. Metz of Mills College,
Oakland, California. Other important visitors contributed to these
symposia, and a general campus emphasis was carried on all through
the year at faculty table-talk sessions, at special panel presentations,
and at Hub discussions. Also during most of April the Dalton
Galleries featured a Women's Invitational Art Show.
The Board of Trustees as its meeting on May 14, 1982, took two
significant actions which had to do with the Board itself. The Articles
of Incorporation (Charter) were amended changing the retirement age
of Board members from 72 to 70 years of age, except that any Trustee
who had reached 70 years on or before May 14, 1982, would be exempt
from this provision (see p. 205). The Articles of Incorporation were
further amended so that only a simple majority of the Board were
required to be members of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States. The Secretary of State of Georgia promptly approved these
changes which became effective immediately. At this same meeting Dr.
Perry was named a president emeritus of the College. The Board also
set aside a sum of money the income from which will be used to fund
"Perry" scholars in the Honor Scholars Program.
Understandably, as the spring of 1982 approached, the thoughts of
the Agnes Scott community turned to how to honor Dr. and Mrs.
Perry as they closed their official relationship with the College. No
great financial drive could be undertaken to establish a fund to honor
the President since the College was already in a financial campaign to
raise money to renovate Campbell Science Hall. However, a number
of delightful occasions occurred which gave pleasure to all. On the
afternoon of April 23, the Alumnae Association entertained at a gala
party in the Dana Fine Arts Building at which time a beautiful
illuminated scroll of resolutions was presented to President Perry.
Also the Executive Board of the Alumnae Association gave him a
handsome Agnes Scott chair. On the day following at the annual
meeting of the Agnes Scott Alumnae Association, Mrs. Perry was
made an honorary member of the group. Also the spring issue of the
Alumnae Quarterly featured an article of appreciation of President
Perry.
The Board of Trustees on the evening before their spring meeting
honored Dr. and Mrs. Perry at an impressive reception in the Letitia
276
Pate Evans Dining Hall. Students, faculty, staff, the Trustees, special
local friends and supporters of the College, plus a number of the
Perrys' personal friends were in attendance. On the next evening the
Trustees honored President and Mrs. Perry at a gracious dinner at
which time they were given a car and a typewriter.
Five days later, on May 1 9, the students at their annual spring picnic
"pulled out all the stops" to show their respect and love for Agnes
Scott's first couple. A song was composed especially for the occasion; a
skit was presented depicting some of the humorous incidents of the
Perrys' nine years on campus; the London Fog, a student jazz
ensemble, furnished the music; a cassette tape of the students singing
"God of the Marching Centuries" was among the gifts; however, the
principal gift of appreciation was a scrapbook setting forth the things
the Perrys had done for Agnes Scott and for the community-at-large.
This book also featured letters from trustees, alumnae, faculty, and
students. The whole occasion was a mixture of happiness and regret —
happiness in memory, yet regret at the nearing separation.
To show their appreciation, the faculty presented Dr. and Mrs.
Perry with a woodcut by the late Ferdinand Warren, with a Tiffany
bowl, and with cash to purchase rose bushes for the garden of their new
home. At the final faculty meeting of the year, formal resolutions of
appreciation were read. At a party approximately a week after the
College closed, the staff members of the various administrative offices
presented the Perrys with a beautiful Waterford crystal bowl with
matching candlesticks.
On June 30, 1982, Marvin Perry retired, having completed nine
years as President of Agnes Scott. These years were indeed eventful
ones in American higher education and for Agnes Scott itself. On this
campus sweeping changes took place in faculty organization and in
student affairs; however, in every respect the innovations were
constructive and useful. Seventeen of Agnes Scott's present thirty-one
trustees were elected during Dr. Perry's administration; over 50% of
the faculty in 1981-1982 had ultimately been selected by him; total
assets of the College increased from $48,646,829 in 1973 to $63,840,392
in 1982, a growth of $15,193,563. Another evidence of the President's
unremitting attention to improving the lot of the faculty is found in the
increases he was able to make in salaries. From 1973-1974 through
1981-1982 faculty average remuneration improved as follows:
professor — 75%, associate professor — 66%, assistant professor —
54%, and instructor — 54%. The operating budget rose from
277
$3,970,000 in 1973-1974 to $7,049,875 in 1981-1982. All of this
achievement came at a time of rising costs and soaring inflation in
every aspect of the College's fiscal affairs. Every year Agnes Scott
staunchly adhered to its long-standing policy of a balanced budget and
operating "in the black." That President Perry was able to accomplish
these things and hold Agnes Scott firmly to its basic moorings and
educational heritage is indicative of the measure of the man — of his
vision, of his determination and intellgience, of his innate common
sense, and of his sympathetic concern for everyone and everything
related to Agnes Scott. He consistently strengthened every facet of the
College as it moved toward a new century.
As this narrative concludes, two great texts from Holy Scripture
seem appropriate for this College in all its ninety-three years of service:
"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. "
I Samuel 7:12
". . . behold I have set before thee an open door,
and no man can shut it .... "
Revelation 3:7
278
AFTERWORD
The Agnes Scott Board of Trustees on May 14, 1982, unanimously
elected Dr. Ruth A. Schmidt to be the fifth president of the College. A
native of Minnesota, Dr. Schmidt received her B.A. degree (summa
cum laude) from Augsburg College in Minneapolis and subsequently
her M.A. degree from the University of Missouri and her Ph.D. degree
from the University of Illinois. Her field of study is Spanish.
After teaching in high school in Minnesota for two years, Dr.
Schmidt was from 1955 to 1958 on the faculty of Mary Baldwin
College in Staunton, Virginia, and then after further graduate study,
she spent nine years at the State University of New York at Albany. In
1978 she became Provost and Professor of Spanish at Wheaton
College, Norton, Massachusetts. It was from this last position that she
came to the presidency of Agnes Scott, taking office on July 1, 1982.
The Chapel in Rebekah Scott Hall
-"
Front entrance to the campus
in the early days
Ready for academic procession
(1-r: J.K. Orr, Nannette
Hopkins, unidentified
baccalaureate speaker,
J.R. McCain)
A gala occasion in the tea room of
the Alumnae House — Dean Hopkins
at lower right
Early science laboratory
Today's modern sophisticated
scientific equipment
Frances Winship Walters
Agnes Scott's "second founder'
The McCain Library today
Commencement
Agnes Scott's $10,000
dogwood tree
(see p. 106)
Poet Robert Frost
and artist Ferdinand
Warren at the unveiling
of Professor Warren's
portrait of Mr. Frost
(see p. 161)
/
Ruth A. Schmidt, Agnes Scott's Fifth President,
elected on May 14, 1982
279
OBSERVANCES
ORGANIZATIONS
TRADITIONS
280
The Agnes Scott Hymn
The Agnes Scott hymn, "God of the Marching Centuries," was
originally written and composed for the centennial of the Decatur
Presbyterian Church in 1925. However, since the words were written
by Dr. D.P. McGeachy, Sr., a trustee of the College from 1920 to 1951,
and since the music was composed by Professor C.W. Dieckmann,
who was an Agnes Scott faculty member from 1905 to 1950, and since
the tune is named "Gaines" for the first President of the College, Agnes
Scott through the years has claimed this hymn as its own. It is sung at
all high academic celebrations: Honors Day, Investiture, Founder's
Day, Baccalaureate — to name just a few of these occasions.
God of the Marching Centuries
Tune: "Gaines"
Words by Rev. D. P. McGbachy, D. D. Music by Prof. C. W. Dieckmann
1. God of the march-ing cen • tu-ries, Lord of the pass - tag years,
2. Thou art the strength of all the past; teach as to mark it well;
3. Thank - fol - ly now we cour - age take, bum • bly we pledge onr all,
4. God of the march- ing cen • tu - ries, Lord of the pass - ing years,
. T
m
s
-p-r-
SE
&
tr-r
Lead - ing a peo - pie's vie -to - ries, shar - ing a peo - pie's tears,-
Ours is the hap - py lot of those who in Thy shad - ow dwell.
If we may serr - ice find with Thee, if we may hear Thy call;
Lead - ing a peo - pie's vie - to - ries, shar - ing a peo - pie's tears,-
^E
m
&
*=?
Seal ns as now we wor • ship Thee, here on this mo-ment's height;
Teach ns to com - pre- hend with saints, how Thon dost lead Thine own,
Here where we see our broth- er's need, here where he must not die, —
Seal ns as now we wor - ship Thee, here on this mo-ment'i height;-
g
i
-a — m — *■
=*=*
3
E§
I m f f m
*=6=
l=BJJd^^^u-j J I m
Star of the way onr fa • thers found , be still onr gnid • ing Light.
Till, thro' the gates of gold - en grace, we meet be- Fore Thy throne.
There we shall find Thy fel • low - ship and will not pass Thee by.
Star of tn- way our fa- thers found, be still onr gnid- ing Light.
281
The Agnes Scott Seal
The origin of the Agnes Scott seal is shrouded in mystery. According
to Professor Louise McKinney, the seal was first used on diplomas in
1893. (The McCain Library has a diploma from that year.) This seal
consisted of three concentric circles. The outer circle contained the
words "Agnes Scott Institute, Decatur, Georgia"; the second circle
read "A Home School for Young Ladies," and the center circle simply
stated "Chartered 1889." Apparently this seal remained in use until
Agnes Scott became a college.
In the catalogue for 1908-1909, a seal similar to the present one
began to be used. The text from II Peter 1:15 in Latin filled the outer
circle, and the center contained the founding date surrounded by the
words "Agnes Scott College." For some unaccountable reason the
founding date is given as 1890.
This seal remained in use until 1914-1915 when the name of the
College and the founding date (still 1890) were moved to the outside
circle, the text from II Peter 1:15 was placed in the second circle, and
the center of the seal consisted of a six-pointed star shining on the open
bible.
So far as the official catalogues show, the founding date on the seal
was corrected to 1 889 in 1 940- 1 94 1 , and the five-pointed star came into
use in 1950-1951, bringing the college seal into the form currently in
use.
One observation more: This writer has found no official action in
which the Board of Trustees has ever formally adopted a seal for Agnes
Scott College.
282
The Athletic Association
A review of the back files of The Silhouette reveals that the Athletic
Association must have had its beginnings concurrently with Agnes
Scott's becoming a college in the first decade of this century. The
Annual for 1905 indicates that there were clubs and various groups for
sports individually, but no over-all pervading organization. By 1907
there was an Athletic Association with its officers.
Professor Emeritus Llewellyn Wilburn, who for many years chaired
the College's Department of Physical Education and who came to
Agnes Scott as a freshman in 1 9 1 5, recalls that when she was a student,
there was considerable inter-class rivalry but relatively little inter-
collegiate competition. The primary activity was basketball, although
tennis and a limited number of other activities had a following. There
was some hockey played with what Professor Wilburn calls "shinny
sticks" and a fair emphasis on track, but no swimming of any conse-
quence until the present gymnasium was built in 1925.
From the beginning of the Athletic Association, all students were
members, and a real effort was made to encourage physical fitness in
students.
The Association continues as a viable organization on campus with
the stated purpose "to promote interest in athletic and recreational
activities among students, as a means of creating spirit, encouraging
good sportsmanship, and developing physical fitness".
283
Black Cat
The Black Cat tradition at Agnes Scott traces its origins back to
1915. Prior to that year there was considerable hazing of freshmen by
sophomores, resulting in frayed clothes and much misery for the en-
tering class. Dr. Mary Frances Sweet, College Physician and Professor
of Hygiene from 1908 to 1937, suggested that a competition of student
presentations be substituted as a safety valve for the pent-up rivalries
between the two classes. The sophomore class history in the Silhouette
for 1916 has this comment:
Instead of hand-to-hand fight with the new girls, we inaugu-
rated a new method of deciding the championship which we hope
the succeeding Freshmen and Sophomore classes will follow from
year to year. We challenged the Freshmen to a contest of wits
which we thought more appropriate than a fist fight for college
girls.
This "contest of wits" was called Black Cat, so tradition says, in honor
of Dr. Sweet's pet black cat, and the prize awarded to the winning class
was a bronze black kitty.
This presentation of stunts staged only by the freshmen and sopho-
mores continued until the fall of 1950 when the whole event became a
sort of community day involving all classes as well as the faculty. The
athletic events and a picnic prior to the evening of short skits date from
that year. The song contest for a time resembled a variety talent show
— a circumstance demanding far less time than the former stunts. The
competition now involved all classes and was focused on a song con-
test rather than on the best skit. In the later 1950's a dance became a
regular feature of Black Cat, which came to take up most of a weekend
rather than just one evening.
As an example of how elaborate Black Cat now is, here is the sched-
ule for the 1980 event:
Thursday, 9:00 p.m. Black Cat bonfire and song competition
Friday, 11:30 a.m. Interdorm rap session and surprise Black Cat
chapel
Friday, 3:00 p.m. Black Cat field day
Friday, 5:00 p.m. Black Cat campus-wide picnic
Friday, 7:30 p.m. Black Cat production followed by campus party
Saturday, 9:00 p.m. Black Cat dance
Sunday, 1:30 p.m. "The Day After" dessert
Black Cat as it is presently observed at Agnes Scott concludes the
orientation season for new students. All during the autumn there are a
variety of events to make new-comers feel welcome. Black Cat is the
final "blow-out" that says to new-comers and old-comers, "Welcome
to Agnes Scott." It is the College's annual big community day.
284
Blackfriars
Blackfriars, Agnes Scott's dramatic group, traces its origins from
1915 when the faculty took an action establishing officially a campus
dramatic organization. Of course, plays had been performed on
campus prior to 1915, primarily under the sponsorship of the
Mnemosynean or the Propylean Literary Societies, respectively. Two
moving forces in these early productions were Professor J.D.M.
Armistead, the chairman of the Department of English, and Professor
Mary L. Cady, chairman of the Department of History. At any rate, in
the autumn of 1915, fourteen students were invited to become the
charter members of Blackfriars, named for the Elizabethan theater in
London where many of Shakespeare's plays were presented.
Also in 1915 Miss Frances K. Goochjoined the faculty as the teacher
of "expression" and quite appropriately became the director of Black-
friars, a position she held, with the exception of 1921-1922, until her
retirement in 1 95 1 . Too much credit cannot be given to Miss Gooch for
the successful beginning of Blackfriars. She must, however, have been
a most difficult woman — superbly gifted in her specialty, but
irrascible, demanding, sour, and ill-tempered. In the official history of
Blackfriars, prepared when the group was fifty years old in 1965-1966,
one finds this comment:
As for long weeks of practice under Miss Gooch, all Blackfriars
alumnae agreed that "we hated her, we loved her, we worked for
her," that she was "a temperamental artist," an excellent director
— and no diplomat.
Another passage in the same source testifies that in her drive for per-
fection, Miss Gooch "tried sarcasm, charm, bribery, despotism, and
tantrums to get performances she considered satisfactory. She accused
girls of having 'no more concentration than a chicken.' Her pince-nez
bobbed and flashed when she pounded her cane in anger. She shouted
and she ridiculed, and once in a while some girl was driven to defy her
— whereupon all the fury vanished and she bowed quietly to courage
and to logic." Such was Frances Gooch, but the continuing excellence
of Blackfriars' performances had their beginnings in her demands.
Roberta Powers Winter, who graduated from Agnes Scott in 1927
and who joined the faculty in 1939, followed Miss Gooch in 1951.
Professor Winter was no less demanding than her predecessor, but she
achieved her ends by less stringent methods. She was greatly loved by
her peers and her students and is remembered as one of the most de-
lightful persons ever to grace the Agnes Scott campus.
285
In 1974 when Professor Winter retired, Jack T. Brooking became
Blackfriars' director. Impeccably trained, Professor Brooking is com-
mitted to continuing and expanding the excellence of Blackfriars.
Initially many of the group's productions were Shakespearean plays
— the first one being A Midsummer Night's Dream, presented under
the oak tree until recently in front of the present Evans Dining Hall.
Gradually the repertoire widened to encompass almost every type of
drama. At first all the roles were played by women, and Dean Nannette
Hopkins could not bring herself to allow her "girls" to wear men's
attire. Those playing male roles wore long black skirts. In time,
members of Blackfriars were permitted to wear men's clothing, and in
1930 males for the first time played roles in a Blackfriars' production.
Three coveted awards are given each year in connection with Black-
friars. Beginning in 1932 the Claude S. Bennett trophy has been an-
nually awarded to the member of Blackfriars who, in the opinion of the
judges, turns in the best performance of the year. In 1958 Nancy
Kimmell Duncan, '58, a leading Blackfriar, and her mother established
the Harley R. Kimmell trophy in memory of their husband and father.
The recipient of this prize is determined by a committee of Blackfriars
to be that person who has been most valuable during the year either in
acting or technical contributions. The third award was established in
1962 to honor Professor Winter and Professor Elvena M. Green and is
a summer scholarship either to the Barter Theater in Virginia or to the
Flat Rock Playhouse in North Carolina.
Blackfriars' first offering was performed out-of-doors. Others were
in the old chapel in Rebekah Scott Hall. When the Gymnasium was
built in 1925, it became the Blackfriars' theater. From 1940 to 1964
performances were given in Gaines Chapel of Presser Hall, and since
1965 Blackfriars has had its own Roberta Powers Winter Theater in
the Charles A. Dana Fine Arts Building.
For more than three-quarters of a century, drama has been an im-
portant interest at Agnes Scott. For more than sixty-five years
Blackfriars has been the agent for promoting this interest.
A listing of dramatic offerings follows:
1906-1907 Silhouette does not mention any dramatic work.
1907-1908 Silhouette writes of a "Dramatic Club" organized this year,
although scarcely a year has gone by without one play or more
being presented, the matter having never before been under
definite management, or been an assured feature of the year.
286
1908-1909 Nov. 29, 1908 Dramatic Club presents "Elopement of Ellen"
Dec. 5, 1908 Propylean Society presents "The Land of
Heart's Desire"
May 10, 1909 "She Stoops to Conquer"
by Oliver Goldsmith
1909-1910 Dec. 15, 1909 Dramatic Club presents "Mr. Bob," "King
Rene's Daughter," "The Lady of Lyons"
1910-1911 Dec. 6, 1910 Propylean Literary Society presents
"Cricket on the Hearth" by Charles
Dickens
Apr. 17, 1911 Mnemosynean Literary Society presents
"As You Like It"
1911-1912 Dec. 16, 1911 Mnemosynean Literary Society presents
"A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Feb. 3, 1912 "A Box of Monkeys, A Farce"
May 4, 1912 Propylean Literary Society presents
"Crystella"
1912-1913 Jan. 25, 1913 Faculty-Student Play: "Deus ex Machina"
by Winifred Hawkridge.
Feb. 8, 1913 Mnemosynean Literary Society presents
"Much Ado About Nothing"
May 3, 1913 Propylean Literary Society presents
"The Foresters"
1913-1914 Dec. 6, 1913 Mnemosynean Literary Society presents
"Twelfth Night"
1914-1915 Records do not list productions.
1915-1916 Nov. 25, 1915 Blackfriars present "The Kleptomaniac"
Apr. 22, 1916 Blackfriars present "A Midsummer Night's
Dream
Apr. 8, 1916 Faculty Players present "Dead Ernest"
1916-1917 Nov. 30, 1916 "The Oxford Affair"
Feb. 24, 1917 "Cupid's Partner"
"Endymion" by Marie J. Warren
1917-1918 Dec. 1, 1917 "Philosophy vs. Cupid" (a dramatization of
"The Philosopher in the Apple Orchard" by
Anthony Hope, by Frances K. Gooch)
"The Bracelet" by F.E.L.
Feb. 23, 1918 "Breezy Point" by B.M. Locke
May, 1918 "Much Ado About Nothing"
1918-1919 Feb. 21, 1919 "Rise Up Jennie Smith" and "Where
Dreams Come True"
Mar. 21, 1919 "The Narrow Path of Good English" and
"Would You Break a Promise?"
May 26, 1919 "Twelfth Night"
287
1919-1920 Nov. 27, 1919 "The Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil"
by Stewart Falker.
Feb. 8, 1920 "If I Were King"
May, 1920 "As You Like It"
Faculty presents "The Ladies of Cranford"
1920-1921 Nov. 27, 1920 "The Green Moth" by Rhea King,
"Three Dear Friends"
Feb. 26, 1921 "Our Aunt from California" by M.D.
Barnum; "Society Manners" by Celia Stein-
burger, and "Everybody's Husband" by
Gilbert Cannan.
Apr. 12, 1921 "Society Manners," "Three Pills in a Bottle"
May 28, 1921 "Prunella" by Laurence Housman and
Granville Barker
1921-1922 Nov. 26, 1921 "The Rising of the Moon"
"The Old Peabody Pew"
Feb. 4, 1922 The faculty presents "Miss Maria" from "Old
Chester Tales" by Margaret Deland, drama-
tized by Maude B. Vosburgh, and "Sur-
passed Desires" by George Cram Cook and
Susan Glaspell
Mar. 4, 1922 "The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife" a
comedy by Anatole France
May 27, 1922 "Behind a Watteau Picture" by Robert
Emmons Robers
1922-1923 Dec. 3, 1922 "The Will O' the Wisp" by Doris F. Halman;
"Sir David Wears a Crown" by Stewart
Falker
Mar. 6, 1923 "For Distinguished Service" by Florence Clay
Knox; "The China Pig" by Emily Emig;
"Lima Beans" by Alfred Kreymborg
May 28, 1923 Selections from "A Midsummer Night's
Dream"
1923-1924 Oct. 20, 1923 "The Recompense," anonymous; "Twelve
Good Men and True" by Bessie Springer
Breene; "Lima Beans" by Alfred Kreymborg
Dec. 1, 1923 "The Wonder Hat" by Kenneth S. Goodman
and Ben Hecht; "The Rescue" by Rita Smith;
"Fourteen" by Alice Gerstenberg
'Little Women"
'The Beaded Buckle" by Frances Gray
Oct. 11, 1924 "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
"Neighbors" by Zona Gale; "The Romancers"
by Edmond Rostand; "Joint Owners in
Spain" by Alice Brown
Mar.
8,
1924
Apr.
10,
1924
Oct.
11,
1924
Nov.
30.
, 1924
288
Dec. 16, 1924 "Conflict" by Clarice Vallette McCauley
("The Conflict" was presented by Blackfriars
in intercollegiate contest at Northwestern
University)
Apr. 11, 1925 "Thursday Evening" by Christopher Morley;
"The Beaded Buckle" by Frances Gray
May 23, 1925 "Follwers" By Harold Brighouse;
"Nevertheless" by Stuart Walker;
"Will O' the Wisp" by Doris Halman
1925-1926 Dec. 5, 1925 "Daddy Longlegs" by Jean Webster
Feb. 20, 1926 "The Charm of the Hawthorne" by Elizabeth
McCallie; "The Darned Dress" by Margaret
Bland; "Aunt Tennie" by Grace A. Ogden;
"Values" by Polly Stone
Last three plays given in Charlotte, Mar. 27,
1926, and at the Atlanta Women's Club,
April 13, 1926
May 22, 1926 "Tweedles" by Booth Tarkington
1926-1927 Nov. 27, 1926 "Anne of Green Gables" a play in six scenes,
dramatized by Frances K. Gooch.
Feb. 28, 1927 "Trumpets" by Frances Freeborn; "Black
Mountain" by Lillian Leconte; "Tinkey Toys"
by Helen Lewis; "Bishop Whipple's Memo-
rial" by Robert Winter.
May 28, 1927 "As You Like It" by Wm. Shakespeare.
1927-1928 Nov. 28, 1927 "Figureheads" by Louise Saunders; "The
Trysting Place" by Booth Tarkington;
"The Purple Dream" by Donald Breed
Feb. 25, 1928 "Vice Versa" by Josephine Walker; "Kitty See
It Through" by Emily Kingsberry; "Hero
Worship" by Frances Hargis
Apr. 21, 1928 "Hero Worship"'; "Pink and Patches" by
Margaret Bland; "Dust of the Mines" by
Janet MacDonald.
May 7-12, 1928 "Pink and Patches" was presented in the
National Little Theatre tournament and
David Belasco Cup Contest in New York
City. As an unpublished play it won first
prize. "Hero Worship" by Frances Hargis
was also presented in New York City win-
ning second prize for the best presentation
of an unpublished .... At same time,
"Hero Worship" was presented
by the Little Theatre of Savannah.
May 28, 1928 "The Taming of the Shrew" by Wm.
Shakespeare (In modern dress)
289
1928-1929 Dec. 7, 1928
Mar. 2, 1929
Apr. 20, 1929
1929-1930 Nov. 23, 1929
Mar. 1, 1930
Apr. 16, 1930
Apr. 25, 1930
May 31, 1930
1930-1931 Nov. 22, 1930
Feb. 28, 1931
Mar. 14, 1931
June 1, 1931
1931-1932 Nov. 21, 1931
Feb. 27, 1932
May 28, 1932
1932-1933 Nov. 19, 1932
Mar. 4, 1933
May 29, 1933
"Grandma Pulls the String" by Edith
Delano and David Carb; "Ever Young"
by Alice Gerstenberg; "The Will O' the
the Wisp" by Doris Halman.
"Far Away Princess" by Suderman;
"Cinderella Married" by Rachel Lyman
Field; "Saved" by J.W. Rogers, Jr.
"The Grate" by Helen Ridley; "Once in a
Blue Moon" by Polly Vaughan; "Achilles'
Heel" by Carolyn Pierce Dillard.
"Expresing Willie" by Rachel Crothers
"Wisdom Teeth" by Rachel Lyman Field;
"Cabildo" by Nan Bagby Stephens;
"Gypsy" by Parker Hord
"Southern Unlimited" by Cecile Willink;
"Russian Antiques" by Audria Bandy
Gray; "Me and Galahad" by Frances
Freeborn and "All in a Day's Wash" by
Louise Goldthorpe
"The Wren" by Booth Tarkington
"What They Think" by Rachel Crothers;
"No Good" by Jean Thornwell Alexander;
"Thinking Makes It So" by Carolyn
Pierce Dillard.
"The Ivory Door" by A. A. Milne
"Little Women," four acts, Marion
DeForest
"Op-o'-Me-Thumb" by Frederick Fenn
and Richard Pryce; "Love Is Like That" by
Colin Clements and Florence Ryerson;
"Men Folk" by Colin Clements and
Florence Ryerson
"In Love with Love" by Vincent Lawrence
"The Kings Fool" by Dorothy Clark;
"At the Wedding Rehearsal" by John
Wood; "A Pound of Flesh" by T.J.
Geraghty
"Pygmalion" by G.B. Shaw
"Lorena" by Parker Hord
"Nine Till Six" by Aimes and Philip
Stuart
"Quality Street" by James M. Barrie
"Quality Street" by James M. Barrie
290
1933-1934 Nov. 24-25, 1933 "Hay Fever" by Noel Coward
Feb. 10, 1934 Faculty presented "The Ladies of Cran-
ford" dramatized by Mary Bernard Home
from the novel by Mrs. Gaskell
Mar. 9-10, 1934 "Once There Was a Princess" by Juliet
Wilber Thompkins
May 26, 1934 "Her Husband's Wife" by A.E. Thomas
1934-1935 Nov. 16-17, 1934 "You Never Can Tell" by G.B. Shaw
Mar. 1-2, 1935 "Craig's Wife" by George Kelly
May 27, 1935 "Choephoroe" or "The Liberation
Bearers" by Aeschylus
1935-1936 Nov. 22, 1935 "Mr. Pirn Passes By" by A. A. Milne
Mar. 21, 1936 "Bridal Chorus" by Roberta Winter
May 30, 1936 "Playing the Game" by Alice Gerstenberg
1936-1937 Nov. 25, 1936 "Double Door" by Elizabeth McFadden
Feb. 13, 1937 "Spring Dance" by Philip Barry
May 22, 1937 "Moor Born" by Dan Totheroh
1937-1938 Nov. 20, 1937 "Mrs. Moonlight" by B.W. Levy
Feb. 19, 1938 "Pygmalion" by G.B. Shaw
June 4, 1938 "The Trojan Women" by Euripides
1938-1939 Nov. 19, 1938 "Stage Door" by Edna Ferber and
George S. Kaufman
Feb. 18, 1939 "Dream of an August Night" by Martinez
Sierra translated by Evelyn Baty
Apr. 5, 1938 At the home of Mrs. John Slaton
Blackfriars gave "Just Women" by Colin
Cambell Clements and "How He Lied to
Her Husband"
Apr. 22, 1939 "The Green Vine" by Nan B. Stephens
1939-1940 Nov. 18, 1939 "Seven Sisters," translated and adapted
from the Hungarian of Herzog by Edith
Ellis; "A Woman of Judgment," one-act
play given for benefit of campaign
Apr. 20 and
June 1, 1940
1940-1941 Oct. 29, 1940 "Episodes in the Life of Lucy Stone"
Feb. 20, 1941 "Brief Music" by Emmet La very
May 8, 1941 "The Distaff Side" by John Van Druten
1941-1942 Nov. 20, 1941 "Ladies in Waiting" by Cyrill Campion
Feb. 19, 1942 "Dear Brutus" by Sir James Barrie
'I'll Leave It To You" by Noel Coward
291
1942-1943 Oct. 20, 1942 "Hearts" by Alice Gerstenberg, given at
the Atlanta Theatre Guild's Open House in
honor of the Blackfriars
Nov. 20, 1942 "Letters to Lucerne" by Fritz Rotter and
Allen Vincent
Feb. 20, 1943 "Time for Romance" by Alice Gerstenberg
1943-1944 Nov. 26, 1943 "Shubert Alley" by Mel Dinelli
Feb. 17, 1944 "Rehearsal" by Christopher Morley;
"Women Who Wait" by Lyda Nagel;
"Queen of France" by Thornton Wilder
Apr. 20, 1944 "The Cradle Song" by Gregoric and Maria
Martinez Sierra
1944-1945 Nov. 22, 1944 "Spider Island" by Joseph Spalding
Feb. 28, 1945 "Three one-act plays: Shakespearian
scenes, "As You Like It," Act I, Scene 3;
"Romeo and Juliet," Act II, Scene 2;
"Twelfth Night," Act 1, Scene 5; "Will O'
the Wisp," a fantasy by Doris Halman;
"Be Seated," a farce with music by
Marcelline Sanford and Dorothy Coolidge
"The Prince Who Was a Piper" by
Harold Brighouse
"Feast of the Holy Innocents"
"Pride and Prejudice," adaptation of
Jane Austen's story by Helen Jerome
"Hotel Universe" by Philip Barry
"Lady Windermere's Fan" by Oscar Wilde
"Kind Lady" dramatized by Edward
Chodorov, from a story by Hugh Walpole
"Pullman-Car Hiawatha" by Thornton
Wilder
Nov. 26-27, 1947 "Fashion or Life in New York" by
Mrs. Kowatt, 1845
"The Great Dark" by Dan Totheroh
"Trojan Women" by Euripides
"Our Hearts Were Young and Gay" drama-
tized by Jean Kerr from the book by
Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily
Kimbrough
"No Way Out" by Owen Davis
"Eastward in Eden"
"Pygmalion" by G.B Shaw
May 12, 1945
1945-1946
Sept. 27, 1945
Nov. 21, 1945
Apr. 4-5, 1946
1946-1947
Nov. 27, 1946
Feb. 27-28, 1947
1947-1948
Oct. 30, 1947
Mar. 5, 1948
Apr. 8, 1948
1948-1949
Nov. 19, 1948
Apr. 7, 1949
1949-1950
Nov. 23-24, 1949
Apr. 20-21, 1950
292
"Ladies of the Jury" by Fred Ballard.
(Directed by Mr. George Neely of Emory.
Given also Nov. 17-18 at Emory)
"Heartbreak House" by G.B. Shaw (pre-
sented at Emory Apr. 12-13)
"The Servant in the House" by Charles
Rann Kennedy (presented at Emory
Nov. 8-9)
"I Remember Mama" by John Van Druten
(presented at Emory Apr. 17)
"Take Two From One" by Martinez Sierra
"Choephoroe" by Aeschylus
"The Grass Harp" by Truman Capote
"Moor Born" by Dan Totheroh
"Family Portrait"
"Scenes from Shakespeare
"The Skin of Our Teeth" by
Thornton Wilder
"Twelfth Night" by Shakespeare
"Antigone" by Sophocles
"The Would-Be Gentleman" by Moliere
Scenes from "Pygmalion," "The Glass
Menagerie," "The Taming of the Shrew,"
"Blythe Spirit," "Cyrano de Bergerac,"
"Our Town."
"Chalk Garden" by Enid Bagnold
"The World We Live In"
"The Tempest" — Arts Festival Production
"The Enchanted" by Giraudoux
"Trifles" by Susan Glaspell;
"Something Unspoken" by Tennessee
Williams; "Aria Da Capo" by Edna St.
Vincent Millay; "Happy Journey" by
Thornton Wilder
1959-1960 Nov. 20, 1959 "The Heiress" by Ruth and Augustus Goetz
March 1960 "The Birthday of the Infanta" by Oscar
Wilde
May 13-14, 1960 "Electra" by Sophocles, May Day Festival.
1950-1951
Nov. 22, 1950
Apr. 6, 1951
1951-1952
Nov. 16, 1951
Apr. 16, 1952
1952-1953
Nov. 20, 1952
Apr. 10, 1953
1953-1954
Nov. 18, 1953
Apr. 9, 1954
Apr. 14, 1954
May 20, 1954
1954-1955
Nov. 19, 1954
Apr. 22-23, 1955
1955-1956
Nov. 18, 1955
Apr. 13, 1956
1956-1957
Nov. 15, 1956
Apr. 5, 1957
1957-1958
Nov. 22, 1957
Apr. 18-19, 1958
1958-1959
Nov. 21, 1958
Apr. 17-18, 1959
293
1960-1961 Nov. 11, 12, "The Skin of Our Teeth" by Thornton
18, 1960 Wilder with Drama Tech. Directed by
Mary Nell Santacroce
March, 1961 "The llliuminati de Drama Libre" by
A. Gerstenberg
April, 1961 Fine Arts Festival.
"Uncle Sam's Cabin" by Pat Hale;
"Refutation of an Old Theme" by Mollie
Schwab; "Something That Lasts" by Beth
Crawford; Student one-acts
1961-1962 Nov. 17-18, 1961 "The House of Bernarda Alba" by
F.G. Lorca
Apr. 26-27, 1962 "Ring Round the Moon" by Jean Anouilh
1962-1963 Nov. 15-16, 1962 "The Bald Soprano" by lonesco; "The
Measures Taken" by Brecht.
Apr. 26-27, 1963 "The Gardener's Dog" by Lope de Vega
1963-1964 Nov. 22-23, 1963 "The Darkness and the Light," Mystery
plays, and "Everyman"; "The Creation
of the Heavenly Beings and and the Fall of
Lucifer '; 'The Creation of Man";
"The Garden of Eden"; "The Fall of Man"
Apr. 17-18, 1964 "Blithe Spirit" by Noel Coward
1964-1965 Nov. 20-21, 1964 "Royal Gambit" by Hermann Gressieker.
April 23-24, 1965 "Major Barbara" by G.B. Shaw
1965-1966 Nov. 19-20 "The Love of Don Perlimplinand Belisain
the Garden" by F.G. Lorca; "Masks of
Angels" by Notis Peryalis
Feb. 3, 1966 "There's Some Milk in the Icebox" by
Bonnie J. Henderson
Feb. 16, 1966 Der "Urfaust" by Goethe; presented by the
German Department, with the coopera-
tion of members of Blackfriars
April 22-23, 1966 "The Tragedy of Tragedies, or The Life
and Death of Tomb Thumb the Great," by
Henry Fielding
"The Children's Hour" by Lillian Hellman
"The Madwoman of Chaillot"
"Because Their Hearts Were Pure"
"The Crucible" by Arthur Miller
"The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" by Jay
Presson Allen, from the novel by
Muriel Spark
1967-1968
Nov. 21-23,
1967
May 16-18,
1968
1969
May 15-17,
1969
1970-71
Nov. 20-22,
1970
May 13-15,
1971
294
1971-72 Nov. 18-20, 1971 "Suddenly Last Summer" by Tennessee
Williams
May 14-16, 1972 "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
by Wm. Shakespeare
May 17-20, 1972 "First Impressions" adapted by Abe
Burrows from Jane Austen's Pride and
Prejudice
1972-1973 Nov. 16-18 1972 "Skin of Our Teeth" by Thornton Wilder
May 3-5, 1973 "Rimers of Eldrich" by Lanford Wilson
1973-1974 Nov. 16-17, 1973 "Lady from the Sea" by Henrik Ibsen
May 2-4, 1974 "Blithe Spirit" by Noel Coward
1974-1975 Nov. 8-10, 1974 "Grass Harp" by Truman Capote
May 17 & 18, \ "Earnest in Love" by Anne Croswell and
May 23-25, 1975) Lee Pockriss
1975-1976 Oct. 31 -Nov. 1 & "Rope Dancers" by Morton
Nov. 6 & 7, 1976 Wishengrad
Feb. 28-29, 1976 "House at Pooh Corner" by A. A. Milne
May 7 & 8; and "The Milktrain Doesn't Stop Here
May 13-14, 1976 Anymore" by Tennessee Williams
1976-1977 Nov. 12 & 13; "Ring 'Round the Moon" by Jean
Nov. 18-19, 1976 Anouilh
Feb. 19-21, 1977 "OPQRS" By Madge Miller
May 13, 14; & "Tartuffe" by Moliere
May 19-20, 1977
1977-1978 Nov. 11-12; & "Three Sisters"
Nov. 17-18, 1977 by Anton Chekov
Feb. 18-20, 1978 "Puss in Boots" by Madge Miller
May 12-13 & "Palpitating Passions"
May 19-20, 1978
1978-1979 Nov. 10 & 11; & "Ladyhouse Blues" by Kevin O'Morrison
Nov. 17 & 18, 1978
Feb. 17-18, 1979 "Cinderella"
May 1 1-12 & "Babes in Arms" by Rogers and Hart
May 18 & 19, 1979
1979-1980 Oct. 26-27; & "Trojan Women" by Euripides
Nov. 2 & 3, 1979
Feb. 16-19, 1980 "Annabelle Broom, the Unhappy Witch"
by Ellen and Ray Harde
Feb. 27-29, 1980 "Uncommon Women and Others" by
Wendy Wasserstein
May 9, 10; & "Appointment with Death" by Agatha
May 16, 17, 1980 Christie
295
1980-198
1981-1982
Oct. 31 -Nov. 1; & "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by
Nov. 7-8, 1981 Wm. Shakespeare
May 16-17; & "Taken in Marriage" by Thomas Babe
May 22 & 23, 1981
Oct. 30-31; &
Nov. 6& 7, 1981
Feb. 12-13, 1982
May 14 & 15; &
May 21-22, 1982
"You Can't Take It with You" by Moss
Hart and George S. Kaufman
Theatrical Potpourri
"The Chalk Garden" by Enid Bagnold
BENNETT AWARD
The award has been given to
1932 — Amelia O'Neal
1933 — Polly Vaughan
1934 — Betty Lou Houck
1935 — Hester Anne Withers
1936 — Carrie Latimer
1937 — Katherine Printup
1938 — Elizabeth Cousins
1939 — Jeanne Flynt
1940 — Margaret Hopkins
1941 — Laura Sale
1942 — Neva Jackson
1943 — Ruby Rosser
1944 — Zena Harris
1945 — Peggy Willmon
1946 — Margaret McManus
1947 — Pat McManmon
1948 — Grace Durant
1949 — Reese Newton
1950 — Margaret Hopkins
1951 — Adelaide Ryall
1952 — Thresa Kokos
1953 — Ann Allred
1954 — H.J. Hinchey
1955 — Memye Curtis
1956 — Joanne Miklas
1957 — Mildred Lane
the following:
1958 — Elizabeth Shoemaker
1959 — Janice Powell
1960 — Mollie Dotson
1961 — Brock Hanna
1962 — Marian Fortson
1963 — Myra Morelock
1964 — Susan King
1965 — Malie Bruton
1966 — Malie Bruton
1967 — Cathi Ford
1968 — Cathi Ford
1969 — Carol Ann McKenzie
1970 — Carol Ann McKenzie
1971 — Susi Parks
1972 — Susan Stigall
1973 — Pam Rogers
1974 — Bungi Harris
1975 — Lynne Sommer
1976 — Carol Langston
1977 — Lynne Sommer
1978 — Jennifer Knight
1979 — Carol Tveit
1980 — Sarah Burleigh
1981 — Marietta Townsend
1982 — Cayce Callaway
296
THE KIMMEL AWARD: BLACKFRIARS
The KIMMELL AWARD was first granted in 1959.
In a letter to President Wallace Alston written from Iowa City, Iowa, on
October 1, 1958, Nancy Kimmel of the Class of 1958, wrote that she and her
mother would like to establish for the Blackfriars a trophy as a memorial to
her father, Harley R. Kimmel.
The donors wished any Blackfriars member to be eligible for the award,
whether acting or non-acting member. "This would mean that the stage
manager, or perhaps the lighting chairman . . . the person who receives the
Clause S. Bennett Trophy for acting . . . a bit player and prop chairman, or a
faithful member of the costume committee who is never seen behind the
footlights. We would like to honor the member of Blackfriars who, at the
decision of the judges (the directors, president, vice-president, secretary,
treasurer, and stage manager of Blackfriars) has made the outstanding
contribution to Blackfriars' productions during the school year in which the
award is given .... Nominations for the trophy may come from the entire
club."
The trophy has been awarded to the following persons:
1959 — Annette Whipple
1960 — Page Smith
1961 — Cary Bo wen
1962 — Marian Fortson
1963 — Brownie Faucette
1964 — Daryle McEachern
1965 — Janice Ford
1966 — Alice Airth
1967 — Jane Morgan
1968 — Marilyn Motton
1969 — Mollie Douglas
1970 — Miriam Corson
1971 — Dolly Martin
1972 — Pat Anshir
1973 — Martha Howard, Pam Rogers
1974 —
1975 — Carole Langston
1976 — Elaine Williams
1977 — Mimi Holmes
1978 — Sandra Eichelberger
1979 — Linda Mclnnis
1980 — Karen Whipple
1981 — Anne Douglas Harris
1982 — Jennifer Shelton and Cayce Callaway
297
BOZ and Folio
BOZ was organized in 1915 by Professor J.D.M. Armistead as a
group to promote creative writing among students of the upper classes.
The students themselves chose the name "BOZ" from the pen-name of
Charles Dickens. BOZ met bi-weekly in Professor Armistead's study
to hear and comment on one another's work. Admission was by try-
out. After Professor Armistead's death, one of the moving forces in
promoting BOZ was the late Assistant Professor Janef N. Preston.
Folio, a writing group open to freshmen, was organized in 1916 by
Mrs. Emma Pope Moss Dieckmann, '13, who at the time was an
instructor in English. Like BOZ, membership in Folio was by try-out,
and the group met bi-weekly. When members became sophomores,
they automatically withdrew from membership. Folio was a feeder for
BOZ, but election to the latter group was not necessarily assured just
because a person was a member of Folio. The late Professor Margret
G. Trotter was for many years the dynamic spirit in Folio.
Both BOZ and Folio are no longer active. Much of their function in
promoting creative writing is now carried on by the courses in creative
writing offered by the Department of English. At present, seven such
courses are offered.
298
Christian Association
The Agnes Scott Christian Association had its origins in a group
known as the Christian Band which was organized in 1891 and which
was run primarily by students. Aside from holding religious services,
the principal interest of the Christian Band was the support of foreign
missions. For several years at the beginning of this century, there was
considerable discussion concerning whether the Christian Band
should become affiliated with the national Y.W.C. A. organization, but
because President Gaines did not approve of an off-campus agency
having anything to do with an on-campus organization, the matter of
affiliation was delayed. Finally, however, in the 1905-1906 session, the
Christian Band was superseded by a campus group of the Y.W. C.A.
For the next thirty-two years the Y.W. C.A. organization was very
much a part of Agnes Scott's life, exercising a fine influence on student
attitudes. The excellent work of this organization is frequently
mentioned in the President's annual reports to the Trustees.
In 1938 the close tie with the national Y.W.C. A. was discontinued,
and the local group became the Christian Association of Agnes Scott
College. The reason for this change was that the national Y.W.C. A.
altered its statement of purpose, and Agnes Scott was not in agreement
with this alteration. There is in the files of the McCain Library a letter
from President McCain, dated March 8, 1938, to the president of the
local Y.W.C. A. in which he, acting for the Trustees, approved the name
change and the revised constitution of the local organization.
In the days when Agnes Scott had chapel services six days a week,
Christian Association was responsible for the program every Tuesday
and brought many excellent speakers to the chapel platform. The
Association also sponsored religious emphasis week services and
activities, as well as special observances in the annual religious
calendar. Through the gifts of members, various benevolent
enterprises and causes were and are assisted.
The present Student Handbook states that "Christian Association
sponsors chapel programs on Fridays, large group meetings, small
group Bible studies, and a weekend in both the fall and winter quarters
of intensive Bibly study [called] Focus on Faith, with a week in the
spring designated for service in the community."
Christian Association is not the potent force that it once was at
Agnes Scott, but for many students it is still a constructive influence in
their lives.
299
Founder's Day
According to Professor Louise McKinney, who was a member of
the Agnes Scott faculty from 1891 to 1937, the observance of George
Washington Scott's birthday (February 22) as Founder's Day was
announced by President Gaines early in the session of 1918. From that
date until the 1955-1956 session Founder's Day was designated as a
holiday on the College calendar. Initially for some years there would
be a festive dinner on campus for which students — especially the
seniors — would dress in costumes of George Washington's era. After
dinner all would adjourn to the gymnasium where a special group
would dance the minuet followed by general community dancing until
a "reasonable" hour.
In time, groups of alumnae in various cities began to have meetings
on or around February 22 — a practice that still continues. For many
years an Agnes Scott Founder's Day radio broadcast originated in
Atlanta on which President McCain would speak about the College,
followed by Dean Hopkins' "Dear Girls" message to alumnae.
During the years of World War II, the annual broadcast was
abandoned, but in 1945 the campus aspects of the celebration were
resumed. As the College moved into the 1950's, the students, except for
the holiday feature, became less and less interested in the purpose of
Founder's Day, so much so that President Alston and his associates
decided to discontinue the holiday part of the observance and to
emphasize George Washington Scott's birthday by other means.
On February 22, 1957, at the College's weekly convocation (changed
from Wednesday to Friday), President Emeritus James Ross McCain
addressed the assembled College community on the life of Col. Scott
and his part in Agnes Scott's beginnings. This was the first observance
without the traditional holiday. In 1958 Founder's Day fell on Sat-
urday concurrently with the College's first Sophomore Parents'
Weekend; consequently, Founder's Day was not observed on campus,
although various alumnae groups celebrated the day. In 1959
President Emeritus McCain again spoke in a Founder's Day chapel on
February 20.
There is no record of any special Founder's Day observance on
campus in 1960; however, beginning in 1961 and continuing to the
present, an annual College convocation has marked this special
occasion. Quite early in its present form, this convocation began to be
marked by all the panoply of academic procession and a distinguished
300
speaker. For several years this convocation was on February 22, but
beginning in 1968 the practice started of observing Founder's Day on
the Wednesday nearest to February 22. Speakers from 1961 to the
present, with their topics, where known, are as follows:
1961 Eleanor N. Hutchens
President, Agnes Scott Alumnae Association
1962 Anne Gary Pannell
President, Sweet Briar College
"Sense and Sensibility in the Education of Women"
1963 Ellen Douglass Leyburn
Professor of English, Agnes Scott College
"One Great Society"
1964 75th Anniversary Thanksgiving Convocation
1965 Susan P. Cobbs
Dean, Swarthmore College
1966 Judson C. Ward
Dean of the Faculties, Emory University
1967 Rufus C. Harris
President, Mercer University
1968 Paul Swain Havens
President, Wilson College
"On the Importance of the Inner Life"
1969 Marvin Banks Perry, Jr.
President, Goucher College
"Relevance and Liberal Learning"
1970 Randle Elliott
President, Hood College
"What Do We Stand For?"
1971 Samuel R. Spencer, Jr.
President, Davidson College
"Retreat from Responsibility"
1972 Dean Rusk
Former U.S. Secretary of State
1973 William W. Kelly
President, Mary Baldwin College
"Women and the Liberal Arts"
1974 James G. Leyburn
Dean Emeritus, Washington and Lee University
"Excellence"
301
1975 John David Maguire;
President, State University of New York at
Old Westbury
"Recovery, Renewal, Transformation: The
Challenges Facing a Liberal Arts College Today"
1976 Pauline Tompkins
President, Cedar Crest College
"The Legacy of a Liberal Arts College"
1977 Wallace M. Alston
President Emeritus, Agnes Scott College
"Agnes Scott's Founder"
1978 Clifton Waller Barrett
1979 Mark A. Curtis
President, Association of American Colleges
1980 Edgar F. Shannon, Jr.
President, United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa;
Commonwealth Professor of English and Former
President, University of Virginia
1981 Rhoda M. Dorsey
President, Goucher College
1982 Marie H. Dodd
Chairman, Board of Regents
University System in Georgia
"Women: Achievers in Their Own Way"
302
The Glee Club
Materials in the McCain Library reveal that singing at Agnes Scott
goes back to the earliest days of the Institute; however, the Glee Club
per se dates from 1908 when Miss Marian Spangler of the Music
Department organized the group. In time membership was by try-out,
and increasingly ambitious programs were undertaken, the annual
Christmas carol service dating from 1 930. For many years also a spring
concert by the Glee Club has been a campus tradition.
Tours to other colleges have been enjoyed as well as joint programs
at Agnes Scott with similar groups from other colleges and uni-
versities. In recent years the Glee Club has toured Europe, including
Russia, where it was received with enthusiasm.
Being a member of the Glee Club currently demands considerable
time, much work, and real dedication. The results, however, are a
genuinely first-class organization.
303
Honors Day
The observance of Honors Day at Agnes Scott dates from 1950.
Setting aside a special day early in the academic session to recognize
and honor scholastic excellence was the idea of then Vice President
Wallace M. Alston. It was President-Elect Alston who enunciated the
purpose of Honors Day when he said: "We are trying to make
[Honors Day] an impressive day on campus, a day devoted to the
emphasis upon intellectual excellence and fine scholarship."
From 1950 to the present, the first full academic convocation of each
college year has been the observance of Honors Day. An outstanding
person in education has been present to give an appropriate address;
the recipients of major scholarships (including the Stukes scholars) are
announced; the names of those making the honor roll in the previous
session are read; announcement is made of those invited to do honors
work or independent study, and the class scholarship trophy is awarded
to that class whose over-all average for the previous session is highest
in comparison with the last three classes at the same level.
Through the years Honors Day has increasingly become a "high"
occasion on the annual academic calendar. Visiting speakers who have
addressed the college community (with their topic, if known) show
something of the importance of this day. Here is the list:
October 5, 1950 C. Mildred Thompson
Former Dean, Vassar College
"The Scholar's Stake in Freedom"
September 25, 1951 Ernest C. Colwell
Former President, University of Chicago
Dean of the Faculties, Emory University
September 24, 1952 Douglas Steere
Professor of Philosophy, Haverford College
"On the Power of Sustained Attention"
September 23, 1953 Goodrich C. White
President, Emory University
"Values of a Liberal Education"
September 22, 1954 Alan Richardson
Professor of Theology, Nottingham University
Canon, Derby Cathedral
"The Relation between Religion and Education"
September 30, 1955 Howard Foster Lowry
President, The College of Wooster
"Fifteen Wishes"
304
October 10, 1956
October 2, 1957
September 24, 1958
October 7, 1959
September 28, 1960
September 27, 1961
October 3, 1962
September 27, 1963
September 30, 1964
October 6, 1965
October 5, 1966
September 27, 1967
October 9, 1968
October 10, 1969
Martha S. Grafton
Dean, Mary Baldwin College
"On Being Above the Average"
C. Benton Kline, Jr.
Dean of the Faculty, Agnes Scott College
"Aims of a Liberal Education"
C. Ellis Nelson
Professor of Religious Education and Psychology,
Union Theological Seminary, New York
"The Education of Conscience"
A. Hollis Edens
President, Duke University
"The Young Intellectuals"
David A. Lockmiller
President, Ohio Wesleyan University
William F. Quillian
President, Randolph-Macon Woman's College
Ernest J. Simmons
Professor of Slavic Languages and Russian
Literature, Columbia University
"Education's Challenge to Youth"
Huston Smith
Professor of Philosophy, M.I.T.
"The Nature of Man: Some Recent Evidence from
Science"
Theodore Meyer Green
Former Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
George Boas
Professor of Philosophy, The Johns Hopkins
University
"Enemies of Education"
Cleanth Brooks
Professor of English, Yale University
"The Poetry of Tension"
Felix C. Robb
Director, Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools
Waights G. Henry
President, LaGrange College
"A Mind to Work"
Arthus S. Link
Professor of History, Princeton University
305
September 30, 1970
October 2, 1971
October 4, 1972
October 10, 1973
October 9, 1974
October 1, 1975
October 20, 1976
October 5, 1977
October 4, 1978
September 26, 1979
October 15, 1980
September 30, 1981
Edward McCrady
President, University of the South
"Where Do We Go From Here?"
Edward D. Eddy
President, Chatham College
Henry King Stanford
President, University of Miami
Jacqueline Matfield
Dean and Assistant Provost, Brown University
"Prefection of the Life and of the Work"
Catherine S. Sims
Dean Emeritus, Sweet Briar College
Mary F. McPherson
Dean, Bryn Mawr College
Frontis W. Johnston
Dean of the Faculty, Davidson College
"The Relevance of Irrelevance"
Hugh M. Gloster
President, Morehouse College
"The Modern College Woman — Her Progress,
Her Problems, and Her Prospects"
Merrimon Cunniggim
President, Salem College
William L. Pressly
President Emeritus, The Westminster Schools
"What is Excellence?"
Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr.
Chairman, Agnes Scott Board of Trustees
Alice F. Emerson
President, Wheaton College, Norton,
Massachusetts
"Women's History: Education's Biggest Oil Field1
306
The Hopkins Jewel
The Hopkins Jewel grew out of a suggestion made by the class of
1922. It was the strong conviction of many that Agnes Scott needed in
some significant way to recognize the incalculable contribution which
Dean Nannette Hopkins had made to the College. The recognition
took the form of an award to the senior "who most nearly embodied
the ideals of Miss Hopkins for Agnes Scott." Unpublished material in
the McCain Library gives the following requirements for achieving
this award:
To meet this ideal a student must not only fulfill the academic
requirement for graduation but must also be conspicuous in
loyalty to the College, in ideals of service, in ability to cooperate.
She must possess, in addition, physical fitness, poise, and gra-
ciousness.
The jewel itself was an amethyst set in white gold — signifying Agnes
Scott's colors of purple and white. The jewel was first awarded in 1929
and continued through the Class of 1954. The first eight awards were
pendants; thereafter, the jewel was in the form of a ring. A committee
of the faculty determined the recipient.
After 1954 this award was discontinued. By this time Hopkins Hall
had been built as a permanent memorial to Dean Hopkins. Also it was
becoming increasingly difficult for faculty members who had not
known Miss Hopkins to determine just what her ideals were or would
be in changing situations.
Here are the students who received this award:
Class Name
1929
Helon Brown
1930
Elizabeth Flinn
1931
Marguerite Gerard
1932
Andrewena Robinson
1933
Margaret Ridley
1934
Nelle Chamlee
1935
Frences Espy
1936
Alice McCallie
1937
Julia Thing
1938
Nell Hemphill
1939
Amelia Nickels
1940
Ruth Slack
1941
Mary Scott Wilds
1942
June Taylor
1943
Anne Frierson
307
1944
Josephine Young
1945
Margaret Milam
1946
Dorothy Spragens
1947
Betty Jean Radford
1948
Mary Elizabeth Little
1949
Julianne Cook
1950
Cama Clarkson
1951
Marjorie Stukes
1952
Sybil Corbett
1953
Mary Beth Robinson
1954
Judith Promnitz
308
Investiture
Investiture at Agnes Scott had its beginnings in 1908, the third year
of the institution's life as a four-year college. It is generally believed
that the practice of capping the Seniors at Investiture as well as that of
hooding them at graduation was suggesed by Miss Mary L. Cady, who
was professor of history from 1908 to 1918. At first, the ceremony was
private and took place in President Gaines' study, where the Seniors
appeared in academic gowns, knelt before Dean Nannette Hopkins
who in turn capped each one. It was in 1 9 1 3 that the ceremony became
a public occasion. Between 1908 and 1913, Investiture came at the end
of what Professor McKinney has termed "the traditional Freshman-
Sophomore feud." As the day for Investiture approached, the Juniors
would try to "steal" the academic robes of the Seniors. To prevent this
problem, Investiture "went public" in 1913 as it has been ever since.
The usual date for this event is the last Saturday in October or the first
one in November. From its beginnings, through the tenures of Dean
Hopkins and Dean Carrie Scandrett, the seniors knelt both to be
capped and to be hooded. Since 1969 when Dean Scandrett retired, the
Seniors have stood before Dean Julia T. Gary for each of these
ceremonies. At the 1982 graduation, Dean of Students Martha C.
Kirkland hooded the Seniors.
The Investiture ceremony involves a full academic convocation with
the faculty in academic regalia sitting on the stage. An appropriate
address is given, and then each senior walks individually across the
platform to be publicly capped.
In 1943 the annual Sunday worship service on the day following
Investiture Saturday became a regular part of the weekend. In time a
reception for the Seniors and their parents and friends was added, and
beginning in the middle 1960's the President and his wife have on
Sunday morning hosted a breakfast for the Seniors and their guests.
For many years, it has been customary for the Senior class to choose
the speaker for the Investiture service. Ordinarily this speaker is
chosen from the faculty or administration, and to be selected for this
responsibility is generally considered to be one of the highest compli-
ments the students can bestow on a faculty or staff member. By long
tradition the President of the College selects the Sunday preacher.
The ceremony of Investiture is the occasion when the seniors are
formally recognized as the campus leaders that they are. By this cap-
ping event they are, as it were, singled out as special members of the
campus community. For seventy-five years Investiture has been a
regular part of the College's life. The tradition continues to have
vitality and meaning.
309
The Literary Societies and Debating
In the early days of Agnes Scott, the most important extra-curricu-
lar activities on the campus centered in the two literary societies, the
Mnemosynean and the Propylean. The former of these two was estab-
lished in October, 1891, and according to the catalogue for that year
was organized "to foster a taste for polite literature and to acquire on
the part of its members familiarity with standard authors, musicians,
and artists." This purpose was carried out through the participation of
the members in "readings, recitations, discussions, essays, and musical
numbers." Even in its first year, this society was engaged in collecting a
library of "standard books" and also published The Mnemosynean
Monthly.
The Propylean Literary Society was formed in May, 1897. Professor
Louise McKinney has written that the older group "had become rather
exclusive and was in need of a rival." The purpose of the new society as
stated in the Institute catalogue was "to promote the intellectual and
social interest of its members, and to prove as a nucleus of culture in
the school of which it is a part." Like the Mnemosynean, the Propylean
met weekly and offered programs of "readings, debates, and musical
selections." It also from time to time presented programs on current
literature and other timely topics.
Each of these groups had its own meeting room on the fourth floor
of Main decorated usually in the society colors: blue and gold for the
Mnemosynean, green and white for the Propylean. The two societies
were great rivals, and each fall there was "rushing" for new members.
Another feature of this rivalry was competition for the Shonts Prize
of $100.00 provided between 1904 and 1909 by Mr. T.P. Shonts of
Chicago, the father of two students who attended Agnes Scott from
1899 to 1903. This prize was awarded on the basis of attendance, qual-
ity of the programs, and the two best essays offered by each society and
read on Society Night at the annual commencement. The winner of
this prize spent the money for books for the Society's library — collec-
tions that ultimately became part of the Agnes Scott library.
These two literary societies continued until 1922. An entry in The
Agonistic for September 26, 1922, states that the two have been
merged into Pi Alpha Phi, a debating group. All of this grew out of the
following action of the faculty on May 23, 1922:
310
Mr. Armistead, for the Committee on Debating Societies,
made a report of the recent action of the Societies. He stated that
the Societies had, in joint action, agreed to discontinue their
organizations, in view of the fact that for some years past there
had seemed no need for them in the student life. A debating soci-
ety, known as Pi Alpha Phi, had been formed of those who were
really interested in debating, for the purpose of stimulating and
encouraging debating in the College and for the general purpose
of promoting the welfare of the College. Admission to this society,
it was stated, is to be by try-outs held in the fall and spring of each
year; the Debating Council, formed of a student committee and
the present faculty Committee, are to decide upon the merits of
applicants for membership. Membership is to be limited for the
present to thirty-two.
It was moved that the faculty express to the students its approval
of this plan. Seconded. Some discussion followed, and the amend-
ment was finally made to the above motion that an explanation of
the action of the students and faculty be made to the Alumnae at
their regular annual meeting on the 27th. With this amendment,
the motion was put and carried.
Pi Alpha Phi had been established in 1921 as an honorary organiza-
tion under the leadership of Professor J.D.M. Armistead. After his
death in 1923, Professor Cleo Hearon, chairman of the Department of
History, was in charge until her death in 1928. Subsequently, for many
years the moving force behind Pi Alpha Phi was Professor George P.
Hayes who served as faculty advisor and coach. More recently Pro-
fessor Penelope Campbell has been related to Pi Alpha Phi.
Around 1970 Pi Alpha Phi ceased to be a viable organization on
campus. Student interest in debating waned and has not been re-
kindled. From the beginnings in 1921 of the triangular debate arrange-
ment with Sophie Newcomb College and Randolph-Macon Woman's
College through the many years when Agnes Scott hosted the All
Southern Intercollegiate Debate Tournament, Pi Alpha Phi, as suc-
cessor to the Mnemosynean and Propylean Societies, occupied an
important place in the College's extra-curricular life.
31
May Day
The May Day tradition at Agnes Scott goes back to the days of the
Institute. Professor Louise McKinney has noted in her unpublished
memoirs that there was a simple May Day celebration as early as 1903.
Acording to Miss McKinney, it was 1913 that saw a beginning of an
annual May Day observance with the usual queen and May pole. Ini-
tially the performance was sponsored by the Y.W.C.A., but in time it
was taken over by the Department of Physical Education. For a period
the scenario was based on some mythological character; however, ere
long the subject matter was drawn from a much broader source. One
aspect was consistent in that the scenario was written by a student, and
the performance was student produced. The queen was chosen by
popular election, and it was a real distinction to be chosen.
The first queen in 1903 was Eileen Gober, and in 1913, when the
tradition became an annual event, the queen was Ethel McKay. Be-
gining from the early twenties, there is in the McCain Library an
unbroken record of the title of the performance, the writer of the
scenario, and the name of the queen. In a number of instances, the
music for the event was composed by Professor C.W. Dieckmann.
This writer remembers May Day as characterized by drama, music,
colorful costumes, dancing, and lovely young women.
The last May Day was in 1960. The queen was crowned in the May
Day Dell, and then the assemblage adjourned to Gaines Chapel for a
performance of Sophocles' Electra presented by Blackfriars and the
Dance Group.
Here follows a tabulation of May Day information, beginning in
1922:
Year Title
Writer
Queen
1922
Pipes of Pan
Nell Esslinger
Mary Lamar Knight
1923
The Legend of
Elizabeth McClure
Margaret Hansom
Nacoochee
McGeachy
1924
Psyche and Eros
Based on classic myth
Lucy Oliver
1925
Sherwood Forest
Louise Buchanan
Mary Breadlove
1926
The Triumph of Spring
Carolyn Essig
Edythe Coleman
1927
Endymion
Evelyn Wood
Mary Weems
1928
The Dawn of Delight
Carolyn Essig
Mary Bell McConkey
1929
Paris and the Golden
Apple
Laura Brown
Charlotte Hunter
312
Year Title
Writer
Queen
1930
Virgil, the Immortal
Bard
Lillian Thomas
Helen Hendricks
1931
Auburn Dell
Mary Katherine
Williamson
Mildred Duncan
1932
Spring in Many Lands
Gilchrist Powell
Nell Starr
1933
The Dance of the
Hours
Elaine Heckle and
Gilchrist Powell
Ann Brown Nash
1934
La Fete du Mai
Mary Boggs and
Anna Humber
Charlotte Reid
1935
Peter Pan
Jane Blick and
Alice Chamlee
Laura Whitner
1936
Down an English
Lane
Charleen Fleece and
Anne Thompson
Naomi Cooper
1937
Comus
John Milton, adapted
by Eloise Alexander,
and Julia Sewell
Lucile Dennison
1938
A Midsummer Night's
Dream
Adapted by Goudyloch
Erwin, Mary Matthews
and Anne Thompson
Myrl Chafin
1939
Orpheus and Eurydice
Adapted by Eleanor
Hutchens
Adelaide Benson
1940
Heritage of Women
Committee of Alumnae
Carolyn Alley
1941
On an English Green
Neva Jackson and
Cornelia Willis
Jean Dennison
1942
Americana
Myree Wells
Anne Chambless
1943
The Four Seasons
Elizabeth Edwards
and Anastasia Carlos
Mabel Stowe
1944
The Making of the
Tommy Huie
Robin Taylor Hoi
Rainbow
1945 The Creation
1946 Festival to Beauty
1947 May Day Revels
1948 A May Day Legend
1949 Irish May Day
1950 The Net, A Sea Legend
1951 The Adventure of
Prince Abdul-Kader
1952 Chess and Joy Fantasy
1953 A Flower Fantasy
1954 "A Knyght Ther Was"
Martha Jean Gower
Marybeth Little
Virginia Andrews
Nancy Parks
Peggy Pennel
Eliza Pollard
Margie Thomason
Katherine Hefner
Florence Flemming
Katherine Hefner
Anne Equen
Gloria Anne Melchor
Sue Hutchens
Marybeth Little
Miriam Arnold
Beryl Crews
Margaret Hunt
Sylvia Williams
Mary Beth Robinson
Harriette Potts
313
1955
Mountain May Day
Harriette Stovall
1956
Harlequinade
Memye Curtis
1957
Nezumi No Yomere
(The Marriage of a
Mouse)
Nancy R. Kimmel
1958
No May Day Per se —
Combined into first fine
1959
Orpheus
Judith Burson and
Nancy Trowell Leslie
1960
Electra
Sophocles
Joann Hall
Judith Watson
Cemele Miller
Runita McCurdy
Mary Jane Pickens
314
Sophomore Parents' Weekend
Agnes Scott's first Sophomore Parents' Weekend was on February
21, 22, and 23, 1958. From that time since, this event has been an
annual event on the College calendar.
This writer, convinced that Agnes Scott needed some activity in-
volving parents other than Investiture and Commencement, discussed
the matter with President Alston and at a faculty meeting on October
19, 1956, requested the faculty to ask the President to appoint a special
committee to investigate the feasibility of the College's instituting
some activity directed primarily at parents. The faculty responded
favorably to this suggestion, and a committee under the chairmanship
of Professor Mildred R. Mell promptly began its duties.
After careful assessment of Agnes Scott's needs and after checking
into parents' programs at other colleges, this committee on March 8,
1957, recommended that Agnes Scott inaugurate a special weekend for
the parents of sophomores. The sophomores were chosen because the
seniors already had Investiture, the juniors had Junior Jaunt, and the
freshmen, because of their newness, were receiving special attention in
a number of ways. The sophomores needed an occasion which was
uniquely theirs. The winter quarter was recommended as the time
because during that period students — particularly sophomores —
needed a "shot in the arm." This recommendation of the committee
was adopted, and the President immediately asked this same commit-
tee, along with the officers of the Sophomore class, to become the
steering group for the first Sophomore Parents' Weekend.
Over the more than twenty years since 1958, the program has been in
a constant state of evolution, but there are certain elements that were
in the first program that have been in every program since. Having
parents attend classes with their daughters has always been popular;
the Saturday luncheon for sophomores and parents continues, and
some form of entertainment given by the class members has been a
regular offering.
By common agreement, Sophomore Parents' Weekend is one of the
most meaningful events regularly held on campus. Through the years
the students have increasingly come to the fore in planning, such that
at this writing they do all the planning and execution. The faculty have
cooperated constructively in supporting the weekend, and parents
have welcomed this opportunity to experience Agnes Scott. One and
all call Sophomore Parents' Weekend a resounding success.
315
Student Government
The Student Government Association of Agnes Scott College traces
its beginnings to 1906, the year that the institution became a four-year
college and granted its first degrees. Although there is no specific
record in the minutes of the faculty indicating this significant change in
the regulations pertaining to students, there are entries dating from
that year evidencing the existence of a student government organiza-
tion. For instance, the minutes of April 24, 1906, record an inquiry
from the President concerning the responsibilities of teachers in the
dormitories and their relationship to student government. Further,
under the date of May 17, 1906, there is an entry in which Dean Nan-
nette Hopkins reported the organization of students and the name of
the first president. There is another item dated October 22, 1907, and
finally on December 19, 1907, there is recorded a recommendation
from the Executive Committee of Student Government that a specific
student be excluded from the college. Also, the official catalogue for
1906-1907 lists a faculty committee on student government.
In the files of the McCain Library, there is an interesting account of
the circumstances which led to the formation of a student government
organization at Agnes Scott. Rebekah Scott Hall was built in 1905,
and with the advent of collegiate status in 1906, the college students
were housed in Rebekah and the preparatory students in Main. Since
these two groups were separated, Dean Hopkins concluded that the
time was right for establishing a student government organization.
Accordingly, she called the college students together in the spring of
1906 and proposed the new organization. The account then proceeds
as follows:
Surprising as it may seem, the girls objected strenuously, on the
ground that they had all the privileges they wanted without the
worry of having to assume any of the responsibility! However,
after much persuasion, Miss Hopkins succeeded in getting the
student body to sanction the organization of a Student
Government Association.
The first officers of Student Government were the following:
President Sara Boals, 1907
Vice President Elizabeth Curry, 1907
Members of the Executive Committee
from the Senior Class Clyde Pettus, 1907
Irene Foscue, 1907
Hall President Rachel Young, 1907
Marshall (Catherine Dean, 1908
316
The vice president, Elizabeth Curry, recalling these early days of
Student Government, writes as follows:
My impression is that Dr. Arbuckle presented to the students the
action of the faculty with reference to the charter. At that meeting
the president was chosen and other officers and the Executive
Board or Committee was constituted and chosen. After numerous
meetings in the old Society Halls we hammered out details of the
organization, its rules and regulations. And tho' we got a "ready-
made" form which did not give us too much latitude, we felt that
our freedom was greatly increased under the new regime and there
was much rejoicing as well as criticism. The latter became particu-
larly strong when the Committee was called upon to deal with
infringement of rules and there were times when we would gladly
have laid down our official authority and become private
students. On the whole we felt our emancipation when a proctor
was chosen from among the girls to preserve order along the halls
after lights.
From the earliest days it is apparent that the functions of Student
Government at Agnes Scott have been divided into the three usual
categories for such activity, namely, legislative, executive, and judicial.
In the earlier days legislative power was vested in the Association as
a whole, with the Executive Committee being the channel through
which all proposals came to the Association. Executive power with the
authority to enforce rules was lodged in the Executive Committee.
This same committee was also the lower court of judicial authority, the
Association itself being the court of appeal.
In later developments legislative power was vested jointly in the
Executive Committee and the Student Council, and apparently the
Association had only the power to veto the decisions of these two joint
groups. At this same period, executive power was the prerogative of
the six officers of the Association augmented by eight other students to
constitute the Executive Board. This same Board served as the lower
court injudicial matters, with the right of appeal to the entire Student
Government Association. The six officers of the Association at this
period were the president, three vice presidents, a secretary, and a
treasurer.
As the Student Government Association evolved, the make-up of
the Executive Committee was altered from time to time, but the gen-
eral nature of its functions and authority remained essentially the same
for many years.
In the early 1960's a major revision in the operation of Student
317
Government came about with the establishment, within this frame-
work of the Association, of Representative Council, Judicial Council,
and Joint House Council. Legislative power was initially vested in
Representative Council and finally in the Student Body. Executive
power was solely the prerogative of Representative Council. Under-
standably this group was made much larger and more representative of
the student body than the former Executive Committee had been.
Judicial duties and powers were now delegated to the Judicial Council
as the court of primary jurisdiction with the Association itself continu-
ing as the court of appeal. However, Judicial Council might, if it chose,
deny the right of appeal. The House Council was the agency which
coordinated the activities of the various residential units.
In the 1970's there was further alteration in the organization of stu-
dent government when the Judicial Council became Honor Court and
the House Council was replaced by Interdormitory Council and the
various Dormitory Councils. Honor Court is the highest student
judicial body, and its judgments concerning violations of social regu-
lations are final. In matters growing out of infringement of academic
regulations, Honor Court's decisions are subject to review by the Ad-
ministrative Committee of the College.
Interdormitory Council has both executive and judicial powers. In
the latter function it is a court of primary jurisdiction in some matters
and is an appellate court from Dormitory Councils in others. Inter-
dormitory Council can, of course, refer to Honor Court any violation
if it chooses to do so.
Originally the faculty itself was required to take action in matters
involving serious disciplinary cases referred to it by the Executive
Committee sitting as a judiciary. However, the faculty has now dele-
gated its authority in this regard to the Administrative Committee,
which reviews and approves all cases involving academic probation,
suspension, or expulsion. The Administrative Committee also must
approve all recommendations for changes in social regulations and
changes in policies affecting student life as these changes are initiated
in Representative Council.
No review of Student Government at Agnes Scott would be com-
plete without reference to the Honor System, which is at the very
center of life on this campus. Any and every student who enrolls at
Agnes Scott, by this very act of enrollment, accepts the Honor System
as her way of life and formally adopts the following pledge:
318
As a member of the Student Body of Agnes Scott College, I con-
sider myself bound by honor to develop and uphold high stand-
ards of honesty and behavior; to strive for full intellectual and
moral stature; to realize my social and academic responsibility in
the community. To attain these ideals, I do therefore accept this
Honor System as my way of life.
Elaborating on this honor pledge, to which every student subscribes,
the Student Handbook reads as follows:
The cornerstone of the entire structure of Agnes Scott life is the
Honor System, which is founded upon the support, the mature
judgment, and the personal integrity of every student. By entering
Agnes Scott, a student voluntarily pledges her support to the
regulations and to the spirit of the community. As a member of
this community, she accepts a definite responsibility for herself
and for her fellow students which leads to a responsible freedom
within the structure of the Honor System. The Honor System is an
expression of trust in students and in their willingness to uphold
the ideals of the community.
Each student is expected to accept her responsibility to protect the
Honor System from actions and attitudes which may weaken it.
The exercise of this responsibility involves a student's reporting
her own infringements of the policies and regulations and involves
an obligation for her fellow students' relations to the community.
This latter obligation may take the form of speaking to the student
on behalf of the community or of asking another member of the
community to speak to her. It is impossible to reduce this to an
unvarying rule of procedure, but the unchanging obligation is to
prevent the occurrence or recurrence of detrimental actions and
attitudes.
Under the Honor System, regulations, both social and academic,
are based upon their value to the community and to the individual
student. This basis is one which is fundamental, not merely at
Agnes Scott but wherever there is a community.
For over three-quarters of a century (since 1906) Agnes Scott students
have governed themselves — responsibly, sensibly, effectively. Details
of this activity have changed through the years, but the major thrust of
this procedure has remained the same: College students are young
adults, capable of integrity, responsibility and trust. At Agnes Scott no
one would have it any other way!
319
Agnes Scott College
Presidents of Student Government
Class of Name
1907
Sara R. Boals
1908
Elva Drake
1909
Margaret McCallie
1910
Mildred Thompson
1911
Eleanor Coleman
1912
Annie Chapin McLane
1913
Laura Mil Towers
1914
Charlotte Jacobson
1915
Grace Harris
1916
Anne McClure
1917
Jane Harwell
1918
Samille Lowe
1919
Lucy Durr
1920
Julia Hagood
1921
Margaret McLaughlin
1922
Eleanor Buchanan
1923
Hilda McConnell
1924
Carrie Scandrett
1925
Mary Ann McKinney
1926
Virginia Browning
1927
Elsa Jacobsen
1928
Janet McDonald
1929
Elinor Morgan
1930
Martha Stackhouse
1931
Ellen Davis
1932
Andrewena Robinson
1933
Margaret Ridley
1934
Mary McDonald
1935
Alberta Palmour
1936
Adelaide Stevens
1937
Alice Hannah
1938
Laura Coit
1939
Mary Ellen Whetsell
1940
Henrietta Thompson
1941
Frances Breg
1942
Virginia Montgomery
1943
Frances Radford
1944
Anne Ward
1945
Molly Milam
1946
Marjorie Naab
1947
Jane Meadows
1948
Amelia Davis
1949
Nancy Parks
320
1950
Sarah Tucker
1951
Marjorie Stukes
1952
Sybil Corbett
1953
Belle Miller
1954
Valeria Burnet
1955
Constance Currie
1956
Louisa Allen
1957
Miriam Smith
1958
Nancy Edwards
1959
Lila McGeachy
1960
Eve Purdom
1961
Sarah Helen High
1962
Violet (Vicky) Allen
1963
Mary Beth Thomas
1964
Anne Foster
1965
Nancy Yontz
1966
Deborah Rosen
1967
Lynne Wilkins
1968
Alice Zollicoffer
1969
Martine Brownley
1970
Holly Duskin Kenyon
1971
Carolyn Cox
1972
Sybil Peet
1973
Tinsley Swann
1974
Susan Skinner
1975
Mary Gay Morgan
1976
Jane Sutton
1977
Cynthia Hodges
1978
Katharine Manning
1979
Patricia DuPont
1980
Kemper Hatfield
1981
Laura Kletner
1982
Peggy Elizabeth Davis
321
Student Publications
Agnes Scott's first student publication dates from 1891 and was
called "the Mnemosynean," being issued by the Literary Society of the
same name. It was a monthly literary magazine. When the Propylean
Society was formed, this magazine became a joint effort of both soci-
eties. It flourished as "The Mnemosynean" until 1900-1901 when its
name was changed to "Aurora," a magazine that still continues to be
published, particularly in connection with the annual Writer's Festi-
val. In 1916 "Aurora" became a quarterly publication and more
recently has been published three times a year. From its beginning this
magazine has carried the creative literary work of students. Now it also
serves as a vehicle for student work in the visual arts, and the spring
issue contains not only work by Agnes Scott students, but that of other
students in Georgia colleges who are competing in the annual Writers'
Festival contest.
The first "annual" was issued in 1897 and was called "Aurora."
When this name was transferred to the literary magazine in 1900, a new
name was needed for the senior annual; thus, the designation "Sil-
houette" came into use in 1 90 1 . This name was suggested, according to
Professor Louise McKinney, by Miss Anna W. Lytle, who taught
English in the Institute from 1899 to 1901. The Silhouette has con-
tinued to be published ever since with the exception of 19 19, just at the
end of World War I, when the savings from not publishing an annual
were given to war relief.
Agnes Scott's weekly newspaper dates from February 11, 1916 — a
publication called The Agonistic. There is no play here on the word
"Agnes." The dictionary defines "Agonistic" as "Striving to overcome
in argument; competitive; combative .... Straining to achieve
effect. . . of or pertaining to contests . . . ."This title was chosen as a
result of a student contest and seems a happy choice since a student
newspaper should have a point of view to promote or defend. At any
rate, this title prevailed until April, 1939, when the name of the paper
became The Agnes Scott News. Professor McKinney has observed
that one reason for the change was that "Agonistic" was so often
incorrectly written. In fact, in one issue of The Silhouette it was
referred to as the "Agnostic." So the paper became The Agnes Scott
News and continued so until April, 1964, when the present name. The
Profile, came into being.
Early on in the 1963-1964 year, the student newspaper announced a
322
contest to choose a new name for this publication. In due time from the
names suggested, Representative Council chose four to be submitted
to the Administrative Committee and then to the student body. The
four names were "The Profile," "The Ascott," "The Panorama," and
"The Monitor." The name "Profile" prevailed among these four and
then won again vis-a-vis "The Agnes Scott News. "The change of name
was effective when the new editor and staff took over near the end of
the 1963-1964 session.
323
The Writers' Festival
One of the most signifcant events on Agnes Scott's annual calendar
is the Writers' Festival which occurs each spring. Its purpose is to
promote and encourage creative writing skills among college students
in Georgia.
Begun in 1972 on a financial "shoestring" with funds from student
organizations, the enterprise has flourished increasingly for a decade.
For 1973 President Alston provided financial backing from the
College, and President Perry from the beginning of his administration
established the Writers' Festival as a regular part of each College
session.
Undergraduate students throughout Georgia are invited to submit
manuscripts (poetry or prose). The manuscripts are screened by quali-
fied judges, and the work of the finalists is ultimately evaluated by a
panel of recognized writers who are brought to the campus to partici-
pate in the festival either by lectures or by readings from their works.
The cash prizes for the best work in the various categories were
initially quite small, but in 1976 they were materially increased. More-
over, beginning in 1977, Dr. Eleanor N. Hutchens, '40, of Huntsville,
Alabama, began providing funds for the Newman Prizes in memory of
her grandfather and grandmother.
The roster of the distinguished writers who have participated in the
Festival reads like a "Who's Who" of current American literary fig-
ures. A partial listing includes Eudora Welty, Robert Penn Warren,
May Sarton, Hollis Summers, Josephine Jacobsen, Richard Eber-
hardt, Reynolds Price, Guy Davenport, Howard Nemerov, James
Merrill, Theodore Weiss, Larry Rubin, Tom McHaney, John Yount,
Donald Davie, Marion Montgomery, Michael Mott, Doris Betts, and
Margaret Atwood.
On the local scene, there have been many persons who have helped
make the Festival the resounding success that it is. For the first few
years, the late Professor Margret G. Trotter was the director. She was
succeeded by Professor B.W. Ball, who served until 1980 when Profes-
sor Margaret W. Pepperdene became the director. Mention must also
be made of Nathalie Fitzsimons Anderson, '70, and Professor David
Barton, both of whom participated in ways too numerous to mention.
Literature and its creation are inherently a part of the liberal arts
tradition. It is, therefore, highly appropriate that a college like Agnes
Scott sponsor and promote a Writers' Festival.
324
Miscellaneous Observances, Organizations, and
Traditions
Other observances, organizations, and traditions which at one time
or other have flourished at Agnes Scott are listed below. Some of these
activities have long since passed off the campus scene; others are still
viable groups or events on campus.
Arts Council Exam Teas
Awards Day Faculty Prayers
Bacon Bat Junior Jaunt
Book Burning Little Girls' Day
Class Day Senior Opera
Daisy Chain Social Council
Dolphin Club Studio Dance Theatre
Suppressed Desires Day
325
A NOBLE COMPANY
326
Chapter 7
A NOBLE COMPANY
"There is
One great society alone on earth:
The noble Living and the noble Dead. "
William Wordsworth, The Prelude
Book XI, 11. 393-395
Agnes Scott is a many-faceted jewel, but no element in its life is more
important than the great people who have labored here and who have
found self-realization and fulfillment through identifying themselves
with this College. Space does not permit the chronicling of all these
people; however, fifteen brief vignettes are now offered of persons who
are typical of all those who have helped make Agnes Scott what it is.
The writer takes full responsibility for the selection of those who are
portrayed. Others might have been selected, but those chosen are
indeed a noble company. Only one is still living.
327
Alice Lucile Alexander
Professor Alice Lucile Alexander was born near Wytheville, Virginia,
on March 3, 1878; she died in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 7, 1964.
Her father was a Presbyterian minister who at one time was the presi-
dent of Plummer College in Wytheville. She came to Agnes Scott
Institute in the 1890's and graduated with first honor in 1899. For a
brief time she taught in the Donald Frazier School in Decatur and in
1902 returned to Agnes Scott where she taught in the Institute until
1904 when she became a member of the mathematics department of
Agnes Scott Academy, a post which she filled until 1912. During those
years Agnes Scott became a college, and Miss Alexander continued to
take work at the college level such that she received her B.A. degree
with highest honor from Agnes Scott in 191 1. She then enrolled in the
Graduate School of Columbia University in New York from which she
received her master's degree in French in 1913. She was the first Agnes
Scott alumna to earn an advanced degree. She joined the Department
of Romance Languages of her alma mater in 1913 where she taught
until her retirement in 1948. For most of these years she was chairman
of the Department of French. Subsequent to joining the College
faculty, she pursued further studies both in France and in the Middle-
bury French Summer School in Vermont. In 1926 Professor Alexander
was one of the first five graduates elected to alumnae membership
when the Beta Chapter of Georgia of Phi Beta Kappa was installed at
Agnes Scott.
By any standard Professor Alexander was an excellent teacher, a
circumstance attested by the number of competent French majors she
regularly turned out. She was very demanding in her requirements,
and many students were somewhat afraid of her. She expected first-
class work, and if she thought a student was particularly capable, she
increased the requirements so the student's mind would be contin-
uously stretched.
She herself was always an over-achiever. As has already been
pointed out, she graduated first in her class from Agnes Scott Institute,
and she took her degree with highest honor from Agnes Scott College.
When she went to Columbia, the Chairman of the French Department
was skeptical that a graduate of a "little college in the South" could
take an M.A. from Columbia in one year. But she did it — and with
honors too.
Miss Alexander worked for Agnes Scott not only as a teacher but as
328
a leading committee person — particularly in the committees on
curriculum, admissions, and courses. She also served on many ad hoc
committees as well. Professor Louise McKinney is reputed to have
remarked that when President McCain looked over the faculty prior to
appointing a committee, it seemed he never could see anybody except
'Cile. There's probably more than a modicum of truth in Miss
McKinney's observation. President McCain also used Professor
Alexander as a key person in raising funds among alumnae.
It was Professor Alexander who began the long-time Agnes Scott
custom of singing carols in French around the community just before
the College closed at Christmas. After caroling, the singers would
adjourn to Miss Alexander's house for hot chocolate. She also helped
promote the French Club and had considerable skill in directing
dramatic performances. For years as faculty marshal, she was in
charge of all high academic occasions.
Professor Alexander fully understood and completely allied herself
with the kind of education that Agnes Scott has always sought to offer.
Between 1924 and 1947 approximately half a dozen articles from her
pen appeared in the Agnes Scott Alumnae Quarterly supporting the
relevance and importance of a liberal arts education. She was a woman
who knew what she believed and loved what she knew. From her
vantage point as one of the recognized leaders in the faculty, she for
almost half a century was a dynamic element in Agnes Scott's progress.
329
Howard Bell Arbuckle
Born near Lewisburg, West Virginia, on October 5, 1870, Howard
Bell Arbuckle received his B.A. degree from Hampden-Sydney Col-
lege in 1889 and the next year took his master's degree from the same
institution. Eight years later in 1898, after teaching in Mississippi and
at the Seminary West of Sewanee (now Florida State University), he
was awarded his Ph.D degree in chemistry from The Johns Hopkins
University. Along the way he had done additional graduate study at
the University of Virginia. His doctoral dissertation was directed
toward determining the atomic weights of zinc and cadmium.
In 1 898, just after receiving his doctorate, he joined the Agnes Scott
faculty where he remained until 1913 when he went to Davidson
College as Professor of Chemistry, a post which he held until his re-
tirement in 1937. His death occurred on July 19, 1945.
In 1896 Howard Arbuckle married Ida Clift Meginniss of Talla-
hassee, and they had two children: Howard Bell, Jr., and Adele Taylor
(now Mrs. Thomas S. Logan) who graduated from Agnes Scott in
1931.
Beyond his teaching, Professor Arbuckle had great interest in
breeding sheep and maintained a flock of thoroughbreds at Max-
welton, West Virginia, where he had a summer home. He founded the
Continental Dorset Club for registering pure-bred Dorset sheep and
understandably his research was particularly directed toward agri-
cultural chemistry. He was also an important figure in the Pi Kappa
Alpha social fraternity, of which he was the grand chancellor from
1913 to 1933. Listed in Who's Who in America, Professor Arbuckle
was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa.
Howard Bell Arbuckle was the first Ph.D. to become a member of
the Agnes Scott faculty. Initially he taught all science as well as just
chemistry. A master teacher — patient, understanding, able to com-
municate — Professor Arbuckle influenced hundreds of students at
Agnes Scott and at Davidson.
Professor Arbuckle's great contribution to Agnes Scott had to do
with the Institute's becoming a College. As has already been pointed
out (see pp. 28-29 and p. 30), he was the person who represented Agnes
Scott in the important negotiations with the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools as the institution was effecting the changes
necessary to becoming a college. Trained as an academician with
advanced degrees, he was ideally qualified to be President Gaines's
330
representative at this period. The circumstance that Agnes Scott
became accredited by the Southern Association the second year after it
became a College attests in no small measure to Howard Arbuckle's
expertise in academic standards and as a skillful negotiator. Agnes
Scott College stands forever indebted to this man.
331
J.D.M. Armistead
J.D.M. Armistead joined the Agnes Scott faculty in 1905 as Pro-
fessor of English and chairman of the Department of English. When he
died eighteen years later on April 30, 1923, he was still in these posi-
tions. Any review of the records of Agnes Scott during the opening
years of this century, and particularly in the period when the institu-
tion was taking its place as a respected four-year college, will reveal
that Professor Armistead was in the vanguard of those who planted
the seeds of Agnes Scott's academic excellence.
He was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, on January 9, 1 87 1 . At the age
of nineteen he graduated from Washington and Lee University and
three years later received his Ph.D. degree from the same institution.
He was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa at Washington and
Lee. Prior to coming to Agnes Scott, he taught in the Lynchburg Public
Schools. His death came quite unexpectedly. Although he had been in
declining health, he met his classes as usual on Friday afternoon, April
27, but died before he could meet them again on the following Mon-
day. His death occurred just one week after that of President Gaines.
Professor Armistead wrote the faculty resolutions concerning Dr.
Gaines' death, but he never lived to hear them read.
Professor Armistead touched every aspect of Agnes Scott's life. He
was the secretary of the faculty all the years that he was at the College.
In the administration, he was one of those on whom President Gaines
particularly relied; he was respected and admired by his peers and was
loved and appreciated by his students. He was the moving spirit in the
founding at Agnes Scott of Gamma Tau Alpha, the forerunner of the
College's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1915 he established B.O.Z.,
the student organization which encouraged literary achievement and
which for many years met in his study. For approximately half a
century B.O.Z. flourished at Agnes Scott. Professor Armistead was
also the driving force in the establishing of Pi Alpha Phi, the student
debating society. The Agonistic for May 23, 1923, points out that he
also "acted as a kind of unofficial faculty member for the staffs of the
three publications, 'Silhouette,' 'Aurora' and 'Agonistic' " This same
issue of the student newspaper has this pertinent paragraph concern-
ing this beloved professor:
332
One service performed by Dr. Armistead which is not generally
known to the students was his urging that they might be allowed to
attend plays and also to present them. At the time when he first
came to Agnes Scott only Shakespearan plays were enjoyed by
Agnes Scott girls, since the theatre was regarded as essentially
immoral. Dr. Armistead was the first to attack this idea and to
introduce more liberal views on the subject. Finally through his
efforts the students were allowed to attend four plays a year and,
still later, to be free to go to as many plays as they liked. Dr.
Armistead was also actively connected with Blackfriars and did
much to encourage amateur dramatics in the college.
The faculty was, of course, greatly saddened by the death of its long-
time secretary and colleague, and a full resolution of appreciation is a
part of the faculty minutes. After pointing out many of Professor
Armistead's contributions to Agnes Scott, these faculty resolutions
high-light his most signal quality:
Great as was Dr. Armistead's service . . ., it was through his
teaching that his influence was most potent. Here his ardor for
truth, his fine sense of values, his genuine interest in his students,
inspired them with enthusiasm. Both by his interpretation of
literature and by the richness of his personality, he made them see
scholarship as a desirable end, and so transmitted to them an
ennobling ideal of sweetness and light.
In 1907 and in 1913, the seniors dedicated The Silhouette to Pro-
fessor Armistead. Again in 1924 this publication was posthumously
dedicated to him. This final dedication takes the form of a verse tribute
which from all available evidence seems to epitomize J.D.M. Armi-
stead and what the students felt for him:
"I think the gentle soul of him
Goes softly in some garden place,
With the old smile time may not dim
Upon his face.
He who was lover of the spring,
With love that never quite forgets
Surely sees roses blossoming,
And violets.
Now that his day of toil is through
With some old volume that he knew
Upon his knees,
Watching, perhaps, with quiet eyes
The white cloud's argosy,
Or twilight opening, flower-wise,
On land and sea.
333
He who loved companionship,
I may not think walks quite alone,
Failing some friendly hand to slip
Within his own.
Those whom he loved aforetime, still,
I doubt not bear him company;
Yea, even laughter yet may thrill
Where he may be.
A thought, — a fancy, — who may tell?
Yet I who ever prize it so
Feel through my tears that all is well;
And this I know
That God is gentle to his guest,
And therefore I may gladly say,
Surely the things he loved the best
Are his to-day."
Theodosia Garrison
334
Edna Hanley Byers
For thirty-seven years (1932-1969) Edna Hanley Byers was Agnes
Scott's librarian. When she came to the College, the library was housed
in what is now called the Hub and contained 20,000 volumes and
received 100 periodicals; when she retired, there were 1 15,000 volumes
and subscriptions to over 600 periodicals. The staff had grown from
the librarian and one assistant to a total of nine, including the librarian.
The library had also in 1936 moved to a new and much larger building
which Mrs. Byers planned.
Edna Ruth Hanley was born on March 30, 1900; she died on Febru-
ary 16, 1972. Educated at Bluffton College in Ohio, from which she
took her B.A. in 1923, she went on to the University of Michigan where
she received a B.A. in library science in 1927 and a master's degree in
the same field in 1934. She began her professional career at Bluffton,
where she was librarian for five years prior to coming to Agnes Scott.
For three summers in the early 1940's she was Reference Assistant in
the New York Public Library, and during five summers in the 1950's
she lectured in the Library School of the University of Michigan. On
December 16, 1950, she was married to Noah Ebersole Byers.
In addition to being an expert librarian, Mrs. Byers was a widely
recognized authority on Library buildings, and her book College and
University Library Buildings, published in 1939, won national recog-
nition, so much so that on a number of occasions she served as con-
sultant to various colleges as they planned new library facilities. For
her achievements in her profession, she was listed in Who 's Who in
America.
Edna Byers was a prodigious worker. Morning, noon, and night she
was in the library. The phrase "in the library" is the correct one to use
for her. She was seldom in her office. Rather she was at the circulation
desk, in the stacks, among the periodicals, at the card catalogue, or in
the technical services work room. She seemed to be everywhere in the
library at once, and she never asked a member of her staff to do any-
thing which she was not willing to do herself. It is not surprising, there-
fore, that she had the respect and loyalty of all library personnel. The
faculty also admired her and had confidence in her as did the Presi-
dents of the College to whom she was directly responsible.
It has been noted elsewere in this account (see p. 161) that Mrs.
Byers more than anyone else was responsible for the excellence of
Agnes Scott's Robert Frost Collection. The poet himself called her his
335
"indefatigable collector," and she was just that. She "mothered" the
Frost Collection, and her sharp eye was always alert for possible addi-
tions. It is highly appropriate that when she retired the Board of Trus-
tees named the Frost Collection in her honor.
Edna Hanley Byers was a warm, caring person, deeply loyal to her
friends. It is not an overstatement to say that the excellence of today's
McCain Library is largely due to the foundations which she laid during
her thirty-seven year tenure as Agnes Scott's librarian.
336
John O. Flint
As these lines are written, John O. Flint is in his ninety-eighth year
— still very much alive and amazingly active, ram-rod erect in his
posture, continuing to take early morning walks around his neighbor-
hood. He recently attended a college function, coming alone on the
public transportation system. John Flint is a worthy respresentative of
all the black people who have contributed so much to Agnes Scott.
Mr. Flint, as he is known on campus, was born in Covington, New-
ton County, Georgia, in 1883. He first tried farming as a gainful occu-
pation, but not liking agriculture, he in 1910 decided to move to
California, but he never got any farther than Decatur where he stopped
to visit his sister and became associated with Agnes Scott. He began as
janitor in Rebekah Scott Hall and soon became head waiter in White
House dining room. As head waiter, he was in charge of the other
waiters and demanded from them the same meticulousness in dress
that he practiced — white coat, white shirt, black bow tie, dark
trousers, and highly shined black shoes. Many former students
remember Mr. Flint as the person who rang the bell for meals and who
immediately locked the dining room door when he ceased ringing the
bell. When the College went to the cafeteria system for meals, Mr.
Flint became the chief server at the head of the first steam table.
John Flint worked in the dining hall until he was seventy, in 1953.
Although he technically retired, he was continued on the maintenance
staff as a painter. Later he moved from this work to being the recep-
tionist in the Charles A. Dana Fine Arts Building. Although he ulti-
mately retired near the end of President Alston's administration, he
was permitted to come back and work for a brief time after Dr. Perry
became President of the College. Thus, John Flint is the only person
who has worked under all of the College's first four presidents. All in
all, Mr. Flint served Agnes Scott well over fifty years, the longest
tenure of anyone in the College's history.
John Flint was and is a constant influence for good. The soul of
integrity, uprightness, and dependability, he personifies the great
principles on which Agnes Scott was founded. Always courteous and
considerate, he is a gentleman in every sense of that term. President
Alston commenting on John Flint in 1971 said:
[He] is one of the finest persons in the Agnes Scott family ... a
gentlemen . . . faithful to duty, loyal to his employer and
friends ... [a man of] straight thinking . . . and a person of great
integrity . . . respected by all who know him.
For more than half a century, John Flint was for Agnes Scott stu-
dents a daily reminder of excellence. Untold alumnae treasure their
memories of him.
337
Emma May Laney
Emma May Laney was the most powerfully influential person who
has ever taught at Agnes Scott — at least that is the opinion of this
writer. This is not to say that everybody liked Miss Laney. Many
didn't, and some actually feared her, but no one could ignore her. Even
after her retirement, she continued to be a felt presence on this campus
even though she was hundreds of miles away.
A native Mississippian, Emma May Laney was born on November
27, 1886. She grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, where she graduated
from high school. With a B.A. degree from the Mississippi State
College for Women and a master's degree from Columbia University,
she first came to Agnes Scott in 1 9 1 2- 1 9 1 3 as a teacher in the Academy
— the last year that institution existed. In 1919 she returned to Agnes
Scott as a member of the Department of English and after thirty-seven
years retired in 1956. In 1930 she received her Ph.D. degree from Yale
University. After retirement, Professor Laney lived in Denver, Col-
orado, until her death on March 25, 1969. She was a member of Phi
Beta Kappa and of Mortar Board.
For thirty-seven years Professor Laney dominated the Agnes Scott
English Department and much of the faculty besides. She was a for-
midable person, not ever to be taken lightly — one who usually took
charge of everybody and everything with which she was associated.
Mr. Robert Frost, whom Miss Laney introduced to Agnes Scott, is
reputed to have remarked that if she had lived in the thirteenth cen-
tury, she would have been the Pope. Professor George P. Hayes, long-
time chairman of Agnes Scott's Department of English, has observed
that to "enter her class was a searching confrontation." Someone has
said that everyday Miss Laney demanded everything that her students
had and a little bit more that they didn't even know they had. Like a
whiplash she "rejected inaccuracy or sloppiness of any sort." Indeed,
she gave short shrift to anyone who sought to avoid "intellecutal
rigor." One alumna, known very well to this writer, has said that she
trembled through freshman English under Miss Laney; yet this same
person developed facility and cogency in writing and had a keen
appreciation of literature. That Professor Laney was an effective
teacher is beyond question. Such scholar-teachers as Ellen Douglass
Leyburn or Virginia Prettyman or Eleanor Hutchens proudly claimed
or claim her as their teacher. Miss Laney's interests were legion, and
her energy was unbounded. When she was here, the student newspaper
338
was called The Agnes Scott News. It is alleged that the morning after
an issue appeared, the editor could expect to find in her mailbox, a
copy of the just published paper with every error marked — courtesy
of Miss Laney. Such markings most likely indicated not only typo-
graphical and spelling errors but also those in punctuation, grammar,
and sentence structure. All this effort sprang from a genuine desire on
Professor Laney's part to help the students put out a better paper. No
teacher ever cared more for this College or fought harder to enhance its
standards. It has been said that she was also the constant champion of
the students in the meetings of the faculty. She always seemed to take
an almost fierce delight in all she did, seldom giving quarter and never
asking for any.
One of Professor Laney's students at Agnes Scott was Miss Janef
Preston who for forty-six years was a greatly loved member of the
College's Department of English. Miss Preston, in her volume of
poetry entitled Upon Our Pulses, includes a sonnet called "Heightened
Hour" which she admitted is about Miss Laney's teaching and classes.
This writer has never read a finer tribute from a student about a
teacher:
Your class was not mere time from bell to bell:
It was a heightened hour of quick surprise
Our pulses measured as you wove the spell
That gave us ears and unsealed our eyes.
Chaucer charmed us with a laughing tale,
Milton summoned us with grandeur's call,
Spenser sang and Keats's nightingale,
And Eliot with the hidden waterfall.
Though wonder was about you, you were formed
Of other elements than magic's fire:
With militant delight you daily stormed
Our sleeping wills, commanding our desire
To wake and stir and reach and sternly strive
To be — and be entirely alive.
By any and all criteria, Professor Laney was a formative force in
Agnes Scott's growth toward excellence.
339
Ellen Douglass Leyburn
Ellen Douglass Leyburn was the greatest scholar-teacher that this
writer has ever had the privilege of knowing. At the time of her death,
one of her colleagues wrote that Professor Leyburn "always managed
to make something other than excellence in college matters be the
issue; she made us expect excellence as a given." Another faculty col-
league wrote, "From the first time I heard of her, in letters more than
two decades ago from a freshman captivated by her classes, Ellen
Douglass Leyburn's name has meant to me the utmost in integrity in
teaching .... She was one of those rare persons whose uncompro-
mising standards made us all want to do better than our best and
whose campassion with failure inspired us to get up and start again."
Born on September 2 1 , 1907, in Durham, North Carolina, where her
father was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, she moved as a
child to Rome, Georgia, where she finished high school and from
which she entered Agnes Scott in 1923. An English major, she grad-
uated from Agnes Scott in 1927 and the next year received her master's
degree from Radcliffe. From 1 928 to 1 932 she taught in private schools
and subsequently entered Yale University from which she received her
Ph.D. degree in 1934. She then returned to Agnes Scott as instructor in
English and rose steadily through the ranks until at the time of her
death on March 20, 1966, she was Professor of English and Chairman
of the Department.
Through the years, Professor Leyburn was constantly publishing
articles in scholarly journals and reading penetrating papers before
professional societies. In 1956 the Yale University Press published her
first book, Satiric Allegory: Mirror of Man, and when she died, she left
a manuscript which was posthumously published by the University of
North Carolina Press as Strange Alloy: The Relation of Comedy to
Tragedy in the Fiction of Henry James.
The tribute adopted by the faculty on May 13, 1966, made these
observations about Professor Leyburn:
She dedicated herself fully to the purposes of Agnes Scott and
worked untiringly for its well-being. Always critical of what was
unworthy, shabby or less than first-rate, she gave the best re-
sources of her mind to thought about what would improve the
College. Over the years she served on many important commit-
tees. The Independent Study Program was the fruit of a study she
led, and the statement of its purpose is hers . . . . In the classroom
she aimed at giving over the discussion to the students. At other
times when her questioning elicited an inarticulate reply, she
would rephrase the student's answer so that the student was
astonished at her own intelligence.
340
One alumna who entered Agnes Scott in 1934 and who was privi-
leged to have freshman English with Professor Leyburn has written:
"It was she who guided my willing but diffused mind to the joys and
insights of intellectual excitement combined with scholarly endeavor."
President Wallace M. Alston has observed that Professor Leyburn
"was a superb teacher who made vigorous demands upon herself and
who would not tolerate shabby or tawdry work from her students.
Teaching was serious business, so far as Ellen Douglass Leyburn was
concerned. She had an exalted notion of the teacher's role because she
believed the discovery and imparting of truth to be the most important
venture in which a human life can be engaged."
At the memorial service held in Gaines Chapel on June 1, 1966,
Dean of the Faculty C. Benton Kline, Jr., led the memorial prayer.
Here is what he said:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
By whom we are created, in whose love we are kept, and to whom
we go at our appointed time:
We remember before thee today, Ellen Douglass Leyburn, our
colleague, our teacher, our friend.
We thank thee for her integrity, born out of her singleness of
purpose and evidenced in all her words and deeds;
We thank thee for her intelligence, exhibited in classroom and in
private conversation alike, and illuminating in its brilliance
every subject to which she turned her mind;
We thank thee for her humility, that made her a person without
pretense and found in others the qualities they hardly knew
themselves to possess;
We thank thee for her devotion to duty, exemplified in her teach-
ing, in her response to the needs of students, and in every re-
sponsibility fulfilled with promptness and with zeal;
We thank thee for her courage, which made her life through many
years and especially in its latter months a rare testimony to all
who knew her;
We thank thee for her faith, never flaunted but quietly yet vigor-
ously attested in every moment in her life.
We thank thee that this College and our lives bear the marks of
her years here, and we pray that we may ourselves be touched
with something of the same integrity and intelligence, humility
and devotion to duty, courage and faith.
O Lord, support us all the day long, until the shadows lengthen
and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the
fever of life is over, and our work is done. Then in thy mercy
grant us a safe lodging, and a holy rest, and peace at the last;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
There is no question about it. Agnes Scott has never had a greater
faculty member than Ellen Douglass Leyburn.
341
Mary Stuart MacDougall
Atlanta's "first woman of the year in education" was Dr. Mary
Stuart MacDougall — so named when the women of the year awards
were initiated in 1944. From 1919 to 1952, "Miss Mac" was Professor
of Biology and chairman of the department at Agnes Scott, and she left
an indelible impression on all who knew her. In addition to her teach-
ing, she was a nationally known research biologist, and her textbook
Biology: The Science of Life, written in collaboration with Robert
Hegner of The Johns Hopkins University and published in 1943, was
so popular (It was adopted by 96 colleges and universities.) that many
additional printings were necessary after the first run was exhausted.
As would be expected, a stream of scholarly papers also came from her
research.
One former student, writing in The Agnes Scott Alumnae Quarterly,
has characterized Professor MacDougall as "stalking through the
door" of her office. Then this alumna goes on to observe:
Few people have the figure or the poise for stalking. Miss Mac
has both. She is a tall well-built woman with fine wisping hair, a
resolute mouth and the aristocratic features of her ancestors. As
she stalks to the swivel chair by the great arched window, you feel
a wave of that old Freshman awe returning, from the days when
an assistant called the roll of your biology class, another assistant
graded your papers, and "the lady of the red robe" entered only to
lecture — then disappeared again. When she has caught her
breath, Miss Mac speaks. And the statuesque illusion is imme-
diately shattered. For her voice is warm and womanly.
For some students Professor MacDougall could be forbidding, but
for those who persevered and got beyond first impressions, she could
become a firm, supportive, interested, life-long friend. She was never
one to suffer fools gladly; however, for those whom she came to value
and appreciate, she formed a continuing warm attachment.
Mary Stuart MacDougall was born in Laurenburg, Scotland
County, North Carolina, on November 7, 1882. She died in Decatur,
Georgia, on June 19, 1972, in her ninetieth year. Because of family
responsibilities, she entered college later than most young women;
however, she received her B.A. degree at Randolph-Macon Woman's
College in 1912 and took her master's degree at the University of
Chicago in 1916. Columbia University granted her the Ph.D. degree in
1925, and ten years later she received the Sc.D. degree from the Uni-
versite de Montpellier in France. In the early 1930's, she was the
342
recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship which enabled her
to pursue her research in Europe. Her special field of biology was
protozoology. After teaching at Athens College (1912-1914), Shorter
College (1914-1917), and Winthrop College (1917-1919), she became
Professor of Biology at Agnes Scott in 1919, from which post she
retired in 1952.
Professor MacDougall achieved scientific distinction far beyond the
Agnes Scott campus. In 1927 she was a research associate at The John
Hopkins University and in 1931 a Guggenheim Fellow at the Kaiser
Wilhelm Institute in Berlin. During World War II, she was a consult-
ant with the U.S. Public Health Service in malaria. In 1927 she was
president of the Georgia Academy of Science and from 1942 to 1946
president of the Association of Southeastern Biologists. In 1952 this
latter organization gave her its award "for meritorious service and
contributions as a teacher and leader in biology. " She was a member of
Phi Beta Kappa and was listed in Who's Who in America.
In addition to her scientific interests "Miss Mac" was skilled in
needlework — crocheting, needlepoint and petitpoint, and many
beautiful finished products demonstrated the perfection of her work in
this area.
"Miss Mac" was indeed a woman to be admired. Her achievements
as a scientist brought great honor to Agnes Scott.
343
Joseph Maclean
For twenty-five years, from 1893 to 1918, the Department of Music
at Agnes Scott and Joseph Maclean were almost synonymous terms.
First as teacher of music, then as Director of the School of Music, and
ultimately as Professor of Music and Chairman of the Department,
Joseph Maclean was for years, after the President, the highest paid
person in the Agnes Scott faculty or adminsitration. Professor Emer-
itus Margaret T. Phythian, who as a student knew Mr. Maclean, has
characterized him as a "great gentleman." He was deeply devoted to
Dean Hopkins and frequently had an invitation to dine at her table in
the College dining hall. All students respected and admired him.
Joseph Maclean was born in York, South Carolina, on October 5,
1861. He was educated in the schools of his native community, at
Lenoir Preparatory School, and at Davidson College. He received
special musical training in New York under Burdett Mason and at the
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He served as a musical editor of
"The New Psalms and Hymns," published in 1901, and wrote the
music for three of the hymns in that volume. In addition, he was
organist in the North Avenue Presbyterian Church and in the Central
Presbyterian Church of Atlanta.
His married life was made tragic by death. In October, 1893, shortly
after coming to Agnes Scott, he married Miss Elizabeth Graham, who
died just over ten months later on giving birth to a son who survived his
mother by just one day. Mother and son were buried in the same grave.
Mr. Maclean resigned his post at Agnes Scott in order to engage in
Y.M.C.A. and Red Cross work during World War I. Professor
Phythian reports that word came back to the College that the soldiers
loved him greatly. Perhaps his own great tragedy enabled him to be
more than usually understanding and helpful. At any rate, he rose to
the rank of major. In 1922 his health broke, and he returned to York to
live with a cousin. He died on December 29, 1924, and was buried in
Charlotte, North Carolina, beside his young wife and infant son.
The name of no former professor is more often used by present
students than is that of Joseph Maclean. In 1940 when Presser Hall
was built, the small auditorium on the second floor was named for
him. Since that time, chapels recitals, lectures, plays, films have used
this multi-purpose hall which seats 300 people. Perhaps no other single
facility on the campus is more useful than is Maclean Auditorium.
Thus, Professor Maclean's name is almost a by-word at Agnes Scott,
and those here now unconsciously honor the memory of this gentle
man who laid the foundations for music on this campus.
344
Mary Louise McKinney
For seventy-four years Professor Louise McKinney lived on the
Agnes Scott campus. She joined the faculty in 1891 when the institu-
tion was just two years old, and she retired from active teaching forty-
six years later in 1937; however, in retirement she continued to live on
the campus until her death in 1965 when she was in her ninety-seventh
year. Thus, her association with Agnes Scott spans a longer period
than that of any other person ever connected with the College.
Mary Louise McKinney was born in Farmville, Prince Edward
County, Virginia, on December 7, 1868. She died in Decatur, Georgia,
on January 26, 1965. She was a graduate of the State Teacher's College
in Farmville, but at the time she finished, that institution did not grant
degrees; thus, she was a full professor at Agnes Scott for forty-six years
but never held an academic degree of any kind. She had planned to go
to Vassar for her degree, but after coming to Agnes Scott, she never
seemed to find the occasion to take the necessary time off. She did,
however, go away frequently for further schooling in the summers.
Miss McKinney was just twenty-two years old when she arrived at
Agnes Scott. When the telegram came offering her a job, her father
was considerably upset about his young daughter going so far from
home and is reputed to have remarked, "Where is this Decatur any-
way? Obviously they don't even have a telegraph office there. This
telegram came from Atlanta!" But Miss McKinney did accept the post
— her first and only teaching position in an active career that covered
almost half a century.
Professor McKinney was a demanding and inspiring teacher, and
years after she retired alumnae would flock to her house on Alumnae
Day to renew their friendship with her. About her President James
Ross McCain has written as follows:
In addition to her teaching, Miss McKinney had many other
duties. She was a chaperone and house mother. She served as
Registrar, and some of the best records we have . . . are those
which she kept. She was Chairman of the Admission Committee
for many years. When I came to the College fifty years ago, Dr.
Gaines, who was President, wanted me to get really acquainted
with the life of Agnes Scott, so he suggested, "I'll appoint you as a
member of the Admission Committee, and you will learn more
from Miss McKinney than in any other way." I found this to be
entirely true.
It was just fun to watch her work. She was very strict. In a day
345
when the catalogues of most institutions were mere window dress-
ing, she insisted that the Agnes Scott publication must be taken
literally. If it stated that "Macbeth" were required, it would never
do to offer "Hamlet." If four books of "Caesar" were required,
pages from Sallust could not be used. It was such meticulous care
that won for Agnes Scott a great reputation for fine, dependable
work. It was tough on the students; but, when the institution
claimed in 1906 to be a college, it was immediately admitted to
membership in the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges,
the first college or university in Georgia to have this honor. Miss
McKinney had a large part in this.
In 1891 the west end of Main Building was a chapel. In 1906
Rebekah Scott Hall was erected, and the Chapel was located
there. After that, the west end of Main was divided into class-
rooms, and Room 42, the southwest corner of the first floor,
where Miss McKinney taught, became a legend. Thousands of
students found inspiration there, and Room 42 is now named The
McKinney Room. It is appropriate that her portrait should hang
in the room now, just over the point where her desk stood and
where she presided for so long.
Professor McKinney was a great lover of literature and had the
ability to impart that love to her students. It is highly fitting that the
annual Louise McKinney Book Award should perpetuate this excel-
lency of her long tenure at Agnes Scott. This award is a cash prize given
annually to the student who from May to May in the opinion of the
judges accumulates the most discriminating personal library and who
shows a real knowledge of her books.
Until the end of her life Miss McKinney's mind was clear, and her
memory was excellent. Fortunately, under the title "Some Imperfect
Recollections of the Early History of Agnes Scott College" she set
down in long hand many of her memories of the College. One day
when she was well into her nineties, she called the present writer to her
house and placed in his hands three little loose-leaf notebooks — those
precious recollections which are a treasure trove of Agnes Scott lore.
Understandably, he still has them and guards them jealously.
It is not extravagant to call Professor Louise McKinney a founder of
Agnes Scott, for along with Col. Scott and Dr. Gaines and Dean
Hopkins, she was one of the earliest in that noble company who
charted the course and established the standards and integrity of the
College. She stands in the front rank of Agnes Scott's greats.
346
P.J. Rogers, Jr.
In 1946 at the age of twenty-five, P.J. Rogers, Jr., joined the ad-
ministrative staff of Agnes Scott College. Five years later in 1 95 1 in the
first month of President Wallace M. Alston's administration, Mr.
Rogers was appointed Business Manager of Agnes Scott, becoming at
the early age of 30 one of the major administrative officers of the
College. Thus, for approximately half his life, this man spent himself
for this institution.
P.J. Rogers, Jr., was born in Covington, Georgia, on June 22, 1921.
He died very suddenly in his home on the Agnes Scott campus on
March 14, 1970. Mr. Rogers grew up in his native community, remain-
ing there through high school. After attending North Georgia College
in Dahlonega and prior to joining the Agnes Scott staff, he was asso-
ciated with the Retail Credit Company and with the Georgia Institute
of Technology. On November 27, 1941, he married Miss Virginia
Wallace, and they were the parents of five children.
In commenting on Mr. Rogers, President Alston has said, "I have
never known a man who knew so much about so many things." This
comment is not an overstatement, and many in the faculty could give
numerous examples of Mr. Roger's vast knowledge and "know-how."
For instance, if one wanted to employ a painter, a carpenter, a roofer,
or a plumber, he sought Mr. Rogers' advice. This man knew where one
could get a car repaired or how to save money on the purchase of
furniture or linoleun or garden tools. He could give good counsel on
the preparation of an income tax form or on what one should do to
meet the requirements of the local housing code. All this great store of
knowledge was shared with generosity and enthusiasm. Indeed, he did
more than just share; he participated. One faculty member, needing a
power lawn mower, spoke to Mr. Rogers about the matter and found
himself being personally accompanied to a dealer where Mr. Rogers
helped in the selection of the mower and by his presence assisted in
negotiating an advantageous price for the purchaser. Such stories as
this one are legion about this useful man.
But it is on the Agnes Scott campus itself that he left his most sig-
nificant mark. As was noted at his funeral service, there's not a build-
ing, a tree, or bush, or a blade of grass at Agnes Scott that does not
speak of him. As purchasing agent, he bought almost everything the
College uses, from paper and pencils to scientific equipment for the
laboratories or instruments for the studios. As the administrator in
347
charge of buildings and grounds, he personally devised and supervised
every alteration to the campus from the major remodeling of a build-
ing to the selection of a spot to plant a shrub. As the employer and
supervisor of all non-contract employees, he was directly involved in
the lives of a larger number of people than almost any other person in
the College. It was Mr. Rogers who was the contact person with the
community in the growth of the campus. He recommended the prop-
erty that the College should purchase and then was an active partici-
pant in each step until the final transaction. If a new building was
erected, Mr. Rogers worked closely with the architect in all planning
and designing, then with the builder in the construction, next with the
suppliers of furnishings and equipment, and finally with the occupants
in their becoming adjusted to the new facility. No person, except the
President of the College himself, was related to so many facets of
Agnes Scott's life.
Amiable in manner, patient in spirit, profligate in the way he spent
himself, Mr. Rogers' primary interest was people — human beings in
all walks of life. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week he was
available to help, to encourage, to sustain — this assistance being
offered in an unostentatious way that invited confidence and endeared
him to one and all.
In 1958 the students of Agnes Scott dedicated the Silhouette to Mr.
Rogers. Here is what they said of him:
Mr. P.J. Rogers is the man behind the scenes at Agnes Scott. As
Business Manager of the College, he has a tremendous task in the
practical, everyday job of keeping the college going. It is his place
to supervise the maintenance, the budget, the buying of equip-
ment and all repair work .... Add to these the many
miscellaneous jobs which fall to him daily, and it is indeed
amazing to note the competency, swiftness, and effectiveness with
which he works.
The students used the word amazing to describe P.J. Rogers, Jr. For
those who knew him during his quarter of a century with Agnes Scott,
that word is exactly the one for him.
348
Carrie Scandrett
Dean Carrie Scandrett was born in Cordele, Georgia, where she
grew up. In the autumn of 1920 she entered Agnes Scott as a freshman,
and from that day to the end of her life in June, 1981, with the excep-
tion of one year immediately following her graduation in 1924, she was
an integral part of the on-going life of this College — four years as a
student, forty-four years as a member of the administration, and
finally approximately a dozen years as an emeritus person living adja-
cent to the campus.
As an undergraduate Carrie Scandrett was president of Student
Government, a singer in the Glee Club, and a member of the varsity
hockey team. She also took a double major in chemistry and Latin. In
the Silhouette for 1924, her classmates wrote as follows:
Dick is, without doubt, the most popular and best-loved girl in the
College.
Miss Scandrett spent 1924-1925 away from Agnes Scott working
with the Y.W.C.A. and returned in 1925 as secretary to DeanNannette
Hopkins. In 1931 she became assistant dean, and on Miss Hopkins'
retirement and death in 1938, Miss Scandrett was named Dean of
Students, a post which she held for thirty-one years until her retire-
ment in 1969. Along the way she found time to earn an M.A. degree
from Columbia University. A part of the Trustees' resolution adopted
in the spring of 1969 reads this way:
It is as dean of students for thirty-one years that Carrie Scan-
drett has been a major influence in determining the excellent
college that Agnes Scott is. Indeed, it is not too much to say that
she has touched more young people constructively and deter-
minatively than has anyone else who has ever been at Agnes Scott.
Miss Scandrett has always been available — twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week. Every student has been her individual
concern, and in countless ways, many of which these young
women have never been aware of, Miss Scandrett has sustained
and helped them.
Dean Scandrett's duties have been legion. No area of Agnes
Scott's life has escaped her notice, her attention, and her care. She
has been the guide and stay of students; she has encouraged and
counselled faculty members, and she has undergirded the
administration with a strength and integrity that defy description
and analysis. Devotion to duty, an abhorrence of sham and hypo-
crisy, a directness of approach, an unerring sense of propriety,
unbounded energy and ingenuity — these are a few of the char-
acteristics of this distinguished woman.
349
Now as Dean Scandrett retires from active service to Agnes
Scott, the Board of Trustees registers its lasting appreciation of
and for her. Indeed, so great is Agnes Scott's debt to Carrie Scan-
drett that it can only be acknowledged, never repaid. Ours, as a
Board of Trustees, has been the good fortune to come to the Agnes
Scott scene concurrently with this lady. We give thanks that we
have had this privilege.
When Dean Scandrett retired, the Alumnae Association on the
Friday evening before Alumnae Day gave her a gala reception where
there was an outpouring of love and gratitude for the honoree. She was
presented with funds for a new car and for a color television. Also
announcement was made of the establishment of the Carrie Scandrett
Fund which came into reality through the gifts of countless friends and
admirers. By action of the Trustees, the income from this Fund is used
for student activities.
More recently, in 1980, Dean Scandrett was further honored. On
Alumnae Day she received an Outstanding Alumna Award for dis-
tinguished service to the College — a recognition richly deserved.
Carrie Scandrett never sought the limelight. Much of her effective-
ness was accomplished quietly behind the scenes, but for approxi-
mately sixty years, she was a moving and constructive force in the life
of Agnes Scott.
350
Laura Mayes Steele
Laura Mayes Steele was a native of Atlanta and continued to live
there all her life. She was educated in the Atlanta Public Schools,
graduating from the Girls' High School in 1933. She then entered
Agnes Scott where she received her degree with honor in 1937. The
next year (1938) she became secretary to President James Ross
McCain, interrupting this term of service to attend Columbia Uni-
versity from which she received her M. A. degree in college administra-
tion. In time, she was named assistant registrar to Professor Samuel
Guerry Stukes. President Wallace M. Alson, in the first year of his
administration, appointed Miss Steele to be Director of Admissions,
and when Dean Stukes retired in 1957, she became registrar as well;
thus, for many years thereafter, she simultaneously filled two full-
time administrative posts. At the beginning of the second year of
President Marvin B. Perry's administration, when the positions of
registrar and admissions director were separated, Miss Steele chose to
be registrar, a post which she continued to fill until her sudden death
on June 17, 1977.
In Agnes Scott's entire history, no person has been more devoted to
the College or more responsible in her duty than was Laura Steele.
Whatever job she was called upon to do, she did thoroughly and well.
The word "overtime" was not a part of her vocabulary. If she was
responsible, she stayed with her work until it was finished. Early in the
morning and late in the evening she was busy at Agnes Scott. She was
even frequently in her office on Sunday afternoons. During the
twenty-three years that she was Director of Admissions, she had a
dictaphone at home and departed in the evening with a stack of cor-
respondence to be handled and returned the next morning with dicta-
belts ready for her several secretaries. She seemed to thrive on work,
and she was tireless in discharging her duty to Agnes Scott.
Laura Steele was also the epitome of high standards. Excellence was
a hallmark with her. She despised gadgetry and sham and gave such
short-cuts a wide berth. If an academic requirement made certain
demands, she was insistent that those demands be fully met. In many
ways she served as Agnes Scott's academic conscience and thereby
won the respect of faculty, students, and alumnae alike.
She believed firmly that good students are essential if a college is to
be a good college, and to that end in her work in admissions she sought
the best students she could find, never compromising with mediocrity
351
for the sake of expediency. If a good student needed financial aid, Miss
Steele was that student's champion in the Scholarship Committee.
Laura Steele was the personification of accuracy. The precision with
which she kept the College's academic records is legendary. No detail
was too insignificant for her scrutiny, and her eyes went everywhere.
Around Agnes Scott it was general knowledge that she was the best
proofreader on campus. Someone has said that "trifles make perfec-
tion and perfection is no trifle." Certainly Laura Steele aimed for
perfection, and the constant excellence of her work attested to her un-
ceasing attention to detail.
She was involved in almost everything that mattered at Agnes Scott.
She was a member of the Academic Council, of the Curriculum Com-
mittee, of the Administrative Committee, of the Scholarship Com-
mittee, and of the Admissions Committee, to say nothing of a host of
ad hoc committees. She was the trusted confidant of her peers, and
President Alson has often spoken of how much he relied on her
judgment.
At the service in her memory, conducted in Gaines Chapel on
September 23, 1977, former Dean of the Faculty C. Benton Kline, Jr.,
concluded his remarks with this summation:
Laura Steele is one of a great procession of women — and men
— to whom this college owes it character and its very being. But
she was Laura Steele — unique — herself — intelligent and wise,
charming and compulsive, committed to honesty and truth, to her
family, to Agnes Scott and to almightly God in whose glory and
grace and guidance she daily put her trust, and in whose presence
she does surely abide.
Such was Laura Mayes Steele. For four decades she served her alma
mater with uncommon devotion and skill. So effective was her service
that Agnes Scott may never see her like again.
352
Samuel Guerry Stukes
Samuel Guerry Stukes served Agnes Scott for forty-four years —
first as professor, then as professor and registrar, and ultimately as
professor, registrar, and dean. One of the most popular and effective
teachers ever to be at Agnes Scott, he was the friend of all whom he
met. On meeting a person, he had the happy faculty of making that
person feel that he or she was the very individual he most wanted to see
at that time. His sense of humor was infectious, and his laugh could
frequently be heard up and down the corridor near his office.
He was born in Manning, South Carolina, on October 1, 1887. In
1 908 he received his B. A. degree from Davidson College and two years
later was awarded the master's degree from Princeton University.
Princeton Theological Seminary granted him the bachelor of divinity
degree in 1913, and his alma mater, Davidson, awarded him an honor-
ary doctorate in 1944. He engaged in graduate study at Yale in 1916-
1917. Professor Stukes was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. During
World War I, he served first in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and then as
a cadet in the Air Service Aviation School. In 1924 Professor Stukes
married Frances Gilliland, an Agnes Scott graduate. They had one
daughter, Majorie.
In 1913, Guerry Stukes joined the Agnes Scott faculty and in his
own words gave his life to the College. He immediately established
himself as a top-flight teacher. The late President James Ross McCain,
in his unpublished memoirs, has written that, when he was considering
coming to Agnes Scott, he expressed apprehension about his ability to
teach Bible (not his field) and also to use the lecture method in teach-
ing. Dr. Gaines' answer was to say, "Let me take you to a Bible class
that is well taught." He then took Dr. McCain to hear Professor
Stukes teach. And decades later President McCain still remembered
the excellence of the class which he attended.
Writing in The Agnes Scott Alumnae Quarterly when Dean Stukes
retired, Professor Mildred R. Mell observed that as Dean of the
Faculty, Professor Stukes always held tenaciously "to his determina-
tion that academic standards at Agnes Scott must be kept high and
therefore must be subject constantly to critical evaluation and revi-
sion . . . . " Commenting further, Professor Mell refers to Dean
Stukes "as guide, as counsellor, as ready-listener, as fellow teacher and
as friend."
On three different occasions (1916, 1940, and 1957) the students
353
dedicated the Silhouette to Dean Stukes. In each dedication his
interest in people is highlighted. Here is what the seniors said about
him the year he retired:
Because places reflect the people who make them what they are
and because people we love reveal to us the spirit of the places they
have helped to create, his [Dean Stukes's] presence will always be
an inseparable part of the life of our college. In his positions as
Professor, Counselor, Dean of the Faculty, and Registrar, his
leadership and service for forty-four years have shown us the true
meaning of the intellectual and spiritual ideals which we value.
When time obliterates the problems that we brought to him and
the jokes we shared, his laughter will voice itself in our hearts, and
his love and loyalty will shine before us like a star.
It is also worthty of note that from 1944 to 1971, Professor Stukes
served as a member of the Agnes Scott Board of Trustees. Thus, an
official association begun in 1913 lasted for fifty-eight years.
After Dean Stukes retired from Agnes Scott, he began a whole new
career when he became Educational Consultant with the Decatur
Federal Savings and Loan Association. In this new post his expertise
in education became available to the larger community as he gave
counsel and advice on any educational problem to students and
parents alike. Many people gratefully recall the excellence and wisdom
of his counsel in this new post.
Samuel Guerry Stukes died on October 23, 1975, at age 88. Summa-
rizing his funeral service, The Agnes Scott Alumnae Quarterly put it
this way:
As the majestic strains of Luther's "A Mighty Fortress" filled the
sanctuary of the Decatur Presbyterian Church — the church he
loved so well — friends who came to mourn the passing of Dean
Guerry Stukes fondly recalled all that he had meant to his family,
his friends, his church, and to the College he served so long.
There could be no doubt that this funeral service was that of a
man whose life was dedicated to his faith and to his beloved Agnes
Scott College. Following the reading of Old Testament scripture,
including the Agnes Scott Psalm 103, and New Testament texts
that included the motto of the College, II Peter 1:5, Dr. Wallace
Alston, President Emeritus of the College, paid loving tribute to
his friend and fellow-worker.
"For 62 years Guerry Stukes meant Agnes Scott to his com-
munity, for even after his retirement in 1957 he had a close rela-
tionship to the College, and rendered service after the retirement
date. His was a ministry of service. Many have invested in Agnes
354
Scott. They have invested money, time, and their lives. The in-
vestments of Guerry Stukes were even more significant, because
they reflected an inner spirit of caring.
"Dr. Stukes' life was one of caring. He cared about people. He
was a great and loving counselor. He cared about everyone with
whom he came into contact, from the newest student to the
humblest member of the staff. He was a scholar, but a scholar with
a heart.
"Guerry Stukes had an uncanny ability to put himself in the
background. He ran from publicity; he was modest, humble; a
gentle man. And he integrated a real concern for academics with a
genuine, simple Christian faith."
In a moving letter read by Dr. Alson during the service, and
written by Dr. Stukes on the day after his formal retirement,
Agnes Scott's beloved Dean expressed his gratitude to everyone
with whom he had come into contact at the College: students,
faculty, staff, alumnae, carpenters, maids, and engineers, and he
ended the letter, "Thank God for Agnes Scott." To which Dr.
Alston replied, "God has called a beloved person home. Thank
God for his life and for his influence."
(See also pp. 157-158)
355
Anna Irwin Young
Professor Anna Irwin Young was born in the greater Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, area on November 25, 1873. Her father, the Rev.
Samuel Young, a native of Ireland, was at the time pastor of the San-
dusky Street Church in Allegheny just across the Allegheny River
from Pittsburgh. In the middle 1890's Mr. Young moved his family to
Atlanta where he lived for the remainder of his life.
For two years beginning in 1893, Anna Young was a student in
Agnes Scott Institute, apparently completing her work in 1895. In
1898 she was appointed to the Department of Mathematics, rising to
be Professor of Mathematics, a post she held until her death in 1920.
She also served as Librarian from 1898 to 1902. When Agnes Scott
became a college in 1905-1906, she continued in the college faculty;
however, feeling that she should have a degree, she took the requisite
courses and received her B.A. degree in 1910 although while she was
pursuing this work she was concurrently Professor of Mathematics.
Professor Young took a leave of absence in 1913-1914 during which
time she received her M. A. degree from Columbia University. She died
quite unexpectedly of pneumonia on September 3, 1920, while visiting
relatives in Pittsburgh.
From every evidence at hand, Professor Anna I. Young must have
been one of the most effective and greatly loved faculty members who
ever taught at Agnes Scott. Shortly after her death, a little pamphlet
was published entitled simply "Miss Anna." This pamphlet tells of her
excellence as a teacher, of her conern that her students do well, and of
her understanding of their difficulties. One account is of a senior who
repeatedly failed trigonometry "until the day came when she had the
last exam that she could have on it. And she'd studied so hard and was
so scared that in the glare of the classroom and under the sound of the
thumping of her own heart she forgot everything she knew and didn't
try to work some of the problems. That night she was sent for and she
went to Miss Young's room. 'Now,' said Miss Young sweetly and
firmly, 'I know you know this, and I know you can work these
problems. Sit down in that chair and work them.' And there in the
quiet she worked them. And so — she passed."
The first issue of The Agonistic for the 1920-1921 year carried a
front page article about Professor Young, part of which reads as
follows:
356
It is hard indeed for the students of Agnes Scott to express our
grief. Our sense of loss is too great, for Miss Young was everything
to us that a fine professor, a friend whose sympathy was un-
bounded, and a Christian character, whose life was all service for
others could be. In everything that pertained to our college she
was sincerely interested. An alumna of Agnes Scott herself, she
was tireless in her activities in behalf of the alumnae of Agnes
Scott, and always the staunchest supporter of everything that
could contribute to the welfare and growth of our college. And in
the students and their affairs, there was none more helpful.
Whether we went to her for advice in personal affairs or in those
things that concerned the college community, we found the same
ready counsellor and willing spirit. She helped us with our little
tasks that were hard, and again with student government affairs,
our Y.W.C. A., our united war work drives — in fact, with every-
thing that demanded real aid.
The Class of 1920, the last group that Professor Young lived to see
graduate, dedicated The Silhouette to her with these words:
To her whose loyal devotion has ever been an inspiration in our
college life.
When the Alumnae House was erected in 1923, it was named the
Anna Young Alumnae House in memory of Professor Young. In the
main hall of this building hangs a panel which features a profile like-
ness of Miss Young. Below the likeness is inscribed one of her favorite
quotations: "Till the day dawns." She undoubtedly was a catalyst for
excellence and goodness in the early days of Agnes Scott.
357
Directory
358
Chairmen, Board of Trustees
Agnes Scott College
1889-1982
Frank Henry Gaines 1889-1896
George Washington Scott 1896-1903
Samuel Martin Inman 1903-1914
Joseph K. Orr 1914-1938
George Winship 1938-1956
Hal L. Smith 1956-1973
Alex P. Gaines 1973-1979
Lawrence L. Gellerstedt, Jr. 1979-
Presidents of Agnes Scott College
1889-1982
Frank Henry Gaines 1896-1923
James Ross McCain 1923-1951
Wallace McPherson Alston 1951-1973
Marvin Banks Perry, Jr. 1973-1982
359
Trustees of Agnes Scott College, 1889-1982
Adams, Hilda McConnell, '23
1930-1932
Addison, Dorothy Halloran, '43
1982-
Aidinoff, Celia Spiro, '51
1980-
Allen, Ivan, Jr.
1959-1977
Allen, Jane King, '59
1976-1980
Alston, Wallace M.
1946-1973
Alston, Wallace M., Jr.
1979-
Anderson, Neal L.
1923-1931
Barnett, Edward H.
1889-1898
Barnett, Penelope Brown, '32
1942-1944
Bellingrath, W.A.
1922-1937
Bernard, Louise Isaacson, '46
1978-
Bradley, S. Hugh
1943-1963
Bridewell, C.P.
1900-1906
Brownlee, E.D.
1926-1954
Bryan, John E.
1944-1949
Calhoun, Abner W.
1904-1905
Cameron, Elizabeth Henderson, '43
1982-
Campbell, J. Bulow
1926-1940
Candler, C. Murphey
1889-1935
Candler G. Scott
1924-1972
Candler, G. Scott, Jr.
1972-
Candler, Milton A.
1896-1909
Cecil, R.
1900-1902
Crane, B.,S.
1889-1896
Crichton, Ann Avant, '61
1978-
Cunningham, John R.
1927-1928
Curry, Albert B.
1900-1906
Davis, Neil O.
1966-
Dendy, Marshall C.
1945-1975 Emeritus 1975-
Dobbs, R. Howard
1959-1970
Dobyns, W.R.
1922-1931
Donaldson, Fannie Mayson, '12
1926-1929
DuBose, Warner H.
1932-1944
Dunseith, D.A.
1928-1936
Durrett, Cora Morton, '24
1934-1936
Dwyer, Frances Craighead, '28
1936-1938
Eagan, John J.
1906-1920
Elliott, William M., Jr.
1939-1944
Equen, Anne Hart, '21
1940-1942
Evans, Letitia Pate
1949-1953
Fifield, Harry A.
1954-
Flinn, Elizabeth Blackshear, '38
1968-1970
Flinn, Richard Orme
1920-1948
Fowler, Mary Prim, '29
1958-1960
Frist, J. Chester
1954-1959
360
Gaines, Alex P.
1959-
Gaines, Frank H.
1889-1923
Gardner, William V.
1943-1953
Geffcken, Katherine A., '49
1975-
Gellerstedt, L.L.
1944-1970 Emeritus 1970-1978
Gellerstedt, L.L., Jr.
1969-
Gellerstedt, Mary Duckworth, '46
1978-1982
Gilmer, Ben S.
1960-1978 Emeritus 1978
Gould, Edward P.
1979-
Gow, Jacqueline Simmons, '52
1982-
Guy, Allie Candler, '13
1929-1930
Harman, Bessie Scott, Inst.
1917-1937
Heltzel, Massey Mott
1961-1976
Henley, John H., Ill
1950-1958
Hollingsworth, D.W.
1941-1965
Holt, Francis M.
1933-1947
Hooper, L.M.
1914-1920
Hopkins, Nannette
1927-1938
Hutchens, Eleanor N., '40
1962-1964
Ingram, G. Conley
1977-
Inman, Frank M.
1915-1950
Inman, Mildred McPheeters
1917-1947
Inman, Samuel M.
1898-1915
Inman, W.P.
1904-1905
Jackson, J.W.
1926-1927
Kendrick, W.S.
1904-1917
Keough, Donald R.
1975-
King, George E.
1920-1934
King, Harriet M., '64
1977-
Kirk, Mary Wallace, '11
1917-1978
Lacy, B.R., Jr.
1920-1926
LeSourd, Catherine Marshall, '36
1954-1977
Lewis, Bella Wilson, '34
1960-1962
Lindamood, W.S.
1917-1919
Lingle, Walter, L.
1906-1911
Looney, Wilton D.
1964-1982
Love, J. Erskine, Jr.
1977-
Lupton, J.T.
1914-1933
Lyons, J.S.
1914-1942
MacDougall, Margaret McDow, '24
1946-1948
Mandeville, L.C.
1906-1926
Matheson, K.G.
1909-1922
Matthews, Catherine Baker, '32
1952-1954
McCain, James Ross
1920-1965
McCallie, J. P.
1914-1917
McClure, J. A.
1936-1945
McDonald, Sarah Frances, '36
1964-1966
McGeachy, D.P.
1920-1951
361
McGeachy D.P., Jr.
1954-1970
Mcintosh, H.T.
1920-1944
McMillan, John
1929-1941
Miller, P.D.
1952-1972 Emeritus 1972-1974
Minter, J. A., Jr.
1959-1978 Emeritus 1978
Moore, Ansley C.
1944-1947
Morse, Eugenia Slack, '41
1972-1976
Mountcastle G.W.
1919-1923
Neal, J.R.
1945-1974
Newsome, Suzella Burns, ?57
1970-
Ogden, Dunbar H.
1909-1918; 1922-1931
Oglesby, M. Lamar
1978-
Oliver, Jane Meadows, '47
1970-1972
Orr, Joseph K.
1904-1938
Owen, Jean Bailey, '39
1954-1956
Paschall, Eliza King, '38
1948-1950
Pattillo, H.G.
1966-1976
Patton, J.G.
1896-1917
Paxon, C.T.
1926-1933
Perry, Marvin B., Jr.
1973-1982;
Philips, J. Davison
1956-
Porter, T.V.
1900-1903
Read, Mary Warren, '29
1956-1958; 1964-1979 Emeritus 1979
Rice, Theron H.
1896-1908
Ridley, Margaret W., "33
1944-1946
Rogers, C.B.
1978-1981
Rushton, W.J.
1931-1944
Sams, Hansford, Jr.
1970-
Scott, George Bucher
1896-1920
Scott, George W.
1889-1903
Scott, J.J.
1920-1976
Shanks, P.T.
1924-1929
Sibley, Horace H.
1977-
Sibley, John A.
1936-1972 Emeritus 1972
Sibley, Nancy Holland, '58
1975-
Smith, Betty Lou Houck, '35
1950-1952
Smith, Daisy Frances, '24
1938-1940
Smith, Edward D.
1964-1967
Smith, Hal L.
1952-1977 Emeritus 1977
Smith, John E., II
1982-
Spencer, Samuel R.
1975-
Sterne, Augustus H.
1971-
Stoffel E. Lee
1972-
Stone, C.F.
1939-1964
Strickland, Robert
1941-1945
Strickler, G.B.
1890-1896
Stukes, S.G.
1944-1971 Emeritus 1971-1975
Taylor, J. Randolph
1977-
362
Thatcher, Mary West, '15
1947-1971 Emeritus 1971
Thwaite C.E., Jr.
1959-1964
Tucker, Mary Emmye Curtis, '56
1974-1978
Venable, J.G.
1917-1920
Vereen, W.C.
1914-1939
Walker, H.K.
1912-1914
Walters, Frances Winship, Inst.
1937-1954
Wardlaw, William C, Jr.
1957-1979 Emeritus 1979
Waterman, Annie Louise Harrison, Inst.
1947-1953
Westcott, G.L.
1939-1970 Emeritus 1970
Weston, Marybeth Little, '48
1966-1968
Wey, Carol Sterns, T2
1923-1926
Wilburn, Llewellyn, '19
1932-1934
Williams, Thomas R.
1975-
Wilson, Diana Dyer, '32
1954-
Wilson, John C.
1972-1982
Winship, George
1931-1956
Woodruff, George W.
1939-1942; 1947-1974 Emeritus 1974
Woolford, T. Guy
1936-1952
363
Presidents, Agnes Scott Alumnae Association
1915-16 Martha Rogers, '14
1916-19 Emma Pope Moss Dieckmann, '13
1919-22 Mary Wallace Kirk, '11
1922-24 Carol Sterns Wey, '12
1924-26 Fannie Mayson Donaldson, '12
1926-27 Mary West Thatcher, '15
1927-28 Allie Candler Guy, '13
1928-30 Hilda McConnell Adams, '23
1930-32 Llewellyn Wilburn, '19
1932-34 Cora Morton Durrett, '24
1934-36 Frances Craighead Dwyer, '28
1936-38 Daisy Frances Smith, '24
1938-40 Anne Hart Equen, '21
1940-42 Penelope Brown Barnett, '32
1942-44 Margaret W. Ridley, '33
1944-46 Margaret McDow MacDougall, '24
1946-48 Eliza King Paschall, '38
1948-50 Betty Lou Houck Smith, '35
1950-52 Catherine Baker Matthews, '32
1952-54 Jean Bailey Owen, '39
1954-56 Mary Warren Read, '29
1956-58 Mary Prim Fowler, '29
1958-60 Bella Wilson Lewis, '34
1960-62 Eleanor N. Hutchens, '40
1962-64 Sarah Frances McDonald, '36
1964-66 Marybeth Little Weston, '48
1966-68 Elizabeth Blackshear Flinn, '38
1968-70 Jane Meadows Oliver, '47
1970-72 Eugenia Slack Morse, '41
1972-74 Mary Emmye Curtis Tucker, '56
1974-76 Jane King Allen, '59
1976-78 Mary Duckworth Gellerstedt, '46
1978-80 Celia Spiro Aidinoff, '51
1980-82 Jacqueline Simmons Gow, '52
1982- Jean Salter Reeves, '59
364
Major Administrative Officers, Agnes Scott College
1889-1982
(The persons listed here are those who at some point in the performance of their duties
reported directly to the Board of Trustees or to the President of the College.)
Alston, Wallace M.
Vice President 1948-1951
President 1951-1973
Bahr, Richard C.
Treasurer 1962-1967
Barclay, Lee A.
Vice President for Business Affairs
1977-
Bachman, B.M.
Treasurer 1907-1913
Bolles, Lois, '26
Librarian 1929-1930
Bond, Mary Alverta, '53
Administrative Assistant to the
President 1960-
Buchanan, Nell, '22
General Secretary
Alumnae Association 1923-1925
Bucher, Marian
Librarian 1906-1919
Byers, Edna Hanley
Librarian 1932-1969
Cunningham, R.B.
Business Manager 1911-1943
Dillard, Doyle M.
Vice President for Business Affairs
1976-1977
Donaldson, Fannie Mayson, M2
General Secretary, Alumnae
Association 1929-1930
Executive Secretary, Alumnae
Association 1931-1932; 1936-1939
Fogartie, Mary
Librarian 1905-1906
Gaines, Frank Henry
Chairman, Board of Trustees
1889-1896
President 1896-1923
Gary, Julia T.
Assistant Dean of the Faculty
1962-1967
Associate Dean of the Faculty
1967-1968
Acting Dean of the Faculty
1969-1969
Dean of the Faculty 1969-1979
Dean of the College 1979-
Hannah, William M.
Treasurer 1967-1975
Hayes, Sarah
Treasurer 1913-1914
Henderson, R. James
Vice President for Business Affairs
1974-1976
Hopkins, Nannette
Principal, Decatur Female
Seminary 1889-1890
Principal, Agnes Scott Institute
1890-1906
Dean, Agnes Scott College
1906-1938
Howard, Nelle Chamlee, '34
Executive Secretary,
Alumnae Association 1939-1943
Hutchens, Eleanor N., '40
Director of Alumnae Affairs
1947-1954
Director of Publicity 1947-1954
Hutcheson, Ann Rivers, '59
Associate Director of Admissions
1972-1974
Director of Admissions 1974-1978
Hutton, Dorothy, '29
Executive Secretary
Alumnae Association 1932-1936
Johnson, Ann Worthy, 38
Director of Alumnae Affairs
1954-1970
Director of Publicity 1954-1958
365
Jones, Roberta K.
Dean of Students 1 969- 1 974
King, Mary Jane, 37
Alumnae Secretary 1946-1947
Kirkland, Martha C.
Dean of Students 1974-
Kline, C. Benton, Jr.
Dean of the Faculty 1957-1968
Leatherman, Marian
Librarian 1930-1932
Longshore, Alice
Librarian 1919-1921
McCain, Paul M.
Vice President for Development
1969-
McCain, James Ross
Registrar 1915-1923
Vice President 1918-1923
President 1923-1951
McKenzie, Virginia Brown, '47
Director of Alumnae Affairs 1974-
McNair, Walter Edward
Assistant to the President,
1954-1977
Director of Public Relations and
Development 1954-1969
Director of Public Relations
1969-1977
Moore, Floy B.
Librarian 1903-1905
Newman, Lillian
Acting Librarian 1969-1970
Peltz, Rosemond S.
College Physician 1958-1975
Pendleton, Barbara M., '40
Director of Alumnae Affairs
1970-1973
Perry, Marvin Banks, Jr.
President 1973-1982
Rhodes, Jane Guthrie, '38
Executive Secretary, Alumnae
Association 1943-1944
Rogers, P. J., Jr.
Assistant Business Manager-
Treasurer 1946-1951
R..«ine^ Manager 1951-1970
Sanders, Nannie G.
Librarian 1921-1922
Scandrett, Carrie, '27
Secretary to the Dean 1925-1931
Assistant Dean 1931-1938
Dean of Students 1938-1969
Sheppard, Mary D.
Librarian 1902-1903
Steele, Laura M., '37
Secretary to the President
1938-1948
Assistant Registrar 1948-1957
Registrar 1957-1977
Director of Admissions 1951-1974
Stewart, George
Librarian 1970-1973
Stone, Polly, '24
General Secretary, Alumnae
Association 1925-1929
Stukes, Samuel Guerry
Registrar 1923-1957
Dean of the Faculty 1938-1957
Symms, Eugenia, '36
Executive Secretary, Alumnae
Association 1944-1946
Tart, J.C.
Treasurer 1914-1962
Business Manager 1943-1951
Tindel, Judith Maguire, 73
Assistant Director of Admissions
1976-1978
Director of Admissions 1978-
Tuggle, M. Virginia
College Physician 1955-1958
Webb, Alia
Principal, Agnes Scott Academy
1904-1905
White, Genevieve C.
Librarian 1922-1927; 1928-1929
Young, Anna I., Inst.
Librarian 1898-1902
Young Ella
Principal, Agnes Scott Academy
1905-1913
Young, Rachel
Librarian 1905-1906
366
Agnes Scott Faculty
1889-1982
Abbott, Martin L. (1965-1966)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Ackerman, Edna Page (1934-1935)
B.A., Physical Education
Adams, John Lewis (1953-1976)
B.M., M.M., Music
Adams, Williams S. (1967-1969)
B.S., M.Ed., Ed.D., Education
Albrecht, Frank M. (1968-1969)
B.A., Ph.D., History
Albright, Thelma (1939-1941)
B.A., M.A., English
Alby, Libbie A. (1894-1899)
Mathematics
Alexander, Janet (1951-1955)
B.A., M.D., Physical Education
Alexander, Alice Lucile (1898-1899,
1902-1904, 1913-1948)
B.A., M.A., Chemistry, Biology,
Mathematics, French
See Academy listing
Alexander, Victoria (1946-1947)
B.A., Biology
Alkema, Lloyd C. (1942-1943)
B.S., Statistics
Allen, Mary Virginia (1948-1951,
1954-1979)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., French, German
Almon, Dorothy (1910-1911)
French, German
Alston, Wallace McPherson
(1948-1973)
B.A.. M.A., B.D., Th.M., Th.D.,
D.D., LL.D., Philosophy
Ames, Barbara (1944-1947)
B.S., Physical Education
Amis, Frances (1924-1925)
B.A., Spoken English
Amnions, Margaret Perry (1969-
B.S., M.A., Ph.D., Education
Anderson, Helen (1930-1931)
B.A., Physics
Anderson, Nathalie Fitzsimmons
(1972-1976)
B.A., Education
Aral, Sevgi O. (1971-1972)
B.S., M.A., Sociology
Arbuckle, Howard Bell (1898-1913)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
Armistead, J.D.M. (1905-1923)
B.A., Ph.D., English
Armstrong, John I. (1906-1913)
M.A., B.D., Bible and Philosophy
Ashley, Harriette ( 1954-1956)
B.A., Physical Education
Askew, Thyrza (1902-1904)
Academic Department and
Physical Culture
See Academy listing
Aunspaugh, Eugenia L. (1899-1900)
English and Elocution
Auten, Mary (1933-1934)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
Aycock, Carol W. (1977-1978)
B.F.A., M.A., Theatre
B
Badger, Blanche C. (1940-1941)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Bailey, Donald B. (1946-1947)
B.A., B.D., Th.M., Bible
Baird, Anne C. (1971-1972)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Sociology
Baker, Anna May (1928-1930)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Baker, Keith E. (1979-1980)
B.S., M.A. Economics
Baker, Woolford B. (1922-1924)
B.A., M.S., (Later earned Ph.D.)
Biology
Ball, Bona W. (1967-
B.A., M.A.T., Ph.D., English
Banker, Marion (1919-1920)
B.A., M.A.,
Sociology and Economics
367
Banks, Ruth McDaniel (1958-1959)
B.S., M.A., Spanish
Bao, Benjamin C-P. (1973-1976)
B.A., M.A., French
Barineau, Elizabeth McDaniel
(1946-1955)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., French, Spanish
Barnes, Sandra L. (1977-1981)
B.A., M.A., Music
Barnett, Mary J. (1898-1902)
History, Geography,
Physical Culture
Barnwell, William O. (1897-1898)
Music
Barr, Lois Elizabeth (1953-1955)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Barth Raimund (1903-1905)
Music
Bartholomew, Eda Elizabeth
(1907-1912, 1913-1915, 1919-1920,
1924-1927, 1930-1947)
Music
Bartholomew, Marguerite (1907-1908)
Music
Barton, David A. (1977-1981)
B.A., Ph.D., English
Baskin, Marta A. (1965-1966)
B.A., M.A.T., Spanish
Bate, Gwen M. (1975-1977)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Psychology
Baty, Evelyn (1940-1941)
B.A., English
Baver, Marlene (1960-1961)
B.A., M.S.M., Music
Baylen, Joseph O. (1953-1954)
B.Ed., M.A., Ph.D., History
Bayles, Roberta E. (1971-1972)
B.S., MEd., Ed.D., Psychology
Beaver, Bonnie Rose (1967-1973)
B.A., M.F.A., Art
Behan, David Paul (1974-
B.A., Ph.D., Philosophy
Benton, Mary Lucile (1974-1975)
B.A., Chemistry
Berry, Alice F. (1969-1970)
B.A., M.A., French
Berson, Judith F. (1957-1959)
B.A., Physical Education
Bicknese, Gunther (1966-
Dr. phil., German
Bidwell Clair (1891-1898)
Primary Department
Bishop, Florence S. (1950-1951)
Art
Bishop, Martha (1917-1918)
Home Economics
Black, Marian Putnam (1915-1916)
B.A., Chemistry
Blair, C. Winifred (1918-1919)
B.A., M.A., English
Blair, Marian H. (1945-1946)
B.A., M.A., English
Blaylock, Jean Mary (1968-1969)
B.A., History
Blitch, Lee Wesley (1970-1971)
B.S., Ph.D., Chemistry
Bonkovsky, Elizabeth Leitch
(1976-1977)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Bible and Religion
Bordner, Martin Alan (1970-1974)
B.S., M.S., Biology
Bormann, F. Herbert ( 1953-1955)
B.S., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
Boskoff, Priscilla F. (1971-1973)
B.A., M.A., M.Ln., Ph.D.,
Classical Languages and
Literatures
Boucher, Benedicte ( 1975-1976)
French
Bourquin, Helen (1916-1919)
B.A., M.S., Biology
Bowden, Sandra T. (1968-
B.S., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
Bowling, Arthur Lee, Jr. (1977-
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Physics
Bowman, Sarah B. (1932-1935)
B.A., Biology
Box, Dorothy M. (1967-1969)
B.S., M.S., Ed.D., Education
Boyce, Glendora Lockhart (1954-1958)
B.S., Physical Education
368
Boykin, David W. (1972-1973,
1978-1979)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Chemistry
Bradham, Jo Allen (1967-1980)
B.A., M.Ln., M.A., Ph.D., English
Braunrot, Christabel P. (1976-
B.A., Ph.D., French
Bridgman, Anna Josephine
(1949-1974)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
Brinkley Sterling G. (1953-1954)
B.A., B.D.. M.A., Ph.D., Education
Britt, Mary Hart R. (1962-1966)
B.A., M.A., English
Brittain, Mary McDonald (1963-1964)
B.A., M.A., Education
Brock, Sandra (1970-1972)
B.S., M.A., Physical Education
Brooking, Jack T. (1974-
B.A., M.A., M.F.A., Ph.D.,
Theatre
Brot, Adele F. (1950-1951)
French
Brown, Agatha (1920-1921)
B.A., M.A., French
Brown, Alice E. (1924-1926)
B.A., Biology
Brown, Jane B. (1928-1929)
B.A., M.A., Psychology
Brown, Jeannette (1908-1909)
B.A., English, German
Brown, Michael J. (1960-1962, 1965-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Brown, Robert L. (1978-1980, 1981-
B.M., M.A., Music
Brownlee, Janet L. (1923-1925)
B.A., M.A., Latin
Brownley. Martine W. (1979-1980)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Bryan, Annie Pope (1915-1916)
B.A., Latin
Bryan, Isabel Mawha (1946-1954)
Music
Bucek, Anthony J. (1981-
B.S., M.F.A., Art
Buchner, Margaret L. (1945-1946)
B.S., Ph.D., Spanish
Buck, Emma G. (1896-1900)
Art
Buckmaster, Claire (1945-1946)
B.M., Music
Bumgarner, Mary K. (1980-
B.B.A., Economics
Burgess, Cama (1922-1923)
B.A., History
Burns, Margaret Virginia (1944-1947)
M.D., Physical Education
Butcher, Carol Lyn (1979-
B.M., Music
Buttrick, George Arthur ( 1964-1965)
D.D., LL.D., Litt. D., D.S.T.,
Bible
Byrnside, Ronald Lee (1975-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Music
Butler, Mary Elizabeth (1981-
B.A., M.F.A., Ph.D., English
Byrum, Mary Carolyn (1967-1971)
B.S., M.S., Physical Education
Cabisius, Gail (1974-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Classical
Languages and Literatures
Cady, Mary L. (1908-1918)
B.A., M.A., Greek, History,
Political Economy, Sociology
Calder, Frances Clark (1953-1969, 1974-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., French
Calder, William A. (1947-1971)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Physics and
Astronomy
Caldwell, Lucile (1926-1929)
B.A., Biology
Calhoun, Catherine Blue (1967-1970)
B.A., M.A., English
Campbell, James L. (1941-1942)
B.A., M.B.A., Economics
Campbell, Mary E. (1923-1926)
B.A., M.A., Latin and Greek
Campbell, Nancy Morse (1959-1961)
B.S., Physical Education
Campbell, Penelope ( 1965-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
History and Political Science
369
Campoamor, J. A. (1918-1919)
M.A., Spanish
Camus, Elizabeth (1976-1977)
B.M. Music
Carlson, Helen M. (1936-1940)
B.A., M.A., French
Carruth. Marlene T. (1957-1959)
B.A.. M.A.,
Speech and Dramatic Art
Carter, Elizabeth Plummer ( 1948-1949)
B.A., M.A., English
Carter, M. Eloise Brown (1978-
B.A., M.S., Biology
Cartledge. Samuel A. (1946-1947,
1948-1953, 1954-1956, 1957-1958)
B.A., M.A., B.D., Ph.D., Bible
Cates, Lyn Kilgo (1973-1974,
1981-1982)
B.A., M.Ed., Education
Cauvel, Martha Jane (1959-1960)
B.A., M.A., Philosophy
Chance, Catherine Deriseau (1953-1954)
B.A., M.A., French
Chang, Kwai Sing (1956-
B.A., B.D., Th.M.. Ph.D.
Philosophy, Bible, Religion
Chapman, Elizabeth Ellison (1964-1975)
B.A., M.R.E., M.M., Music
Chateauneuf, Amy (1929-1930)
M.A., Ph.D.
Psychology and Education
Chaze, Francoise (1974-1975)
French
Cheatham, Elizabeth (1927-1929)
B.A., English
Christian, Lucile Coleman (1930-1933)
B.S., M.A., Biology
Christian, Schuyler Medlock (1933-1947)
B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D.
Physics and Astronomy
Christie, Annie May (1925-1962)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Cilley, Melissa Annis (1930-1963)
B.A., M.A., Spanish
Citrin, Nathan J. (1980-
B.B.A., J.D., Economics
Clark, Helen (1896-1897)
Music
Clark, Marion Thomas (1960-1961,
1962-1978)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
Clarke, Rebekah McDuffie (1946-1950)
Music
Clayton, Anne Roselot (1955-1959)
B.A., Physics
Cobbs, Susan P. (1941-1945)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Latin and Greek
Cochran, Augustus Bonner, III (1973-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Political Science
Cole, Lady Coma (1924-1926)
B.A., M.A., History
Collins, Eddie L. (1971-1972)
B.S., M.A., Sociology
Colton, Susan A. (1907-1911)
French, Romance Languages
See Academy listing
Combs, Diana W. (1980-1981)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Art
Combs, Lois (1933-1934)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Latin and Greek
Connell, Susan Stringer (1978-1980, 198
B.A., Chemistry
Cook, Mattie E. (1889-1904)
History, Geography
See Academy listing
Cooke, Francis West (1931-1933)
B.A., M.S.. Ph.D.,
Physics and Astronomy
Cooper, Laura Irvine (1916-1917,
1923-1924)
B.A., M.A., English, History
Cope, Charles L. (1956-1958)
B.S., M.A., Mathematics
Copple, Lee Biggerstaff (1961-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Ph.D.
Psychology
Corazzini, Karen McKinsey ( 1966-1967)
B.A., German
Cornelius, William G. (1958-1968)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Political Science
Cornett, Linda Bowdoin (1971-1976)
B.A., M.A.. Ph.D.. Philosophy
370
Counts, Charles (1980-1981)
B.A., M.A., Art
Courtenay, Mary Ann (1946-1948)
B.A., Chemistry
Cousar, Charles Blanton (1963-1964,
1966-1968, 1969-1970)
B.A., B.D., Ph.D., Bible
Cousins, Marguerite Louise (1921-1922)
B.A., English
Cox, Hiden Toy (1946-1949)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
Cox, Margaret Louise (1967-1974)
B.S., M.A.T., Physical Education
Cramer, Ardis Lahann (1968-1972)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Biology
Crawford, Katherine (1930-1932)
B.A., History
Crigler, Elizabeth Aylor (1946-1962)
B.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
Crowe, Martha (1929-1932, 1935-1943)
B.A., M.A., French
Culberson, Margaret Augusta,
(1921-1923)
B.A., French
Cumming, Daniel James (1947-1948)
B.A., B.D., M.A., D.D., Bible
Cunningham, Alice Jeanne
(1966-1967, 1968-
B.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
Curry, Ethel (1920-1921)
Music
Curry, Eunice W. (1921-1923)
Music
D
Dachary, Marion (1977-1978)
French
Daniels, Urmila (1967-1968)
B.Sc, M.Sc, Biology
Darling, Marilyn Barfield (1971-1972,
1973-
B.S., M.M., Physical Education
Darrow, Ruth (1906-1908)
Music
Davidson, Philip, Jr. (1928-1942)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Davis, Elizabeth Lockhart (1926-1927)
B.A., Bible
Davis, Jean Scobie (1917-1919,
1922-1927)
B.A., M.A., Sociology, Economics
Davis, June (1949-1950)
B.A., Biology
Davis, Margaret W. (1926-1936,
1941-1943)
B.A., Chemistry
Davis, Shirley L. (1970-1972)
B.S., M.Ed., Education
de Garmo, Mary C. (1913-1916)
B.A., M.A., Home Economics
de Jonge, Alfred Robert W.
(1928-1929)
B.A., Ph.D., German
Dennison, Martha (1917-1918)
B.A., English
Denton, William H. (1966-1967)
B.A., M.Ed., Ph.D., Education
DesChamps, Margaret Burr
(1952-1955)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Desquins, Emmanuelle (1978-1979)
French
Deveaux, Clint (1981-
B.A., J.D., Political Science
Dewitz, Ludwig R. (1963-1964,
1968-1969, 1976-
B.D., Ph.D., Bible and Religion
Dexter, Emily S. (1923-1955)
B.A., Ph.D.,
Psychology, Education,
Philosophy
Diaz, Manuel (1980-1981)
Music
Dieckmann, Christian W. (1905-1950)
F.A.G.O., Music
Dieckmann, Emma Pope M.
(1913-1925)
B.A., English
Dillman, Caroline Matheny (1978-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Sociology, Anthropology
Doerpinghaus, S. Leonard (1958-1968)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
371
Domincovich, Ruth (1943-1945)
B.A., M.A., Spanish
Donaldson, William J., Jr. (1964-1965)
B.A., B.D., Sc.M, M.A., Th.M.,
Ph.D., Psychology
Dotson, Molly Flanary (1965-1967)
B.A., M.F.A., Physical Education
Douglas, Lillian (1946-1947)
B.A., Chemistry
Douglas, Mary Ogilvie (1924-1929)
Music
Dowdell, Annie Kirk (1901-1904)
Biology, Chemistry
Downes, John P. (1966-1967)
B.A., M.A., Education
Dozier, Eugenie Louise (1934-1957)
B.A., M.S., Physical Education
Drake, Lillie Belle (1948-1951)
B.A., M.A., Spanish
Drake, Richard Bryant (1955-1956)
B.A., M.A., History
Drucker, Miriam E.K. (1955-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Psychology
Duncan, Bingham (1942-1943)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Duncan, Caroline (1912-1915)
Expression
Dunstan, Florene J. (1941-1974)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Spanish
Dwyer, Roy Eugene (1953-1954)
B.S., M.Ed., Education
E
Eagleson, Helen (1925-1928)
M.S., Ph.D., Psychology
Edler, Florence (1926-1930)
Ph.B., M.A., History
Eldridge, Adda (1910-1911)
B.A., French, German
Emery, Julia J. (1910-1911)
Physical Education
See Academy listing
Engle, Margaret (1928-1930)
B.A., M.A., Bible
Espy, Jane Stillwell (1942-1943,
1945-1946)
B.A., Biology
Evans, Todd (1981-
B.A., M.B.A., J.D.,
Political Science
Evans, William H.C. (1973-1977)
B.A., M.A., Speech and Drama
Fahnestock, Rhoda (1917-1918)
B.S., M.S., Home Economics
Farrar, Thomas (1901-1905)
Ph.D., English
Feldman, Emanuel (1975-1976,
1977-1978, 1979-1980, 1981-1982)
B.S., M.A., Ph.D.,
Bible and Religion
Fenter, Neal R. (1974-1975,
1976-1977)
B.S., M.A., Theatre
Ferguson, Berdie (1929-1930)
B.A., Physics
Field, L.A. (1889-1897)
Latin, French, English, Elocution
Fillmer, Henry Thompson (1964-1966)
B.S., M.Ed., Ph.D., Education
Finlay, Hattie May (1919-1921)
B.A., M.A., Spanish
Fish, Emma Althea (1891-1892)
Music
Fitzhugh, Margaret O. (1920-1923)
Ph.D., Philosophy
Fleischman, Rebecca (1975-1982)
B.A., M.Ed., Ed.S., Education
Flick, C. Roland (1919-1920)
Music
Flournoy, Alice Fitzgerald
(1949-1951)
B.A., Biology
Folsom, George H., Ill (1971-1978)
B.S., Ph.D.,
Physics and Astronomy
Forman, Carolyn (1940-1941)
B.A., Biology
Forman, Henry Chandler (1945-1951)
B.A., M.Arch., Ph.D., A. LA., Art
Forsythe, David P. (1967-1969)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
History, Political Science
372
Fowler, Joanne Ellis (1971-1973,
1979-1981)
B.A., M.Ed., Education
Fox, Mary Walker (1937-1941,
1942-1944, 1952-1979)
B.A., Chemistry
Frame, Paul W. (1978-1980)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Biology
Fraser, Lowrie Alexander (1969-1970)
B.A., M.A.T., Education
Fraser, Valeria (1889-1891)
Art, Calisthenics
Freed, Gladys H. (1926-1932)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Latin and Greek
Friedlander, Amy (1979-1980)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Frierson, William Joe (1946-1975)
B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Chemistry
Fuller, Jacob Cleveland (1954-1960,
1963-
B.S., Music
Fulp, Ronald (1964-1965)
B.S., M.A., Mathematics
Gaines, Frank Henry (1889-1923)
D.D., LL.D., Bible
Ganim, Virginia Lynn (1975-1978)
B.A., M.A., English
Garber, Paul Leslie (1943-1976)
B.A., B.D., Th.M., Ph.D.
Bible and Religion
Garlington, Octavia (1950-1952)
B.A., Biology
Gary, Julia Thomas (1957-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
Gash, Annie (1899-1900)
Science
Gauerke, Warren E. (1953-1957)
B.Ed., M.A., Ph.D., Education
Gault, Catherine (1924-1926)
Ph.B., Spanish
Gaylord, Leslie Janet (1921-1968)
B.A., M.S., Mathematics
Gear, Felix Bayard (1948-1955)
B.A., Th.M., Ph.D., Bible
Gellerstedt, Ann (1942-1943)
B.A., English
Gerardin, Marie-Claire (1979-1980)
French
Gibbons, Lois Oliphant (1921-1923)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Giberson, David L. (1978-1979)
B.S., Chemistry
Giffin, Frederick, C. (1963-1964)
B.A., M.A., History
Gignilliat, John Lewis (1969-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Gilbert, Otto (1922-1923)
B.A., Physics
Gilbreath, Lillian Rogers (1947-1968)
B.M., M.A., Music
Gilchrist, Philippa Garth (1923-1927,
1928-1946)
B.A., M.A., M.S., Ph.D.,
Chemistry
Giles, Judith M. (1965-1968)
B.A., M.A., Biology
Gillespie, James Thornwell
(1930-1947)
B.A., Th.M., Ph.D., Bible
Gillespie, Mary (1969-1970)
B.A., Biology
Gilroy, Helen (1927-1928)
B.A., M.A., Physics and Astronomy
Ginther, John (1954-1957)
B.Mus., M.Mus., Ph.D., Education
Glendenning, Gwendolen (1921-1923)
B.A., French
Glick M. Kathryn (1938-1974)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Classical
Languages and Literatures
Gooch, Frances K. (1915-1921,
1922-1951)
Ph.B., M.A., Expression,
Spoken English
Good, John W. (1924-1927)
B.A., Ph.D., English
Goode, Julia Pratt (1950-1952)
B.A., Chemistry
Goodlad, John Inkster (1949-1956)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Education
Goodpasture, Alice (1925-1926)
Physical Education
373
Goodwyn, Mary Elizabeth (1921-1923)
B.A., Latin
Gower, Martha Jean (1945-1946)
B.A., Physics
Graham, P.H. (1916-1917, 1919-1920)
B.A., M.A., Physics and Astronomy
Gray, Netta Elizabeth (1951-1970)
B.A., M.A., Biology
Gray, Virginia (1937-1938)
B.A., B.S.L.S., French
Green, Elvena M. (1959-1977)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Speech and Dramatic Art
Greene, Theodore Meyer (1964-1967)
B.A., Ph.D., LL.D., L.H.D., D. Litt.
Philosophy
Grier, Lois (1918-1919)
B.A., Mathematics
Griffin, Carol Howe (1935-1936)
B.A., Biology
Griffith, Stephen John (1977-1979)
B.A., M.F.A., Theatre
Groseclose, Nancy Pence (1947-1979)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Biology
Gude, Mary B. (1911-1913)
Ph.B., Ph.M., History, Political
Economy, Sociology
Guy, J. Sam (1913-1916)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
H
Hagopian, Roxie (1950-1964)
B.A., B.M., M.A., Music
Hale, Julianne (1954-1956)
B.A., M.A.,
Speech and Dramatic Art
Hale, Louise (1921-1951)
B.A, M.A., French
Hall, Charles Steven (1978-1979)
B.M., M.M., Music
Hamff, Christian F. (1919-1920,
1920-1924)
M.A., German
Hamilton, Leone Bowers (1945-1946)
B.A., Art
Hammond, Charlotte (1917-1921,
1927-1928)
B.A., M.A., Latin, German
Hammond, Henry C. (1903-1904)
M.A., Bible
Hanson, Gabriel C, Jr. (1969-1971)
B.A., M.A., Political Science
Harn, Edith Muriel (1921-1964)
B.A., Ph.D., German, Spanish,
Romance Languages
Harris, Irene Leftwich (1950-1964)
Music
Harris, Polly Anna Philips (1951-1952)
B.A., Physics
Harrison, Julia Peachy (1916-1918)
M.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
Harrold, Frances Long (1960-1964)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Harwood, Rose (1918-1919)
B.A., German
Haskew, Laurence D. (1941-1947)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Education
Haslock, Clara Whorley (1912-1913)
M.A., Home Economics
Hatcher, Ruth Dickey (1950-1951,
1952-1953)
B.A., Chemistry
Haworth, Steven A. (1976-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Political Science
Hayes, George P. (1927-1967)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Healy, Beryl Lucretia (1941-1942)
B.A., Biology
Hearon, Cleo (1918-1928)
Ph.D., History
Heath, Eugene Schofield (1924-1925)
B.A., M.A., Botany
Heckard, Rebecca Beamer (1947-1949)
B.S., Chemistry
Heery, Genet Louise ( 1947-1948)
B.A., Biology
Heink, Felix (1907-1908)
Music
Helmrich, Elsie W. (1913-1914)
B.A., Ph.D., German
Hemphill, Nell (1941-1942)
B.A., Music
Henderson, Richard L. (1954-1959)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.. Education
Hensel, H. Richard (1961-1967)
B.M., MM., D.M.A., Music
374
Hepburn, Lawrence R. (1970-1978)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Education
Hepp, Louise (1912-1913)
Music
Herbert, Lucy Goss (1936-1937)
B.A., M.S., Chemistry
Herbert, Mary Eloise (1954-
B.A., M.A., Spanish
Hetherington, Norriss, S. (1967-1968)
B.A., M.A., Astronomy
Hill, Ida Lee (1904-1905)
Biology
Hill, Jacqueline C. (1973-1974)
B.A., M.Ed., Ph.D., Psychology
Hilsenrad, Linda Marva (1978-
B.A., M.A., Media Services
Hodgson, Hugh (1940-1946)
B.S., Music
Hodgson, Newton C. (1954-1958)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Education
Hogan, Thomas W. (1965-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Psychology
Hoke, Elizabeth (1923-1924)
B.A., Mathematics, Physics
Hollingsworth, Roberta J. (1926-1930)
B.A., Spanish
Holt, Robert B. (1918-1946)
B.A., M.S., Chemistry
Holt, Venable (1892-1894)
Preparatory Department,
Physical Culture
Hoogendyk, Marianna van. R.
(1955-1956)
B.A., Art
Hopkins, Nannette (1889-1938)
Mathematics, History
Howard, Mattie Cobb (1900-1901)
Biology
Howell, Miriam M. (1955-1961)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Education
Howson, Emily E. (1920-1931)
B.A., M.A.,
Physics and Astronomy
Hoyt, Dale L. (1980-1982)
B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Biology
Huber, Angelika (1964-1966)
B.A., German
Hubert, Claire M. (1964-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., French
Hubner, W. Whitney (1910-1912,
1920-1921)
Music
Hudson, Gue Pardue (1974-
B.A., M.A.T., Education
Hudson, Hendrik Reynolds
(1959-1963)
B.S.M.E., Physics and Astronomy
Hunt, Anna E. (1895-1899, 1912-1917)
Music
Hunter, Charlotte (1943-1944,
1947-1948)
B.A., M.A., English
Hunter, Floyd (1947-1948)
B.A., M.A., Sociology
Hupe, Chantal (1973-1974)
French
Hutchens, Eleanor Newman
(1961-1967)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Hutcheson, Almeda (1919-1921)
B.A., History
Hutchings, Berte (1917-1918)
Music
Hutchins, William W. (1974-1975)
B.A., M.F.A., Music
Hyde, Robert S. (1978-
B.A., M.S., Ph.D.
Physics and Astronomy
I
Ilgaz-Carden, Ayse (1978-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Psychology
Illien, Anna Belle Haizlip ( 1966-1969)
B.S., M.A., French
Jackson, Elizabeth Fuller ( 1923-1952)
B.A., Ph.D., History
Jackson, Sarah Evelyn (1960-1961)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Jennings, Pauline ( 1897-1898)
Music
Johnson, Annie Barnes (1925-1927)
B.A., Sociology
375
Johnson, Denni Kathleen ( 1967-1973)
B.A., M.A., French
Johnson, Edward C. (1965-
B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Economics
Johnson, Gussie O'Neal (1910-1912,
1914-1917, 1925-1934)
Music
Johnson, Lewis H. (1910-1950)
Music
Johnson, Mary Landrum (1947-1948)
B.A., M.A., French
Johnson, Sterling (1926-1927)
B.A., History
Jones, Anais Cay (1928-1930)
B.A., History
Jones, Constance Anne (1973-
B.A., M.A.T., Ph.D., Sociology
Jones, Eugenia Cuvillier ( 1940-1943,
1947-1949)
B.S., M.A., D.Sc, M.D.
Physical Education
Jones, William H. (1955-1956)
B.S., M.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
Jordan, Helen Berry (1953-1954)
B.A., M.A., M.S., Ph.D., Biology
Joyner, Jeannette (1916-1917)
B.A., Latin
K
Kahan, Betsy Berk (1972-1974)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Psychology
Kaiser, Hugette D. (1969-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., French
Kamerkar, Mani D. (1971-1972,
1978-1979)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History,
Political Science
Kane, Maria C. (1959-1962)
M.A., German
Kase, Judith B. (1956-1957)
B.A., M.A., Speech and Drama
Keach, Everett T., Jr. (1962-1964)
B.A., M.Ed., Ed.D., Education
Keaton, Ruth (1964-1965)
B.A., M.A., Spanish
Keenan, Nannette W. (1970-1971)
B.S., M.A., Speech and Drama
Kelly, Mary Thalia (1973-1974,
1975-1976)
B.A., Biology
Kennedy, Katharine D. (1981-
B.A., M.A., History
King, Harriet M. (1979-1980)
B.A., LL.B., LL.M.,
Political Science
Kirby-Smith, Virginia (1969-1970)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Klaus, Virginia R. (1959-1960)
B.A., M.A., Psychology
Klebs, Margaret (1896-1898)
Music
Kline, C. Benton (1951-1968,
1970-1971, 1976-
B.A., B.D., Th.M., Ph.D.,
Philosophy, Bible and Religion
Kockert, Erika H. (1967-1970)
German
Kramer, Dewey Weiss (1972-1974)
B.A., M.A., German
Krebs, Sylvia H. (1981-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Kuznesof, Paul Martin (1979-
Sc.B., Ph.D., Chemistry
Ladd, Edward Taylor (1958-1969)
B.A. M.A., Ph.D., Education
Lamb, Reginald C. (1917-1918)
M.A., Physics and Astronomy
Lammers, Helene Norwood (1928-1930)
B.A., Biology
Lance, Catherine G. (1975-1978)
B.M., Music
Laney, Emma May (1919-1956)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
See Academy listing
Lapp, Harriette Haynes (1923-1927,
1928-1964)
B.A., M.A., Physical Education
Latimer, Carrie Phinney (1936-1939)
B.A., Speech
Leflcoff, Merle S. (1972-1973)
B.A. M.A., Political Science
376
LeGate, Helen (1911-1921)
B.A., M.A., Romance Languages
Leinbach, Emma L. (1901-1905)
Music
LeMaster, Larry (1976-1977,
1978-1980)
B.M., Music
Lemonds, Jean (1978-
B.M., Music
Leonard Charles Alexander, 111
(1973-1975)
B.S., M.F.A., Art
Leonard, Virginia Arnold (1969-1976,
1977-1978)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Leslie, Robert Arthur (1970-
B.S., M.A., Ph.D., Mathematics
Lester, Edith (1898-1900)
Music
Levine, Alice L. (1979-1982)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Classical
Languages and Literatures
Lewis, Ada Evelyn (1904-1905)
Expresion
Lewis, Helen (1927-1928)
B.A., History
Lewis, Louise Garland (1900-1943)
Art
Lewis, Nannie M. (1899-1902)
B.S,. Mathematics, Physics,
Astronomy
Leyburn, Ellen Douglass (1934-1966)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.. English
Lieberman, Janice Runde (1972-1973)
B.A., M.A., Sociology
Lindner, Georg (1937-1943)
Music
Lineberry, Ruth (1925-1926)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Lipps, Lewis (1943-1944)
B.A., Biology
Little, Arthur Reginald (1899-1900)
Music
Little, Vivian (1926-1929)
B.A., French
Little, Warren (1978-1979)
B.F.A., Music
Lobeck, Priscilla (1946-1949)
B.A., B.F.A., Art
Logan, Charles A. (1927-1928)
B.A., B.D., D.D., Bible
Loring, Janet (1952-1954)
B.S., M.A., Speech
Lovelace, Mary Wyatt (1908-1910)
Music
Lowe, Lamar (1927-1928, 1929-1930)
B.A., Latin
Lowrance, Robert S., Jr. (1943-1945)
B.S., M.S., Music
Lupo, Patsy (1918-1920)
B.A., Biology, Chemistry
Lunz, Elisabeth ( 1 980-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Bible and Religion
Lycett, William (1890-1892)
Art
Lynn, Elizabeth (1927-1929)
B.A., Physics
Lyon, Margery (1947-1948)
B.S., Physical Education
Lyons, Maysie Sloan (1945-1947)
B.A. Chemistry, Biology
Lytle, Anna W. (1899-1901)
B.A., English
M
MacArthur, Lillian (1907-1908)
Music
MacDougall, Mary Stuart
(1919-1952)
B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Sc.D., Biology
MacGreggor Clementine (1904-1913)
Music
Maclean, Joseph (1893-1918)
Music
MacSwain, Josephine (1903-1907)
B.A., French, German
Magee, Lucy (1891-1897)
Natural Science, Elocution
Manuel, Kathryn Ann (1958-
B.S., M.A., P.E.D.,
Physical Education
Marini, John (1979-1980)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Political Science
377
Markley, Frances Charlotte
(1921-1922)
B.A., History
Markley, Mary E. (191 1-1919)
B.A., M.A., Latin, English
Martin, Anne Harold (1920-1922)
Ph.B., Economics, Sociology
Martin, Charles F. (1960-1963)
B.A., M.A., Economics
Martin, David V. (1979-1982)
B.S., M.S., Ed.D., Education
Martin, Mary T. (1906-1908)
M.D., Physiology, Hygiene
Martin, Raymond Jones (1950-
B.S., M.S.M., S.M.D., Music
Martinez, Aleida Garrido (1975-1977)
B.A., M.A., Spanish
Marxsen, William B. (1972-1973)
B.A., Economics
Massie, Nannie R. (1890-1910)
History, French
Mathews, Theodore Kenneth (1967-
B.A., M.A.T., Ph.D., Music
Matsen, Patricia Paden (1968-1969)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Classical
Languages and Literatures
Matthews, Hester Poole (1951-1954)
B.A., M.A., Spanish
Matthews, Jeanne (1938-1939)
B.A., Biology
McBryde, Maggie S. (1890-1892)
Music
McCaa, Fanny Dargan (1921-1923)
B.A., Biology
McCain, James Ross (1915-1951)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D., Bible,
History, Sociology
McCall, Carolina (1927-1928)
B.A., English
McCalla, Frances L. (1936-1944)
B.A., Biology
McCallie, Margaret Ellen (1912-1917)
B.A., Ph.B., German
McCampbell, Marguerite (1923-1924)
Physical Education
McConnell, Ann Elizabeth (1974-1979)
B.S., M.S., Physical Education
McCracken, Katherine Mason
(1968-1969)
B.A., Biology
McCrory, Pearl (1911-1912)
Biology
McCullough, Johnny Armstrong
(1943-1944)
B.A., M.D., Physical Education
McCurdy, Sarah Carter ( 1921-1923)
B.A., Chemistry
McDonald, Laura M. (1981-1982)
B.A., Physical Education
McDowell, Mary Ella Hammond
(1964-1965)
B.A., M.A.T., Mathematics
McDowell. Michael A. (1950-1975,
1976-1977)
Ph.B., M.A., Music
McGehee, Terry S. (1976-
B.A., M.F.A., Art
McGinty, Emma (1943-1946)
B.A., Chemistry
Mcllvaine, Alice M. (1898-1899)
Music
McKee, Adele Dieckmann (1974-1975)
B.A., M.S.M., Music
McKee, Dean Greer (1963-1964)
B.A., S.T.B., S.T.M., Th.D., Bible
McKemie, Kate (1956-
B.S., M.A., Ed.D.,
Physical Education
McKenzie, Kermit E. (1966-1968)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
McKinney, Beverly Cox (1964-1970)
B.S., M.S., Physical Education
McKinney, Mary Ann (1937-1938)
B.A., M.A., M.D., Biology
McKinney, M. Louise ( 1891-1937)
English
McMillan, Daniel R. (1953-1955)
B.S.M.E., M.S., Ph.D., Physics
McMillan, Rosamond (1957-1958)
B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Biology
McNair, Walter Edward (1952-1977)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
McNeel, Betty S. (1964-1965)
B.A., M.S., Mathematics
378
McNeer, Gordon E. (1978-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Spanish
Meinhardt, Emilie A. (191 1-1913)
B.A., M.A., German, French
Meleen, Nancy S. (1957-1958)
B.S., M.A., Education
Mell, Mildred Rutherford (1938-1960)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Economics,
Sociology
Melson, Marianne M. (1894-1899)
B.A., Preparatory Department,
Physical Culture, English
Meral, Jean (1977-1978)
D.E.S., Ph.D., French
Meroney, Geraldine M. (1966-1982)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Merriman, C. Ina (1909-1910)
Physical Director
See Academy listing
Messick, J. Frederick (1945-1946)
B.A., Ph.D., Mathematics
Messick, Jo Ann (1979-
B.S., M.S., Physical Education
Meyer, Gustav (1890-1892)
German, Music
Michaelis, Emil Bruno (1908-1910)
Music
Miller, Blanche (1930-1943)
B.A., M.S., Biology
Miller, Carol Golden (1975-1976)
B.A., M.S., M.F.A., Art
Miller, Gerald J. (1974-1976)
B.S., M.S., Biology
Miller, Helen Mar ( 1935-1936)
B.A., Ph.D., Biology
Miller, Laura L. (1900-1901)
Music
Miller, Mary (1917-1918)
Music
Miller, Robert S. (1974-1976)
B.A., Ph.D., Psychology
Miller, Timothy (1957-1961)
B.A., B.Mus., D.Mus., Music
Mills, Paul R., Jr. (1972-1978)
B.A., M.S.S., Ph.D., Sociology
Mitchell, Carlotta P. (1923-1924)
Spoken English
Mitchell, Elisabeth (1935-1942)
B.A., Physical Education
Mitchell, Evelyn M. (1974-1975)
B.A., M.A., Art
Mitchell, Shatteen (1897-1899,
1906-1911)
Elocution, Expression
Molho, Raphael (1973-1974)
French
Montgomery, A. Maud (1907-1908)
Physical Director
See Academy listing
Moomaw, Wilmer Edmund
(1969-1973)
B.A., Ph.D., Political Science
Moon, Cyris H. (1968-1969)
B.A., B.D., Bible
Moore, Nettie Terril (1914-1917)
Ph.B., Romance Languages
Morenus, Constance Gay (1949-1950)
B.A., M.A., English
Morgan-Stephens, Theodora
(1899-1908, 1918, 1919, 1921-1923)
Music
Morphy, Odette Marguerite
(1964-1966)
M.A., French
Morrison, Clara (1941-1943)
B.A., M.A., English
Morrow, Maude (1897-1905)
B.A., M.A., Latin, Greek
Morse, Chester William (1950-1951)
B.A., M.D., Physical Education
Morton, Cora Frazer (1924-1927)
B.A., Mathematics, Physics
Moses, Edith W. (1921-1922)
B.S., M.A., English
Moses, Jane (1940-1941)
B.A., Music
Moye, Elizabeth Reynolds (1981-1982)
B.A., M.A., Psychology
Murray, James (1891-1892)
D.D., Mental and Moral
Philosophy, Higher Mathematics
379
N
Naderi-Movahed, Georgia (1981-1982)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Spanish
Natusch, Gertrude E. (1945-1947)
B.A., Economics
Neilson, Annie B. (1895-1896)
Music
Nelson, Jack L. (1962-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Nelson, Narka (1936-1941)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Latin, Greek
Nelson, Robert E.R. (1961-1965)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Newcomb, Rose A. (1913-1915)
B.A., Chemistry, Biology
Newton, Irene (1908-1910)
B.A,. Chemistry
See Academy listing
Newton, Janet (1917-1918, 1919-1921)
B.A., French
Newton, Mattie (1908-1909)
Biology
Nitchie, Carl E. (1977-1981)
B.M., Music
Norris, Margaret Van Antwerp
(1974-1975)
B.A., M.A., Spanish
North, Estelle (1927-1928)
B.S., Physical Education
Nuhfer-Halten, Bernice M. (1977-1978)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Spanish
o
O'Bannon, Joan Elizabeth (1964-1965)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Economics
Oglesby, Lydia A. (1974-1975)
B.M., M.M., Music
Oliver, Charles P. (191 1-1914)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Physics and Astronomy
Oms, Luis A. (1967-1968)
B.S., Physics
Omwake, Katharine Tate (1928-1929,
1930-1972)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Psychology
Orr, David W. (1971-1976)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Political Science
Ortega, Maria deLeon (1955-1956)
Spanish
Osborne, Kay Marie (1961-1965)
B.S., Physical Education
Ottzen, Lorentz (1976-1981)
B.M., Music
Overbeck, Lois M. (1981-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Painter, Henry L. (1920-1921)
B.A., M.E., E.E., Mathematics
Palumbo, Kathryn E. (1979-
B.S., M.S.S.A., Sociology
Parrish, Fred K. (1960-1965)
B.A., M.A., Biology
Parry, Maude Montgomery
(1913-1918)
Physical Education
Parry, Richard D. (1967-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Philosophy
Pendergrast, Martha A. (1944-1946)
B.A., Biology
Pepe, Marie Huper (1951-
B.F.A., M.A., Ph.D., Art
Pepperdene, Margaret W. (1956-
B.S., M.A., Ph.D., English
Perret, Marion Dibert (1966-1968)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Perry, Marvin Banks, Jr. (1973-1982)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D., Litt. D.
English
Petty, Mildred Love (1966-1968,
1973-1974, 1976-1979)
B.A., M.A., History
Philip, Aley Thomas (1965-1966)
B.A., M.A., Political Science
Phillips, Anne (1902-1904)
B.A., Latin
See Academy listing
Phillips, Irma (1919-1920)
Music
Phillips, Mary Elizabeth ( 19 17-19 1 8)
B.S., Romance Languages
Phippen, Lucille (1925-1926)
B.A., Bible
380
Phythian, Margaret Taylor (1916-1919,
1923-1964)
B.A., M.A., Docteur d'Universite
(Grenoble), French
Pike, Ethel (1927-1928)
M.A., Psychology
Pilger, John F. (1979-
B.S., Ph.D., Biology
Pinka, Patricia Garland (1969-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Pirkle, Ruth Janette (1923-1934)
B.A., M.S., Biology
Plachy, June Wilder (1969-1972)
B.A., M.Ed., Ed.D., Mathematics
Polk-Peters, Ethel (1929-1930)
M.D., Hygiene
Pope, Ruth Cushing (1903-1906)
Physical Education
See Academy listing
Portalier, Beatrice (1980-1981)
French
Porter, Carrie (1910-1912)
Music
Posey, Walter Brownlow (1943-1970)
Ph.B., LL.B., M.A., Ph.D., L.H.D.
History
Potter, Elizabeth F. (1980-1981)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Philosophy
Powell, Margaret Williams
(1962-1963)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Classical
Languages and Literatures
Pratt, Fannie (1889-1892)
Music
Pratt, N.P. (1889-1890)
M.A., Chemistry
Preston, Amy F. (1913-1916)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics, Physics,
Astronomy
Preston, Janef Newman (1921-1925,
1926-1967)
B.A., M.A., English
Prettyman, Virginia (1936-1939)
B.A., English
Pritchett, Shirley (1964-1966)
B.S., M.S., Physical Education
Pruitt, Cheryl (1971-1972)
B.S., Psychology
Q
Quillian, Bascon O., Jr. (1965-1966)
B.S., M.A., LL.B.,
Political Science
R
Radford, Betty Jean (1947-1949)
B.A., Biology
Radford, Sharon V. (1975-1976)
B.A., M.A., Biology
Raffety, Josephine Patterson
(1970-1973)
B.A., M.A., French
Rainey, Frances (1927-1928,
1930-1931)
B.A., M.A., Chemistry
Randolph, Isabel F. (1921-1928)
B.A., B.S., Physical Education
Rankin, William Walter, Jr.
(1921-1926)
B.E., M.A., Mathematics
Raper, Arthur F. (1932-1939)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Sociology
Rasheed, Jean Anderson (1977-1978)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Psychology
Redd, Billie Mae (1949-1951)
B.A., M.A., Physics
Reichenbach, Lucie Vaughan
(1916-1917)
B.A., M.A., French
Reinhart, Philip B. (1963-1976)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Physics
Regan, Lucy (1909-1910)
Biology
Rentz, Jerry M. (1965-1973)
B.A., Speech and Drama
Rhyne, Pamela Jean (1972-1973)
B.S., M.S., Education
Rice, George E. (1957-1964)
B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Psychology
Rice, Theron H. (1904-1905)
D.D., Bible
381
Richardson, Anna (191 1-1912)
B.A., Home Economics
Richardson, Julia (1892-1895)
Music
Richman, Larry Kermit (1967-1969)
B.A., M.A., English
Richmond, Thelma (1934-1935,
1957-1958)
B.A., M.A., French
Ridley, Margaret Walker ( 1943-1947)
B.A., M.A., English
Rigoreau, Ghislaine (1981-1982)
French
Rion, Mary Lucile (1955-1967)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Ripy, Sara Louise ( 1 958-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Mathematics
Rivory, Brigitte (1976-1977)
French
Roberts, Essie (1917-1918)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Roberts, Lorin W. (1952-1957)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
Roberts, Martin B. (1977-1979)
B.S., M.S., Economics
Robinson, Henry A. (1926-1970)
B.S., C.E., M.A., Ph.D.,
Mathematics
Robson, David W. (1971-1974)
B.A., M.Phil., History
Rogers, J.L. (1889-1891)
D.D., Mental and Moral
Philosophy, Natural Sciences
Rogers, Nancy (1934-1935)
B.A., Biology
Rollin, George Paul (1918-1919)
B.A., French
Ross, Rebecca Merithew (1908-1909)
Physical Education
See Academy listing
Rothenstein, Sir John K..M.
(1969-1971)
C.B.E., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D., Art
Rothermel, Julia E. (1920-1924)
B.A., Biology
Rousseau, Dianne Shell (1953-1956)
B.A., Chemistry
Rudy, Eloise Lyndon (1947-1949)
B.A., Physics
Rueter, Grace Stephens (1965-1967)
B.A., English, German
Runyon, Ernest H. (1936-1945)
B.S., Ph.D., Botany
Runyon, Laliah C. (1943-1945)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
Rutledge, Abbie (1943-1944)
B.S., Physical Education
Rutledge, Dorothy S. (1966-1969)
B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Mathematics
Sadler, Lynn Veach (1966-1967)
B.A., M.S., English
Salicco, Betty Lou Everett
(1969-1970)
B.M., M.M., Music
Salisbury, Ann M. (1975-1976)
B.S., M.Ed., Physical Education
Salyer, Sandford M. (1923-1924)
B.A., Ph.D., English
Salyerds, Anne Martha (1952-1960)
B.A., Biology
Samuel, Mercy (1966-1967)
M.A., M.Sc, Biology
Sanders, Dudley W. (1979-
B.A., Theatre
Sandys, Evelyn M. (1910-1911)
Physical Training
See Academy listing
Santacroce, Mary Nell M.
(1970-1971)
B.A., M.Ed., Speech and Drama
Sarton, May (1971-1972)
Litt.D., English
Saul, Theodore (1898-1899)
Music
Sawtelle, Leslie (1911-1913)
B.A., Physical Director
Saxon, Lizzabel (1904-1909)
B.A., Latin, Physics
See Academy listing
Schaffer, Wiliam A. (1965-1966)
B.S., Economics
382
Schulz, Gretchen Elizabeth
(1970-1975)
B.A., M.A., English
Service, Bessie R. (1893-1896)
Music
Sevin, Gertrude (1911-1916)
Ph.B., Biology, Geology
Sewell, Margaret Bland (1923-1930,
1949-1950, 1955-1958, 1959-1964)
B.A., M.A., Romance Languages
Shaw, Constance (1966-
B.A., Ph.D., Spanish
Sheats, Mary Boney (1949-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., L.H.D., Litt.D.
Bible and Religion
Sheffer, Albert D., Jr. (1976-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Mathematics
Shepard, Alice Mabel (1912-1913)
Music
Shepherd, Beverly Nicole (1970-1973)
B.A., Biology
Sheppard, Mary D. (1891-1903)
Mental and Moral Philosophy,
German
Sherwood, Alfred Bowne (1918-1919)
M.A., Physics and Astronomy
Shipman, Alice (1891-1892)
Music
Shiver, Erika Meyer (1962-1972)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., German
Siegchrist, Mark S. (1970-1974)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Simpson, Thomas E. (1972-1978)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Biology
Sims, Catherine S. (1939-1960,
1964-1965, 1975-1976)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History,
Political Science
Sinclair, Carrie Curie (1924-1927,
1928-1932)
B.S., Physical Education
Singdahlsen, Robert E. (1962-1964)
B.A., M.A., Speech and Drama
Skeen, Augusta (1917-1930)
B.A., M.A., Chemistry
Sledd, Frances (1919-1921)
B.A., Mathematics
Smith, Anna Green (1948-1970)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.,
Economics, Sociology
Smith, Daisy Frances (1924-1927)
B.A., English, Psychology
Smith, Florence E. (1927-1928,
1929-1965)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
History, Political Science
Smith, Jennie (1892-1893)
Music
Smith, Lillian S. (1905-1938)
B.A., Ph.D., Latin, Greek
Smith, May (1919-1921)
B.A., Chemistry
Smith, Ruth Dabney (1943-1950)
B.M., Music
Smith, Winnie May (1919-1920)
Chemistry
Spangler, Marian Gertrude
(1908-1910)
Music
Sparks, Edithgene (1961-1962)
B.S., M.Ed., Education
Spear, Daisy H. (1910-1911)
B.A., Chemistry, Physics
Spitler, Hugh Donald (1980-1981)
B.A., M.A., Sociology
Springs, Alice V. (1893-1896)
Art
Staal Julius D.W. (1978-
F.R.A.S.
Director of the Planetarium of
the Bradley Observatory
Stack, Elizabeth Cole (1959-1966)
B.A., M.Ed., Ph.D., Education
Stansfield, Martha (1921-1938)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Latin, Greek, Mathematics
Stark, Mary Louise (1964-1965)
B.A., M.F.A., Speech and Drama
Staude, Mitchell (1981-1982)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Philosophy
Staven, Leland (1969-
B.F.A., M.F.A., Art
Steanson, Karen E. (1967-1968)
B.A., M.A., English
383
Steel, Chloe (1955-1976)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
French
Stephan, John H. (1900-1905)
Music
Stephens, Nan. B. (1925-1931)
Play Writing
Stevenson, Frederick D. (1916-1917)
B.A., B.D., Bible
Stevenson, Lillian (1919-1921)
B.A., M.A., History
Stewart, Janet (1975-1978)
B.M., M.M., Music
Stocking, Ruth J. (1915-1916)
Ph.D., Biology
Stokes, Agnes Adams (1929-1937)
B.A., Music
Story, Patricia Ann (1951-1954)
B.S., Physical Education
Strain, John Paul (1957-1958)
B.A., B.D., M.A., Ed.S., Education
Straus, Grace (1927-1928)
B.A., Mathematics
Stukes, Samuel Guerry (1913-1957)
B.A., M.A., B.D., Ped.D.
Philosophy, Bible, Education,
Psychology
Sturdivant, Harwell P. (1931-1932)
B.S., M.S., Biology
Suitor, M. Lee (1974-1975)
B.A., B.M., M.S.M., Music
Summers, Lucuis Welborn
(1922-1923)
B.S., M.A., Sociology
Sutphen, Katherine Van Dusen
(1918-1923)
Music
Sutton, Rachel S. (1945-1946)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Education
Swanson, Florene L. (1937-1940)
B.S., M.D., Hygiene
Swanson, Richard A. (1979-1981)
B.S., Ph.D., Chemistry
Swart, Koenraad Wolter (1956-1966)
LL.B., Lit.B., Ph.D.,
History, Political Science
Sweet, Ann Vann (1943-1945)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Sweet, Mary Frances (1908-1937)
M.D., Physiology and Hygiene
Sydenstricker, Alma W. (1917-1943)
M.A., Ph.D., Bible
Taggart, Bruce Lyle (1978-1979)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Classical
Languages and Literatures
Tanner, Jodele (1945-1946)
B.A., Chemistry
Taylor, George E. (1975-1977)
B.S., Ph.D., Biology
Taylor-Harris, Jody (1980-
B.M., Music
TeBeest, Ronald H. (1965-1966)
B.A., M.A., Political Science
Thimester, Renate (1966-1971)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Economics
Thomas, Howard (1943-1945)
Art
Thomas, Pierre (1951-1967)
Ingenieur-docteur, French
Thompson, Miriam H. (1932-1933)
B.A., French
Thomson, Paul E. (1905-1907)
Music
Thornberry, Jacqueline (1973-1974)
B.S., M.A.T., Education
Tillman, Sandra Jean (1968-1969)
B.A., M.Ed., Physical Education
Torrance, Catherine ( 1913-1943)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Greek, Latin
See Academy listing
Toth, John W. (1978-1982)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Theatre
Traylor, Martha M. (1968-1969)
B.S., M.S., Political Science
Treadwell, Anne (1948-1950)
B.A., Chemistry
Trebein, Bertha E. (1907-1919)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., German
Trotter, Margret Guthrie (1944-1977)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
384
Trotter, Sue Sexton (1963-1966,
1967-1969)
B.A., French
Tucker, Joyce Cummings (1978-1979)
B.A., N.A.R., M.Div.
Bible and Religion
Tucker, Mary Curtis (1967-1968)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Tuller, Elizabeth (1917-1919)
B.S., Physical Education
Tumblin, John A., Jr. (1960-
B.A,. M.A., Ph.D.,
Sociology, Anthropology
Turner, Anne (1945-1947)
B.A., M.S., Classical
Languages and Literatures
Turner, Arthur William (1916-1917)
B.A., M.A.,
Philosophy, Education
Vail, Charles Brooks (1956-1957)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Chemistry
Vance, Margaret (1949-1950)
B.S., M.D., Physical Education
Vance, Margaret B. (1892-1895)
Music
Vandiver, William M. (1974-1977)
B.B.A., M.B.A., D.B.A.,
Economics
Vann, Ann Mary (1941-1943)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Vardell, Mary Linda (1936-1937)
B.A., M.A., Biology
Vaughan, Marion Russell (1934-1936)
B.A., Spoken English
Villar, Maria Isabel V. (1976-1977)
Spanish
Voegeli, Martha (1919-1920)
B.A., M.A., German
Volkoff, Vladimir (1966-1977)
Baccalaureat latin-langues,
Certificat detudes litteraires
generales. Licence es lettres de
I'Universite de Paris, Docteur en
Philosophic et Lettres de
TUniversite de Liege
French, Russian
w
Wade, Myra I. (1919-1921)
B.A., Physical Education
Walden, Charles Bowman
(1952-1953)
B.E., Ph.M., Education
Walker, Grace (1941-1942)
B.A., English
Walker, Merle G. (1958-1971)
B.A,. M.A., Ph.D.,
Philosophy, English
Walker, Ruth Gray (1945-1947)
B.A., Biology
Walker, Susan Robinson (1965-1967)
B.S.Ed., M.A.Ed., Art
Wallace, Rebecca (1972-1973)
B.A., Chemistry
Walton, Strethel (1923-1924)
Music
Warner, Anne Bradford (1978-1981) '
B.A, M.A., Ph.D., English
Warren, Ferdinand (1951-1969)
N.A., Art
Waterman, Arthur E. (1965-1966)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Watkins, Helen (1901-1908)
Music
Watkins, Patty B. (1891-1897)
Mathematics
Watts, Virginia (1967-1968)
B.A., M.S., Ph.D., Chemistry
Webb, Neva Jackson (1950-1951)
B.A., Speech
Webber, Anne (1949-1950)
B.F.A., Art
Weber, William H., Ill (1971-
B.A., Ph.D., Economics
Webster, Alta (1942-1943)
B.A., Physical Education
West, Edith Randolph (1913-1916)
B.A., History, Political Economy,
Sociology
West, Mary N. (1915-1916)
B.A., Chemistry
Westall, Mary (1926-1935)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Botany
Westbrook, Viola G. (1974-1980)
B.A., M.A., German
385
Westervelt, Robert F. (1957-1980)
B.A., M.F.A., Ph.D., Art
Weyant, Jane Gilmer ( 1970-1971)
B.A., M.A., History
Whatley, Margaret Lowndes
(1956-1957)
B.F.A., Art
Whetsell, Mary Ellen (1939-1940)
B.A., Biology
Whitaker, Thomas W. (1934-1936)
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Botany
White, Alan J. (1975-1979)
B.S., Ph.D., Chemistry
White, Blanche M. (1899-1900)
Music
White, Edwin Chappell (1950-1953)
B.A., B.M., M.F.A., Music
White, Sarah Parker (1918-1920)
M.A., M.D., Philosophy
White, Wanda Marie (1970-1971)
B.S., M.Ed., Education
Whittemore, Kenneth R. (1967-1971)
B.A., B.D., Sociology
Wier, Amelia Jo (1950-1952)
B.A., M.A., English
Wieshofer, Ingrid Emma (1970-
Ph.D., German
Wiggins, Samuel Paul (1948-1953)
B.S., M.Ed., Ph.D., Education
Wikel, Patricia Eggee (1977-1978)
B.A., M.A., Biology
Wilburn Llewellyn (1920-1922,
1926-1967)
B.A., M.A., Physical Education
Wilde, Ronald B. (1965-1978)
B.S., M.A.T., Mathematics
Wiley, Bell lrvin (1974-1976)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Litt.D.,
L.H.D., LL.D., History
Willcox, Marguerite (1916-1918)
B.A., Ph.D., Chemistry
Williams, Helena (1948-1951)
B.S., Physical Education
Williams, Mary B. (1960-1961)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics
Willis, Faith M. (1970-1972)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Sociology
Willis, Loetta (1939-1941)
B.A., M.A., Physics
Wilson, Christine L. (1980-
B.M.E., M.M., Music
Wilson, Louise (1918-1919)
B.A., History
Wilson Raemond (1932-1934)
B.A., M.A., English
Winter, Roberta Powers (1939-1974)
B.A., M.A., Ed.D.,
Speech and Dramatic Art
Wistrand, Harry (1974-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Biology
Wolters, Richard Mark (1971-1974)
B.A., Philosophy
Woods, Linda Lentz (1968-
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., English
Woolfolk, Ada S. (1924-1926)
Sociology
Worden, Sara A. (1892-1893)
Art
Wright, Billie Louise (1949-1950)
B.A., Chemistry
Wright, James M. (1927-1938)
B.A., Ph.D., Economics, Sociology
X, Y, Z,
Yang, Nai-Chuang(1981-
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Chemistry
York, Gertrude Irene (1916-1917)
B.A., M.A., Home Economics
Young, Anna Irwin (1898-1920)
B.A., M.A., Mathematics,
Physics, Astronomy
Young, Donald Francis (1978-
B.S., M.S., Ph.D., Mathematics
Young, James Harvey (1942-1943)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., History
Young, Myrna Goode (1955-1956,
1957-1979)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Classical
Languages and Literatures
Yungblut, June J. (1961-1962,
1964-1965)
B.A., M.A., English
Zenn, Elizabeth Gould (1947-1982)
B.A., M.A., Ph.D., Classical
Languages and Literatures
386
Agnes Scott Academy
Alexander, Alice Lucile (1906-1912)
Mathematics
Almon, Laleah E. (1907-1913)
French, German
Armstrong, Ellen Baxter (1907-1913)
English, History
Askew, Thyrza Simonton (1903-1912)
English
Colton, Susan (1905-1906)
French, German
Cook, Martha (Mattie) E. (1904-1910)
Arithmetic, Geography, History,
Penmanship
Emery, Julia Jordan (1910-1911)
Physical Director
Laney, Emma May (1912-1913)
B.A., M.A., English
Marion, Ruth (1911-1912)
B.A., Latin, Mathematics
Martin, Nancy T. (1907-1908)
M.D., Physiology, Hygiene
Merriman, C. Ina (1909-1910)
Physical Director
Montgomery, Alice Maud (1907-1908)
Physical Director
Newton, Irene (1909-1910)
B.A., History, Physical Geography
Parry, Mrs. H.L. (1911-1912)
Physical Training
Phillips, Anne Winifred (1904-1912)
B.A., Latin
Pierce, Emma Louise (1912-1913)
B.A., Mathematics
Pope, Ruth Cushing (1904-1906)
Physical Training, Physiology
Ross, Rebecca Merithew (1908-1909)
Physical Director
Sandys, Evelyn M. (1910-1911)
Physical Training
Saxon, Lizzabel (1909-1913)
B.A., History, Mathematics
Steele, Emma Blanche (1912-1913)
B.A., French
Torrance, Catherine (1909-1913)
B.A., M.A., Greek, Latin
Webb, Alia (1904-1905)
B.A., English, Latin
Young, Ella (1905-1913)
Bible, English, History
Young, Rachel Aleph (1906-1913)
B.A., Latin, Mathematics
387
SOURCES
Minutes of the Board of Trustees, Agnes Scott College
Minutes of the Executive Committee, Board of Trustees, Agnes Scott
College
Minutes of the Faculty, Agnes Scott College
Minutes of the Academic Council, Agnes Scott College
Annual Reports of the Presidents of the College to the Board of
Trustees
Back Files of the Agonistic, the Agnes Scott News, and the Profile
Back Files of the Agnes Scott Alumnae Quarterly
Back Files of the Silhouette
Volumes of the Agnes Scott Catalogue, 1889-1982
Unpublished Memoirs of James Ross McCain
Unpublished Recollections of Louise McKinney
Unpublished and Unclassified Materials in the Archives of the
McCain Library
Conversations with Many Former and Present Agnes Scott Faculty,
Staff, Alumnae, and Friends
Personal Recollections of Almost Thirty Years at Agnes Scott
Agnes Scott College Faculty Handbook, 1980-1981
Agnes Scott College Student Handbook (1980-1981 issue and some
back issues)
Limited Materials from the Library of the Atlanta Historical Society
F.H. Gaines, The Story of Agnes Scott College (1889-1921)
J.R. McCain, The Story of Agnes Scott College 1889-1939
James Ross McCain, The Growth of Agnes Scott College 1889-1955
389
INDEX
This index is not intended to be exhaustive. It is hoped that it will be useful in locating some of the
events and people mentioned in the preceding pages.
Academic Council, 59-60, 144-146, 234-235
Academic enrichment in early 1960's, 186
Academic freedom, 154-155, 242-244
Academic freedom and tenure, 194-197
Academic policy, special committee on,
144-146
Accreditation as a college, 30
Accusation of anti-Semitism, 190
Administrative officers, 364-365
Admission of black students, 173-174
Advanced placement, 159-160, 217
Age Discrimination in Employment Act,
269-271
Agnes Scott Academy, 42-44
Agnes Scott Alumnae Association, 58
Agnes Scott Fund, 176
Agnes Scott Hall (Main), 13-14, 21
Agnes Scott Ideal, 10-11
Agnes Scott's image as set forth by President
Alston, 166-168
Agnes Scott Looks to the Future Program,
257-259
Agnes Scott Prayer Covenant, 1 1-12
Agnes Scott seal, 281
Alcoholic beverages, 177-180, 237-239,
259-261
Alexander, Alice Lucile, 327-328
Alston, Wallace McPherson, 120, 129-131,
164, 203-204, 214-215, 217-220
Alumnae Day, 157
Alumnae Council, 217
Alumnae Fund, 119-120
Alumnae Garden, 81
Alumnae House, 58-59
Alumnae Infirmary, 33
Alumnae trustees, 77
American Association of University Pro-
fessors, 183-184
American College Testing Service, 159
Anderson, Nathalie F., 323
Applicants' Weekend, 266
Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion,
and Tenure, 245-248
Arbuckle, Howard Bell, 28, 329-330
Arkhora Associates, Inc., 253
Armstead, J.D.M., 29, 71-72, 331-333
Arnett, Trevor, 78
Articles of Incorporation, 205, 275
Athletic Association, 282
Atlanta campaign of 1909, 40-42
Atlanta campaign of 1961, 172
Atlanta Environmental Symposia, 233
Atlanta Experiment in Articulation and En-
richment, 146
Baccalaureate and Graduation on same day,
190
Bahr, Richard C, 176, 194
Balanced budgets, 85
Ball, B. W., 323
Barclay, Lee A., 251-252
Barton, David, 323
Beck, Louis H. Foundation, 98, 122
Benefits for faculty, administrative staff, and
hourly employees, 230-232
Bennett Award, 295
Black Cat, 283
Blackfriars, 284-295
Board of Trustees restructure, 186-187
BOZ and Folio, 297
Bradley, W.C. and Sarah H. Foundation,
121-122
Break from Thanksgiving to New Years, 234
Brooking, Jack T., 285
Brown, Michael J., 227
Budget process, 134
Buttrick Hall, 80-81, 256-257
Buttrick, Wallace, 37, 38, 39
Byers, Edna Hanley, 334-335
Byrnside, Ronald L., 227
Callaway Professorship, 200-201, 269
Campaign of late 1920's, 79-80
Campaign of 1949, 121, 122
Campbell, John Bulow, 123-125
Campbell Science Hall campaign, 274
Campell Hall renovation, 271
Career Planning Office, 252-253
Carnegie Library, 47
Charter of 1889, 6-8
Charter, amendments, 29, 161
Chairmen of the Board of Trustees, 358
Christian Association, 298
Clark, Marion, Thomas, 200
College Entrance Examination Board tests,
150
College Scholarship Service, 160
Committee on Academic Problems (CAP), 193
Cunningham, Alice J., 200
Cunningham, R.B., 49
"Cut" system, 89-90
Dalton Galleries and Art Collection, 186
Dana Fine Arts Building, 184-186
Dana Professorships, 227
Dana Scholarships, 202-203
Davidson, Philip, Jr., 104-105
Dean of the Faculty, 95
Dean of Students, 95
Decennial evaluation by Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools, 174-176
390
DeKalb County Teachers Federal Credit
" Union, 236
Dillard, Doyle M., 251
Distinguished Alumnae Recognition, 262
Drucker, Miriam K., 227
Dual degree program with the Georgia Insti-
tute of Technology, 236, 257
Early Decision Plan, 159
Economics and sociology as two departments,
271
Emory University, cooperative agreement
with, 100-103, 134-138
Entrance requirements of 1907-1908, 44
Evans, Letitia Pate, 121, 122-123
Faculty, 366-386
Faculty leaves of absence, 76, 228-230
Faculty organization, 235
Faculty qualifications, 45, 191, 197
Faculty retreats, 255-256
Faculty salary cuts during the depression of
the 1930's, 85
Faculty statement on public schools, 162-164
Faculty, student, alumnae joint effort to
formulate a statement of purpose and goals
for Agnes Scott, 209-213
Ferrer, Nels F.S., 151-153
Five-day class week, 193-194
Flint, John O., 336
Food-service experiment, 184
Ford Foundation grants of 1955, 149
Founder's Day, 34, 155, 299-301
Founders, initial meetings of, 3-6
Frierson, William Joe, 200
Frost Collection, 160-161
Frost, Robert, 160
Gaines, Alex P., 225, 266-268
Gaines cottage, 33, 47
Gaines, Frank Henry, 2, 22, 60-65
Gamma Tau Alpha, 52-53
Garber, Paul L., 154
Gary, Julia T., 198-199
Gellerstedt, Lawrence L., Jr., 268-269
General Education Board, 36-37, 38, 53-54,
79, 103
Georgia Foundation for Independent Col-
leges, 158-159
Glee Club, 302
Glick, M. Kathryn, 224
"God of the Marching Centuries," 280
Gooch, Frances K., 284
Grievance Committee, 249-251
Grimes, Lea Ann, 252
Groseclose, Nancy, 183, 237
Guidelines for sale of College property,
253-255
Gymnasium, 72-73
Hannah, William M., 194
Harmon, Mrs. C.E. (Bessie Scott), 57
Hayes, George P., 103, 337
Henderson, R. James, 226, 251
HOASC, 53
Honorary degrees, 84
Honor Scholarship Program, 263-266
Honors Day, 303-305
Honors program, 116-118
Hopkins Jewel, 306-307
Hopkins Hall, 94, 139
Hopkins, Nannette, 5, 20, 92-94
Hutchens, Eleanor N., 132, 323
Inauguration of Wallace M. Alston, 131-133
Inauguration of Marvin Banks Perry, Jr.,
222-224
Independent Study, 142-144
Inman Hall, 47
Inman, Jane Walker, 71
Inman, Samuel Martin, 31, 34-35, 49-51
Inman, Mrs. Samuel M., 57
Internships in college administration, 233
Internship with Georgia Legislature, 217
Investiture, 308
Jackson, Elizabeth Fuller, 149
Johnson, Ann Worthy, 204
Jones, Roberta K., 199, 227
Kenan, William R., Jr., Chair of Chemistry,
200, 227
Kimmel Award, 296
Kirk, Mary Wallace, 57, 58, 256
Kirk Concert Series, 274
Kirkland, Martha C, 227
Kline, C. Benton, Jr., 158, 174, 198
Laney, Emma May, 146, 154, 337-338
Leyburn, Ellen Douglass, 128, 200, 339-340
Literary Societies and Debating, 309-310
Long-range campus planning, 72
Long-range planning committee for late
twentieth century, 236
Loridans Chair of French, 156-157
Lowry Science Hall, 47
MacDougall, Mary Stuart, 341-342
Maclean, Joseph, 343
Marshall, Thomas R., Vice President of the
United States, 51
Marts and Lundy, 169-170
May Day, 311-313
McCain, James Ross, VI, 51, 54, 60-70, 82, 89,
107, 121, 126-128, 131, 165, 187-189
McCain Lectureship, 189-190
McCain Library, 87-88
McCain Library renovation, 248-249
McCain, Paul M., 199
McKinney, M. Louise, 90, 344-345
McKenzie, Virginia Brown, 227
Medical program for employees, 161-162
Mell, Mildred R., 115, 314
391
Miller, James Hull, 186
Mnemosynean Society, 309
Mooney, Kathleen K., 252
Mortar Board, 87
Murphey Candler Building (Hub), 88
Murphy, lone, 252
Newman Prizes, 323
Non-contract employees admitted to medical
program, 199-200
OktoberQuest, 266
Orr, Gustavus J., 1
Orr, Joseph Kyle, 38, 39, 51-52, 90-91
Outside employment of faculty, 214
Parietals, 240-241
Pattillo property, 31
Pendleton, Barbara M. 205, 227
Pepe, Marie H., 237
Pepperdene, Margaret W., 200, 323
Perry, Marvin Banks, Jr., VI, 216, 221-222,
272-273, 275-277
Phi Beta Kappa, 74-76, 248
Pi Alpha Phi, 309-310
Policy on employing faculty members, 191, 197
Political Science as a separate department
from history, 271
Portman, John, 184-185
Posey, Walter B„ 115, 173
Powers of Student Government Association
(1929), 84-85
Presidential "oath," 120-121
Presidential Search Committee of 1945-1948,
120
Presidential Search Committee of 1972-1973,
216
Presidential Search Committee of 1981-1982,
273
Presidents of Agnes Scott, 358
Presidents, Agnes Scott Alumnae Association,
363
Presidents of Student Government, 319-320
President's Advisory Council, 206-209
Presser Hall, 105-106
Probationary appointments to the faculty, 83
Propylean Society, 309
Qualifications of Trustees, 106-107, 239-240
Quarter system, 89
Rebekah Scott Hall, 32
Retirement compensation for emeriti, 227-228
Retirement program, 107-112
Return to college program, 236-237
Revised College bylaws in 1974, 234-235
Rhodes Scholar: I la Leola Burdett, 272
Roberta Powers Winter Theater, 186
Robbins study and report, 191-193
Robinson, Henry A., 154
Rogers, P.J., Jr., 133, 203, 346-347
Sabbatical leaves, 228-230
Scandrett, Carrie, 95, 133, 171, 199, 348-349
Schmidt, Ruth A., 278
Scholarship funds, initial, 26
School of Music, Art, and Expression, 46
Scott, Agnes Irvine, 15-16
Scott, George Bucher, 33
Scott, George Washington, 3, 12, 14-19,28,34
Self-study of 1961-1963, 174-175
Self-study of 1971-1973, 213-214
Semi-centennial, 1939, 95-97
Semi-centennial campaign, 104-105
Session of 1923-1924, 70-71
Seventy-fifth Anniversary Development
Campaign — Conclusion, 172-173
Seventy-fifth Anniversary Development
Campaign Organization, 170-172
Seventy-fifth anniversary development pro-
gram, 140-142, 168-169
Seventy-fifth anniversary long-range planning
committee, 139-140
Seventy-fifth Anniversary Observance, 180-183
Sheats, Mary Boney, 227, 269
Sims, Catherine S., 1 14, 154, 248
Smith, Hal L., VI, 156, 165, 225
Smith, Hal L. and Julia T. Chair of Free
Enterprise, 269
Smith, Lillian S., 29
Smoking, 125-126
Sophomore Parents Weekend, 314
South Decatur-Stone Mountain trolley line,
73-74
Special Committee on Rules and Policies
(SCRAP), 201-202
Speech and Drama as a separate department
from English, 166
Steam plant and laundry, 80
Steele, Laura, 133, 158, 160,226,252,350-351
Stockholders, 9
Stockholders arrangement ended, 22
Stricklar, G.B., 12, 21, 22
Student Government, 315-318
Student health service,- 237
Student Publications, 321-322
Stukes, Samuel Guerry, 95, 133, 146, 157,
352-354
Stukes Scholars, 158
Summer conferences, 234
Summer study abroad, 204
Sweet, Mary Frances, 90, 149
Synod relationships, 27, 55-56
Tart, J.C., 55, 133, 176
Teachers Insurance Association of America
(T.I. A. A.), 205-206
Telephones for each student, 194
Thompson (Hutcheson), Ann Rivers, 226, 252
Thorkelson, Halston Joseph, 78
Tindel, Judith Maguire, 252
392
Trotter, Margret G., 138, 323
Trust Company of Georgia, 107
Trustee bylaws, initial, 23-26
Trustees of Agnes Scott, 359-362
Trustees, initial, 10
Twenty-fifth anniversary, 51
Typhoid epidemic, 47-48
U.S. — India Women's College Exchange
Program, 183
University Center in Georgia, 97-99, 103
Visit of Presbyterian Educators, 165-166
Walters, Frances Winship, 121, 147-149
Walters Hall, 150
Warren, Ferdinand, 161
Waterman, Annie Louise Harrison, 122, 123
Washington semester, 217
White House, 32, 33, 47
Wilburn, Llewellyn, 57, 282
Winship, George, 91-92, 155-156
Winship Hall, 176-177
Winter, Roberta Powers, 284
"Women and Mind Power", 274-275
Women trustees, initial ones, 56-57
Woodruff, George W., 153
World War I, 57
World War II, 112-116
Writers' Festival, 323
Young, Anna Irwin, 355-356
Young, Myrna G., 213
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