Full text of "To live in time: the Sesquicentennial history of Mary Baldwin College 1842-1992"

See other formats

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2010 with funding from

Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation

http://www.archive.org/details/toliveintimesesqOOmenk

To Live In Time

The Sesquicentennial History of

Mary Baldwin College

1842 - 1992

Patricia H. Menk

"We aim to prepare each child

to live in time with a wise

reference to eternity."

Board of Trustees in Address to the Citizens of
Augusta County, September 1842

Mid Valley Press

Verona, Virginia

1992

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 0-9633486-0-4

To the trustees, administrators, staff, faculty and employees
and, especially, to the many generations of students for whom all
this was done and without whom there would be no Mary Baldwin
College

and

For Karl,

who always wanted me to write

a book.

Preface

During the many years that I have been a student and a
teacher of history, I can honestly say that institutional history did
not particularly interest me. When I thought about it at all, I had
visions of dry board minutes, budget and audit reports, balance
sheets and deficits. My own inclinations were toward narrative,
chronological accounts, biography and social and cultural devel-
opments. When I found time and discipline to write a book, it
would reflect these orientations.

Therefore it was with some misgivings that, in early 1988, I
agreed to "update" Mary Watters', Historv of Mary Baldwin
College. Distinguished as it was. Dr. Watters had concluded her
work in 1942 and there had been no major historical account
written since that time. The need was obvious, the timing
appropriate, the Sesquicentennial Committee included many
colleagues and friends whom I respected and cherished, and so I
began work.

Shortly thereafter, I came across a statement which has
altered and challenged my perceptions of institutional history
ever since. "To examine the histories of institutions, to look in the
institutional mirror, is often an act of deep bravery for people
because of what they find and what they might find." (Rayna
Green, "To Lead and to Serve", Symposium on American Indus-
trial Education at Hampton Institute. Virginia Foundation for
the Humanities and Public Policy, 16 September 1989.)

This book is what I have found. There are events which we
wish had not happened, but they did and they are included. There
is much - a good deal - to praise. Inevitably, as I might have
guessed it would, this became a book about people, not balance
sheets. It is about crises and struggle, about heartbreak and
triumph, about ordinary and extraordinary students and their
parents, faculty and their families, presidents and their staffs,
alumni, trustees - about all the women and men who have become
part of our story.

No one writes a book of this sort without the encouragement
and assistance of many who make up a college community. Some
of the names appear below, but there are many more. I must take
special note of my colleagues in the History faculty who so
generously welcomed back a retired professor who would not stay
retired, of William C. Pollard, College Librarian, and of Dr.Cynthia
H. Tyson, without whose support this history would never have
been written.

June 1992

Patricia H. Menk

Professor of History, Emerita

Mary Baldwin College

Sesquicentennial Committee:

William C. Pollard, Chairman

Subcommittee on College History:
Thomas H. Grafton, Chairman
Martha S. Grafton
Kenneth W. Keller

History Faculty:
Mary Hill Cole
Kenneth W. Keller
Robert H. Lafleur
Daniel A. Metraux

Library Staff:

William C. Pollard, Librarian

Lisabeth Chabot

Lucy Crews

Elaine King

Charlene Plunkett

Kate Richerson

Virginia Shenk

Readers:

Marjorie B. Chambers
Fletcher Collins, Jr.
Martha S. Grafton
Thomas H. Grafton
Mary E. Humphreys
Dolores Lescure
Carolyn P. Meeks
Dorothy Mulberry

Audio-Visual Staff:
William Betlej
Vickie Einselen
Cassie Roberson

Computer Center:
Tim Bowers
Dale Kennedy
Alan Stamp
Brent Taylor
Carolyn Wilt

Student Assistants:
Staci Buford
Leigh Jennings
Heather Kluchesky
Denise Lockett
Sharon Scott
Beth Stevens
Stephanie Tyler
Veronica Vicente

Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation:
Katharine Brown
Dolores Lescure

Partial funding

for this

sesquicentennial history

has been provided by

members of the

Class of 1971

in memoiy of

their

classmate

Mary Louise Beehler Belitz,

a history major

and student of

Dr. Menk.

Contents

One Miss Baldwin's School 1

Two From Seminary to College, 1897-1929 35

Three Another Beginning:

The Jarman Years, 1929-1945 75

Four A Time of Transition:

The Triumvirate, 1945-1957 159

Five Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and
Academic Excellence:
Samuel R. Spencer, 1957-1968 207

Six New Dimensions:

WiUiam W. Kelly, 1969-1976 329

Seven The Turn- Around College:

Virginia L. Lester, 1976-1985 425

Eight Epilogue: To Ensure the Future

Cynthia H. Tyson, 1985- 481

Illustrations

Rufus William Bailey xii

Rufus Bailey's Birthplace - Yarmouth, Maine xii

Sketch of Mary Julia Baldwin 34

Baldwin Home - Winchester, Virginia 34

Ella Claire Weimar 37

William Wayt King 37

Abel Mclver Fraser 43

Marianna Parramore Higgins 43

Lewis Wilson Jarman 74

Martha Stackhouse Grafton 91

Frank Bell Lewis 158

Charles Wallace McKenzie 158

Samuel Reid Spencer, Jr 206

Marguerite Hillhouse 253

Anne Elizabeth Parker 290

William Watkins Kelly 328

Virginia Laudano Lester 424

Cynthia Haldenby Tyson 480

Abbreviations Cited in Notes

AFS - Augusta Female Seminary

AN - Alumnae Newsletter; after 1960, MBB, Mary Baldwin

Bulletin
BS - Bluestocking
BT - Board of Trustees
CC - Campus Comments
CAT- Catalogue

EC - Executive Committee, Board of Trustees
FC - Finance Committee, Board of Trustees
Fac - Minutes of the Meeting of the Faculty
HB - Student Handbook
MBC- Mary Baldwin College
MBS - Mary Baldwin Seminary
Misc - Miscellany

SM - Minutes of the Administrative Staff Meetings
SGA - Student Government Association Constitutions and

Minutes
SV - Minutes of the Synod of Virginia; Synod of the Virginias

Rufus William Bailey

Rufus Bailey s Birthplace - Yarmouth, Maine

ONE

MISS BALDWIN'S SCHOOL

^L h(

he year was 1842. The inhabit-
ants of the pleasant httle town of Staunton in the Shenandoah
Valley of Virginia reflected the optimism of their fellow country-
men as the economy of the United States rebounded from the
Panic of 1837. Staunton was the seat of Augusta County and the
center of a thriving agricultural community with a population of
about 4000. Built on several hills, served by the Valley turnpike
which ran south from Winchester, by numerous mountain passes
to the east and west and the Shenandoah River flowing north to
the Potomac, Staunton was a trading, banking, commercial cen-
ter. There were numerous gi'ist mills in the vicinity and flour,
cereal products, fruits and vegetables were sent by wagon to
Winchester, Richmond and Lewisburg. There were grazing lands
as well and cattle, sheep and hog products provided sustenance
and profit. There was some mining activity and modest manufac-
turing. Woolen blankets, shoes and boots were produced locally as
were heavy wagons and their parts, wheels, axles and harnesses
and the support systems needed for a horse and oxen transporta-
tion society. There was the county court house (a building had
stood on the site since 1745), a jail, a mental hospital, banks, many
churches, inns, taverns, two hotels, storage facilities and ware-
houses (called the Wharf). There were prosperous homes, some
reflecting the popular Greek Revival architecture of the period,
others more modest but comfortable. There were no public educa-
tional facilities, but several small private institutes or academies

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

existed, mainly concerned with the education of boys. There were
two newspapers, and a social life that centered on church and
family. The area was considered healthy, far from the yellow fever
and cholera of eastern Virginia seaports, and it was undeniably
beautiful — ringed by the Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains
and the fertile fields of the Valley. The population was mixed;
Piedmont Virginians from the east merged with the Scots-Irish
and German families who had come down the Valley Pike from
Pennsylvania and Maryland in the 18th century. There were
about 800 blacks, perhaps 22% of the population. Although pre-
dominantly slaves, there were a few free "persons of color."

The 1840s was a decade of reform all over the United States.
It was characterized by organized volunteerism which foreign
visitors commented on with astonishment and amusement. Middle
class men, and increasingly women, formed societies to remedy
the flaws that they perceived in their republic. Often their motives
were mixed and not entirely disinterested, but no social issue was
unexamined. Prison reform, improvement in the treatment of
the insane and of orphan children, control of excessive use of
alcohol, Americanization of immigrants, better conditions for
factory workers. Christian missionaries to western Indian tribes
and the distant Pacific islands, world peace, the abolition of
slavery, the settlement of free blacks in Liberia, Utopian societies,
a literary and artistic renaissance — all these engaged the ener-
gies of the reformers. The railroad era had begun and both
transportation and communication were more quickly and reli-
ably available than ever before. The message of the reformers
followed the expansion of the country. By 1850, the United States
would stretch to the Pacific Ocean.

No reform was more enthusiastically embraced than educa-
tion. Long exposed to the concept that the preservation of repub-
lican liberties required moral, virtuous and literate citizens,
Americans in the 1840s created and supported innumerable
academies, institutes and seminaries as well as some public
school systems in New England and the Midwest. Both boys and
girls were to be educated, usually separately, in the moral and
civic virtues appropriate to their country's needs and for their own
individual satisfaction. Girls shared these opportunities because
they were destined to be the mothers of the future republican
generations and were to be models for their sons and daughters.
By mid century there were those who were suggesting that women
possessed the intellectual and emotional capacity to aspire to

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

higher education and had community as well as family obliga-
tions. In response, some schools were established for girls and
young women.

These seminaries were usually identified with a religious
denomination which provided guidance and occasionally some
financial support and were often proprietary in nature; that is, the
founder (usually male) employed the faculty, managed the fi-
nances and lived off the profits from tuition and gifts. This was the
era of New England intellectual imperialism. Teachers and re-
formers carried throughout the nation the message of family
values, Christian morals, and republican virtues. Many of them
came to the South.

Thus it was that in the summer of 1842, somewhat mysteri-
ously, Presbyterian clergyman Rufus W. Bailey and his family
appeared in Staunton. He was 49 years of age and had been born
in Maine, although he had lived and worked in several New
England states. He was well-educated with degrees from
Dartmouth College and Andover Theological Seminary and had
served both as a minister and a teacher. He had also organized
Pittsfield (Massachusetts) Female Academy. In 1827, citing rea-
sons of health for his move south, he was dismissed to the
Presbyterian church at Darlington, South Carolina. In the next
decade he served several Presbyterian churches and academies in
that area. By 1839, he was in North Carolina where, among other
activities, he was in charge of a female seminary at Fayetteville.
He also began a connection with the American Colonization
Society, whose activities were of considerable interest to him until
the mid- 1850s. How and why he came to Staunton, no one seems
to know. It does not appear that he had either family connections
or a sponsor, but he was a gifted preacher, an able organizer,
apparently an affable and persuasive individual, with a national
reputation as an author and editor of didactic literature. He
approached local Presbyterian ministers and influential mem-
bers of the community and proposed that an Augusta Female
Seminary be established under Presbyterian auspices but open to
other young women as well. His suggestion was met with favor, a
"Plan or Constitution" was drawn up, 15 of the leading citizens of
the community agreed to serve on the board of trustees, which
would be self-perpetuating. Space was rented in a downtown
building, a notice was published in the Staunton Spectator and
the first session opened with an enrollment of 50 students;
subsequent years saw an increase to 65, apparently the average

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

enrollment until the crisis years of the late 1850s.

Pleased with his success in attracting students, Dr. Bailey
immediately set about securing a charter from the Virginia State
General Assembly. The process took until 30 January 1845, by
which time the board of trustees had already made an agreement
with the Staunton Presbyterian Church to build a "suitable"
school building, "not less than 30' by 50'," two stories tall, on land
next to the church and owned by it. One room of the building was
reserved for church use as a lecture room and the building itself
was guaranteed to the trustees "in perpetuity" provided that 3/4
of the board of trustees should be ministers or members of the
Staunton Presbyterian Church (today called First Presbyterian
Church). A building committee was appointed, public subscrip-
tions were solicited, some board members pledging to be respon-
sible for the sum needed to build, and the cornerstone was laid on
15 June 1844, with solemn and appropriate ceremony in the
pouring rain. Enclosed in the cornerstone, among other docu-
ments, was the Holy Bible with the inscription "The only Rule of
Faith, and the First Textbook of the Augusta Female Seminary."
The building in neo-classical style was ready by September 1844,
and has been in continuous use ever since. It has always been
called "Main" or "Administration." In the early years of the
seminary, there were no residential students; rather than provide
housing for them, the trustees arranged to board them with
approved families in the city, "where social and domestic habits
may be cultivated," and where, it was suggested, epidemics could
be avoided . The school building itself was used only for classes and
study purposes. However, by 1857, two annexes had been con-
structed, again paid for by public subscription, which provided
accommodations for the principal and his family and 15 to 20
boarding students.

The influence and philosophy of Rufus W. Bailey in establish-
ing and shaping the future of the seminary are of major signifi-
cance. He proposed the board of trustees, secured a charter which
gave legal permanence to the seminary, and secured the funds for
and helped design its first building, thus setting the architectural
style for the next 150 years. His philosophy of education, particu-
larly of women's education, put him in the vanguard of this hotly
debated reform. When he came to Staunton, he had two daughters
whom he had sent to school in Philadelphia ( apparently after their
mother's early death). He wrote to them a series of letters which
were later published as Daughters at School. These, combined

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin's School

with the public statements he made in Staunton as he sought to
open his seminary, are equally revealing. Each pupil was to have
first, he wrote, a "solid and useful education and then to supply
that which is ornamental so far as may be required..." Further, he
explained:

"The place, then, which the female occupies in society and the
influences she exerts require the most complete moral and intel-
lectual education to prepare her for her duties... she ought to have
her mind and character formed by whatever can adorn or give
strength to the intellect. And why should she not? She has a whole
life to live — why not spend it rationally?" And later he observed,
"Our wives are the guardians of our liberties" and must know the
"physical, intellectual and moral nature" of their society and their
obligation to it.

It was anticipated that there would be young children, the
"elementary class," as well as older students. Indeed, the primary
grades were essential; only there could a student be prepared for
the rigors of the "Second and First Class" curriculum. Most
seminaries had these primary departments; Augusta Female
Seminary had "little girls" well into the 20th century.

But it was Dr. Bailey's intention to provide the older pupils
with subjects similar and equal to those provided their brothers —
an area with which he was familiar since, in addition to other
female academies, he had taught and presided over male institu-
tions as well. The upper classes would include English Grammar,
Rhetoric and Composition, Comprehensive History, Geography,
Astronomy, Natural and Moral Philosophy, Etymology (a special
interest of Dr. Bailey), Elements of Natural Science, Geometry,
Algebra, and Bookkeeping. Extra classes included Latin, Greek,
French, and Music, vocal and instrumental on Piano Forte,
Guitar, and Organ, drawing and painting ("they are studies of
real utility... [they] promote habits of attention and discrimina-
tion...," he said). Good health was to be promoted by "employment
of mind and body" — diet and exercise which involved promenades
up and down the brick walk in front of the school. All final
examinations were held in public and members of the board of
trustees and the townspeople attended to view students parse
sentences, do intricate math problems, and recite soliloquies. A
library and a scientific laboratory were set up. Thus Dr. Bailey
supported demanding curricula for women and saw women as
rational individuals with the right to self-improvement. A great
many of his countrymen in the 1840s disagreed, certain that the

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

strain of such intellectual activities would render the female
nervous, masculinized, or mentally distraught. It is to the credit
of the moderation and good sense of the Valley families that they
supported Augusta Female Seminary and the four or five other
similar schools which were founded in Staunton in the years after
1842.

The school year was divided into two sessions of five months
each. School opened 1 September and closed 1 July. There were no
vacations and Thanksgiving (not yet a national holiday) and
Christmas were spent at the seminary. Study hours were eight to
noon, two to four p.m. and seven to nine p.m. There was required
attendance at a Sunday presentation by the principal after which
all the students attended worship services at the Presbyterian
Church. It was noted that "No visiting or attentions to the pupils
by young persons of the other sex shall be allowed..."

Dr. Bailey was assisted in the school by his second wife
Marietta, by his two adult daughters, Mary and Harriet, and later
by a niece and a cousin, both from Maine. He was apparently an
inspiring teacher. A pupil wrote of him, "blessings on that red
head of his, which housed such an efficient brain, and such a
genial interest in the progress of humanity."

Dr. Bailey, like most Americans, was fascinated by technology
and the progress it would bring. Shortly after the invention of the
telegraph, he secured a "Boston Lecturer" and set up a demonstra-
tion in the main lecture hall at the seminary. He called it "tamed
lightning." He was also deeply committed to a railroad for Staunton
and followed the digging of the necessary tunnels through the
Blue Ridge with great interest. However, he had left Staunton
before the railroad finally reached the Valley town in 1854.

Dr. Bailey was a restless soul. He seldom had stayed long in
one location and probably lived for a greater length of time in
Staunton than he ever lived elsewhere. By 1848, he had informed
the trustees that the state of his health required a less "sedentary
occupation" and proposed to resign as Principal of Augusta Fe-
male Seminary as soon as a successor could be found. Indeed, he
may have worked side by side for a time with the Reverend Samuel
Matthews, who became Principal in 1849. Dr. Bailey continued to
reside in Staunton, although he was often absent for long periods.
He had renewed his contacts with the American Colonization
Society and had become their agent for western Virginia. By the
mid- 1850s he was in Huntsville, Texas associated in various
capacities with the pioneer Presbyterian College of Texas (later

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin s School

Austin College). He died there in 1863.

It is to Rufus Bailey that the present Mary Baldwin College
owes several of its characteristics: its architectural style, its
downtown location, its commitment to excellence in teaching and
learning from a difficult curriculum, its Christian orientation and
its belief in the capacities of women. Dr. Bailey was wise in his
insistence that a board of trustees be legally responsible for the
institution. Many of the early seminaries and academies closed
because they were associated with a particular founder who, when
he left or died, had no legal successor. Augusta Female Seminary
was fortunate in a devoted and dedicated board. They regularly
supervised the work of the seminary, attended its progi^ams,
pledged financial resources and undertook the difficult task of
finding suitable principals after Dr. Bailey's resignation. They
were educated, successful men; it is interesting to note that their
composition is not unlike the present board (1992); there were five
Presbyterian ministers, a physician, merchants, planters, law-
yers, and men of political significance. Dr. Addison Waddell had
been one of the first to be appointed and was one of Dr. Bailey's
most admiring supporters. When he died in 1855, his son Joseph
A. Waddell took his place and served for over 60 years. Without his
wise support and counsel, the seminary might well have closed, as
all other such institutions in Staunton did by 1863. Others of note
are Reverend Francis McFarland, the first president of the board,
who was succeeded by his son, J. W. McFarland, and a grandson,
W. B. McFarland. There were McFarlands on the board until the
mid-twentieth century. There was also the Reverend Benjamin
Smith, as convinced as Rufus Bailey of the necessity for women's
intellectual opportunities. Educated at Hampden-Sydney and in
Prussia, Smith became a leading advocate in Virginia for public
education. He was the minister at Tinkling Spring and the
Presbyterian church in Waynesboro before becoming the minister
at the church in Staunton (1845-1854). It was during his term on
the board that the two annexes were added to Main, and his
influence on the curriculum of the seminary was second only to
that of Dr. Bailey.

In these early days, most of Augusta Female Seminary's
clientele was from the city or the county, and the community was
proud of the school. It must have been with some dismay that they
viewed the succession of principals, who seldom stayed more than
a year or two, who followed Dr. Bailey in office.

Although the 1850s were a time of general prosperity and

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

optimism in the United States, and especially in the South, it was
a difficult time for Augusta Female Seminary. There were six
principals (all male) in a fifteen year period, and enrollment at one
time shrank to "a dozen pupils. " It should be noted that Dr. Joseph
R. Wilson, pastor of the Staunton Presbyterian Church, assumed
general supervision of the school in 1855-1856. His son, Thomas
Woodrow, born in the Presbyterian manse in 1856, would later
become President of the United States. Even after leaving Staunton,
the Wilsons remained interested in Augusta Female Seminary.
Their daughters attended the school after the Civil War, as did
various nieces and cousins. The last principal in this interim was
John B. Tinsley (1857-1863). Under his administration, the an-
nexes were opened for boarding students, the enrollment in-
creased to the level of Dr. Bailey's day, new equipment was
purchased, and the curriculum modestly expanded.

By 1861, the United States was at war with itself, and the fate
of the seminary, the town of Staunton, of Virginia, and of the
entire South would ultimately depend on the outcome of armed
conflict. The Shenandoah Valley was the "breadbasket of the
Confederacy," and Staunton, its largest town, a transportation,
communication center and a staging area for Confederate troops.
Within a year of the start of hostilities, severe inflation and
military commandeering of supplies had brought wartime short-
ages and economic hardships. Hostile armies roamed the Valley,
and parents kept their children at home. The several academies
and institutes in Staunton discontinued their services. Their
buildings became military hospitals, prisoner of war barracks,
and warehouses. John Tinsley struggled to keep Augusta Female
Seminary viable, but in the summer of 1863 he informed the board
of trustees that he was resigning as principal and planning to
leave Staunton. No one else appeared to be available to take over
the operation of the school, and the board was preparing to
announce that the seminary was closing when Joseph A. Waddell
proposed that two women, Mary Julia Baldwin and Agnes R.
McClung, be appointed joint principals, observing wryly "no man
would at that time have accepted the position." The two women
agreed, and Augusta Female Seminary opened for its regular fall
session on 1 October 1863 with 80 pupils, 22 of whom were
boarders. There was one building, almost no furniture or equip-
ment, capital, or staff. By 1897, when Miss Baldwin died, there
were five buildings, an able faculty, financial stability, and a
student body numbering 250. By then "Miss Baldwin's School"

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin s School

was considered one of the most distinguished educational institu-
tions for young women in the southern states.

When Rufus Bailey opened his seminary in the fall of 1842, a
quiet, shy 13-year-old girl, Mary Julia Baldwin, had been among
the pupils enrolled. Four years later she graduated, first in her
class and apparently much influenced by her teacher. She had
great respect and affection for Dr. Bailey, and her later life
reflected his insistence on high academic standards, his devotion
to Christian precepts, and his belief in community responsibility.
Mary Julia was an orphan and had lived with her maternal
grandparents, John and Mary Sowers, most of her life. Captain
Sowers was a prosperous merchant, and there were many Sowers,
Heiskell, and Baldwin relatives in Staunton and Winchester.
Mary Julia thus lived the protected and secure life of a southern
gentle lady — at least until her 34th year. After completing her
work at Augusta Female Seminary, she returned there occasion-
ally for additional studies in French and music and perhaps to
tutor. For many years she taught a Sunday School class of young
girls at Staunton's Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Waddell, who
admired her teaching skills from his own unruly classroom (for
boys) across the hall, had known her from childhood. She spent
one winter in Philadelphia (1853-54) with Baldwin relatives
studying, reading, attending concerts and art exhibitions. Per-
haps she sought medical assistance there as well, since an illness,
early in her childhood, left one side of her face paralyzed and
withered. She was sensitive about her appearance but not, as
Mary Watters explained, "morbid" about it, and she pursued
community activities with competence and dedication. However,
because of her disfigurement, she would permit no portraits (or
later, photogi'aphs) to be made of her. There exists only one sketch
which a mischievous pupil at the seminary made secretly. Miss
Baldwin is by a chair in prayer with her little dog Midget sitting
on her bustle. It is a charming sketch but does not reveal much of
Miss Baldwin's face. Mary Julia returned from Philadelphia in
the mid 1850s to live with her widowed grandmother, to teach
young black children to read and write, and later to begin a girls
school called the Bee Hive Academy. It was at this point that Mr.
Waddell proposed that she assume the academic responsibility for
Augusta Female Seminary. She would be assisted in the house-
keeping department by Agnes R. McClung (Mr. Waddell's sister-
in-law), and the two ladies were given full authority to hire
teachers, establish the curriculum, purchase supplies and equip-

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

ment, set tuition rates, and to divide the profits (if any) between
them. It was understood that, at some future time, they would pay
the board of trustees rent for the use of the Administration
Building; but in the circumstances of wartime inflation that
consideration was postponed.

Waddell notes that "Misses McClung and Baldwin had long
been intimately acquainted and were, in most respects, kindred
spirits, earnest, philanthropic Christian women." They turned
out to be far more than that. Mary Julia Baldwin proved to be an
excellent administrator and a keen businesswoman; she selected
her faculty carefully, and many of them became so attached to her
and to the seminary that they stayed all of their lives. Her
students admired and respected her, and the affection many of
them felt for her served to enforce the discipline of a 19th century
boarding school far better than more punitive measures would
have done.

Miss McClung was an able housekeeper. During the war
years, furnishings, linen, table services, even pots and pans, had
to be borrowed from friends and relatives. The students them-
selves were required to bring their own candles, towels, sheets,
"heavy covering" for a bed, napkins, and a cup. Procuring and
saving food supplies was an almost daily struggle. Commissary
units of both armies made regular raids on civilian resources, and
oft-repeated stories of flour barrels concealed under crinolines
disguised as dressing tables, firewood hidden in dark cellars,
hams concealed among bedclothes beside a young girl with a
heavily powdered face simulating severe illness, corn in school
desks, bacon and lard in an empty stove, the school cow concealed
in a wooded area, have been repeated by generations of Mary
Baldwin students. During the last years of the war, tuition and
board could be paid either in Confederate money ($1500 for a half
session) or by $67.50 worth of food and supplies. A broadside
noted pointedly, "Currency will not be received from those who
can pay in produce." Books were likewise hard to secure. Appeals
were made to the pupils' parents that they lend dictionaries,
grammar and algebra books and other appropriate titles from
their own personal libraries.

Before the school opened in October 1863, Dr. W. H. McGuffey
had come from Charlottesville to Staunton to advise Miss Baldwin
about curriculum. Already famous for his Readers, Dr. McGuffey
was on the faculty of the University of Virginia, whose curriculum
he adapted for Augusta Female Seminary, modified only by the

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

"peculiar requisites of female education." There were to be three
departments, Primary, Academic and Collegiate, a division simi-
lar to that of Dr. Bailey's in the 1840s. The Collegiate course (later
called the University course), however, reflected Miss Baldwin's
conviction that women had mental and intellectual abilities equal
to men's and that they should be taught accordingly. There were
seven "schools" (English Literature, History, Mental and Moral
Science, Mathematics, Natural Science, Modern Languages, and
Ancient Languages), the completion of each constituting "a com-
plete course on the subject taught." Certification in all seven was
necessary to be considered a "full graduate" and Dr. McGuffey
warned Miss Baldwin that she was making the requirements so
difficult that the seminary might not be popular. In fact, only 88
young women completed the University course during Mary Julia
Baldwin's lifetime, but hundreds of others studied some of the
subjects involved.

The first "full graduate" under this revised curriculum was
Nannie Tate, who completed her studies in 1866. Her older sister,
Mattie, was in charge of the Primary Department and Nannie,
after assisting with English and French, soon joined her. When
Mattie died, "Miss Nannie" was made head of the Preparatory
Department. She resigned in 1919, having spent more than 60
years at the seminary.

Agnes McClung, although older than Miss Baldwin, became
her dearest friend. When she joined Miss Baldwin at the semi-
nary, she was accompanied by her mother, who was the sister of
a well-known Presbyterian minister, Archibald Alexander of
Princeton, New Jersey, and whose acquaintance with many church
families undoubtedly encouraged enrollments. The young stu-
dents called Mrs. McClung "grandmother" and, during the alarms
of the war period, would gather in her room ("as many as thirty of
them") for protection and comfort.

Mary Julia Baldwin and Agnes McClung accepted the chal-
lenge of directing the seminary in part because each needed some
means of financial support. Although Mary Julia had a modest
inheritance from h er father and her grandparents (perhaps $4000 —
some of it eventually in Confederate bonds). Miss McClung had to
depend on relatives for a home and support. She had contem-
plated opening a boarding house when Mr. Waddell had ap-
proached her in 1863. The acceptable means for unmarried
middle-aged ladies in the 1860s to earn money were few. Heroic
as it now seems for these two women to try to keep the seminary

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

open in wartime, the opportunity afforded them a chance at
financial independence. They agreed that any profits from the
school would be divided between them, two-thirds to Miss Baldwin
and one-third to Miss McClung. In the years after the war's
conclusion, they bought real estate jointly and also held joint title
to the seminary's furnishings. When Agnes McClung died in 1880,
she left all of her portion of these holdings to Mary Julia Baldwin,
the real estate to go to the board of trustees after Miss Baldwin's
death.

This peculiar arrangement perhaps helps to explain why so
many of Miss Baldwin's friends and relatives found refuge at the
school in the post-war years. Her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs.
Wade Heiskell, lived there for twelve years (1880-92); another
aunt, Caroline Sowers Crawford (only seven years older than
Mary Julia), taught piano for a number of years. Her daughter,
Mary, became a full seminary graduate, studied in New York, and
returned to teach at the seminary in 1874. Mary Crawford later
married but, after being widowed, returned as a voice teacher
until her death in 1893. Two other cousins, Julia and Emma
Heiskell, were on the seminary faculty in the 1860s. On another
occasion, the widow of a Presbyterian missionary and her two
daughters were invited to make their home with Miss Baldwin
and did so for one year.

What was Mary Julia Baldwin like? Although we have no
picture, there are several descriptions (some rather sentimental)
as alumnae and friends remembered her in later years. She was
about five and a half feet tall, perhaps 140 pounds, her hair "dusty
brown" and "carefully arranged and brushed over her ears." Her
"eyes were intellectual gray ones" and she was noted for a
beautiful complexion and graceful, lovely hands. She loved pretty
clothes, was always well-groomed and conservatively dressed, but
she was fond of jewelry, had lace, silk, and velvet, and even a
sealskin coat. By all accounts, she was a gifted teacher; in the
early years of her administration she often taught eight hours a
day and seemed to have a special affinity for young women,
although she had few illusions about school-girl attitudes. In a
letter to an unhappy father, whose daughter had apparently been
carrying out a clandestine correspondence with a young man,
Miss Baldwin wrote, "If Fannie would only consent to give up all
thought of boys until her education is completed and apply herself
to her studies, she would make one of the loveliest, most attractive
women I know. . .but if young people are bent on correspondence,

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin's School

there is no limit to their ingenuity." Miss Baldwin was often
considered formal and dignified and "perfectly self reliant," but
she once confided in Mr. Waddell, "People think me very strong
and stern — they little know how I suffer." If she had to dismiss an
ineffective teacher or to send home an insubordinate pupil, "tears
flowed down her cheeks." When Waddell suggested that if the
strain of her position was too great, she should retire, she an-
swered, "No, too many persons are benefitted by my continuing
here and I must remain."

In a memorable letter to Agnes McClung, Miss Baldwin wrote:

We have been living together for more
than sixteen years, and I can truly say that
each year has drawn me more closely
to you by revealing traits of character that
call forth my deepest respect and warmest
love. . . I want you to know and feel that
I love you dearly and esteem you more highly
than any other living friend... You know that
I am not at all demonstrative, and that only
deep sincere feeling would have drawn
forth this confession of affection...

And one other recollection from a relative, Margaret Stuart
(Robertson):

Dear Cousin Mary, so many of her
geese were swans in her eyes! I often think
the disposition to see and believe the best
of all of us educated us up to a higher
standard of right and honor; it is so
sweet yet so humiliating to be believed
better than we are.

The "hidden" Miss Baldwin also emerges in her love of ani-
mals, flowers, and her garden. For many years, the front of the
west annex of Main Building was glass enclosed to create a
"conservatory." Here, flowers and perhaps plants for the botany
classes were grown, and Miss Baldwin's collection of "rare birds of
brilliant plumage from Java, Syria and South America" were
kept. In particular, a large green parrot was a favorite and he
would often accompany the principal to the dining room, sitting on

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin's School

the back of her chair and demanding tribute. There were also cats
and, most important, a succession of dogs: Leo, Rollo, and later
Midget and Beauty. They, too, accompanied her everywhere, the
bells on their collars giving notice of her coming . We are told that
the students took the bells for souvenirs and that they clipped so
many curls from Beauty's coat for their memory books that he was
in danger of being denuded. Some time before 1880, two terra
cotta sculptures of Beauty appeared, fastened to the pillars at the
front entrance of Main Building. No one knows who provided
them, but they are the symbol of Miss Baldwin's School. Named
by the students at various times as "Caesar" and "Pompey," later
as "Blucher and Wellington," they eventually emerged as "Ham"
and "Jam" (two important ingredients of Sunday night suppers),
and for over a century have welcomed generations of Mary
Baldwin students.

There are other glimpses of Mary Julia's character. During
the war years, there were few men to offer protection from
marauding soldiers, stragglers, and thieves. On at least one
occasion, at night, when the panicked cry of "A man, a man," arose.
Miss Baldwin chased the intruder into the yard, raised a poker
which she was carrying as though it were a gun, and ordered him
to leave. He did, speedily.

Waddell takes note of Mary Julia's many charities. "She was
liberal to a fault in her contributions to religious and benevolent
causes and to many individuals." She was a life-long member of
First Presbyterian Church and contributed generously; some
records assert that she provided up to 60% of all of the mission
offerings the church made during her lifetime. In her will. Miss
Baldwin left $20,000 to First and Second Presbyterian Churches
and to Foreign and Home Missions, and her few remaining letters
of a personal nature reflect her deep faith and trust in God and her
concern for those less fortunate than she. In a letter to Anna M.
Gay (10 March 1887), Mary Julia writes:

A happy life must be one spent in doing
good in our home circles and to all with
whom we come in contact. I cannot conceive
of greater misery than a life spent in
selfish indulgence.

Thus Mary Julia emerges — earnest, disciplined, sincere, lov-
ing, presiding over a large intergenerational group of students,

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

faculty, family, friends, and servants. That she felt the weight of
her responsibilities is obvious. She worried about her students,
their health, their religious convictions, their seriousness of
purpose. She felt the necessity of making a financial success of
"her" school, because faculty (many of whom had no other home),
relatives and servants (some of whom like "Uncle Chess" had been
her slaves) all depended on her to shelter and provide for them.
She developed many skills; she became an experienced book-
keeper, a typist (she called it "printing"), a purchasing agent, a
recruiter. She prepared catalogue material for the printer and
sent personalized reports home to parents. She planned alter-
ations to existing buildings and the construction of new ones. She
furnished parlors and public rooms at the seminary with Victo-
rian elegance and style, prescribed proper attire for her pupils,
and she listened and sympathized with the emotional upheavals
of young girls and unmarried teachers. It was a remarkable
performance.

Having procured the services of Misses Baldwin and McClung,
the board of trustees appears to have been content to allow them
to run the school. The trustees seldom met, usually only to fill
vacancies, and infrequently to deal with finances. As Watters
explains, "The organization of the Board was simple; there was a
President and a Secretary, but no Treasurer, because they had no
funds and no Executive Committee because there was nothing to
do." But Miss Baldwin did rely for advice and help upon several
trustees. John Wayt, president of the board, was a banker and
advisor on financial matters; Joseph Waddell was always avail-
able; he and his wife visited Miss Baldwin and Miss Agnes
regularly on Sunday afternoons. As the years went on, W. B.
Crawford (an uncle by marriage) became the "Business Agent,"
John Wayt "General Superintendent," and W. F. Butler, the
"clerk."

By the 1870s the congregation of the Staunton Presbyterian
Church felt the need for a larger building, and a complicated
exchange of property and titles ensued which finally resulted in
the seminary acquiring, among other things, title to the land upon
which the Administration Building was built. Miss Baldwin and
Miss McClung had purchased, from their own resources, a large
lot across Frederick Street. This they proposed to donate to the
church in return for the old church building and the lot between
New and Market Streets. In the more relaxed legal atmosphere of
the 19th century, the new Presbyterian Church was built and

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

occupied, and Miss Baldwin had already removed the roof from
the old building, added a third story, and converted the building
into a chapel, study hall, dormitory, dining room, and kitchen-all
before transfer deeds were signed. Finally, in 1872, the legal
processes were completed and the seminary board agreed to give
the principals a 20-year free lease on the property. The 20-year
lease expired 1 August 1891. Waddell observed, "Miss Baldwin
continued to occupy the premises and conduct the school as
previously. No change was thought of." There remained a problem
of the debt incurred when the annexes had been built (1857). Six
trustees had each pledged $500 to compensate for the lack of funds
raised by popular subscription. Four of the men (Tate, Kayser,
Waddell and Trimble) agreed to cancel their loans; a fifth indi-
vidual. Reverend William Browne, was in need of funds and the
two women paid him out of their own resources. The sixth,
General Imboden, "had become insolvent" and arrangements
were made to pay his creditors (who had acquired his note). So
finally, in 1873, the seminary held title to the land and building
with which it had been identified since 1845.

In addition. Miss Baldwin set about acquiring adjacent prop-
erty. Judge L. P. Thompson having died, the ladies, again using
their own resources, purchased from his estate the property from
Market to New Street and eventually the mansion known as Hill
Top, which became a dormitory. Immediately behind the semi-
nary building, the principals had erected "Brick House" (today
McClung) and took up their residence there; and, in 1871, a frame
building constructed half-way up the hill became known as "Sky
High." The campus now encompassed about four acres, and in the
ensuing years a Calisthenic Hall, a bowling alley (quickly con-
verted into classrooms), a covered way, a classroom building
called Strickler Hall, and an infirmary were "thrown up hodge-
podge on the hill." Other purchases involved a lot and four houses
near the new First Presbyterian Church and "the Farm," a 10-acre
tract on the north end of town where the seminary cows were
pastured and vegetables and fruits for seminary use were pro-
duced . ( The "Farm" is now the site of the Staunton Post Office and
the Staunton Medical Center.)

Where did the money to purchase these properties come from?
Except for the Administration Building, they were all the per-
sonal property of the two women and, after Agnes McClung's
death, of Mary Julia Baldwin. They had used their "resources," as
Mr. Waddell explained, by which he meant the tuition and fees

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

that were paid by the students and, later, income derived from
personal investments. Within three years of the ending of the
war, the seminary enrollment was 137; by 1870, there were 176
pupils, and in later years enrollment reached perhaps 250. There
were many years when students were turned away for lack of
space, and three and four girls might share one room (perhaps
even one bed) as Miss Baldwin sought to accommodate late
registrants. The financial success of the school can be explained
by several factors; the area was considered healthful (because of
its elevation) and safe (remote from some of the racial tensions of
the Reconstruction Era). An advertising program was begun
even before the war ended, and Presbyterian ministers, Univer-
sity of Virginia professors, and satisfied parents provided testi-
monials about the excellence of the school and its Christian
environment.

The school, declared Dr. Joseph R. Wilson in 1879, "...is as
near perfection in my judgement as it is possible for human
wisdom to make... A long acquaintance with Miss Baldwin and
Miss McClung warrants me in declaring to all... that there are no
two ladies in the land who are better qualified by nature, by
cultivation, by grace, and now by experience for conducting a
seminaiy...! regard the seminary as a public blessing."

Since he had helped design the curriculum. Dr. McGuffey
might be suspected of some self interest when, after giving the
commencement address in 1866, he declared, "I consider this
school as among the best, if not the very best in the South."

A more disinterested endorsement was provided by the editor
of the Journal of Education. Boston, Massachusetts, when, in
1880, he wrote, "During our recent tour in the South, one
perpetually heard of Augusta Female Seminaiy at Staunton,
Virginia as one of the most deservedly celebrated schools for girls
in that region: taking an honorable rank with the collegiate
institutions for young women that are now coming to be so
important a factor in national education... the thorough and
practical character of its course of study is a nursery of superior
teachers."

And from General John Echols (Vice President, C&O and SW
Railroad Company), "I have known intimately, for the last
eighteen years, the school of Miss Mary J. Baldwin. ..and I take
pleasure in stating in this formal way... that... it is the best
training school for young ladies that I have ever known..."
(General Echols was a long-time member of Augusta Female

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

Seminary's Board of Trustees.)

The Catalogue of 1873 declared, "It [Augusta Female Semi-
nary] is for young ladies what the University of Virginia is for
young gentlemen."

There is no question that, with surprising rapidity after the
end of hostilities, the seminary achieved remarkable success.
Before 1866, almost all the pupils had come from Staunton,
Augusta County or the near vicinity. By 1870, students from
Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North and South Carolina, Louisiana,
Tennessee, Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio were registered. Within
another five years Texas parents were sending their daughters
(and sons) back to Virginia, and a special relationship which has
lasted for more than 100 years was forged between Augusta
Female Seminary and Arkansas.

Although Mary Julia Baldwin had been an honor graduate of
Rufus Bailey's seminary and although she continued throughout
her life to read and study, she felt that she was not fully prepared
to teach all the subjects of the University Curriculum. In the early
days of her tenure, she did indeed teach a great deal, and she
continued for 30 years to present Bible studies and Sunday
afternoon religious "conversations," but she increasingly relied on
her faculty to uphold the high academic standards she demanded.
An important part of her success came from the faculty she
attracted and retained. She, and she alone, was responsible for
selecting the faculty, determining their salaries and their duties,
dismissing or promoting them. In many ways these men and
women (and there always were men, married men, particularly in
the Music Department) were as remarkable as the principal. In
addition to their teaching and the work required to prepare for it,
female teachers who lived at the seminary (and all unmarried
women did) were in constant demand as chaperons and counsel-
ors, were required to direct study halls, and to undertake religious
and social duties. Students had almost continuous access to them
and they were perpetual role models, as well as surrogate parents.

"No effort is spared to make the school as home-
like as possible. One feature peculiar to the school
is the influence exerted by the resident female
teachers on the mind, the heart, the manners of
the pupils. Out of school hours they associate with
them as friends and companions, and, while inspiring
them by their gentle dignity with profoundest

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

respect, win their warmest love by their kindness
and sympathy. Ladies themselves of cultivated
tastes, refined manners and Christian principles,
they illustrate by example lessons taught only
by precept. Consequently young ladies who have
been pupils of this institution for any length of
time are noted for their simplicity of manners,
modest deportment and freedom from affectation."
(Catalogue, 1870-71)

Although it appears that Miss Baldwin left her faculty free to
organize their work as they saw fit and no records remain of any
faculty meetings or organizations, they were often required to
teach in more than one area (perhaps Mathematics and Latin, Art
and Modern Language or English and Bookkeeping) and to more
than one age group. They held few graduate degixes, although the
fine arts faculty had more professional training than did the
literary faculty. The music teachers were often gi'aduates of
conservatories in London, Munich, Leipzig, or Berlin.

During and immediately after the war, Miss Baldwin chose
her faculty from Staunton and the surrounding communities. The
University of Virginia professors contributed a number of their
daughters to her staff: Anna and Eliza Howard (whose father was
a professor of medicine and whose brother-in-law was Dr.
McGuffey), Kate Courtney (her father was a famous mathemati-
cian) and Charlotte Kemper (whose father was the Proctor). They
had been educated by university professors and brought skills and
depth to their teaching. Charlotte Kemper in particular had
further work in Richmond and had studied Latin, French, He-
brew, Spanish, math, and literature. At one time Miss Baldwin
had hoped Miss Kemper might succeed her as principal, but
Charlotte chose, in 1882, to go to Brazil as a missionary, thus
beginning a long-time connection between the seminary girls and
overseas mission activities. Miss Kemper died in Brazil in 1926,
at the age of 90.

Graduates of the seminary were often employed, as well,
although most of them taught in the Primary Department. Two
exceptions were Ella Weimar, who later joined the "university"
faculty and eventually became principal, and Helen Williamson,
who came in 1894 and, with brief interruptions, remained until
her death in 1936.

Several local men were among early faculty members. Major

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

Jed Hotchkiss (late of the Confederate army) taught, for a time,
chemistry and physics, and J. G. Dunsmore directed for many
years the business courses which Miss Baldwin thought practical
and necessary.

As the student population expanded and the school's reputa-
tion grew. Miss Baldwin chose teachers from other areas of the
country, especially from the South. If they were female, they were
to be "ladies" and of a "pious disposition," but she was open to
many varied backgrounds. Almost all the language and music
teachers came from either France or Germany. Students of the
1880s and 1890s remembered with affection and respect Martha
Riddle, who taught history from 1883-1919; Virginia Strickler, for
50 years a teacher of Latin, English and, at one time, business
courses; and Sarah Wright, born in Persia to missionary parents
and educated at Vassar. She came to the seminary in 1881 and
remained for 12 years. She was remembered for her "Yankee
attitudes," her love of hiking and mountain climbing, and her
inspired teaching of English literature. Fritz Hamer, born in
Germany, came to Augusta Female Seminary in 1873, and with
quiet dignity established an almost national reputation for the
school of music of which he was the director. He encouraged his
nephew, C. F. W. Eisenberg, to join him in 1885. Professor
Eisenberg married and remained in Staunton. He and his wife
had a number of daughters, several of whom attended the semi-
nary.

After the 1880s the enrollment rose to about 250, counting day
students, and there was increasing need for administrative assis-
tance. Several women were employed to look after the younger
children when they were not in class, and an attendant for the
infirmary and a consulting doctor were chosen. After Miss
McClung's death, a matron and assistant matron took care of
housekeeping details. By 1882, a librarian had been added to the
administrative staff and, four years later, Miss Baldwin employed
a secretary to assist with correspondence and contracts. He was
succeeded in 1890 by a young graduate of Dunsmore Business
College, William Wayt King, who as business manager played a
major role in the seminary's history after Miss Baldwin's death.
Increasing physical weakness led Miss Baldwin to appoint an
assistant principal in 1889. She chose an alumna and a member
of her faculty, Ella Weimar, who thus had the advantage of
working closely with Miss Baldwin for eight years before the
board of trustees appointed her principal in 1897.

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

If the relationships between the principal and the board of
trustees remained vague and ill-defined in the post bellum era,
and if the financial arrangements and ownership of the physical
properties were even less formalized, the same was true about the
nature of the seminary itself. This was an era in which women's
colleges "as good as men's" were being established (Vassar 1864,
Mills 1876, Wellesley and Smith in 1875). Miss Baldwin was
aware of this development, but neither she nor the board of
trustees appear to have considered the movement relative to their
concerns. The Preparatoiy (primary) department was popular
and served local needs, the Academic provided an education equal
to that which vv^as considered high school, and the University
Course was the equivalent (in their opinion and that of the
graduates) of "any college course in the countiy." They saw no
need to change either their relationships or their organization.
That would be left to their successors.

The curriculum was a different matter, and there were many
additions and modifications as the years went on. A few of these
may be considered. At first the program for the older girls had
stressed mathematics, mental and moral science (a later genera-
tion would call this psychology^ and philosophy) and Latin, much
in the tradition of the classical academy that characterized male
preparatory education for more than a century. Miss Strickler's
Latin Course (one of the University schools) exceeded the Univer-
sity of Virginia's and Vassar's requirements. "Her certificate of
proficiency," Waddell writes, "is as good as the diploma of any
college." Latin remained popular among senior seminary stu-
dents well into the 20th century. As the student body increased,
there was more demand for "modern" languages, and both French
and German had respectable enrollments. There was always a
strong emphasis on English language (grammar and rhetoric) and
literature. Frequent oral dictation exercises were held and origi-
nal compositions were produced at stated intervals. Before gradu-
ation, all students were required to pass an examination in
English. English literature was stressed with translations from
modern French and German literary classics. It was only in the
mid- 1880s that American literature and American history en-
tered the curriculum. Poetiy memorization was another aspect of
19th century learning that the seminaiy emphasized, particu-
larly under the guidance of Sarah Wright, whose strict standards
and inspired teaching made her Miss Strickler's rival. History
courses were heavily weighted toward the classical and Biblical

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

worlds, with senior emphasis on Enghsh and modern European
events. Perhaps the seminary was weakest in the natural sci-
ences— there was more turnover in faculty, laboratories and
equipment were inadequate, and registration was lower than in
other areas.

Miss Baldwin and the parents she served were interested in
providing "fine art" opportunities for the students. This did not
necessarily reflect the Victorian perception that a "lady" could
play the piano "a little," paint fine China "a bit," sing pleasantly,
and draw charmingly. It was more a continuation of Rufus
Bailey's insistence that art broadened and disciplined perception
and that music aroused feelings of sensibility which were most
desirable. In any case, one of Miss Baldwin's first purchases,
during the war, had been a piano to add to the personal one she
had brought with her, and by 1890 the seminary owned (literally
Miss Baldwin owned) two organs and 40 pianos. Almost all the
pupils studied some music, and with six or seven out of 20 faculty
able to offer some musical training, piano, organ, voice and other
instrumental music courses were heavily enrolled. By 1871, a
Conservatory of Music was established, requiring classes in
theory, harmony, and music history. Full-time music teachers'
salaries were derived from the extra fees that their pupils paid,
and these teachers were allowed to have private students as well.
The profit from the fine art courses above the agreed-upon salary
went to the seminary and was a valuable source of income well
into the 20th century.

Another area, not mentioned in Dr. McGuffey's plan, was
"elocution" (speech, drama); by 1871, such a course appeared in
the catalogue. The teacher employed usually taught calisthenics
and health as well, the ability to make oral presentations was
connected directly with physical well-being. By the 1880s a
"school of art" had been established, and work in charcoal, crayon,
pen and ink, pastels, water color and oils was offered, with
"drawings from nature and life models." All pupils were likewise
instructed in map making. By the 1880s, groups of older students
accompanied by faculty would take journeys to visit museums,
county government offices, or historical monuments. Trips to
Richmond and Washington are mentioned in "old girl" memoirs
and, by the 1890s, selected students and faculty went on summer
tours to Europe. Miss Baldwin herself joined such a group in 1890
and returned home, Mr. Waddell declared, "greatly refreshed."

As increasing numbers of seminary graduates became teach-

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

ers (at least until they married) and began to enter other areas of
the business world, Miss Baldwin added Bookkeeping to her
course offerings and later a two year course in Business Training.
(Some of these courses continued well into the 1940s.) "Ladies
should have some knowledge of business... so that they may know
how to protect their own interests when necessary, or if thrown
upon their own resources, secure a competence by... keeping
books..." observed the principal. Considering the impressive busi-
ness skills she had herself, this may well be an observation based
on her own hard experience.

Although the physical health of the pupils had been a matter
of concern and pride since the days of Rufus Bailey, it was
generally considered that sufficient exercise was obtained by the
required "promenades" in the afternoon. By the 1870s, however,
more organized effort was made to assure physical outlets for
young girls' energies. At first called calisthenics, later gymnastics
and physical culture, seminary students bowled, participated in
Swedish drills, played tennis and croquet. The daring step of
adding a swimming pool (it was 12' x 8' x 4' at first and accommo-
dated only four or five at a time) was taken in 1891. Courses in
Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene were added to the curriculum.
The daily walks continued and provided some opportunity for the
young men of the community to at least see Miss Baldwin's girls.

In the era before entrance requirements, standardization of
courses and gi^aduation mandates, seminaries, academies and
even colleges set their own conditions for certificates, medals,
diplomas, and degrees. Miss Baldwin accepted students of all
levels of experience and competence, evaluated their interests
and abilities (and their parents' preferences), and assigned them
to classes without regard to age or prerequisites. If one aspired to
become a full graduate or to acquire certification from the Conser-
vatory of Music, the School of Art or Business Training, then
certain requirements had to be met; but otherwise a student
might attend even for several years without being awarded a
diploma or indeed even desiring one. Some students, entering at
the age of eight or nine, could spend eight or ten years at the
seminary; others might come for a partial term. When space
permitted. Miss Baldwin would accept students entering in late
October or November, and others would leave early in the spring,
perhaps because of family plans or desires.

Although seminaiy students were much in demand as teach-
ers, "...the graduates of this institution have found no difficulty in

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin's School

finding eligible situations," Miss Baldwin observed, the pressures
for some formal recognition of achievement grew. In 1876, provi-
sion was made for a diploma as a "graduate in the Partial Course,"
"...this diploma is offered as an incentive to those who do not care
to complete the course in Higher Mathematics and in Latin which
they must do in order to secure a full Diploma, the highest honor
of the Institution." Many students settled for the "Partial" or for
certificates testifying to particular skills.

As the reputation of "Miss Baldwin's School" increased, so did
the respect and the pride of the town. There are innumerable
references in the local newspapers, and community members
flocked to the musical recitals (performed by both students and
faculty) and attended addresses given by such distinguished
individuals as Dr. McGuffey, Dr. J. Randolph Tucker, Dr. Joseph
R. Wilson and Dr. Moses Drury Hoge. Although examinations
were no longer public occasions, tableaux, pageants, recitations,
dramatic vignettes from Shakespeare, and choral programs pro-
vided public entertainment and instruction and were fulsomely
praised.

In view of later developments, it is interesting to note the
relationship of the seminary to the Presbyterian Church. As with
so much else, there were no formal or legalistic ties, other than the
provisions in the 1843 and 1872 agreements between the semi-
nary trustees and the session that a majority of the trustees be
members of the Presbyterian Church in Staunton. In the early
days of Miss Baldwin's principalship, the entire school, faculty
and students attended services at the Presbyterian Church each
Sunday, and the seminary rented pews close to the the front of the
sanctuary to be certain that the students could hear and be
observed. This pew-rental money provided an important source of
revenue for the church, particularly as the school's enrollment
increased. Miss Baldwin herself was a devout member and con-
tributed both her time and money generously. The minister of the
church, in addition to membership on the board of trustees, was
considered the principal religious advisor for the seminary stu-
dents, but there was not, as yet, a formal chaplain at the school.
In addition to church attendance, Sunday School lessons were
taught to the boarding students by the seminary faculty and often
by Miss Baldwin herself. On Sunday afternoons, students read
religious literature or gathered in the principal's or faculty rooms
for "religious conversation and instruction. " Sunday was observed
as a day of quiet and meditation; no callers were received, and

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin's School

evening services in the chapel concluded the day. In addition,
every morning at nine there was a brief chapel service, as well as
another after supper. Every student memorized a Bible verse each
day, which was repeated in unison at breakfast. They were further
exposed to Biblical precepts, because one penalty for violation of
dormitory rules was to memorize and repeat Psalms, Proverbs or
other Biblical selections. By the 1890s, students who were not
Presbyterian were allowed to attend their own churches once a
month in order to take communion according to their own con-
sciences. From the time of its first public announcement, the
seminary had always insisted it was "evangelical" but not "sectar-
ian" and no religious qualifications were imposed for admittance
or for faculty selection. Scanty but reliable evidence suggests that
in the 19th century, Presbyterians were always the most numer-
ous but were not the majority. (The same has been true in the 20th
century.) Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, "German
Reformed" Christian are other denominations mentioned, and
occasionally a few Jewish girls attended, as well. Faculty prefer-
ences are not recorded, although it is known that the Hamers and
Eisenbergs were Lutheran, and many of the women faculty were
Presbyterian.

Prayer meetings were held on Friday evenings, and in the
1890s a missionary society was formed, since many students
contemplated a life in the mission field. A number of them did
become devout and successful missionaries. The influence of Miss
Baldwin and the seminaiy is reflected not only in the continuing
student interest in Miss Kemper's (and Ruth See's) Brazilian
School, but also in a school in Hwaianfu, China, founded in 1916
b}^ Lily Woods and named in honor of Martha Riddle. Another in
Kunsan, Korea, was established in 1912 by Mrs. Libby Alby Bull,
called "Mary Baldwin School for Girls." In 1894, a local chapter
of the YWCA was founded at the seminary with Miss Baldwin's
enthusiastic support and continued an active role until the 1960s.

There were no required courses in Bible or Religion in Miss
Baldwin's day. It was assumed that dedicated teachers approached
all their subjects from a Christian perspective and that the
religious services of Sunday and daily Chapel provided necessary
instruction. There were not many avenues for expression of
student opinion in these years. There were as yet no student
publications, and "old girl" reminiscences tended to be selective in
their memories; but there does not seem to have been any serious
protest or complaint about the religious requirements. It would be

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

another century and many student generations later before these
19th century relationships were altered.

What was it like to be a student at "Miss Baldwin's School"?
Once the war period was passed and proper furnishings were
obtained, life settled into a routine which changed only gi'adually
over a 30-year period . Although Miss Baldwin undertook consid-
erable building, as has been seen, dormitory space could not keep
up with the demand, and some girls boarded in private homes in
town. Most of them, however, lived at the seminary in rooms
plainly furnished, intended for dressing and sleeping, not for
study and socializing. Studying was done in the Librarj^ across
from Miss Baldwin's office in Main Building or in the study hall
in Chapel, later in Sky High. At first students shared beds, and
three-and four-girl rooms were not unusual, but by the end of the
century students had individual beds. There were screens or
"dressing closets" for modesty's sake, bureaus, straight chairs and
wash stands. The floor was "bare oiled pine and splintery." Later
there were carpets of matting and although one student reported
that "on frosty mornings we usually found ice in our water
pitcher," the Catalogue of 1868-69 said that all rooms were heated
by a gas furnace and had water piped in for the few bathrooms: one
to a building; later one on each floor. In 1887, electric lights were
put in the Chapel Study Hall and later in the Library. Other than
that, gas lights were used in Miss Baldwin's lifetime.

Since seminary students were considered too young for social
life and contact with young men, such relationships were regu-
lated in a manner which, while restrictive in modern eyes, was
wholly in keeping with the conventions of the Victorian era.
Correspondence was limited to family and relatives; the only
males allowed to call were family members who had to present
proper identification and "papers" and then met their sisters or
cousins only in the parlor under strict supervision. A favorite
seminary story is the tale of a young Thomas Woodrow Wilson,
law student at the University of Virginia, who journeyed across
the mountains to visit his cousin, Hattie Woodrow. He and his
friend apparently did not have the necessary "papers," and al-
though his father had been Miss Baldwin's minister and he was
a first cousin of the young lady whom he wished to see, "Uncle
Chess," Miss Baldwin's doorman, told them, "Miss Mary Julia
says if you ain' t got de papers dar ain' t no use your waiting 'case
you can't see de young ladies. . . " In 1912, having been elected
President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson returned for a

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin's School

triumphal visit to his birthplace and recounted the story, saying
he was much more warmly greeted than he had been on his first
visit.

Chaperons were necessary for any expeditions outside the
grounds, even to church, and until the 1890s any "shopping " the
pupils desired to do was done for them by an appointed "teacher."
In later years , this was Helen Williamson.

Distressed by the elaborate and expensive clothes sent by
indulgent parents to their daughters, Miss Baldwin decreed:

Extravagance in dress is neither encouraged
nor desired, and whenever pupils do appear
extravagantly dressed it is contrary to the express-
ed wish of the Principal. A simple white dress with
white trimmings is all that is necessary for
commencements, soirees, and recitals. The dress
worn at the winter soirees must be made high in
the neck and with long sleeves — the material pre-
ferred for this is white Henrietta. A simple white
dress with white trimmings and white hat is the
costume prescribed for commencement Sunday.
Expensive silks are out of place on school girls, and
parents are requested, therefore, not to indulge
their daughters in extravagant clothing or
jewelry. To discourage extravagance, and to teach
pupils the value of money and habits of self-denial,
every parent and guardian is most earnestly re-
quested to limit them to a fixed amount of pocket
money not exceeding one dollar per week.

In 1869, the announcement that a uniform "for purposes of
convenience and economy" would be required for public appear-
ances appeared in the catalogue. For a time the winter uniform
was "grey empress cloth," the spring suit white pique; ten years
later a black outfit was prescribed for winter. These were, per-
haps, not strictly aniforms, since only the color and material were
specified and modifications in pattern were allowed. In time,
however, everyone had to buy the same hat, and there was much
anticipation when, in the fall, the boxes arrived at the school with
that year's choice, made by Miss Baldwin. Some touches of color
were permitted, and some jewelry, but the lines of "demure
maidens" walking two by two, accompanied by chaperons and

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

often one of Miss Baldwin's dogs, were a familiar sight on Staunton
streets.

Although Waddell reports that only three students had died at
the school during Miss Baldwin's tenure, the fear of epidemics
gripped parents and school administrators in a way it is hard to
appreciate today. When scarlet fever appeared in Staunton in
1883, the school closed one week early and, in 1894, Mary Julia
had the entire student body vaccinated against small pox, which
had made its dreaded appearance: "Like victims of the French
Revolution ready for the guillotine we were summoned one by
one... girls ready to weep and girls ready to faint; girls lying down,
sitting, standing, walking, talking, watching and trembling..."

The catalogue assured parents that one of the most important
services provided by the seminary was the healthful food and the
care in its preparation. There were several cows for the production
of milk and butter, and Miss Baldwin's farm produced vegetables
and fruits for seminary use. There were stern warnings in the
catalogue about limiting "boxes of rich food and of confectionery
from home... sardines and potted meats are not allowed." In
addition, students were admonished about "imprudent eating at
night," wearing thin shoes in cold weather, "sitting on the ground
with head uncovered" and the "too early removal of flannel." The
covered way connecting Hill Top, Sky High, Main and Chapel was
constructed principally to protect the students from inclement
weather.

Students were required to attend all meals, unless they were
ill, were required to walk daily, were to be in bed by 10:00 p.m. The
school year varied between nine-ten months long with few if any
holidays; "a few days at Christmas," but Miss Baldwin implored
parents not to take their daughters out of her control for extended
periods. "Such visits are often productive of much harm both to
the pupil and to the Institution," she wrote. Occasionally, perhaps
when it snowed, or on a particularly beautiful spring day, Miss
Baldwin would declare a school holiday. There might be sledding
parties or ice cream for supper (when it snowed) or carriage rides
to Betsy Bell or Highland Park, but generally it was a regimented
life, one very conducive to hard work and disciplined living .

But, of course, it was not all like that . In spite of rules, "boxes"
did come, and the girls would throw towels over two beds shoved
together to revel in chicken salads, turkeys, jelly, candy, and
cakes. Even oysters are mentioned, although how salads, meats,
and seafood were transported and preserved without serious

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin's School

cases of food poisoning remains a mystery. Hand lettered invita-
tions were issued for their "spreads," the girls wore their "evening
gowns," and their memories of these happy occasions echo down
the years.

There were teas, birthday observances, Germans and soirees.
The taller girls would enact the role of boys, even dressing as
young men, and a kind of dress rehearsal of what would be their
later social experiences took place. The younger students would
choose "darlings" from among the senior girls and would form
close sentimental attachments that only young adolescents can.
There were illegal "chafing dishes" (confiscated when found),
"fudge" and "waffle" parties, visits to teachers' room for special
treats. In contrast to later eras, when great efforts were expended
to integrate "day"students with "boarders", in Miss Baldwin's era
day students were forbidden to visit the dormitories or "upper
halls." They could only see the other girls in the Library. It was
feared that the town girls might convey "notes or messages" or
forbidden foods.

As the school increased in size and complexity, there was need
for additional staff. By the 1880s night watchmen were employed.
There was Mr. Thompson, who wore a red blanket over his
shoulders (the edges were "scalloped" as he gave the girls pieces
for their memory books). He was a great favorite with the stu-
dents, since he could be relied upon to give them "treats" from his
voluminous pockets. Then, there was Mr. Lickliter, "whose dig-
nity is so imposing that all pass him by in silent awe." There was
also Miss Baldwin s faithful gardener, Thomas Butler, and of
course, "Uncle Chess," and other domestics, some of whom had
been in her grandmother's household.

There is little evidence that the sweeping social changes and
impassioned political debates of the late 19th century had major
impact upon the seminaiy and its constituents. Miss Baldwin did
indeed recognize that there were broader opportunities and more
complex responsibilities for women than had been possible in her
own youth, and her curriculum had been adjusted accordingly.
Among the seminary alumnae, there were missionaries, teachers,
post mistresses, a few lawyers and physicians, a woman sheriff,
members of child welfare organizations, even participants in the
women's suffrage movement and the women's club development.
There were a few professional writers and artists. Those who had
married (and most seminary students did ) became leaders in their
churches and communities and gave testimony to the sense of

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

social responsibility inculcated by the seminary's teachings. Sarah
Wright was sometimes considered by her faculty peers as a
representative of the "New Woman," but few would have consid-
ered Miss Baldwin to be of similar persuasion. In 1888, however,
Miss Baldwin announced a seminary holiday in honor of Grover
Cleveland's "election" as President. She was "chagrined" when
she discovered that her information was inaccurate; Benjamin
Harrison had won that election. In 1892, she made the girls wait
a full week before she permitted a half holiday when Cleveland
did win again. It is presumed that no celebrations ensued for
Republican presidential victories. One student recalled, however:

Many of us have thoughts for the future which
would no doubt amuse our elders if they only
knew them... Some of us want to grow up and be
famous... Perhaps by that time this glorious Union
will have acknowledged "woman's rights" and our
teachers may yet... [see] us side by side with scores
of "Kableites" [a reference to SMA cadets] and
"University Boys," as Judges of the Supreme Court
or Representatives in Congress!

Increasingly, Augusta Female Seminary was spoken of as
"Miss Baldwin's School." It enjoyed a state and regional reputa-
tion of respect for its academic excellence, its physical beauty, its
moral and spiritual leadership. It had survived the Civil War,
Reconstruction, the economic distresses of the 1870s and 1890s,
and the social and cultural dilemmas of the Victorian Era. In
contemporary eyes, this was largely due to Miss Baldwin herself.
In 1895, the board of trustees requested that the Virginia General
Assembly permit them to change the name of the school to "Mary
Baldwin Seminary"... "as an acknowledgement of their high ap-
preciation of the valuable and unparalleled success of the
Principal... Endowed with wonderful business talent, fine execu-
tive ability and clear judgement in management, she has made
the seminary one of the foremost institutions in the land, for the
higher education of women and from it have gone forth many
noble, brilliant daughters to various spheres of usefulness... The
Seminary now stands as a great monument to her untiring
energy, arduous labors, devotion to her profession and the Master's
Work..."

Fearful lest some "old girls" would not understand the reason

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

for the change of name, NelHe Hotchkiss McCullough wrote:

These hnes will reach many alumnae, far
from Staunton, to whom it will be news indeed
to hear that the "Augusta Female Seminaiy"
has been transformed into the "Maiy Baldwin
Seminary," since November, 1895. The name
only is changed for the bell still rings for
Chapel services, the view from Hill Top is as
beautiful as ever. Brick House still shelters
the revered Principal, Sky High is filled with
eager art students and placid plaster casts,
while the minor buildings are in the same
familiar spots.

Miss Baldwin was a bit tardy in officially recognizing the
honor. It was not until April 1896, that she wrote a formal
acknowledgment. "The Trustees will please accept my thanks for
the compliment paid me in changing the name of the Institution
to Mary Baldwin Seminary. ...I desire to apologize for the delay...
in responding to the honor. Most sincerely — Mary Julia Baldwin. "
In her own mind, she apparently continued to think of the school
as Augusta Female Seminary.

However, more than most realized then or since, it was
literally "Miss Baldwin's school." After Agnes McClung's death in
1880, Mary Julia possessed more legal and actual authority over
the school than any of her successors to the present day. She
occupied a portion of the property consisting of the Administra-
tion Building, and the land on which it stood rent free. She owned
outright the rest of the four and a half acres comprising the
campus, including all the Thompson property and Hill Top. She
owned ten plus acres comprising the seminary farm. At her own
expense, she had altered and enlarged Chapel, built Brick House,
Sky High, and several other buildings. She owned all the furnish-
ings and supplies, including the pianos and organs, the library
contents, and th-^ laboratory equipment. She set the fees, hired,
paid, and dismissed the faculty and staff, decided on the curricula
and on the certificates, medals, diplomas and awards. She se-
lected the students and had it in her power to send them home if
they did not meet her standards. She reported to the parents,
maintained contact with the alumnae, the church, and the com-
munity. She arranged for and approved all publications, speak-

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin's School

ers, and seminary sponsored educational trips. She decided the
seminary calendar. She gave employment to members of her
family, friends and alumnae, and provided food and shelter for
some of them for years. The only legal distinction between this and
a genuine proprietary school was the shadowy board of trustees,
who seldom met and never asked for reports or sought to examine
the books!

Of course, there was a vast difference between the legal
realities and Miss Baldwin's sense of propriety and duty. The
seminary had been given into her keeping, and it was her duty and
obligation to take care of it as long as she was able, in as capable
a manner as she knew how. Good business woman that she was,
she had considered the future and, with the advice of her friend
Joseph A. Waddell, she had written in 1895 a thoughtful and
generous will.

Although only in her 60s, Mary Julia's vitality and energy
began to diminish. She continued her regular duties, but it
became obvious that she was ill. Dr. Fraser, her minister, re-
counted how difficult it was for her to climb the several flights of
stairs between the church and her room in Brick House, and more
and more of her duties devolved on Mr. King and Miss Weimar.
Shortly after the seminary closed for the summer in 1897, Miss
Baldwin, having spent the night in prayer, died quietly on 1 July.
Later her friends remarked that she would have been pleased for
this event to occur when school was not in session, in order not to
disturb the students. She was buried in Thornrose Cemetery in
her grandparents' plot (Sowers) beside her mother.

When her will was read, the extent of her devotion to the school
became known. She made generous gifts to the church and to her
relatives and servants, but the great bulk of her estate, i.e. the
school and its contents, her real estate holdings, and bank ac-
counts, was left to the board of trustees for the "use and benefit"
of the seminary. There were no appraisals or inventories made at
the time, but later evaluations suggest her bequest was close to
one-quarter of a million dollars, some $32,000 in cash and invest-
ments, the rest in real estate and personal property. Without her
generosity, the board would have had no school to administer.

The transition to the new circumstances and a new century
was difficult. As will be seen, the board was grateful that a devoted
faculty and two loyal administrators were on hand to give conti-
nuity as they assumed control, but this very fact made changes

To Live In Time Miss Baldwin 's School

hard to accomplish. For many years — far too long — the school
remained a monument to Mary Julia Baldwin, rather than seizing
the opportunity to change its legal status from seminaiy to
college.

This opening chapter relies on Joseph A. Waddell, History of
Mary Baldwin Seminary (1908) and to a much greater extent on
Mary Watters, The History ofMary Baldwin College (1942). In my
opinion Dr. Watters' treatment of the subject was exhaustive and
all-encompassing. In addition, she had access to primary sources
no longer available, and fortunately quoted from them at length.
There is no attribution in this section, other than the above
acknowledgment. It has been my primary concern to write the
history of Maiy Baldwin College ( 1922- 1992 ), and my efforts have
focused on that task. The information in this chapter is meant to
take the reader to my beginning.

Sketch of Mary Julia Baldwin

Baldwin Home - Winchester, Virginia
Photo by Rick Foster, courtesy of The Winchester Star

TWO

From Seminary to College
1897-1929

Ithough not totally unexpect-
ed, Mary Julia Baldwin's death came as a surprise to all but her
closest friends. Her funeral on 2 July was dignified and gracious
and attended by a large portion of the community. Most of the
Staunton businesses and commercial enterprises closed for the
service, and the expressions of admiration and respect were
heartfelt and sincere.

The long-inactive trustees met almost immediately. From that
moment on, they assumed full control of the seminary, took
seriously their obligations to keep "Miss Baldwin's School" func-
tioning and their duties as her executors and residuary heirs. All
the necessary appointments and contracts had already been
arranged for the fall 1897 session, and the newly formed executive
committee sent word to all the school's patrons that the seminary
would open as usual. Ella Weimar was appointed the new princi-
pal and W.W. King remained the business manager, as he had
been since 1890.^ It must have given the board a certain sense of
relief to realize now that they were responsible, there was avail-
able a staff and faculty of experience and dedication.

Nevertheless, the board reorganized. The executive commit-
tee met monthly to hear reports from Miss Weimar and Mr. King.
Accounts were audited in a professional manner, the by-laws were
revised and the full board of 15 members met regularly thereafter,
three times a year.^ In this sense the seminary was ready for the
20th century. In many other senses it was not.

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

The 19th century had eventually seen widespread acceptance
of the belief that girls as well as boys should be educated. The
expanding opportunities and labor needs of the Industrial Revo-
lution opened new possibilities and new problems for females.
Poor, black, uneducated, immigrant women and their children
were needed for textile and shoe factories, for cotton picking and
vegetable harvesting. But school teachers were also needed; and
missionaries; so were typists, bookkeepers, nurses, sales clerks,
and telephone operators. By the 1880s colleges for women as well
as men, and even some which dared risk educating the sexes
together, were established, growing in numbers and influence.^
Another decade and the concepts of standardization, faculty
qualifications, endowment, library resources, and graduation
requirements were spreading. National and regional accrediting
agencies were created, and by early in the 20th century, some
female seminaries in Virginia had become approved women's
colleges.^ Mary Baldwin Seminary did not. It was absorbed, still,
in the transition from Miss Baldwin's leadership to others, and
the board, administration and faculty revered their former prin-
cipal and sought to preserve and defend her position.

Mr. King and the board, however, did embark on an ambitious
building program, adding two new dormitories, the Academic
building, an expanded gymnasium facility, the back gallery and
the stone wall around the campus, as well as electricity, an
improved water and sewage system, a modern heating plant and
laboratory equipment.^ All of this was accomplished without
outside financial aid and without invading the Mary Julia Baldwin
endowment fund.^ The improvement in the physical plant was
motivated by the necessity of meeting the competition from other
seminaries, private schools, and women's colleges; by the wishes
of the seminary's patrons that their daughters have as comfort-
able and modern facilities as they had at home, and by the pride
the board, the alumnae, the faculty and students had in the school.
Seminary publications stressed the healthful climate; the fresh
fruit and vegetables from the seminary farm; the high quality of
the meals in general and the "genteel way" in which they were
served; the required "setting up exercises" in the mornings on the
dormitory porches and the "promenades" in the afternoons; and
the opportunity for tennis, golf, hikes and vigorous team sports,
all designed to provide a physical setting for the seminary "second
to none."^

It is not difficult to conclude, however, that Miss Weimar did

To Live In Time

From Seminary to College

Ella Claire Weimar

William Wayt King

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

not have as much success as did Mr. King in persuading the board
to support her concerns; i.e, strengthened academic programs and
new directions. Student enrollment was relatively stable but not
rapidly increasing.^ Miss Weimar requested, almost every year,
additional funds to be spent on library purchases and faculty
salary increases. She asked that some thought be given to curricu-
lum reorganization to reflect more "modern methods."^ She went
herself and sent trusted faculty members to visit women's colleges
and northern universities to learn about recruitment, academic
organization, and professional standards. New courses were added
in English Literature and Composition, Bible, Calculus, Art
History, Psychology, and, a popular innovation before World War
I, Domestic Science.

In 1906, Miss Baldwin's University Course was discontinued,
and academic departments appeared. Gradually there emerged a
more standardized division of course offerings into primary,
preparatory and collegiate divisions, although no entrance re-
quirements were yet imposed. A student was placed, with faculty
consultation, where her abilities and interests seemed appropri-
ate. By 1912, Miss Weimar could report that Mary Baldwin
Seminary students could transfer their seminary college-level
courses to Goucher, Mt. Holyoke, and Wellesley without penalty
or examination. ^"

These changes did not come easily. The records seem to
indicate that Miss Weimar and Mr. King did not always agree
about priorities. Nor did she seem to communicate happily with
the executive committee of the board. In January 1912, the
executive committee refused her request to appoint an "advising
committee" to confer with the principal and the business manager
"from time to time" in regard to the "conduct of the school,"
indicating that they themselves acted in that capacity. In this
same meeting. Miss Weimar was told that the board "would be
pleased to have her present" when she made her monthly report.
Two months later, however, Miss Weimar again sent a written
report, as she apparently had been doing for a number of years,
indicating that she considered it unnecessary for her to appear in
person as she had nothing additional to communicate. But there-
after she did appear more frequently. Two years later the board
removed from the principal the right to hire and fire faculty. In the
future, the principal would only recommend employment, promo-
tion, salaries and dismissal of faculty members, and the board
would act on the recommendation.^^

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

Mary Baldwin Seminary belonged to an organization called
the Virginia Association of Colleges and Schools for Girls, and in
the early years of the 20th century one of its objectives was
standardized classification. A report made at Winchester, Vir-
ginia in June of 1913 proposed rather specific definitions and
requirements for schools below collegiate level that wished to
retain membership in the group. It recognized that two of the
members of the Association, one of whom was Mary Baldwin
Seminary, were of the "intermediate" type, between secondary
school and college, but declared "it would greatly deprecate the
creation of new institutions of these types and would ask the
Association to discourage their multiplication."^^ The seminary
did not, of course, have to belong to this Association, but the
opinions of such professional gi^oups helped strengthen the posi-
tion of those in the seminary who understood that the old per-
sonal, independent ways were under attack.

Although no records of faculty discussions and administra-
tors' debates remain, it can be inferred that Miss Weimar and
others were striving to upgi'ade the academic standards of the
seminary and eventually to seek recognized college status for the
upper-level work that was done.

Another source of pressure for change came from the alumnae.
In the summer of 1893, a group of local "full graduates" of the
seminary, including Nannie L. Tate and Nellie Hotchkiss
McCullough, organized a "temporary" Alumnae Association. The
following year they wrote a constitution, and the Association
became a permanent and increasingly influential part of the
seminary, meeting regularly thereafter. By 1901, there were 208
members. ^^ Early in the 20th century, suggestions were made by
the Graduate Council of the Alumnae Association to the principal
and board members that Mary Baldwin Seminary should seek
college status. Informed that the endowment and library holdings
were too low to justify success in such an application, the alumnae
set about seeking to increase the endowment. They also suggested
that, as an intermediate step, junior college status should be
sought. Sue Stribling (Snodgi'ass) reported to her fellow alumnae
in 1913 her shock and dismay upon receiving a letter from
Professor Hendrick C. Babcock of the National Bureau of Edu-
cation, who wrote:

The Collegiate Course, as announced in
the Catalogue 1910-11, is certainly not more

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

than a Junior College course, and I doubt if
it would represent a full two years of college
course, if it were severely estimated.

Mrs. Snodgrass was determined that seminary graduates
"command" the recognition they deserved. Their education, she
insisted "is nearly as high a grade as that of the Northern colleges
and certainly as high as that of the Virginia colleges, her nearest
rivals. "^^

Miss Weimar gently but firmly pointed out the difficulties.
There was an insufficient endowment fund. Money spent on the
new buildings might have gone to upgrading the curriculum and
paying higher faculty salaries "if the new buildings had not been
absolutely necessary." Requiring an entrance examination might
"frighten away pupils," which would cut enrollment and lessen
revenue. However, Miss Weimar reported, the seminary would no
longer give "degrees," because "such a degree is worthless since
only a standard college is entitled to give the degree of A.B."^^

Although she did not say so at that alumnae meeting, Miss
Weimar's Principal's Report to the executive committee and those
of Miss Higgins after her called attention to the important contri-
bution that the "special students" in Music, Art, and Elocution
made to the income of the seminary. Many of these students were
not interested in the Latin, Mathematics, and other "collegiate"
courses, so special graduation requirements and diplomas had
been designed for them. They formed a large percentage of the
preparatory and collegiate student body and to demand that they
conform to standardized requirements would discourage many of
them.^^ The seminary operated on such a thin margin of profit
that any large decline in student enrollment could pose severe
financial difficulties. There were many on the board and else-
where who felt the seminary could not afford to become a college.

Miss Weimar had spoken to the alumnae in May 1913. That
October, presumably feeling that in spite of the difficulties it was
necessary, she requested the executive committee to consider the
transition to a junior college.'^ The following January the execu-
tive committee met with a "Committee of Teachers" to discuss
whether or not Mary Baldwin Seminary should change its status.
The conclusion was that the seminary should not be converted
into a junior college "at this time"; rather its standards should be
raised "gradually" until they should conform in "thoroughness
and extent to all the requirements of the best and most modern

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

educational institutions for women. "^^ Apparently this somewhat
idealistic solution to an increasing problem-i.e, that seminary
graduates who wished to teach in the public schools in Virginia
would not, in the future, be certified by the State Board of
Education to do so unless the seminary was ranked as a "junior
college"-was found inadequate. Sometime in late 1914, E. R.
Chesterman, Secretary of the State Board of Education, visited
the school at the invitation of Dr. Eraser, who was chairman of the
board of trustees, for the purpose of advising the board as to what
steps were necessary to have the seminary put on the State
Department list of registered colleges. In a letter dated 12 Janu-
ary 1915, Chesterman was generally complimentary of the school's
academic offerings, but remarked that an "over liberal disposition
in the matter of electives" blurred the distinction between the
preparatory and college courses. The necessary changes could be
made with "comparatively little expense" in time for the 1916-17
session, he wrote. It was merely a matter of rearranging and
reclassifying some of the courses, spending about $500 additional
money for laboratory equipment, and requiring 14 preparatory
units for admission to the junior college. If there were a question
about this, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Sweet Briar or
Hollins could provide Miss Weimar with a "model classification
blank." One can imagine the reaction to that observation. "Oh
yes," added Mr. Chesterman, "abandon the word 'seminary' in the
name of your school. "^^

The board duly contemplated this information at a called
meeting on 26 February 1915. With reluctance, they agreed that
the required change in the organization of the school's courses be
made by a board-administration-faculty committee chaired by
Miss Weimar, and that Mary Baldwin Seminary would apply to
the State Board of Education for registration as a junior college.
The board, however, "indefinitely postponed" consideration of the
change of the name of the seminary. "°

The Catalogue of 19 16- 1 7 notes that on 2 February 19 16, Mary
Baldwin Seminary was placed on the state list of "approved junior
colleges. "^^ Similar statements appeared in all catalogues until
1923. The school continued to be called "Mary Baldwin Seminary,"
and the title "Junior College" was not used in its publications.

Then began a 13-year struggle to keep the features of the
beloved old seminary and yet to conform to new bureaucratic
requirements for accreditation. A study of the catalogues shows
how valiantly Miss Weimar and her committee worked to satisfy

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

the various constituencies of the school, many of whom were
outraged by what they deemed a "backward step" for an institu-
tion they considered to be the equal of any four-year Virginia
college. Henceforth work would be offered "leading to preparatory
courses" (i.e., fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh grades). There were
three courses of "preparatory" work (i.e., four years of high school),
one (A) leading to admission to collegiate work at Mary Baldwin
Seminary, one (B) for those wishing to specialize at the college
level in art or music, and one (C) leading by right of certification
to admission to a "class A college" such as Goucher or Wellesley
without a preliminary examination. The collegiate work was
likewise divided into three parts; (A) for those who wished to
teach, (B) the equivalent of three years of college work, and (C) for
those who expected to transfer to a "Grade A" four-year college.
The "diploma" of the school was awarded for the completion of any
of these three "collegiate courses. "^^ It was a clumsy, unnecessar-
ily complicated system but one dictated by financial necessity,
alumnae prejudice, and board conservatism. It could not last.

On 29 November 1915, the board of trustees received a letter
from Ella Weimar tendering her resignation as principal as of 1
July 1916. No reason was given for her resignation, other than
calling attention to the fact that she had been associated with the
school for 29 years, 19 as principal, during which time her
"interest was sincere and unabated." The board voted her a bonus
of $1000 and passed a fulsome resolution acknowledging the
board's "indebtedness for her faithful, efficient and successful
management... she has exhibited fidelity, zeal and marked execu-
tive ability." Miss Weimar refused the money "because the accep-
tance of it would make me very unhappy" but suggested that the
board give the money to Miss Nannie Tate, who was completing
her fiftieth year at the seminary as a teacher. The board complied
with her request, and Miss Weimar retired to her home, "Green
View" near Warrenton, Virginia. She was in her early 60s.-^ The
reasons for this retirement can only be inferred. Watters suggests
Miss Weimar was discouraged and defeated and felt she lacked
the confidence of the board. ^^ It is true that there appear to have
been disagreements over the years, but she had regularly been
reappointed and her compensation gi^adually increased. Perhaps,
knowing the junior college status was to be approved and realizing
that the struggle to become a four-year college must soon begin,
she felt, considering her age, that this was a graceful exit point.
The faculty, students and alumnae joined the board in praise of of

To Live In Time

From Seminary to College

Abel Mclver Fraser

Marianna Parramore Higgins
43

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

her accomplishments, and her leave-taking was far more graceful
than that of her successor.^^

The period 1916-1919 was a time of strain and tension for
educational institutions everywhere. Much of the world was at
war and early in 1917, the United States became an active
participant. There were wartime shortages of fuel and food,
voluntary rationing, such as "meatless" and "wheatless" days,
inflation, and the frightening influenza epidemic. The story of
Mary Baldwin Seminary and the First World War has been told
elsewhere, but the implications and consequences of the Great
War both helped and hindered those who wanted the seminary to
become an accredited college. The financial uncertainties were so
great that the faculty were issued "conditional" contracts in 1917
and 1918, providing for salary cuts if the number of pupils was
insufficient to furish the necessary income for the operating
expenses of the session.-^ No such adjustments were necessary,
however, for enrollments were at the highest levels in the
seminary's history, a phenomenon that the board could not ex-
plain.^' Fewer and fewer students were at the grammar school
level and boarding students were double the number of day
students, giving encouragement to the belief that a four-year
college could be sustained. The war years created many opportu-
nities, and interest in college and graduate-level work for women
was greater in the early 1920s than it would be again for several
decades. The times were right for Mary Baldwin to become a
college.

Two individuals, both of them somewhat reluctantly, were the
architects of the change. Each was committed to keeping the
seminary, the familiar, tranquil, beautiful spot one block from the
center of downtown Staunton, where generations of "young la-
dies" had been an ever-visible reminder of the community's
commitment to education and Christian values. Yet each of them
understood that the long tradition of intellectual achievement
could only be sustained by expansion into a four-year college. They
always carefully specified that it be a "gi^ade A college." The two
were the Reverend Abel Mclver Fraser and Marianna Parramore
Higgins.

Dr. Fraser had come as pastor to First Presbyterian Church
in Staunton in 1893, and apparently was elected to the Mary
Baldwin Seminary Board of Trustees in 1894.^^ He was named to
the executive committee of the board on 3 July 1897 and became
the president of the board of trustees in 1909. He was the chaplain

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

the seminary and college from 1897 to 1929 and was named the
first president of Mary Baldwin College in 1923. He resigned the
presidency in 1929, when Dr. L. Wilson Jarman was appointed,
but he remained as president of the board of trustees until 1932,
when failing health caused his retirement. He died in 1933. So, for
more than 40 years Dr. Fraser had been closely and intimately
connected with the school. It was he who, along with Ella Weimar
and W.W. King, picked up the mantle of leadership when Miss
Baldwin died, and it was he who gave unstinting energy, prayer,
and effort to the creation of a four-year college. ^'^ He was a small,
neat, peppery man who preached long, eloquent sermons and was
much beloved by his congregation, the seminary family, and many
townspeople. His beliefs were firm and often firmly stated, his
principles unbending, his determination legendaiy. He was not a
professional educator and seems to have had little patience with
the layers of bureaucracy it was necessary to penetrate if accredi-
tation and academic respectability were to be achieved. At one
time he told the alumnae, "Whether we rank as a preparatory
school, a Junior college, or a full college is of less importance than
that we shall do with absolute honesty and thoroughness what-
ever we undertake to do, and claim in our catalogue that we are
doing... "^" He was much attached to the seminary and agi^eed with
many of its constituencies that it must be preserved. How to do
that and be a "gi^ade A college" too? After much meditation and
prayer. Dr. Fraser and the board thought they knew how. They
proposed to create the "Mary Baldwin System," whereby two
institutions, Mary Baldwin Seminary and Mary Baldwin College
for Women, would be maintained under the control of the same
board of trustees. The schools would eventually occupy different
physical sites, but both would reflect the "well-defined group of
ideals of womanhood and education which Miss Baldwin embod-
ied in her own personality. She stamped those ideals indelibly
upon the seminaiy, and now the whole system which bears her
name will perpetuate them."'^^

The second person intimately connected with this process was
Marianna Parramore Higgins, who had come to Mary Baldwin
Seminary in 1908 as a teacher of preparatoiy English. She was a
Virginian, had attended Farmville Normal School, had later done
postgi'aduate work at Harvard and Columbia Woman's College in
South Carolina, and was chosen by Miss Weimar because she was
"a Southern lady and a Presbyterian."-^^ Her peers credited her
with playing a major role in the curriculum revision necessary to

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

secure junior college status and, when Miss Weimar's resignation
was accepted in 1916, a special committee of the board of trustees
headed by Dr. Fraser recommended that Miss Higgins be elected
principal. '^^ There had been several other candidates, and H.D.
Peck, a long-time board member, made a substitute motion
naming another candidate, a Miss McClintock, as his choice. His
motion failed, and Miss Higgins was duly notified that she was the
principal of Mary Baldwin Seminary; but the fact that there was
board opposition to her selection foreshadowed future difficul-
ties.34

The evidence seems to suggest that Miss Higgins worked well
with Dr. Fraser and with Mr. King, although, since the latter was
less than sympathetic to the concept of a four-year college if it
meant losing the seminaiy , there must have been tense moments
as the process continued. One difference, of course, is the fact that
there was no building program taking place after 1916. The war
effort and later post-war inflation, labor shortages, and high
wages, about which Mr. King complained bitterly, had brought an
end to the activity which had seen so many physical improve-
ments in the early years of the century. The seminary had spent
$250,000 since 1897, Mr. King reported, on physical improve-
ments, without any help 'Trom the outside-not even the endow-
ment fund." Mr. King continued to recommend, as he had eveiy
year from 1908 to 1929, that Sky High be removed and be replaced
by a brick building to house improved Physical Education facili-
ties. Art and Domestic Science classrooms, as well as additional
dormitory space. He also continued to insist that a new chapel and
dining room be built on the site of the Waddell Chapel, and that
then "our plan of improvements" would be completed. '^^ However,
after 1910, Mr. King's efforts had to be focused on maintenance
and upkeep, and consequently there was more money for the
improvement of faculty salaries and curriculum, which was essen-
tial if college status were to be secured. Miss Higgins devoted
herself to both of these objectives. Some of the alumnae had not
given up on providing an endowment for the proposed college and
prodded Dr. Fraser to approach wealthy patrons and foundations
in support of the concept. For the first time since Miss Baldwin
had become principal, outside help was sought. Dr. Fraser, in
1917, had written to Mrs. Cyrus McCormick asking for a contri-
bution but had been refused. In 1919, a similar effort was under-
taken with the Rockefeller General Education Board, with a
similar lack of success. '"''

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

Slowly, too slowly for some of the advocates, Dr. Fraser came
to the conclusion that a major effort must be undertaken to secure
recognition as a four-year college. His reasons for doing so are
interesting. In a long report to the alumnae in 1923, he described
how he had "awakened to the significance of the facts about him."
He admitted to a personal sense of failure, because he had not
exerted his leadership on the board to see that the school had
"retained its primacy." He had "let pass by so much of golden
opportunity." More and more young women of the South were
demanding a college education, but many of the institutions to
which they were going had "assailed the foundations of true
philosophy and religion..." Some young women had "become
victims. . . [of] materialistic philosophy and destructive teachings. "
"We have failed to provide them with appropriate colleges and so
are responsible for these appalling results," he declared. As
always, Miss Baldwin's example was invoked. "Were she living
today...! think there could be no question that she would have
made Mary Baldwin the commanding woman's college of the
South."3-

Having reached these conclusions, Dr. Fraser and the board
considered how their idea of a "Mary Baldwin System" (i.e. both
a seminary and a college) could be financially implemented.
Coincidentally, in February 1921, the Christian Education Com-
mittee of the Synod of Virginia undertook a "million dollar cam-
paign" to raise money for four institutions closely identified with
the Presb3^erian Church. ^^ Dr. Fraser, who had been very active
at all levels of the Presbyterian Church's organization, noted that
no women's college was included in the list. Why should not the
synod help provide the necessary financial backing to create a
"gi^ade A" women's college in Staunton? On 24 May 1921, a
committee from the board of trustees was appointed to confer with
a committee of the Synod of Virginia "touching closer relations of
the seminary to the Synod, " and in October the board approved the
concept that the seminary be placed under the control of the Synod
of Virginia. ^^ Thus began a decade of frustration, misunderstand-
ing, and recriminations, all of which threatened the very existence
of the institution that all involved were trying so hard to enhance.

In order to understand what happened next, it is necessary to
review briefly the various charters of the school. The first session
of Augusta Female Seminary opened in September of 1842, but it
was not until 30 January 1845 that the Virginia General Assem-
bly passed an act incorporating Augusta Female Seminary. The

To Live In Time From Semmaiy to College

act provided for a self-perpetuating board of trustees of 15 mem-
bers and gave broad power to the board to acquire and sell land,
appoint faculty, and to devise rules and regulations for the
seminary's welfare. No further changes were made until 14
December 1895, when, at the request of the board of trustees, the
name of Augusta Female Seminary was officially changed to Mary
Baldwin Seminary, "as an acknowledgement of their high appre-
ciation of the valuable services and unparalleled success of the
principal for thirty-three years." This new charter also allowed
the trustees, upon the recommendation of the principal, to "confer
degrees or honorary titles on former or future full graduates of the
seminary who may be deemed worthy." It was under this provi-
sion that Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts
degrees were issued in the early 20th century, until Miss Weimar
proposed the custom be dropped. ^'^'

On 26 October 1921, a letter and a long report about the
seminary were sent to the Committee on a Woman's College of the
Synod of Virginia. In it, the board of trustees of the seminary
offered to transfer the seminary to a board of trustees elected by
the Synod of Virginia. In return, the synod would "give its
assurance" that it would convert the seminary into a "college of the
'A' class," and that a majority of the board of trustees would be
members of the First Presbyterian Church of Staunton. In any
case, seminary trustees "assumed" that the synod would choose
most of the trustees "from the vicinity of the school" so that a
quorum for board meetings would be present. The synod was to
give the college full "moral and financial support," helping to
secure students, raising an endowment fund of "no less" than
$500,000 and, until that fund was raised, the synod would contrib-
ute not less than $30,000 each year for the support of the college.
The synod would be receiving property valued at $667,715 and a
going operation that produced about $12,000 surplus a year. The
school was in its 79th year of operation; it was a "religious school
and distinctly Presbyterian." There was also a 10-acre tract
owned by the seminary on the edge of town, Miss Baldwin's farm,
which could be used for either the seminary or the college. "^^

The Committee on a Woman's College reported that there was
a "strong sentiment" on the part of some members of the synod
that the request should receive more "mature deliberation" and
that the whole matter would be turned over to "the newly elected"
committee on the general Educational Work of the Synod. That
committee did convene in Staunton 27 July 1922, meeting "vari-

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

ous business and social organizations" and the seminary trustees.
The Staunton/Augusta County Chamber of Commerce undertook,
in writing, to raise $100,000 for the proposed college and to
extend, without cost, all necessary public utilities such as water,
lights, sewage and street railway to the college property, if the
college location was within one mile of the corporate limits of
Staunton. Dr. Fraser was told that the synod objected to the
request tiiat a majority of the trustees be from First Presbyterian
Church and said they would not recommend the offer unless this
condition was amended, and Dr. Fraser undertook to do so. The
Committee on General Education Work of the synod thereupon
recommended that the amended offer of the seminary trustees,
supplemented by the commitments of the Staunton/Augusta
County Chamber of Commerce, be accepted by the Synod of
Virginia. ^^

The seminary board minutes suggest that the necessary
amending of the charter of the seminary, particularly the provi-
sion about the membership of the trustees in First Presbyterian
Church, was not without pain. The vote was four to two.^'^ Later
another board member, H.D. Peck, who had been on the board
more than 40 years, resigned, saying that "it was impossible for
me to believe that conditions at that time were favorable for such
a move. . . ( several members of the trustees agree with me ) . . . I could
not regard the financial pi an... both present and future... as resting
except upon a most weak and uncertain basis. "^^ Eventually a new
charter was secured from the State Corporation Commission and
a friendly suit in chancery removed the offending provision about
trustee membership in First Presb3d:erian Church. ^^ The semi-
nary was now partly, at least, also a college-a synodical college of
the Synod of Virginia. There were to be 20 trustees, all elected by
the synod, serving rotating terms of four years. All eight
presb3d:eries of the synod were to have representation on the
board, and A.M. Fraser was elected president of the board of
trustees (as he had been of the old board). ^"^

The Mary Baldwin Seminary board of trustees met with the
newly elected synodical board of trustees 26 October 1922 for the
purpose of coordinating the details of the transfer of authority. It
was pointed out to the synodical trustees that no provision had
been made by the synod for raising the $30,000 due for the year
1923-24 and that perhaps the transfer should not be completed
until that was done, since establishing the college would be an
expensive procedure. The trustees-elect assured the seminary

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

board that the synod's failure to provide the money was "a mere
oversight" and would be rectified. With some misgivings, the old
(seminary) board then transferred its authority to the new (col-
lege) board, and the first official meeting of the synodical trustees
of Mary Baldwin College took place on 16 January 1923. The
college would officially open on 6 September 1923, ready, imme-
diately, to offer a full four-year course, with a full-time college
faculty of seven "teachers," plus some part-time "teachers" who
also taught in the seminary. Dr. Fraser was elected the president
of the college and the president of the board of trustees, and Miss
Higgins was both the principal of the seminary and the dean of the
college. W.W. King was to be business manager for both the
seminary and the college. ^^ Dr. Julian A. Burruss, president of
Virginia Polytechnic Institute, agi^eed to act as an official advisor
helping with the organization of the college.

This report to the synod also noted that a site for Mary
Baldwin College had been bought. It was 200 acres about two
miles north of the city limits on the Valley Turnpike, bought from
Dr. and Mrs. Richard Bell and Mrs. Mattie W. Grasty for $60,000,
to be paid over a three-year period.'*^ Thus the decision had been
made that the seminary would continue to occupy the downtown
location and that the college would be in Augusta County, adja-
cent to the city line. The agreement to separate the two institu-
tions physically meant that a great deal of money would have to
be raised very quickly, but the physical separation was absolutely
necessary because the State Board of Education refused to certify
the college as a "standard four-year college" if a preparatory school
was not kept "rigidly distinct and separate from the college in
students, faculty, buildings and discipline. "^^ Dr. Fraser assumed,
in 1923, that five years would be sufficient time for a new physical
plant for the college to be built, and the Bell property was
accordingly purchased. All that remained was to find a way to
raise the money.

In the meantime. Miss Higgins was left to struggle with the
problems of being a principal and a dean simultaneously. Al-
though Dr. Fraser spent countless hours on board matters and
financial campaigns, he intervened little in the actual running of
the two institutions. He simply had neither the time nor the
training for such day-to-day tasks, and he relied heavily on the
dean and the business manager and their reports. Miss Higgins
understood, perhaps more clearly than Dr. Fraser was able to, the
difficulties in trying to operate a seminary and a college in the

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

same location. As early as 1923, she had arranged to publish
separate catalogues; "a thin plain grey one" for college announce-
ments, and a "beautiful white and gold one" for the seminary.^°
The seminary catalogue contained the junior college course list-
ings until 1925, when all those previously enrolled in that pro-
gram had completed their work and the junior college designation
was dropped. The matter of separating the faculty was not as
easily done. Miss Higgins divided them into college faculty,
preparatory faculty, and special faculty (i.e., piano, voice, violin,
art, expression). She held separate faculty meetings with each
group but was forced to report that the "special" teachers and
officers (study hall, librarian, matron, practice hall, nurse, physi-
cian, and secretary) were shared by both preparatory and college
students. Some friction between the various kinds of faculty
inevitably developed. Miss Higgins reported that the college
teachers were unwilling to undertake "governess duties."

Both seminary and college students shared the same infir-
mary, the same dining room, and the same library, in which
college students were given preference. The upper floor of Aca-
demic was for college classes. The class period lasted one hour.
The second floor housed the library, and the seminary students
used the first floor for 45-minute classes. The college students had
their tables in the center of the dining hall and did not have faculty
seated with them, as did the preparatory girls. College students
were placed in their own dormitories, Memorial, Hill Top, Chapel.
Sky High and McClung were seminary dormitories, and different
rules concerning chaperonage, town visits, and church atten-
dance applied to each group. Nevertheless, Miss Higgins felt it
necessary to include in all catalogue announcements between
1923 and 1929 the following statement: "We will not be able to
offer full privileges usually accorded college students during the
period that the college and the preparatory departments are
conducted in the same plant. "°^

Then there were the matters of choosing appropriate forms for
the college diploma, the abolition of the giving of certificates,
prizes and medals for college students, changes in keeping aca-
demic records, admission and classification standards, separate
commencement ceremonies; the details seemed endless, and one
can only speculate about the reluctance and dismay that students
and faculty must have felt as time honored customs gave way to
new requirements and as, year by year, the seminary enrollments
dropped and the college's increased. It is easy to see why, as early

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

as 1925, Dean Higgins was publicly asking the alumnae and
friends to "hurry up the campaign" and to give Mary Baldwin
College room "- physical, mental, social, moral and spiritual room"
- to become a fully accredited institution.^-

Both Dean Higgins and Mr. King believed that it was abso-
lutely necessary to maintain the seminary, and especially the
"special students," not only for financial reasons, but because this
seemed to them to be the essence of what Miss Baldwin's purpose
had been. Dean Higgins had conscientiously upgraded the college
faculty - all eight had Master's degrees, and three of them were
members of Phi Beta Kappa - but she was convinced a good
preparatory school background was the key to a successful college
experience, and she fought to keep the seminary viable. Perhaps
she was more comfortable with younger students, as most of her
professional experience had been with them. The ambitions,
demands and aspirations of college women in that bewildering
decade of the 1920s must have been difficult for her and, although
she speaks of giving them more responsibilities, their "privileges"
were few and their social opportunities very limited. Many of the
early college students were day students, and this helped to ease
the situation, since social regulations did not apply to them. But
it was obviously a situation that could not last. Perhaps no one was
more anxious than the dean and principal to see the two schools
in separate physical facilities.

But the next years, 1923-29 were full of frustration and
disappointment, not only for Dr. Fraser and Dean Higgins, but for
the board of trustees, the faculty, many devoted alumnae, the
citizens of Staunton and Augusta County, parents and friends of
the seminary, and for the students themselves. In all, four sepa-
rate financial campaigns were undertaken. Only one of these
succeeded, and most of the money raised by it had to be returned.
The four campaigns grew naturally out of the process but in
retrospect the multiple campaigns appear to have been unwise,
often overlapping and imposing tremendous demands on the
energy and time of Dr. Fraser and other board members.

The first of the fund-raising efforts was to be that of the Synod
of Virginia. Indeed, it was pivotal to all the rest. The expectation
had been that the Committee on the General Education Work of
the synod would promptly provide the $500,000 promised when it
accepted the transfer of the seminary to its control. This would be
the modest basis for a college endowment fund, the interest from
which would help pay operating and building expenses. Tied

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

closely to this effort was the Staunton/Augusta County Chamber
of Commerce pledge to raise $100,000 to be used for landscaping
on the new campus, to build a residence for the president, and to
provide such necessary utilities as a heating plant, laundry, etc.
The Chamber of Commerce pledges were contingent upon the
synod's contribution, and the synod had accepted the seminary
transfer contingent on the Chamber of Commerce's promises.
Although the seminary had purchased the land for the college
from its own current funds, more money would be required to
build dormitories, dining hall, classrooms, laboratories, and a
chapel, indeed an entire college physical plant. The board agi^eed
that a major fund-raising effort should be undertaken among the
alumnae, hoping to raise another $500,000. If successful, the
alumnae organization wished to name the principal building on
the new campus in honor of W.W. King.

The fourth campaign is more difficult to explain. President
Woodrow Wilson had died on 3 February 1924. Dr. Fraser had
been a Davidson classmate and had remained a personal friend.
It was Dr. Fraser who had been responsible for President-Elect
Wilson's visit to Staunton and to the seminary in December 1912,
at which time he had sta3^ed with Dr. Fraser in the Manse where
he (Wilson) had been born. Since the 1912 visit, and particularly
after the war years and the bitter debates over the League of
Nations (1919), more and more visitors had been coming to see
where "President Wilson was born," and Dr. Fraser had found
these intrusions difficult for his family. He had requested the
First Presbyterian Church, of which he was the pastor, to consider
purchasing another manse; but rather than sell the "Birthplace"
to a private citizen, some Wilson supporters and friends conceived
the idea of preserving the presidential birthplace as a "shrine"
open to the public. Their ideas continued to multiply. The Chapel
at Mary Baldwin Seminary, whose physical condition was so poor
that public gatherings there had been forbidden by the police and
fire departments, was the reputed scene of Woodrow Wilson's
baptism. The chapel should be "restored" to its appearance in
1856, as a Wilson memorial. It should be noted here that the
Chapel building had already been designated the Joseph A.
Waddell Chapel by the board of trustees in 1911. Perhaps the new
college, in distinction from Mary Baldwin Seminary, might be
called Woodrow Wilson College, but the board refused this sugges-
tion. In any case, one of the new college buildings could be called
Wilson Hall. To accomplish these objectives, a fund-raising cam-

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

paign was to be organized to raise $500,000, to be run concurrently
with the alumnae campaign.

Thus it was hoped (unrealistically as it turned out) that
$1,600,000 might be raised between 1924-1929 and that an
entirely new institution, which would be Mary Baldwin College,
could be constructed by the early 1930s.

The first of the campaigns to get underway was that of the
Chamber of Commerce. A Citizens' Campaign Committee of 16
(15 men and one woman, Emily P. Smith) was organized by the
spring of 1925, and in a whirlwind 10-day campaign raised a total
of $108,897.^'^ Much of this was in the form of pledges to be
redeemed over a three-year period, but the successful effort
heartened the board and encouraged them to believe that the
other efforts might be equally successful. It was said that Staunton/
Augusta County had never before raised as much money so
quickly; hence the disillusionment that followed was bitter and
long lasting.

Dr. Fraser, as president of Mary Baldwin College, made an
annual report to the Synod of Virginia. In 1924, after the college
had officially been in existence for a year. Dr. Fraser bluntly
reminded his church colleagues of their promise to raise $500,000
for the college's endowment and to make annual payments of
$30,000. Only about $1,459 had been received during the past
year. This, Dr. Fraser reminded them tartly, was not a benevo-
lence, but a "financial obligation," part of a contract made when
the seminary became a synodical college. Nothing appeared to be
planned in connection with the campaign. When would there be
action? The General Education Committee report to the synod
brought the answer. "We would advise the college that the Synod
does not believe the time is opportune to launch a Synod-wide
campaign to raise the $500,000 by reason of the large amount still
to be paid on the Million Dollar Educational Fund."^''

There appeared little that Dr. Fraser and the board could do
other than continue their appeals, which they did in 1925, and to
try through their own "network connections" to stimulate some
action. By 1926, Dr. Fraser reported that the Staunton community
was regularly asking, "When are you going to start your college?"
"We are in serious danger," he declared, "of losing local con-
fidence...and loyalty... and the unpaid parts of local subscrip-
tions." This appeal resulted in the recommendation that the synod
Ways and Means Committee have an early meeting with the Mary
Baldwin trustees to discuss "steps for discharging Synod's obliga-

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

tion to Mary Baldwin College." However, the synod did not feel "a
general campaign... at this time would be ...wise." Instead, Mary
Baldwin College trustees should consider the possibility of em-
ploying a full-time financial agent to visit individuals who might
contribute large sums to the college. The synod did not offer to
provide any funds for this individual.^'' Meanwhile, the annual
payments of $30,000 were never paid in full and were slow in

coming. By 1929, only $76,617 had been received. The total then
due was $180,000.56

A painful meeting, "embarrassing to every man present,"
between the Ways and Means Committee on Church Education
and the board of trustees of the college was held on 5 July 1927,
in Staunton. The history of the synod relationship was reviewed.
The synod committee acknowledged that promises had not been
kept and recommended a three-year effort, beginning in 1928, to
raise the half million dollars among their presbyteries, taking the
requisite funds from the overall benevolence budget. If this
suggestion was refused by the synod, they should turn the college
back to its original trustees, although they suggested that the
synod would wish to retain an "interest" in the "seminary. "5' The
synod did not accept the recommendations of this committee
report. Instead, while acknowledging their obligations, they con-
tinued to press the college to undertake the campaign itself,
although again no money was put in the synod budget to support
the attempt. The college trustees tried. They interviewed several
individuals, but "repeated consultations" with those "most expe-
rienced" in raising church funds revealed that, without a cam-
paign organization, the effort would not succeed. Since no funds
were available to hire such a person, it was a moot point. The
college could not fund it itself because it could not "place any more
of its securities in jeopardy." In 1928, Dr. Fraser and 13 loyal
friends visited or wrote letters to over 40 churches in the synod.
They were authorized to spend up to $2000 of college money for
their expenses. First Presb3d:erian Church in Staunton secured a
supply pastor to provide some relief for Dr. Fraser while these
activities went on. Few additional funds were secured. °^

Concurrent with the Chamber of Commerce and the synod
campaigns were to be the alumnae efforts. The Augusta Female
Seminary Alumnae Association was formally organized in 1894,
open to all former students, and in its early years focused on the
"old girls'" reminiscences and love and support for Miss Baldwin
and her school. ^^ However, an alumnae scholarship and mission-

To Live In Time From Semincny to College

ary scholarship programs had been inaugurated, and the Bulletin
reported with great interest the physical changes that took place
in the early 20th century. In 1911, under alumnae auspices, a
beautiful memorial window honoring Mary Julia Baldwin had
been placed in the Chapel. As early as 1910, the alumnae had
sought to have representation on the board of trustees but had
been politely refused by that all-male body. Around 1912, the
Graduates Council of the Association, representing the "full
graduates," had begun to press for junior college status and, as
had been seen, were exploring ways of supporting an endowment
fund and becoming a four-year "Grade A" college even before
World War I. By the early 1920s there were about 5,000 alumnae,
of whom perhaps 500 were members of the association. There
were six local chapters. The officers of the association appealed to
the board for funds to secure a "field secretary," which would allow
them closer contact with all their present and prospective mem-
bers. The creation of the "Mary Baldwin System," seminary and
college, and the new relationship with the synod were changes not
easily accepted by all the alumnae. There was even an impas-
sioned debate over what to call themselves, and finally the
cumbersome name "Association of Alumnae and Former Students
of Mary Baldwin Seminary and College" was chosen as reflecting
all their constituencies.*^'^ As the various financial campaigns got
underway, the alumnae were asked by Dr. Fraser to consider a
campaign of their own. But the Alumnae Association had almost
no infrastructure. All the work was done by volunteers. As Dr.
Fraser pointed out, the former students were widely scattered,
and many had been at the seminary for only a short time and had
attended other educational institutions as well, and thus had
divided loyalties. There had never been a previous appeal to them
for financial support, and they were unaccustomed to "sympa-
thetic cooperation in any common cause." Dr. Fraser might well
have added the thought that all of the alumnae save one were
seminary students, and they were being asked to contribute to the
support of a college.

On the other hand. Dr. Fraser, always the optimist, contin-
ued, "When one considers the large number of students who have
passed through this seminary, the aggregate of wealth repre-
sented by these students and the superior character of the women
themselves, it looks as though the alumnae ought to be able to
raise $500, 000... Are there not a number of alumnae whom Provi-
dence has blessed with large means, who have in the past received

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

some blessing from Mary Baldwin which no money can measure,
into whose heart the Lord will now put it to do a really big part in
the true spirit of Mary Baldwin?"'^^

The additional benefits of the campaign, he continued, would
be a more professional organization of the alumnae and a greater
awareness among all the constituencies of the needs of the "Mary
Baldwin System."

The board of trustees had, early in 1923, interviewed some
"professional" fund raisers and had finally settled on the New
York firm of Ward, Wells, Dreshman and Gates to advise them in
the matter of the local campaign. The alumnae were invited to
coordinate their efforts with this gi^oup (the expenses to be borne
by the trustees). B. M. Hedrick of the above firm worked closely
with the alumnae effort. An alumnae campaign executive com-
mittee of 15 members was created; Lucille Foster McMillin of
Nashville. Tennessee, agreed to act as general chairman, and
Emily Pancake Smith of the local alumnae did "active, aggressive
work." Ten national districts were created; there were to be zone
and local chairmen within each district. Altogether 530 alumnae
were to be actively involved, and hopes were high for the success
of the effort. 6-

That May, Dean Higgins had reported to the alumnae at their
annual meeting that the members of the faculty and students had
shown "vital and substantial interest in the college campaign."
The girls were present at the final meeting of the local campaign
and "added gi^eatly to the life and spirit of the occasion by their
singing and other youthful demonstrations." When the success of
the Chamber of Commerce campaign was announced on 13 April
1925, the students were given a holiday and there was much
rejoicing. The school itself was organized for its own mini-cam-
paign, and by the end of the term pledges for $10,000 had been
made. A student was allowed to pledge only with her parents'
consent, and an eventual goal of $25,000 was set. The students
hoped to use their money for either an athletic field or landscape
gardening at the new site. The dean added that the faculty and
staff had also contributed "generously" but did not specify the
amount. "^'^

The students were also involved in another activity. At the
suggestion of B. M. Hedrick, the trustees sponsored an essay
contest on the subject, "Why Should a Girl Go to College?" The
successful essayist was to be admitted to Mary Baldwin tuition-
free for the next term. Miriam Palmer was later declared winner

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

of the contest, but the board was dismayed to receive a request
from the young lady for $150 in cash, the value of the scholarship,
since she had decided to go to school "elsewhere." The board
refused her request. "^^ There is no record that they awarded the
scholarship to anyone else.

The alumnae campaign was launched in June 1925, and from
the beginning, the results were disappointing. The anticipated
"large gifts" were not forthcoming, and the expenses of the
professional organizers were exceeding the monies collected. In
1926, Dr. Eraser's report to the synod declared, "The efforts of the
Alumnae ...have not so far been encouraging, but they are not at
all discouraged and are laying plans with gi^eat care for a patient
and determined campaign of organization and inspiration..."
Sadly, the Newsletter for July 1927, reported that all active work
on the campaign had ceased "for the present." At that point
$78,000 had been subscribed, representing 331 persons. A later
notice told the alumnae that the collected money was invested at
6% interest and would ultimately be used to erect a building
honoring Mr. King.*^^

On 28 August 1924, the Board of Trustees of Mary Baldwin
College voted to undertake a campaign to raise $500,000 "as a
memorial to W. Wilson." This campaign was to be coordinated
with the other two - i.e. the Chamber of Commerce and the
alumnae efforts - and it was hoped that the same financial
advisors might supervise all three. Dr. Edwin A. Alderman,
president of the University of Virginia, accepted an invitation to
be the General Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the
Woodrow Wilson Memorial Fund.

The campaign was an ambitious one. It was to be national in
scope, with each state having its own committee, as well as each
congressional district, on down to city and local levels. It would
prove to be time-consuming to organize, since prominent indi-
viduals were to be approached, and expensive. The trustees voted
to underwrite the expenses of the campaign with the understand-
ing that the funds would be refunded to the college from the
monies contributed. Formal announcement of the Wilson Memo-
rial Campaign was made by Dr. Fraser on 12 June 1925, at the
Manse, which was Dr. Eraser's home, to the 150 members of the
National Editorial Association, who were having their annual
meeting in Staunton. Dr. Eraser delivered a moving memorial to
the former president and sought to thus gain national publicity for
the fund- raising. Brochures were printed, mailing lists prepared,

To Live In Time From Seminaiy to College

much travel was involved as national leaders were sought in each
state. The board was informed that the campaign expenses by
mid-summer 1925, were already more than $26,000, and the
active phase had not yet begun. '^'^ Bayard Hedrick, the profes-
sional fund-raiser, had proposed that the actual campaign not
commence until November 1925, since the Woodrow Wilson Foun-
dation, a New York association, had been engaged in a campaign
to raise $1 million for scholarships and research and was actively
seeking to complete its work by the early fall. It would be
confusing to have two Wilson Memorial campaigns run simulta-
neously, so the Mary Baldwin effort should wait until the other
effort was concluded.

The Maiy Baldwin Wilson Memorial campaign was plagued
with difficulties from the beginning. Immediately after Wilson's
death, a number of groups and institutions had devised plans for
various projects and building programs at a time when nostalgia
and sentiment might help their cause. A gi^oup hoped to establish
a university in Valdosta, Georgia, and publicity about this had
been released in late 1924. The campaign of the prestigious
Woodrow Wilson Foundation in New York had already raised
about $800,000 in 1924-5; friends of Woodrow Wilson proposed
buying the "S" Street house in Washington D.C. as a memorial.
There were several other, less reputable groups seeking publicity
and funds in Wilson's name. The similarity of the names, timing
and purposes of some of these gi^oups, and the suggestions of fraud
and corruption could only damage the Staunton effort. The pro-
posed Mary Baldwin state committees hardly functioned. Even
the Virginia committee headed by Harry M. Smith never seems to
have been viable and, as late as April 1926, the executive commit-
tee of the board of trustees said the Virginia campaign was "still
being organized."*^"

The efforts to raise the funds for the Wilson "shrine" struggled
through the remaining months of 1925 and through 1926. Ward,
Wells, Dreshman and Gates insisted that more professional help
was needed and recalled Bayard Hedrick, their representative.
He was replaced by a succession of advisors (all expensive), none
of whom stayed long enough to become familiar with the various
constituencies. By April 1926, Dr. Fraser had become "general
chairman" of the effort. By December of that year, the college had
borrowed $30,000 from various local banks and was forced to
borrow more to pay the interest on the funds that had already been
borrowed. By January 1927, the conservative "men of affairs" who

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

made up the college board of trustees voted to "postpone any
further expenditures on the Wilson Memorial." But Dr. Fraser
would not yet give up. The board authorized him to write letters
to 700 "admirers" of Woodrow Wilson appealing for support. The
letters resulted in several small donations totaling $3,275.'^'^

Reluctantly, in January 1928, the board of trustees voted to
abandon the original plan for the Wilson Memorial and to use the
money collected (about $26,000) to acquire the Manse, which
would then be turned over to an independent "Woodrow Wilson
Memorial Foundation" as soon as one could be organized. The
Foundation would be responsible for raising additional funds,
maintaining the property, and opening it to the public. '^^

Why had the Wilson Campaign failed? In a letter written to
Edith Wilson in 1929, Dr. Fraser wrote that the "difficulty seems
to be an objection to having a memorial associated with an
institution of learning." In his report to the synod in 1928, Fraser
made a very similar observation. "An elaborate memorial identi-
fied with a denominational college has not met with general
approval by the friends of Mr. Wilson throughout the country."™
But surely there was more than that, although it seems a valid
point. The campaign organization was far too complicated and
elaborate, and no state or local committee was willing to begin
work until the whole structure had been completed. The timing
was most unfortunate; the multiplicity of campaigns with similar
objectives; the suspicion of fraud; the general disillusionment of
the country after the Senate refusal to approve the Versailles
Treaty and the League of Nations, all these contributed to the lack
of interest and support. Wilson's death in February 1924 had
revived a flurry of interest in the wartime president but this
quickly died, and the Mary Baldwin College Wilson Campaign
was almost two years after Wilson's death in beginning its appeal.

The effort to create a Woodrow Wilson Memorial (the Manse,
the Chapel, the new building or a new campus) ultimately cost the
college about $20,000 in outlay and carrying charges, plus untold
hours of work and planning by the members of board of trustees,
and particularly Dr. Fraser."^ One can only speculate about the
depths of his disappointment and the diminution of his strength
and vigor as a result of his vast efforts associated with all four
campaigns. It is hard not to conclude that, from the viewpoint of
the college, the Wilson campaign should never have been under-
taken.

The year 1928 was a momentous and unpleasant year for

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

Mary Baldwin. It had been five years since the college had passed
under the control of the Synod of Virginia- five years during which
tremendous efforts had been made to raise funds for the Mary
Baldwin "system," and these efforts had failed. Townspeople,
friends, alumnae, faculty, staff, and students were all asking,
with increasing persistence, "When are you going to start building
the college?" It must have been embarrassing when Dr. Bell,
whose property had been purchased as the site for the college, but
whose home was adjacent to the tract, requested that the sign
posted on the property which said, "Maiy Baldwin College site" be
removed because of the "annoyance to his household" by the
frequent enquiries from the traveling public as to the location of
Mary Baldwin College. Mr. King was ordered to remove the sign. '-
Dean Higgins reported in January that the State Board of Educa-
tion was adamant about not according recognition to Maiy Baldwin
as a "standard four-year college" until the physical separation of
the two institutions had occurred. Moreover, after 1929, gi^adua-
tion from an accredited four-year college was necessary for teacher
certification in Virginia. One can only empathize with the board
members, especially Dr. Fraser, when, with great reluctance, at a
special meeting of the trustees on 27 January 1928, they voted to
discontinue the preparatory and primary departments - i.e., the
old seminary - effective May 1929. Thus Maiy Julia Baldwin's
school would come to an end, and a college bearing her name would
take its place. '-^ There did not appear to be any other possible
solution to their difficulties. College students exceeded the prepa-
ratory students in number, and the commitment to creating a
"grade A" four-year college had been so determined and well-
publicized that no return to the former condition seemed possible.
Yet the decision left many friends of the institution embittered.
Townspeople were loath to see the preparatory school close. They
much preferred it for their daughters to the public schools which
they mistrusted. Almost all the alumnae were former seminaiy
students. They had been promised that the creation of the college
would not imperil the seminary. Many felt betrayed. There must
have been strong feelings among the faculty and staff. The
executive committee in March felt it necessary to ask Dr. Fraser
to write a letter communicating the feelings of the board about
"certain indiscreet criticisms by certain employees of the college"
and to confer with the dean and business manager about the
matter.^* But the best evidence of dismay came from the number
of requests that donations made to the various campaigns be

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

returned, since the original proposal that a new college would be
built was not going to be carried out."^^

When the Synod of Virginia met in September 1928, a resolu-
tion reflecting these demands and the threat they posed to the
reputation of the synod and the college was passed. Inasmuch as
the synod had failed to raise $500,000 within the allotted five
years, those individuals who had contributed to the local cam-
paign were no longer bound to their pledges or obligations, and the
board of trustees of the college was ordered to return to those who
wished it returned any money already subscribed.

On 9 October 1928, the college board acted on the synod
resolution. At first, it was suggested that the money already paid
on the local pledges, amounting to $48,000, be returned with
interest and that all remaining pledges be cancelled. But H.B.
Sproul suggested instead that a letter be sent to all subscribers,
describing the present status of the college, "its progress and
purposes," and offering to return the money "if desired." The letter
was duly sent on 1 January 1929. One hundred fifty-one subscrib-
ers asked for refunds. Sixty-eight said they did not wish the money
they had given paid back but wished their pledges cancelled.
Approximately $35,460 remained in the hands of the treasurer of
the college as a result of the City Campaign - hardly worth the ill
feelings that had been engendered."*^

The offer to return the local money, made in good faith and
with the best of intentions, had a totally unanticipated result.
Word quickly spread, at first in the community and then state-
wide, that the college would be closed. Alumnae and other indi-
viduals who had pledged to the various campaigns began to
request that their money be returned, also. At first the board
resisted. "The local subscriptions were made under specific
conditions... these conditions did not apply to any but subscribers
in Staunton and Augusta County..." But, ultimately, a proposal
was made to return to all alumnae the money they had contrib-
uted. It is unclear whether or not this was actually done, but the
money that had been collected and retained from the alumnae
campaign (about $30,000) eventually was used toward the Cen-
tennial Building (1942) named for W.W. King."

The effects of the report that the college was closing had a
serious impact on enrollment. Also, the closing of the preparatory
division and the decline in the number of "special students" had
severe financial consequences. In 1929, Mr. King reported that
there were 139 fewer students than in 1928 and that the only

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

"special department" still operating at a profit was voice.^^ King
had not been in favor of the college establishment. His devotion to
Miss Baldwin and her seminary was fervent; he called her, "one
of God's noblest women... [she] has been my guide and my inspira-
tion." He warned at the end of his lengthy financial report:

I trust the Board of Trustees will not lose
sight of the fact that we are passing through
a critical period in the life and future useful-
ness of Mary Baldwin... schools to be success-
fully conducted require money just like any
other business enterprise and I trust that
this grave situation will be given due consid-
eration."^

Although it is difficult to assess all the direct and indirect costs
and the results of the four financial campaigns attempted in the
1920s, the following summary is suggestive:

goal

result

realized

Chamber of Commerce Campaign

$100,000

$109,000

$35,460

Alumnae Campaign

500,000

78,000

30,000

costs $54,000

Synod Campaign

500,000

" Pledge to pay $30,000 per

year until goal met

1923-1937

420,000

145,000

W. Wilson Memorial Campaign

500,000

30,000

25,000

costs $20,000

TOTAL GOAL $1,600,000

TOTAL RESULTS 217,000

TOTAL COSTS 74,000

NET 143,000 HO

Although the original intention had been to complete all of these
efforts in a five-year period, 1923-1928, three of them were open-
ended. The Chamber of Commerce campaign exceeded its goal in
less than a month; the synod campaign was never really imple-
mented except for two months in the summer of 1928, when Dr.
Fraser and his 13 associates visited some synod churches. Even-
tually it was decided that, the times still not being "right," the
major effort would be delayed until a full-time "officer" of the
board could devote all his energy to the effort. The Depression
intervened, but the synod campaign was still being discussed in

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

1937 and did not come to an end until the charter changes of 1938.
The annual payments ($30,000) from the presbyteries never
exceeded $19,000, and in the 1930s averaged $6-$V,000 a year.
The alumnae campaign was set aside "for the present" in 1927 but
was revived for the Centennialyear( 1942). The Wilson campaign
was concluded by board action in 1928. Ten years later, the
permanent Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation was char-
tered.

On 9 October 1928, at a called meeting of the board of trustees.
Dr. Fraser tendered his resignation as president of Mary Baldwin
College, citing the criticism of his "lack of leadership" as one of the
supposed reasons for the failure of the four fund-raising efforts.
Although he acknowledged his lack of "experience," he pointed out
that he had protested his election as president in 1923, citing a
need for the "best college man in the South." He had accepted only
reluctantly, feeling that, until the college and seminary were
physically separated, someone who was familiar with the
institution's "operations" and "officers" could avoid the "danger of
complications." In the ensuing years he had offered his resigna-
tion several times and now, in the fall of 1928, he felt compelled
to insist. The members of his church were "restless," and his own
health had suffered. He would be willing to stay until a successor
could be appointed and reminded the board that he had never
sought "to shirk any duty."*^^ The board accepted Dr. Fraser's
resignation and appointed a committee to seek a "Full Time
Officer" for the college.

On 22 May 1929, the special committee of the board of trustees
recommended that Dr. L. Wilson Jarman, the vice-president of
Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina, be elected president
of Mary Baldwin College as of 1 July 1929. The report was
accepted unanimously. Dr. Jarman, who was "in the city," met
with the board and later the college faculty and staff. Although Dr.
Fraser remained as president of the board of trustees, the major
responsibility for the college had slipped from his shoulders. The
transition from seminary to college was completed.*-

To Live In Time From Seminajy to College

Notes

^ Ella Claire Weimar ( -1926) was born in Fauquier County,
Virginia and was educated in Warrenton and Baltimore. She
taught in Winchester, Virginia and in 1873-75 came to Augusta
Female Seminary to teach English and History. Her other teach-
ing posts included work in Alabama and Arkansas, and she
returned to Augusta Female Seminary in 1889 as assistant
principal and teacher of English. She was appointed principal pro
tem in 1897, after Mary Julia Baldwin's death, and she was made
principal in 1898, a post she held until 1916. She died near
Warrenton, Va. 28 Dec. 1926. AN July 1927.

William Wayt King ( 1864-1939) was born in Augusta County
and educated at Hoover Military Academy and Dunsmore Busi-
ness College in Staunton, Virginia. After work in the County
Treasurer's office, he was employed as "Superintendent of Build-
ings and Grounds and Assistant to M. J. Baldwin," 1890-98. The
board of trustees made him the business manager in 1898-a post
he held until 1930, at which time he became the curator of the
endowment, a position he held until 1936. He lived at "Kalorama"
(now the Staunton Public Library) and was married to Fannie
Bayly, a very public spirited and active citizen of the Staunton
community, who had a passionate interest in women's suffrage.
Most alumnae remembered Mr. King for his "Red Head Club" and
his personal and deep concern for each student. Waddell 47-48,
57, 59, passim. Watters, 216-20 passim.

2 Minutes, BT 25 Jan. 1898.

^ In Virginia, Bridgewater College, formerly Spring Creek
Normal School and Collegiate Institute, opened in 1880 as a
coeducational institution.

' Randolph-Macon Woman's College, 1891; Sweet Briar, 1906;
Hollins, 1911; Longwood (State Female Normal School), 1884;
State Teachers' College, Radford, 1910; State Normal College at
Harrisonburg (James Madison University), 1908. See also: Anne
Firor Scott, "One of the Most Significant Movements of all Time,"
Eleventh Annual Carroll Lectures, Mary Baldwin College, 15-16
Oct. 1984.

^ The new dormitories were named Baldwin Memorial and
Agnes McClung.

^ It is to Mr. King that the credit must go for the decision that
the new seminary buildings' architecture would conform to that of

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

Main (the Administration Building) and Hill Top-the lovely
columns and painted brick of the neoclassical style beloved in the
early 19th century. Credit goes equally to Dr. Samuel Spencer,
who decreed that the expanded campus of the 1960s would
continue in keeping with the traditional style of the old campus;
hence the college today possesses a rare architectural unity and
beauty few can equal.

" See the annual reports of the business manager in successive
issues of the board Minutes. For example, 15 June 1900. 15 June
1905. 15 July 1909. 9Mar. 1910. 17 Jan. 1911. See also Catalogue,
1896-1900. passim. After 1909, Mr. King made semi-annual
reports to the board of trustees, not only giving financial informa-
tion, but long narratives about the physical plant and his sugges-
tions for policies concerning tuition, enrollment, and investments.
Before that date, his reports had been usually incorporated with
those of the executive committee.

^ Enrollment figures are an approximation since students
entered late, left early, often failed to return after Christmas, etc.
The report of the executive committee to the board on 18 May 1898
shows that there were 182 students for the 1897-98 session (92
boarding, 90 day students). Minutes, BT 24 May 1898. On 18 June
1900, Mr. King reported that there were 220 students enrolled for
the 1899-1900 session (128 boarders and 92 day students). Min-
utes, BT 18 June 1900. But, 16 years later, 18 Jan. 1916, Mr.
King's report indicated 245 students (153 boarders and 92 day
students). Minutes. BT 15 Jan. 1916. Additional figures include:
1905 - 292 students; 1910 - 298 students; 1912 - 230 students.
Minutes. BT 16 May 1905. 18 Jan. 1910. 21 May 1912.
9 Minutes. BT 18 Jan. 1916.

10 AN 1910.

11 Minutes EC 9 Jan. 1912. 13 Mar. 1912. 10 Feb. 1914.

1^ This group met on the Mary Baldwin Seminary Campus 3
Sept. 1912 with Sarah Meetze, a member of the seminary faculty,
as hostess. Minutes EC 14 May 1912. AN 1913.

1^ The Secretary of the Board, J. A. Waddell, wrote that they
should be called "Alumni," because "the young ladies insist upon
calling themselves Masters and Bachelors of Art and why not
Alumni instead of Alumnae?" Waddell 66, 68.

I'' AN 1913.

i^AN 1913. Augusta Female Seminary had awarded prizes,
medals, certificates of "proficiency," diplomas, and from time to
time, early in the 20th century. Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

Music, and briefly Master of Arts degi^ees. Miss Weimar recog-
nized such degrees were no longer acceptable. After 1914, only
diplomas were issued. The Catalogue, 1917-18 indicates gi'adu-
ates of the collegiate course receive a Junior College Certificate.
Catalogue, 1917-1918.

^^ Catalogue. 1911-12. In 1912, three were full graduates,
nine in music, art and elocution; in 1913, seven full graduates,
including Fannie Strauss, Luise and Katherine Eisenberg, six in
art and music and one postgraduate.

^' Minutes EC 14 Oct. 1913.

18 Minutes EC 13 Jan. 1914. The "Committee of Teachers"
may have been composed of Ella C. Weimar, Martha D. Riddle,
Marianna Higgins, Mary F. Hurlburt and Nellie Smithey (un-
dated manuscript in the college archives).

19 E. R. Chesterman, letter to A. M. Eraser, 12 Jan. 1915,
enclosed in Vol. 1 of the board Minutes. College Archives.

20 Minutes. BT 26 Feb. 1915. 16 Mar. 1915.

21 Catalogfue. 1916-17.

22 Catalogue. 1916-17.

23 Minutes. BT 18 Jan. 1916. 23 May 1916. 13 July 1916.
Watters 264. It has not been possible to find out Miss Weimar's
exact age. All publications mentioning her do not disclose a
birthdate. She died 28 Dec. 1926.

24 Watters 264.

25 AN 1916.

2*^ Minutes EC 16 May 1917. Minutes. BT 22 May 1917.

2' Enrollment: 1917-235; 1918-276; 1919-276; Minutes. BT
16 Jan. 1917. 22 Jan. 1918. 21 Jan. 1919. So many applications
were refused because of lack of space that Mr. King received
permission from the board to recommend the overflow to Stuart
Hall. Minutes. BT 13 Aug. 1918.

-^ It was traditional that the minister of First Presbyterian
Church be on the seminary board. The earliest extant Board
Minutes of 3 July 1897 list A. M. Eraser as a member, as does the
Catalogue 1894-95.

A. M. Eraser was:

Minister, Eirst Presbyterian Church 1893-1929

Chaplain, Mary Baldwin Seminary and Mary Baldwin Col-
lege 1897(?)-1929

Member, Board of Trustees 1894-1932

Member, Executive Committee of the Board 1897-1932

To Live In Time From Seminaty to College

President of the Board of Trustees 1909-32
President of Mary Baldwin College 1923-29

29 Two of his daughters, Margaret Mclver Fraser (1917-18)
and Nora Blanding Fraser (1920-25) were on the seminary fac-
ulty. Nora Fraser graduated from Mary Baldwin Seminary in
1901.

3« AN 1915.

31 Catalogue. 1924-25.

32 Minutes, BT 19 May 1908. Marianna Parramore Higgins (?-
Mar. 6, 1938): Career at Mary Baldwin:

Preparatory English teacher 1908-16
Principal of Mary Baldwin Seminary 1916-29
Dean of Mary Baldwin College 1923-29
Honorary LLD of Literature June 1925
Academic Dean of Mary Baldwin College 1929-30

33 AN 1921.

3^ Hampden-Sydney College awarded Marianna Higgins an
Honorary LLD in 1925. She was the first woman they had so
honored. AN 1925. Minutes, BT 1 May 1916.

35 Minutes, 16 Jan. 1923.

36 Minutes, 27 Jan. 1918. 4 Aug. 1919.
3' AN 1923.

3^ Minutes SV Sept. 1919. The institutions were Hampden-
Sydney College, Union Theological Seminary, General Assembly's
Training School and the Orphans Home of Lynchburg.

39 Minutes, BT 24 May 1921. 11 Oct. 1921. The committee was
composed of Hugh B. Sproul, Chair, J. W. McFarland, J. M.
Quarles, and W. H. Landes. Dr. A. M. Fraser was added to it in
October as the committee was then entrusted with the responsi-
bility of setting terms and conditions for the transfer. It should be
noted that both Lynchburg and Roanoke approached the synod
requesting that they be considered as a site for a Presbyterian
woman's college. Minutes SV 1922.

^0 General Assembly of Virginia, Acts ( 1844-45) 105; ( 1895-96)
5-6; subsequent charters were granted by the State Corporation
Commission as follows:

3 Jan. 1923, 11 May 1923, 21 June 1939,

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

5 Dec. 1957, 5 Nov. 1970, July 1979, Apr. 1984,
14 Dec. 1988

City of Staunton, Charter Book 3, 403, 492; 4, 15; 5, 315; 7, 539.
On 2 February 1916, the State Board of Education accredited
Mary Baldwin Seminaiy as a Junior College. See also: Catalogue,
1896-97. Catalogue. 1923-24. Announcements. The Catalogue
states that Mary Baldwin College is a "Standard College for
Women" Catalogue. 1928-29. "Mary Baldwin College is accredited
as a Standard College by... the Association of Colleges and Second-
ary Schools of the Southern States" Catalogue. 1931-32. An-
nouncements.

'' Minutes. BT 26 Oct. 1921. 2Nov. 1921. It should be noted
that the earliest version of the "conditions" asked only for $200,000
endowment and $12,000 annual payments. Upon reflection Mr.
Landes (long-time treasurer of the board) felt that additional
money should be requested (two and a half times as much) and the
amended request was the one sent to the Synod of Virginia. See
Minutes SV 1921.

42 Minutes SV 19 Sept. 1922.

43 Minutes. BT 30 Oct. 1922. Apparently only six board
members attended.

44 H. D. Peck, letter to W. H. Landes, 16 Feb. 1923, College
Archives.

45 Minutes, BT 8 Dec. 1922. 16 Jan. 1923. The charters are
dated 3 Jan. 1923. 11 May 1923.

46 Minutes, BT 20 Dec. 1922. 16 Jan. 1923.

4" Minutes SV Sept. 1923. Dr. Fraser accepted the presidency
of the college "for a while." He recognized that a full-time profes-
sional educator and administrator would be necessaiy but "be-
cause of his long and intimate connection with Mary Baldwin
Seminary and his acquaintance with its spirit and methods, he
believed that for a while he might render it a service which a new
man might not be in a position to render." Minutes. 173. He
remained the full-time pastor of First Presbyterian Church as
well as the chaplain of the seminary and the college.

4-^ Minutes SV Sept. 1923. Minutes. BT 27 Apr. 1923. 26 May
1923. Eighteen different locations were considered in addition to
the Bell site. The selection committee was made up of Dr. Fraser,
J. B. Rawlings, R. F. Hutcheson, H. B. Sproul and J. A. Fulton.
Advice was also sought from the presidents of VPI (Dr. Julian A.
Burruss) and Washington & Lee (Dr. Henry Louis Smith) and

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

from a professional landscape architect, E. C. Whitney. Later,
some preliminary site use plans were provided.

The financing of the site purchase was a bit involved. The
executors of Mary Julia Baldwin's will turned over to the college
treasurer $25,000 in 1898-the residium in cash of her estate
which had been willed to the seminary. The money had been
invested in the ensuing 25 years and had grown to about $60,000
- sufficient to purchase the college site. Rather than liquidate
these investments, however, the treasurer, W. H. Landes, was
authorized to borrow $20,000 from National Valley Bank to make
the required down payment, then to use the funds of the maturing
and past due investments to pay off in three equal parts over the
next three years, the remaining $40,000. This was done and the
title to the college site was transferred to the trustees in July 1926.
Minutes. BT 15 Jan. 1924. 6 July 1926.

'^^ D. S. Lancaster (Secretary, State Board of Education),
letters to Dr. Higgins, 17 Nov. 1927. 19 Nov. 1927. 25 Nov. 1927.
Minutes. BT 17 Jan. 1928.

^^ The grey cover remained on the college catalogues until
1932, after Miss Higgins had resigned. It then became a brown
cover and remained relatively plain and unadorned until 1958,
when a picture was added. It was not until the late 1960s that the
catalogue covers became brighter and illustrations plentiful as
the catalogue became part of an aggressive recruitment package.
See Catalogue. 1923. 1932. 1958. Minutes. BT 19 May 1925. 17
Jan. 1928.

51 Catalogue, 1925-26. Minutes. BT 19 May 1925.

52CC3Apr. 1925.

5^ The members of the Citizens' Committee were: Judge Wil-
liam A. Pratt, Chair, Col. H. L. Opie, HughB. Sproul, A. M. Eraser,
Julian A. Burruss, Rev. W. E. Davis, William H. Landes, James N.
McFarland, J. M. Quarles, William H. East, Thomas Hogshead,
Kimber H. Knorr, Campbell Pancake, Thomas H. Russell, Clarke
Worthington, and Mrs. Emily Smith. Eight of these citizens were
members of the board of trustees of Mary Baldwin College, and
Mrs. Smith was a very active alumna. CC 3 Apr. 1925. Minutes.
BT 7 July 1925.

54 Minutes , SV Sept. 1924.

55 Minutes , SV Sept.

56 Minutes , BT 15 June 1929.
5^ Minutes , SV 1927.

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

58 Minutes , SV 1928.

°^ The organization changed its name in 1896 to Mary Baldwin
Alumnae Association, the school's name having been changed in
1895. Watters 199.

60 AN 1924.

61 AN 1925.

62 AN 1925. The mem.bers of the executive committee were:
Anne Hotchkiss Howison (Chair), resigned because of ill health
and was replaced by Reba Andrews Arnold; Emily Pancake Smith
(Vice-Chair), Mary Lou Bell, Augusta Bumgardner, Ruth C.
Campbell, Annabelle Timberlake Hogshead, Margaret McChesney,
Nancy McFarland, Carlotta Kable Morriss, Virginia Parkins,
Jane Stephenson Roller and Fannie Strauss.

63 AN 1925.

64 Minutes. BT 19 May 1925. 7 July 1925. 19 Jan. 1926.

65 AN July 1927. Minutes. SV 1926.

66 Minutes. BT 28 Aug. 1924. 19 May 1925. 7 July 1925. An
"Advisory Committee of between 80-90" prominent Americans
included such names as Ray Stannard Baker, Josephus Daniels,
John W. Davis, Charles W. Eliot, Douglas Southall Freeman,
William Jennings Bryan, Charles Dana Gibson, Carter Glass,
Armistead C. Gordon, Edward M. House, Charles Evans Hughes,
Cyrus H. McCormick, Henry Morganthau, Franklin D. Roosevelt
and Alfred E. Smith . See Minutes. BT 7 July 1925. for the
complete list.

6" Minutes EC 2 April 1926.

68 Minutes EC 4 Sept. 1925. 15 Sept. 1925. 12 Dec. 1925. 22
Dec. 1925. 19 Jan. 1926. 27 Jan. 1926. 29 Jan. 1926. 19 Feb.
1926. 2 Apr. 1926. 14 Dec. 1926. 11 Jan. 1927. Minutes. BT July
1928.

69 Minutes. BT 17 Jan. 1928. Apparently the suggestion had
been made that the entire project be dropped and the money
($26,000) returned. Eraser described the "dilemma" this posed in
the Board Minutes. BT 5 July 1927. There had been no really
substantial gifts - much of the money had come from "school
children" (unnamed) and thus could not be returned. On the other
hand, a conservative estimate said that at least $75,000 was
needed to open and maintain the Manse after it was acquired.
Minutes. BT May 1927. On 22 May 1929 (conditional approval
of the sale had been made as early as 1 February 1928), the
trustees of First Presbyterian Church agreed to sell the Manse to
Mary Baldwin College for $30,000 with the condition that the

To Live In Time From Seminary to College

college could transfer the property to a "society or corporation"
which would preserve it as a "shrine." There was a specific
provision that the Manse would not open to the public on Sunday.
(This condition has since been rescinded.) The college paid for the
property with the money collected in the campaign and the
interest that had accrued during the interveningyears. A subcom-
mittee of the executive committee was responsible for the prop-
erty, and Dr. Fraser lived there (rent free) until January 1931,
when he was able to move elsewhere. Minutes, BT 22 May 1929.
16 June 1929. By 1930, a temporary Woodrow Wilson Birthplace
"Memorial Society" had been created and on 1 July the property
was transferred to them. The college, however, continued to
provide annual payments toward the upkeep of the property,
which was opened to the public on 31 Aug. 1931. Although many
distinguished Virginians were associated with the "Memorial
Society" (Harry Flood Byrd was the president; he had accepted on
the condition that he not be asked to speak or to raise funds) and
many devoted citizens of Staunton and Augusta County gave of
their time and talents, the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace owes its
existence today to three individuals; Brigadier General E. Walton
Opie, Charles Catlett, and most especially Emily Pancake Smith,
a devoted alumna of Mary Baldwin Seminary, President of the
Garden Club of Virginia - which she persuaded to undertake to
"restore" the gardens of the Manse ( 193 1-34) - and the determined
advocate of the preservation of the Manse. Finally, on 27 June
1938, the college was able to sell the Manse to the Woodrow Wilson
Birthplace Foundation for $25,000. What happens thereafter,
while a fascinating story, more properly belongs to that
organization's history. Minutes, BT 26 May 1930. 20 Jan. 1931.
21 Jan. 1922. 20 Jan. 1931. Deborah J. Atkinson, "Woodrow
Wilson Birthplace: Preserving a Presidential Historic Site," MA
thesis Wake Forest N. C, Aug. 1977, Woodrow Wilson Birthplace
Archives.

^•^A. M. Fraser, letter to Edith B. Wilson, (n.d.), Woodrow
Wilson Birthplace Memorial Foundation manuscript collection.
Minutes SV 1928.

"1 Watters 435. Minutes, BT 17 Jan. 1928. 9 Oct. 1928.

^2 Minutes. BT 17 May 1928.

"^3 Minutes. BT 17 Jan. 1928. 27 Jan. 1928.

'^ Minutes. EC 20 Mar. 1928.

'5 AN 1925. CC 15 Feb. 1925. It should be noted that both the
alumnae and the student editorials expressed great dismay at the

To Live In Time From Semi?7m\y to College

closing of the seminary, but reached the same conclusion that no
other course was possible.

"6 Minutes. SV Sept. 1928. Sept. 1929. Minutes. BT 9 Oct.
1928. 22 Jan. 1929.

" Minutes, BT 22 Jan. 1929. 15 Jan. 1930. Watters 557.
The differance between the $78,000 "subscribed" by the
alumnae (pg. 54) and the $30,000 eventually realized (pg. 58)
represents deductions for campaign expenses, unpaid pledges
and the requests for the return of some monies donated because
the campaigns had failed.

'8 Minutes, BT 2 July 1929. 22 Jan. 1929. Minutes SV Sept.
1929.

^9 Minutes. BT 3 July 1928. 22 Jan. 1929.

80 Figures compiled from the Annual Reports of the Trea-
surer, (H. L. Landes) Minutes. BT 1928-1937.

^^ It might be noted that at least one of Dr. Eraser's concerns
was justified. Within two years of his appointment (1929), Dr.
Jarman had essentially replaced the administrative staff and
more than one-third of the faculty. Dr. Fraser had worked closely
with Mr. King since 1897 and with Miss Higgins since 1916 and
must have been saddened when they were so quickly (and perhaps
unwillingly) replaced.

82 Minutes. BT 22 May 1929. It is of interest to note that the
present president, Dr. Cynthia Haldenby Tyson, came to Mary
Baldwin College (in 1985) from Queens College. She, like Dr.
Jarman, had served Queens College as vice-president before
coming to Staunton.

Lewis Wilson Jarman

Three

Another Beginning

The Jarman Years

1929-1945

r. Fraser had tendered to the
board his resignation as president of Mary Baldwin College on 9
October 1928, indicating that his term of office would expire 1 July
1929, but that, owing to the necessity of securing a "full time
officer" of the college quickly so that the synod campaign might
proceed, he was willing to have his resignation take effect as soon
as a successor could be found. The board appointed a committee
of five to consider the resignation and the proposed successor.
Three months later, the committee felt it could make no recom-
mendation about a new appointment without some guidelines.
Must the new officer be a Presbyterian minister? What salary
should be offered? Should the "whole situation of the college be
laid before" the candidate? Should the proposed officer have
administrative experience? Did they have an expense account?
The board left much to the discretion of Colonel Russell's commit-
tee, requiring only that the "full time officer" be a Presbyterian
minister or elder of the Presbyterian Church. No indication
remains of how many candidates were interviewed or how they
were nominated, but on 18 May 1929 the committee reported to
the board that they recommended Dr. L. Wilson Jarman as a
"suitable person" for the position of the president of the college.
The recommendation was unanimously approved and Dr. Jarman
agi'eed to take over 1 July 1929.^

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The J arm an Years

Lewis Wilson Jarman was born in Covington, Georgia, in 1880
and graduated from Emory College (today Emory University) in
1899. His later academic work was at Emory (MA 1925), where he
was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and at Columbia University. He
also held an Honorary LLD from Hampden-Sydney. There he was
elected to membership in Omicron Delta Kappa ( 193 1). He briefly
taught mathematics at Granbury College, Texas (1899-92), mar-
ried Laura Harris Martin in 1903, and spent the next 20 years on
a Georgia plantation, farming, serving on the editorial staff of a
farm journal, and involved in various banking interests. There
were six children-two of whom, Laura and Alice, later graduated
from Mary Baldwin College. He was an active elder in the
Presbyterian Church, a commissioner to the General Assembly,
and did educational survey work for the Synod of Georgia. In 1924,
Dr. Jarman returned to the academic world. His interests were
mathematics and astronomy and later economics and sociology.
He also had pursued graduate work in administration while at
Columbia. His first teaching positions were at Chicora College in
Columbia, South Carolina, and then at Furman. In 1927, he was
appointed vice-president and dean of instruction at Queens Col-
lege in Charlotte, North Carolina. Two years later, at age 49, he
was elected president of Mary Baldwin College. It was said of him
that he had an "engaging personality," "splendid business abil-
ity," and a "rare combination of business administration and
education." Were some of the board of trustees barkening back to
their perceived memory of Mary Julia and her vaunted financial
skills?

Dr. and Mrs. Jarman were energetic, active, innovative per-
sons. Both enjoyed golf, and during his tenure the students of
Mary Baldwin College were allowed privileges at the Stonewall
Jackson Golf Club, of which Dr. Jarman was a member. He loved
Irish setters, including one called "Scram." There were also
occasional Jarman cats. He went automobile touring as far as
Florida and Mexico, in an era when such long trips were still
something of an adventure, and he enjoyed performing on the
flute, with apparently creditable skill.- At first, the Jarmans were
housed in a brick house owned by the college adjacent to the First
Presbyterian Church, but in 1934, they moved into a newly
redecorated "President's House" (Rose Terrace) at the top of
Market Street. Here there was room for his large family, and here
teas, garden parties, receptions and dinners were given for stu-
dents, faculty, alumnae, parents and guests. The Jarman enter-

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

tainments became an integral part of campus life.^

It was something of an adjustment to have a president and his
family living on the campus at Mary Baldwin College. True, Miss
Baldwin, Miss Weimar, and Miss Higgins had lived there, but
they were single ladies and acted as chaperones and advisors as
well as principals.^

Dr. Fraser had been frequently on campus and had checked
regularly with Miss Higgins and Mr. King. But he did not have an
office on the gi^ounds; he used his church study, across Frederick
Street, for seminary/college business as well as church business,
and he and his family lived in the Presbyterian Manse, later the
Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Museum. Dr. Jarman's initial con-
tract in 1929 called for an annual salary of $4500 and "home," and
thus the president of the college and his family became a visible
and constant presence.

This meant, of course, that office space and office staff as well
would have to be found. With some shifting. Dr. Jarman was
accommodated in the Administration Building, the matron's
room being appropriated. It is apparent that this was accom-
plished only with some strain and misunderstanding. After all,
Mr. King and Dean Higgins had held unchallenged sway over the
office space, furniture, secretaries, college files, and financial
records for many, many years. How did one divide them up?
Within two weeks the executive committee of the board found it
necessary to send a copy of the new by-laws "relating to the duties
and power of the President" to all of the faculty and staff. The
president of the college, the executive committee reminded them,
is the "head" of the college, responsible for the operation of all of
the departments and the official medium of communication with
the board. He was to recommend to the board all faculty and staff
appointments and their salaries. The executive committee thanked
all members of the faculty and staff "for their splendid services in
the past," and expected each "to support the new administration
with complete loyalty and cooperation."^

Marianna Higgins found the new president difficult to work
with, and apparently there was no clear understanding between
them about whose responsibilities were whose. On 30 July 1929,
at a special meeting of the executive committee of the board. Miss
Higgins asked them to "instruct" the dean as to her duties. She
appended to her request a listing of the functions she had been
performing and retired to let the gentlemen discuss the problem,
which was handled by asking three of their members (Sproul,

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

Campbell and Pilson) to meet with her to go over the by-laws.^ Dr.
Jarman had then been president for 30 days.

Miss Higgins' difficulties were compounded by the fact that
Dr. Jarman had appointed Elizabeth Pfohl as dean of women,
thereby further eroding Miss Higgins' previous sphere of respon-
sibilities. There has been the suggestion that Miss Higgins had
agreed to resign after the 1929-30 term but, if so, there is nothing
in the written records to confirm this.' There was much on Dr.
Jarman's agenda with which Miss Higgins could not agree. She
was a proud woman who had been at Mary Baldwin Seminary and
College since 1908 and had been, as Dr. Fraser said, the "virtual
President" of the institution for six years. She had seen the
seminary through World War I and through the difficult transi-
tion years of the 1920s. She had many community interests,
including membership in King's Daughters' Hospital Board of
Directors. She was widely known in state and regional educa-
tional circles and was respected and admired. There could be only
one end to the clash of personalities and ideals, and it came on 10
March 1930, when Miss Higgins submitted her resignation to the
board of trustees, not to President Jarman. She wrote, "I wish to
assure you that I would do nothing to injure Mary Baldwin
College, but, as you know, Mr. Jarman has taken over practically
all the work which I have done in former years. "^ The resignation
was to be effective as of the first week of April, and Miss Higgins'
secretary, EffieBateman, and her "stenographer," Irene H. Wallace,
resigned with her. Dr. Jarman, in response to the question of a
newspaper reporter, said, "I have had no formal resignation from
Miss Higgins, yet we are deeply interested in her plans for the
future."^

It was not the custom in the 1930s to air internal college
conflicts in public, and the academic community put on the best
possible face in the awkward situation. J. W. H. Pilson, long-time
member of the board of trustees and supporter of Miss Higgins,
wrote a long, carefully worded Resolution of Appreciation in
which he called her "reasonably conservative and sanely progres-
sive." The board endorsed the Resolution and sent it to Miss
Higgins.^'' A sincere and somewhat emotional editorial and poem
appeared in Campus Comments, indicating a "poignant sense of
loss." An elaborate dinner in her honor was held at the college
dining room on 31 March with Dr. Jarman acting as toastmaster,
at which time Miss Higgins responded with a "brief word of
thanks." However, she did not appear at the Junior-Senior Ban-

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

quet. The Alumnae News of April 1930 had only a restrained note
of her leaving, but the Bluestocking of 1930 was dedicated to her."

Five days after the board of trustees received Miss Higgins'
resignation, the Staunton News Leader announced that a new
preparatory school for girls and young ladies, Beverley Hall,
would open in September, and that Miss Higgins would become its
principal and Miss Bateman its secretary-treasurer. The descrip-
tion of the curriculum reads much as the Mary Baldwin Seminary
catalogue used to read, and it seems apparent that the local
supporters of the old seminaiy hoped to revive and continue an
institution that had been so much a part of Staunton and whose
demise they deplored and resented. However, the early 1930s
were not a propitious time to start a new school, and nothing
further about Beverley Hall is m^entioned in the records. It
appears to have opened only briefly, and later references indicate
Miss Higgins became Head Mistress of Collegiate School in
Richmond (1932-33) before retiring to her home in Accomac
County. ^^

One other bit of unpleasantness remained. Dr. Jarman ap-
pointed Louisa Simmons as acting registrar in April of 1930, and
the executive committee of the board appointed a committee to
examine the educational records of the college, which had, of
course, been in Dean Higgins' keeping. They found the records
woefully inadequate and "General Correspondence and Board of
Trustees Correspondence destroyed... patron's correspondence
gone in part. . .and past students' records incomplete. " Miss Higgins,
when consulted about this, replied in a lengthy, bitter letter,
detailing her system of record keeping and explaining that she
had shown all of this to Dr. Jarman before she left. On 12 May
1930, the executive committee noted that her letter and explana-
tion had been received without further comment. ^^ Miss Simmons
spent the next months organizing student records in a manner
conforming to "college standard procedure."

W. W. King was the next of the Old Guard to feel the winds of
change. He had been at Mary Baldwin since 1890 and was 65 years
old when Dr. Jarman became president. ^^ No one had ever ques-
tioned his honesty, his energy, or his dedication to Mary Baldwin.
Students were very fond of him, and admission to his famous "Red
Head Club" was much prized. Alumnae were even more sentimen-
tal; they said, "he was a man with a loving heart." He was one of
the remaining links to Mary Julia Baldwin and the "dear old
Seminary." His financial reports to the board were detailed and

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

accurate and regularly encompassed many pages of the trustees'
minutes. He single-handedly kept aU the financial matters of the
institution in order; operating costs, purchases, salaries and
compensation, scholarships, maintenance and upkeep, the or-
chard, the farm, the various financial campaigns of the 1920s and
the endowment funds, such as they were. It had long been the
practice for the seminary, and later the college, to lend money to
local individuals and businesses (usually secured by mortgages or
real estate pledges) as a way of investing and profiting from
surplus funds. The records seem to indicate that it had not been
the practice to invest in stocks and bonds or indeed much besides
local opportunities. Miss Baldwin had treated the school as an
extended family, and her budget practices and financial prefer-
ences had been continued by Mr. King and the board of trustees.
In the difficult decade of the 1920s, particularly as the various
financial campaigns failed to reach their goals, Mr. King's reports
had grown increasingly critical of the policy decisions made by the
board. "I feel that it is my duty to again call your attention to the
financial situation that will confront you in the operation of a
college," he wrote. ^° His records had been regularly audited by the
treasurer of the board, but there had been no outside audits. The
financial records of the college had not been kept separately from
those of the seminary, and again the inevitable happened. In his
mid-year report to the trustees 21 January 1930, when he had
been president for six months. President Jarman recommended
that the finance committee of the board survey other colleges'
accounting and budget procedures and that they recommend for
adoption a "system which is in keeping with the demands of
modern college administration."^*^ On 1 July 1930, Mr. King
resigned as business manager of Mary Baldwin College, but the
board appointed him "Custodian of the Endowment" and manager
of the orchard and outside properties, a position he held until
September 1936. An outside auditor had been named for the
college financial records, and Mr. King's duties in connection with
the endowment were slowly eroded. He had to secure permission
for any investments or changes he proposed from the finance
committee, and the orchard was removed from his control in the
spring of 1936.^ ' Mr. King died 15 April 1939, sincerely mourned
by alumnae and the wider community. It is pleasant to record
that, before his death, he knew that his long sought gymnasium-
auditorium was in the final planning stages and would be named
in his honor.

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The JarmanYears

Many others on the faculty and staff found the new adminis-
tration less than sympathetic with their old "seminary" ways and
qualifications. In a report to the board of trustees on 26 May 1930,
President Jarman indicated that out of 17 members of the faculty
"eight have resigned and another's appointment would not be
renewed." He added, "the result of these resignations renders
possible the bringing into the faculty of men and women with the
training and degi^ees necessary to meet the standards of the
accrediting agencies.... The work of the year," he continued, "had
been attended with many difficulties. Entire coordination and
hearty cooperation have been lacking within the organization."^^
Certainly, most of these personnel changes were necessary if
Mary Baldwin College were to become fully accredited, but they
were obviously painful and frustrating to all concerned.

It should be stated that Dr. Jarman did indeed assume an
almost impossible task when he accepted the presidency of Mary
Baldwin College in July 1929. The college would embark, that
September, on its first experience as a "standard" four year liberal
arts college, without the enrollment and support of the seminary
program. Enrollment figures were predictably down, as Mr. King
had repeatedly forewarned. Dr. Jarman told the board that the
college "may reasonably expect an operating deficit for a few
years...," which, since the college depended almost entirely on
student tuition and fees and the tenuous support from the churches
of the synod, was seemingly an appropriate prophecy. ^^ Actually,
the college operated throughout the decade of the 1930s and war
years of the 40s without deficit, as it had since the days of Mary
Julia Baldwin.

There were the unresolved synod-college relationship, the
problem of the synod campaign, and the plans for the new college
physical plant, which, in Dr. Eraser's ever optimistic phrase,
"have not been abandoned... merely delayed by the failure to get
the money.... "-° There was the still unsolved problem of the
Presbyterian Manse which the college had acquired and must
maintain. There were the strained community feelings over the
failed campaigns and the closing of the seminary. Requests for
refunds of the contributions made during these campaigns contin-
ued to be received and honored. There were faculty and adminis-
trative discontent, and student demands for more "adult" social
regulations. And although no one in the summer of 1929 perceived
it, there was soon to come the stock market crash of October and
the ensuing decade of the Depression. The years immediately

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

after Dr. Jarman became president were, as he wrote, "a crucial
period in the Hfe and development of Mary Baldwin. "^^

The board of trustees and Dr. Jarman himself had their own
agenda. The college had been recognized as a "standard four-year
college" by the Virginia State Board of Education as soon as the
seminary had been closed. But there still remained the matter of
regional accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools, and then recognition by national accrediting agen-
cies. Dr. Jarman understood the need for a strong, revitalized
alumnae association and was most interested in instituting stu-
dent government, in establishing an honor society (as a prelude to
a Phi Beta Kappa chapter) , and in strengthening and defining the
Christian orientation of the college and its mission. He insisted on
high academic standards, a dedicated, hardworking, moral fac-
ulty, and serious, committed students. Given the circumstances
that existed in 1929 and the limitations of his own personality and
administrative style, his and the college's successes were unex-
pected - and remarkable. ^^

President Jarman's first task, as he saw it, was to have Mary
Baldwin College accredited by the Southern Association of Col-
leges and Schools (SACS). This required some major changes in
the organization of his faculty and staff; an increase in the number
and quality of the library resources; an increase to comparative
minimum standards in faculty salaries; "adequate" laboratory
and classroom resources; scholarship funds; an increase in the
numbers of the student body and, most importantly, a "respect-
able" endowment fund. Within a year (by the end of the school
term 1930-31), these requirements had been met. The library had
expanded its holdings from 9,000 to 12,000 volumes. Since no
money for additional library purchases existed, this was accom-
plished by appeals to alumnae, parents of students, and friends,
many of whom made generous donations of books and periodicals
which, when carefully winnowed, proved to be of a quality neces-
sary for college work. The University of Virginia, Virginia State
Library, and Hampden-Sydney College also sent contributions. A
modest investment in more laboratory equipment was made. The
faculty had been organized into departments, each headed by a
"person with a Ph.D. or its equivalent." "These are teachers of
broad experience and all Christian men and women," Dr. Jarman
wrote. The administration now had a dean, Elizabeth Pfohl, a
registrar, Martha Stackhouse, a business manager, John B.
Daffin, and an assistant business manager, James T. Spillman.

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

The student enrollment gradually increased until by 1935 there
were 308 students, and throughout the decade of the 1930s all the
facilities for student housing were filled. Scholarship funds were
available, especially for ministers' daughters and the daughters of
Presbyterian missionaries. Faculty salaries were modestly ad-
vanced, although on several occasions in the 1930s faculty were
asked to sign contracts with the provision that, if sufficient funds
were not available, they would accept percentage cuts, applied
equally to everyone. ^^

The matter of the endowment was a bit more difficult. Dr.
Fraser, as chairman of the board of trustees, reported to the Synod
of Virginia in 1930 that the total assets of the college amounted to
over one million dollars. Endowment from which revenue could be
derived was $442,000. The SACS required $500,000 but agreed
that they would "construe" the annual payments from the churches
of the synod to the college as sufficient to make up the difference. ^^
Consequently, Dr. Jarman made application for accreditation in
the fall of 1930. A year's wait was necessary. A week's visit by an
inspection team ensued ("We fed them well," observed the dean),
and on 4 December 1931, when the college community was
celebrating Dean Pfohl's birthday at dinner, she received a tele-
gram from Dr. Jarman (who was off campus) announcing the
application had been approved.-^ Formal approval came on 14
January 1932, and by 1935 (in a five-year report) President
Jarman could report that the college now belonged to:

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Association of America Colleges
American Council on Education
Athletic Federation of College Women

In addition, in 1932 the college became the second woman's
college in the country to be allowed the privilege of making the
annual Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award sponsored by the South-
ern Society of New York.^^

In 1938, the American Association of University Women
accepted Mary Baldwin College as a member, thereby qualifying
its graduates for membership.

Dr. Jarman had been hired, in part, to meet the demands of
the Synod of Virginia that a "full time officer" of the college take
charge of the synod's half million dollar campaign. For one reason
or another, the synod campaign had been postponed annually

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jann an Years

since 1923. Now, with their new president, the Mary Baldwin
board of trustees recommended that the campaign be "held in
abeyance" until Dr. Jarman had an opportunity to assess the
situation. The synod agreed and recommended that individual
churches continue their annual contributions, but with the provi-
sion that if they did not, no penalty ensued. ^^ As the Depression
deepened, it was obvious that no synod campaign would succeed
and the matter was quietly dropped. Contributions from indi-
vidual churches remained modest, and the synod - college connec-
tion became increasingly a matter of concern, in part, at least,
because the synodical control of the college precluded Mary
Baldwin from receiving funds from various educational founda-
tions who preferred not to give to exclusively denominationally
controlled institutions. Dr. Jarman, and before him Dr. Fraser,
had repeatedly and specifically warned the synod that it could not
expect to maintain a Christian woman's college of academic
excellence without major financial commitments for buildings,
library and laboratory space, and supplies and permanent endow-
ment. The warnings were not heeded, and, in 1936, the board of
trustees of the college requested that the synod appoint a commit-
tee to study the "origin and history" of the college-synod relation-
ship and to"redefine and restate" the obligation of the synod to the
college. The committee report in 1937 suggested further study,
but presented three alternatives: (1) that the synod raise the half
million dollars by 1942, the Centennial year; (2) that the synod
sever all connection with Mary Baldwin and return the college to
a board of trustees; (3) that Mary Baldwin become an independent
college with an "affiliation" with the Presbyterian Church. ^^
Finally, after more than two years of meetings, debates, and
discussions, it was agreed by both the synod and the college that
a new college charter would be sought from the Corporation
Commission of Virginia and that Mary Baldwin College would be
returned to an independent board of trustees, although "a close
relationship" with the synod would be continued.

On 7 July 1939, the State Corporation Commission of Virginia
approved the amended charter of Mary Baldwin College. Its
principal provisions included the following:

(1) Mary Baldwin College was established "for the higher
education of women in the various branches of literature, arts and
science, including the Holy Scripture... under auspices distinctly
Christian in faith and practice... all departments of the college
shall be open alike to students of any religion or sect, and no

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

denominational or sectarian test shall be imposed in the admis-
sion of students."

(2) There were to be 28 trustees, elected for a four-year term;
the board was to be self-perpetuating; trustees were all to be
members in "good standing" in some "Evangelical Christian"
church; two-thirds were to be Presbyterian. Ten members were to
be nominated from within the "Bounds of the Synod of Virginia"
and the said synod would approve their appointments. Two
trustees should be nominated from the alumnae, and the Alum-
nae Association was to approve their appointments.

(3) All faculty were to be members in good standing of some
"Evangelical Protestant" Church. '^'^

So, after seventeen years as a synodical college, Maiy Baldwin
returned to an independent status. The records do not show who
were the principal supporters of the change, but it could not have
taken place without the interest and consent of Dr. Jarman and
his advisors on the board of trustees. The motive does seem to have
been to secure a broader base for fund raising, and perhaps, on the
synod's part, to remove an embarrassment that seemed to have no
resolution. In no sense did the Synod of Virginia control any aspect
of the college (curricula, appointments, financial policies, student
life) after 1939, and there is little evidence to suggest that they did
so during the years that Maiy Baldwin was a "synodicar'coUege.
A "relationship" existed and has continued to do so. The various
agencies of the church sought to encourage Presbyterian young
women to enroll, and Mary Baldwin College graduates continued,
as they had done in the past, to find career and lifelong commit-
ments within the church structures as missionaries, directors of
religious education, ministers' wives, lay workers, and, at a later
date, ministers. The college made annual reports to the synod
which were reviewed and filed. There remained modest financial
contributions from the synod churches, and scholarships contin-
ued to be available for ministers' and missionaries' daughters.
The church has participated, to the limit of its ability, in other
financial campaigns, but essentially the college became an inde-
pendent entity, charting its own path on the uncertain waters of
the mid-20th century.

Perhaps one of Dr. Jarman's gi^eatest legacies to Mary Baldwin
College was in his choice of administrative and faculty appoint-

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

ments. He had very definite ideas of the kinds of college personnel
he sought and was fortunate that his administration coincided
with a period when many well-qualified scholars and administra-
tors were eagerly seeking work and would consider appointments
to an institution with as problematic a future as Mary Baldwin
College. But the truth is that there is no more difficult task than
choosing faculty and staff who will "fit" the institution of which
they are becoming a part, who will stay an appreciable number of
years so that the benefits of experience and stability can be
realized, yet who are willing to work at remaining current in their
fields while enthusiastic in their commitments to good teaching,
A significant number of the Jarman appointments fitted this
pattern. For a school that had long been known for the excellence
and dedication of its faculty, this had great importance. Almost all
the old seminary ties were severed in the course of the Jarman
administration, but a new generation of faculty and staff slipped
into the vacancies left by Professor Eisenberg, Miss Nannie Tate,
Miss Strickler, Herr Schmidt, and the others. The college was, as
had been the seminary, blessed in its personnel. '^^

In many ways. Dr. Jarman was modern in his perceptions of
faculty and staff. More men, including unmarried men, appeared
on the faculty, and not just in the areas of music and science.
Women who came to the college as single, but later wished to
marry and retain their positions, were allowed to do so. Married
women were hired. Husband and wife "teams" were employed. If
families were begun, leaves of absence for the mothers were
arranged, and the children became a part of the Mary Baldwin
"family."

On the other hand, faculty were expected to be "role models"
to a degree that present-day faculty would find restrictive. Mod-
esty in dress, "moral" life-style, active church membership, whole-
some recreations, community service, a willingness to participate
in and support student activities outside the classroom, to be
available — all of this was expected, as was the case for most small
college faculties in the 1930s. However, it was Dr. Jarman who
acceded to the request of the alumnae that they be represented on
the board of trustees, a request which President Fraser had
refused on several occasions.^-

In the early years of the Jarman presidency, the board of
trustees, the administration and the faculty were all expanded,
reorganized, and put on a more "professional" basis. The board,
under the synod charter, had 20 trustees, divided into four

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

"classes." After 1939, the board had an authorized strength of 28
members but did not exceed 21 before 1946. There had been a five-
member executive committee of the board since 1897, but the
number and responsibihties of the standing committees gi^ew in
the Jarman years to include finance, audit, budget, dormitory,
and building and grounds. The board met two times a year, in
October and March. The executive committee, now six members,
met five times a year, and often more frequently. As the Centen-
nial of the college approached. President Jarman sought to engage
board members more actively in the work of the institution.
Attendance at the meetings was generally only fair, ranging from
nme to 12 or 13. Seven was a quorum for usual business. During
the restricted travel of the World War II years it was natural that
those far away would have difficulty in being present, but even in
the mid- 1930s it was rare to have more than two-thirds of the
members present. The control of the college continued to remain
in largely local hands, as had been the case since the early days of
the seminary. The term of office was four years, but reelection ad
infinitum was possible, so board members tended to be de facto
lifetime appointments. It was traditional to have the pastor of
First Presbj^erian Church of Staunton a member, and, in this
era, he was usually president of the board. One unusual circum-
stance occurred: the Reverend Herbert S. Turner, pastor of Bethel
Presbyterian Church in Augusta County, was appointed to the
board in 1934. He remained a member until 1947, but became a
part-time professor of Philosophy at the college in 1939, and full-
time in 1946. He was a much-beloved member of the faculty until
his retirement in 1964. It is far from customary for an active
faculty member to serve on the board of trustees of the institution
which employs him, but Dr. Turner was an unusual person, and
apparently his dual role bothered neither him, the faculty nor the
board. Indeed, he served as secretary of the board on several
occasions. ^^

The interest and loyalty of the members of the trustees showed
that the college, as the seminary before it had been, was fortunate
in its friends. Long-time members and sacrificial supporters
during the Jarman years included H.T. Taylor, for many years the
secretary, William H. Landes, treasurer, Charles S. Hunter,
president of the National Valley Bank of Staunton, Henry St.
George Tucker, Professor of Law at Washington & Lee and former
Congressman, Colonel T.H. Russell, Superintendent of Staunton
Military Academy, his wife, Margarett Kable Russell, the first

To Live In Time Another- Beginning: The Jarman Years

woman and first alumna representative on the board, Julian
Burruss, president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and H.D.
Campbell, Dean of Washington & Lee College and grandson of
Rufus Bailey. Dean Campbell was later succeeded by his son,
Edmund D. Campbell, who served in several capacities from 1942
to 1976. Others included W.H. East, A. Erskine Miller, D. Glenn
Ruckman, and Campbell Pancake, all locally prominent business-
men, J.D. Francis, President of Island Creek Coal Company, Dr.
Frederick L. Brown, Professor of Physics at the University of
Virginia, Mrs. H.L. Hunt, an alumna from Dallas, Texas, and the
Reverend J.N. Thomas from Richmond.

Presidents of the board during Dr. Jarman's administration
included The Reverend A.M. Eraser, until 1933, Hunter B . Blakely,
minister of the Eirst Presbyterian Church of Staunton until he
became president of Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina
in 1940, and James D. Francis, from 1941 to 1944, then Edmund
D. Campbell. ^^ It must have been difficult to serve the first five
years of one's college presidency with the former president serving
as president of the board, particularly since both men. Eraser and
Jarman, held strong convictions and rigorous opinions, but the
records give no indication of friction between them. Certainly in
the years before Dr. Jarman's health began to fail, he seems to
have exerted vigorous leadership. The board evinced little criti-
cism of his actions and perhaps felt a sense of relief that the
acrimonious days of the 1920s were behind them.

As early as 1932, Dr. Jarman had projected the needs and
hopes of Mary Baldwin as it prepared to enter its second one
hundred years in 1942. He explained, warned, and appealed for
board commitment for new buildings, new equipment, an ex-
panded academic program, and a more diverse student body. All
of these would be necessary if Mary Baldwin College were to meet
the challenges of the mid-20th century. Unfortunately, the De-
pression and World War II imposed serious limitations on the
capacity of the board to act on its president's recommendations,
and the proposed actions often remained a blueprint for the future
instead of a description of present realities. However, as the time
approached when the synod would turn back the college to its own
board of trustees. Dr. Jarman rightly perceived that board duties
would increase. Not only would they now be responsible for the
"program of the college," but also for providing a "continuing
philosophy of education... in that the board will... through its
choice... elect new members" of the board. "What," he asked, "were

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

the implications of membership on a board of trustees of a
Christian institution of higher learning?" "There is," he answered
his own question, "no more important and potential for good" than
such a relationship. They and they alone assured an educational
institution "permanence." They influenced its Christian orienta-
tion. "Christianity and education should be and are bound to-
gether inseparably," and the changing nature of the functions of
home and churches made the role of the church colleges more
significant than ever before. Church-related colleges in the near
future were in"gi'eat danger" unless "men and women of consecra-
tion and vision do two things: provide intellectual and spiritual
leadership... and provide funds for buildings, equipment and en-
dowment..."^^ In time, Dr. Jarman began to sound like Dr. Fraser
as his perception of the "acute and vital needs" of the college
became more focused and his demand that the board find new
sources of funding for the physical requirements of a college,
which had not constructed a new building in 30 years, was heard
more frequently. The average age of the buildings was 60 to 70
years, and some were much older. ^"^ Before the United States'
entry into World War II put a temporary halt to these ideas. Dr.
Jarman did see one major building program completed. How this
came about belongs to the section on the "New Century" program.
Dr. Jarman likewise reorganized and enlarged the adminis-
trative staff, and it was here that he made some of his most
fortunate appointments. In 1928, the staff had consisted of a
president (who was also the chaplain), a dean, a business man-
ager, and such support personnel as matrons, housekeepers, a
nurse, etc.

In 1939, there was a president, a dean of the college, a dean
of instruction, a registrar, two assistant deans of the college, a
bursar/treasurer, an assistant bursar, and three secretaries. The
office of chaplain had been dropped in 1929 when Dr. Fraser
resigned the presidency, and it will be remembered that Dean
Higgins and Mr. Kingboth resigned in 1930. Dr. Jarman therefore
had had a free hand in constructing an administration "more in
keeping" with a modern college. In the early years, there was
considerable blurring of duties and responsibilities among the
dean of the college (who was, in reality, the dean of students), the
dean of instruction, and the registrar, but gradually the functions
of each were defined and the titles adjusted. In his tenth-year
report to the board of trustees. Dr. Jarman reported that in 1929-
31 administrative expenditures "amounted to 90% of the instruc-

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

tional expenditures." In 1938-39, he reported they were 40%,
while the instructional expense had more than doubled. ^^ Cer-
tainly, faculty numbers and salaries had been increased, but the
administrative staff was twice as large while the student popu-
lation had increased only moderately. The stage was already
being set for the usual debate which is common in under-funded
small colleges as to where available resources should be allocat-
ed - to faculty or administration? In the Jarman era, however,
salary differentials between faculty and staff were small, and
there is no evidence that the faculty or the trustees considered the
administration to be top-heavy. That would come later.

Dr. Jarman had some difficulty in securing some permanency
in his dean of students. He had brought Elizabeth Pfohl to the
campus with him in 1929 as "Dean of Women" with the express
purpose of establishing a student government association and an
honor system. The following spring (1930), after Miss Higgins'
resignation as dean, Miss Pfohl remained as dean of women, but
no "Dean" perse was designated. Miss Pfohl was, however, given
an "assistant," Martha Stackhouse, who came to Mary Baldwin
in the summer of 1930. Both Elizabeth Pfohl and Martha
Stackhouse were inexperienced and young, but enthusiastic and
very gifted in both administrative and interpersonal relation-
ships. They became good friends and worked closely and happily
together. It is largely due to them that Dr. Jarman's early
administration was not marred by much internal dissension.
They acted as a buffer between the president and the often-
disgruntled faculty and frustrated students; they softened what
were unintentionally harsh pronouncements; they freed Dr.
Jarman from much of the internal, day-to-day routine of the col-
lege so that he, who was a far better "outside" than an "inside"
man, could get on with his agenda. But they both loyally supported
his directives and joined with him in his dedication to raising
academic standards and in securing financial independence for
Mary Baldwin College. ^^ Elizabeth Pfohl resigned in 1936, and
there followed, in rather rapid succession, four more deans of
students (often called "Dean of the College"). They were fre-
quently members of the faculty first and often had acted as
"assistants" before assuming full responsibility for student life
and activities. They left to be married or to continue graduate
studies or to participate in wartime duties. They were able and
admired, but none had the lasting impact of Elizabeth Pfohl or
Martha Grafton.^^

To Live In Time

Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

Martha Stackhouse Grafton

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

Dr. Jarman was fortunate far beyond his knowledge in the
appointment of Martha Stackhouse (Grafton). In addition to
acting as assistant to the dean, she was the registrar from 1932 to
1937, and in 1938 was appointed "Dean of Instruction," a post she
held under various titles until 1970. Martha Grafton is the "Mary
Julia Baldwin" of the 20th century, and the history of the college
since 1930 could not be written without the inter-weaving of her
quality, integrity, high standards, commitment, and common
sense in all the events that have transpired since that date. There
have been innumerable tributes paid to her over the years, but
perhaps the one that comes closest to the truth was said by
Edmund D. Campbell, as he thought back on his long association
with her:

I really did not get to appreciate Martha
Grafton in the fullest sense until I became a
member of the Board of Trustees. I can say
without equivocation that it was Martha Grafton
who held the college together during this period
[1940-1970]. Martha was not charismatic but
she was solid. Her integrity was absolute.
Her academic purposes were beyond reproach.
No one could know her without trusting her. She
could not do anything disloyal or "shady," she
was simply incapable of doing it. And she had a
love for Mary Baldwin which was something
like the Rock of Gibraltar. Martha served as
interim president on several occasions and
the trustees always felt secure with her. I
don't recall any instance in my long service on
the board in which her recommendation was
not followed. She was thoughtful and wise,
generally wiser than members of the board,
and she frequently kept us by her counsel from
going on the wrong path. The college owes an
outstanding debt to her.'^^

Martha Grafton's task, particularly in these early days when
she was also committed to home and family, was made infinitely
easier by some of the other members of the administration.
Marguerite Hillhouse, who came to Mary Baldwin College in 1931
as assistant registrar, was appointed registrar in 1938 and re-

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

mained in that position until 1970. Miss Hillhouse's passion for
accuracy and detail became legendary. She and Mrs. Grafton
communicated easily, worked well together, and in time could
almost predict each other's thoughts. John Baffin was appointed
as business manager and professor of Physics in September 1930.
He now had the full load of responsibilities borne by W.W. King
for so many years, and he was ably assisted by James T. Spillman,
who would later succeed him. His financial and teaching skills
were considerable, and his commitment to the college was unques-
tioned. This team, Pfohl (until 1936), Grafton, Hillhouse, Baffin,
Spillman (and, after 1946, Anne Elizabeth Parker, who became
dean of students), gave stability and continuity to the inner
workings of the college that allowed it to survive depression, war,
several presidents, and continued financial exigencies.

If there is much to admire in President Jarman's administra-
tive staff, there is equally much to be said for his choice of faculty.
After the first year, when eight of the 17 "teachers" resigned, and
were sometimes pressured to do so, much more stability is appar-
ent. Now appointees served a provisional year before winning full
contracts and were carefully chosen based on their degrees and
where their degrees were obtained, their skill in teaching, and
their orientation toward a Christian college. By 1931, their
number had grown from 17 to 26, with some administrators
teaching one or more classes in addition. In 1945, at the end of
the War, there were 28 full-time faculty members. The number of
faculty holding Ph.B.'s had doubled since 1936, from 7 to 14. Some
of the faculty from the Fraser era remained and provided a
necessary transitional link between the old and the new. The
Misses Abbie and Nancy McFarland, whose father, Baniel K.
McFarland, had been pastor of First Presbyterian Church (1886-
1892), had studied at the seminary and both were "full graduates. "
Nancy then went on to Cornell, and to Columbia for a Master's
Begree, and later worked at Johns Hopkins. Abbie studied library
science and administration at Columbia. Both sisters returned to
Mary Baldwin Seminary in 1919 and remained until 1945. It is to
Abbie that we owe a debt of gi'atitude for making the decision in
the 1920s, that the library would use the Library of Congress
system of classification. Nancy did yeoman service in revising the
curriculum to meet college standards and taught Latin, Greek,
and History to the college students. If the sisters found the
transition from Fraser, Higgins, and King to Jarman difficult,
they adjusted. Elizabeth Pfohl later said of them that they were

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

willing to "trust" and "try" new ways, and their adaptation was so
successful that they were jointly awarded the Algernon Sydney
Sullivan Award in 1939.^^

Already a Mary Baldwin "institution" by the time Dr. Jarman
appeared was Fannie Strauss - "Miss Fannie" to generations of
students. She too, was a "full graduate" of the seminary, class of
1912. Later work at the University of Virginia and Chicago had
secured for her a BA and MA, but she had joined the seminary
faculty in 1918 and remained until her retirement in 1963. She
taught Latin, German, Mythology, occasionally Mathematics,
and mothered homesick students. Her academic standards were
high, her patience legendary, her "brownies" memorable. A favor-
ite treat for students and faculty children was to be invited for a
ride in her horse and buggy, which she manipulated around the
hills and corners of Staunton streets with masterly skill. As a
child she had known Miss Weimar and Mr. King, and had worked
under Miss Higgins and Dr. Fraser and was tied to Mary Baldwin
College with rare devotion. For many years she was the faculty
sponsor of the college annual. The Bluestocking, which regularly
took high honors in intercollegiate competition. She was the
treasurer and spark plug of the Alumnae Association; probably
more former students wrote to her than they did to the alumnae
secretaries; she sponsored the day students; she was "Miss Fannie. "

Others who had served the seminary and later the college
remained: Mary E. Lakenan, professor of Bible, Madmoiselle
Clare Flansburgh, French; and Herr Schmidt, Music, whose
chateauesque home eventually was purchased by the college and
is today known as Miller House.

Moreover, Dr. Jarman's administration was enriched by new
faculty members, many of whom came as young men and women
and chose to remain to the end of their teaching careers. Alumnae
of these college years will remember with respect and admiration
Mildred E. Taylor, who for many years, in addition to teaching
Mathematics, Astronomy and Geology, was the college marshal.
Innumerable students and even some faculty will remember
being pulled out of the academic procession because shoes and
dresses were not the right color, or Dr. Taylor's insistence that
one's mortarboard be placed firmly flat on one's head. Her impe-
rious whistle saw to it that all academic processions started on
time, a practice that has become a Mary Baldwin College tradi-
tion. She was respected and admired by her colleagues and peers.
Mary Swan Carroll taught History, Political Science, and Jour-

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

nalism. She sponsored Campus Comments, the weekly student
newspaper which, Hke The Bluestocking, won innumerable
intercollegiate awards, and she handled the college public rela-
tions. And then there were Thomas H. Grafton, Sociology, Eco-
nomics and Religion; Carl Broman, Music; Andrew Mahler, En-
glish literature (students stood in line to sign for his Shakespeare
course); Horace and Elizabeth Day, consummate artists and
supreme individualists; Lillian Thomsen, who, with Mary E.
Humphreys, was the Biology department. Dr. Thomsen was also
the photographer for Campus Comments. There were others:
Lillian Rudeseal, Economics and Commercial subjects; Catherine
Mims, English; Marshall Brice, English; H. Lee Bridges, Educa-
tion and Psychology; Vega Lytton, French; Elizabeth Parker,
French, later dean of students (her Christmas trees were mem-
orable); Herbert Turner, Religion and Philosophy; and Ruth
McNeil, Music. This was the faculty legacy of the Jarman admin-
istration. No college could have asked for a richer inheritance. "^^
Although Watters declares that "the question of academic
freedom has never been an issue in Mary Baldwin; it is apparent-
ly taken for gi^anted" and insisted that faculty were independent
as to their teaching methods and subject content, some evidence
would suggest otherwise. ^^ Dr. Jarman, particularly in the 1930s,
asked each faculty member to meet with him once a quarter to
discuss his or her plans and classroom objectives. He even set
aside a specific time in his schedule so that these appointments
could be made. Later, as the pressure of his duties increased, he
asked for faculty reports only once a semester, but he persisted. In
1934, an "Academic Council" was instituted. It was composed of
deans, department heads, and the president and met irregularly
to discuss curriculum and academic concerns. From time to time,
Dr. Jarman would caution faculty about the necessity for a "loyal
attitude" toward college regulations; i.e. they should not overlook
tardiness or give make-up exams arbitrarily, or be lax in their
attendance at chapel. It is true, as Watters suggests, that the
Mary Baldwin faculty did not run to "agitators," and she com-
mented that "in organization and procedure... Mary Baldwin fac-
ulty is a democratic body," but there are hints that any experi-
ments outside a broadly accepted norm, or which clashed with
Dr. Jarman's perception of a Christian college, would have been
subject to criticism."*^ It would be three decades before a formal
statement regarding academic freedom was included in a faculty
handbook.

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

Dr. Jarman held faculty meetings once a month and some-
times more frequently. He presided, Miss Hillhouse kept the
minutes, the deans reported, and matters of student discipline
and academic affairs were discussed. After this business was
concluded, members of the faculty took turns presenting pro-
grams and discussing matters of interest to themselves and their
departments.

In 1930, the president had organized the faculty into 11
committees and appointed the members. Considering that there
were fewer than 20 to 30 faculty members, this meant several
assignments for each individual. Faculty were expected to attend
chapel regularly and to contribute to chapel programs, except on
Friday when, during student chapel, there was a coffee hour on
back gallery. Once a year, after the May faculty meeting. Presi-
dent and Mrs. Jarman had the faculty to dinner, followed by some
musical or other entertainment. Faculty-student relationships
were encouraged by occasional "faculty shows," usually to benefit
some student YWCA program, and faculty-student athletic or
building fund contests, which the students usually won.

There is one curious circumstance recorded during these years
of faculty minutes. Dr. Jarman became ill in November of 1937
and was absent from his duties until March of the following year,
a leave granted by the executive committee of the board, which
assumed his duties. But in December 1938, it was the faculty who
were asked to approve a leave for Dr. Jarman for January 1939.
Again, in the winter of 1940, Dr. Jarman requested the faculty to
vote approval for his taking a month's vacation in February.
Customarily, faculty would not pass on such matters; it would
concern the board of trustees. No other such incidents appear in
the records, and perhaps this was simply a courtesy request since
the president had been away for extended periods - but it was
unusual.'*^

Although Dr. Jarman had upgi'aded faculty salaries to meet
SACS standards early in his administration, the pressure of the
Depression and the physical needs of the college were such that
faculty salaries remained fairly constant. There were no auto-
matic cost-of-living increases in those days. Once World War II
began, all salaries and compensation were "frozen," and the board
of trustees had to secure permission from the federal government
when it sought to increase salaries by 10% in 1944-1945.'**^

The era of "fringe benefits" had begun. After some discussion,
a modest pension program for faculty and staff was introduced in

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

1935, and the retirement age was set at 65. A small sum of money
($500) was made available for faculty research and summer
study.^' The Minutes of the faculty meeting in 1939 show that
college faculty salaries were henceforth to be included in the
federal Social Security Act, and faculty members were asked how
they felt about it. Their answer was not recorded.

Perhaps prodded by the SACS requirements, much emphasis
was placed on curriculum improvement and expansion. However,
Dr. Jarman and his deans were careful to allow no courses to be
offered for which suitable library and laboratory resources were
not available, and some faculty were frustrated when their course
proposals were denied. ^'^ Still, a number of experiments and
changes were tried. Library Science was taught briefly (by a
University of Virginia professor); a required senior course in
Contemporary Thought, introduced in 1934, became the progeni-
tor of special senior requirements that lasted until the 1960s;
Latin was dropped as a graduation requirement; Domestic Sci-
ence, which had been added during the early 20th century, was
eliminated, as were orchestra and violin instruction. Typing and
Shorthand continued to be offered but did not count toward
graduation; Practice Teaching was introduced in 1930; Journal-
ism had a good enrollment and acted as a base and resource for
Campus Comments. Half-day Saturday classes were required
after 1931. All students had to register for a course in oral English
and had to demonstrate by their junior year competence in
composition. A freshman orientation course was added. Psychol-
ogy and social studies courses were expanded, as were Physical
Education, and the Art Department blossomed under the super-
vision of the Days. By 1937, a senior comprehensive examination
in the major was introduced. There were "historical pilgrimages"
to Richmond and Williamsburg; art trips to Washington and New
York City; an effort at exchange professorships with Hampden-
Sydney; and a truly impressive annual offering of guest lecturers,
musicians and political speakers, whose presentations the stu-
dents were required to attend.

In 1929, Dr. Jarman proposed that the freshman, sophomore
and junior students making the highest scholastic average in
their respective classes be awarded modest scholarships for the
following year. This is now a firmly established tradition, and the
students so chosen are today known as "Hillhouse Scholars." To
enhance the visibility of academic excellence, the faculty founded
a "Mary Baldwin Honor Society" in 1932. Seniors and juniors were

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

elected by the faculty on the basis of their grade point average and
their breadth of knowledge. Only ten percent of any given class
could be chosen, and the importance of this selection was high-
lighted in a February program when a distinguished speaker
addressed the entire student body. Dr. Jarman, himself newly
elected to Phi Beta Kappa, undoubtedly hoped that this would
pave the way for a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Mary Baldwin
College. It would, however, be almost forty years before that came
to pass. In later years, an Honor Society breakfast was always
given at Commencement weekend, honoring the new initiates and
returning alumnae members.

By 1940 and the coming of the Second World War, Mary
Baldwin College had achieved a respectable college curriculum,
and the Bachelor of Arts degree (which was the only degree
awarded) was well received throughout the Commonwealth.^^

There is one anomaly that seems curious. Although science
and mathematics had been stressed since Mary Julia's "Univer-
sity" curriculum, the science tended to be of inanimate objects;
i.e.. Chemistry, Physics, Geology. Some early mention of "Botany"
and "Physiography" at the preparatory level was made, but the
first college Catalogue (1924-25) lists only Physics and Chemis-
try. It was not until the 1928-29 session that Biology was offered,
and there was only one person to teach all three sciences - a
woman, Jeannette Smith. By 1934, a pattern appears that contin-
ues until the mid- 1940s. A resident physician, alwavs a woman,
was employed. Not only did she look after the students' health, but
she taught Hygiene (part of the required Physical Education
curriculum) and Biology as well. No man was employed to teach
Biology during Dr. Jarman's tenure and for some years thereaf-
ter.50

Dr. Jarman was totally committed, as Dr. Fraser had been, to
the concept of a Christian college. This included the selection of
Christian men and women as board, administration, and faculty
members, and a selective admissions policy was designed to
secure an "educationally efficient, socially selective, spiritually
sincere" student body. ''^ In 1936, perhaps partly motivated by a
report due to SACS and the Synod of Virginia, Dr. Jarman, the
deans, and the faculty conducted an institutional evaluation
which included a search for the answer to the question, "What
in the total program justifies the use of the term 'Christian
education'...?" While the question was difficult to answer in
specific terms, some information emerged. Ninety-five percent of

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The J arm an Years

the junior and senior classes said they beUeved the administra-
tion and faculty were "motivated by the spirit of Christian ser-
vice." The features of required chapel and church attendance,
required courses in Bible, the relationship with the synod soon to
be modified - all of these were mentioned. One respondent sug-
gested there was an "emphasis throughout the entire program on
a Christian interpretation of life," but one paragi^aph sums up the
earnest search for what was "unique" and "Christian" about the
college:

Mary Baldwin is a small women's college
in the South with an unusually cosmopolitan
clientele for its size. It is housed in buildings
carrying out a style of architecture representa-
tive of the Old South. Its campus is compact.
The College maintains careful supervision in
academic work to no neglect of the physical,
social and spiritual sides of college life. It
provides an atmosphere of Christian culture
for the entire program. It upholds a dignified
tradition with respect to the social amenities.
It has a reputation for careful conservative
progress in the educational world. ^^

At the center of all of this effort, planning, and concern was, of
course, the Mary Baldwin student, no longer a seminary "girl,"
but a college "woman." This was perhaps the hardest transition of
all for some to make and has continued to be in all the ensuing
decades, as parental, community and faculty perceptions of col-
lege women shift and fluctuate. Mary Baldwin College, because of
its location, is inexorably related to the City of Staunton and
Augusta County. ^^ It is located in the heart of the historic down-
town. City hall is one block away from the entrance to the
Administration Building, and the county courthouse only two
blocks distant. Whatever goes on at the college is highly visible
and viewed with proprietary approval, or disapproval, as the case
may be. In the 1930s, major changes were obvious. Gone were
the two rows of demure "maidens" in their uniforms and identical
hats, walking sedately to church or to civic events. Now there were
shortened skirts, although longer than in the 1920s, "bobbed" and
permanented hair, golfers, hikers and horseback riders, young
men "callers" in increasing numbers. There were students who

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

smoked, danced, and left town on weekends to visit men's colleges.
The speed of the transition heightened the criticism of those
whose memories stretched backwards to "Miss Baldwin's girls."

The students were, of course, older than the seminary stu-
dents had been. Although for a few years some conditional fresh-
men had been accepted, most were high school graduates who
presented strong liberal arts credits for admission. ^^ They were
usually 17-18 years old when they entered, and 21-22 by the time
they graduated. Although most were Virginians, many came from
other southern states, particularly North Carolina, Texas, Geor-
gia and Alabama. Others came from Pennsylvania, New York and
the Middle West. Total enrollment in 1929, Dr. Jarman's first
year, was 193. Numbers declined a bit in the early thirties, but by
the end of Dr. Jarman's first five years had reached 316, of whom
76 were day students. Boarding capacity in the 1930s was ap-
proximately 240, although the number fluctuated as various
combinations of housing were found. Obviously, day students
were of great importance to the college's financial health and
academic respectability. By 1945, Dr. Jarman's last year, there
were 320 students, of whom 50 were non-boarders. A problem
common to many colleges of Mary Baldwin's ilk in this era was
the large number of students who transferred or left college at the
end of the freshman or sophomore years. Usually about 30% of
the entering freshman class remained for graduation four years
later, of whom a disproportionate percentage were non-boarders,
i.e., local girls. The biggest attrition was always at the end of the
sophomore year, and various efforts at retention occupied much
faculty thought and discussion, without a marked improvement
until the 1960s.^5

Soon after his inauguration. Dr. Jarman proposed that a
student government association and a college honor system be
instituted-^*^ Miss Pfohl had been brought in for the express
purpose of organizing them, and part of her difficulties with Dean
Higgins stemmed from their differing views on how much respon-
sibility for her own actions a young woman could be permitted to
have. Miss Pfohl found that there was some foundation for
student government already in place. Previous student organiza-
tions had provided an opportunity for experience in administra-
tion and planning. The student publications, Miscellany, dating
from 1899; The Bluestocking, from 1900; and Campus Comments,
from 1924, had all provided areas for student initiative. The
YWCA (1894) was a very important organization in the early

100

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

years of the college; the entire student body were members, and
carried on benefit fund-raising activities, sponsored public lec-
tures and religious progi'ams. The Athletic Association, the Liter-
ary Society, and the German (cotillion) Club had all provided
occasions for student leadership. So Elizabeth Pfohl was able to
move very quickly, and the first student government officers were
installed on 23 October 1929. All students were declared to be
members of the Association, which was governed by a council
nominated and elected by the student body. No "electioneering"
for office was done, the theory being that the small student body
made such activity unnecessary, as everyone knew the candi-
dates. The council had legislative, executive, and judicial powers
and the responsibility of initiating rules and regulations which
the students approved, governing dormitory life and social behav-
ior. There was a faculty advisory board made up of President
Jarman, ex officio. Dean Pfohl, Martha Stackhouse, and four
faculty members, which acted as a court of appeals and as a
consultative body; but the advisory board wisely allowed consid-
erable latitude for student decision. Coincident with the student
government association was to be an "Honor System," modeled on
Pfohl/Stackhouse past experiences with Agnes Scott and Moravian
Woman's College, and perhaps also the University of Virginia.
Each fall, after freshman orientation, an impressive ceremony
was, and still is, held, now called "Charter Day." As it has evolved,
the ceremony now goes like this: The president of the college,
having been authorized to do so by the board of trustees, gives to
the president of the student government association the "Charter,"
extending to the students the responsibility and privilege of
governing themselves as they live together in a community of
college women. All entering students are then asked to pledge by
their signature their agreement with the following statement:

Believing in the principles of student gov-
ernment, I pledge myself to uphold the
ideals and regulations of the Mary Baldwin
Community. I recognize the principles of
honor and cooperation as the basis of our life
together and shall endeavour faithfully to
order my life accordingly and to encourage
others to fulfill the ideals of the honor system."

The creation of the student government and the expansion

101

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

of its areas of influence were done slowly and deliberately. Dean
Pfohl later noted that "it was interesting to me to see how careful
these young women were. . .to be sure that they didn't expect more
of the students than they thought they could really monitor."
Since the student council would be concerned with regulations
about dormitory living and penalties for the breaking thereof, for
rules concerning social activities and dating procedures, as well
as requirements for honesty in academic and personal matters (no
"lying, cheating or stealing"), their area of concern was broad.
Dean Pfohl continued,

...we spent many hours discussing the
honor system, how it would be really
implemented...! have great respect for the
integrity of these students who were officers
of the association. They took this more
seriously than anything else they did... They
were the leaders in the college and as such
were looked up to with respect by the rest
of the student body.^^

The honor system, particularly in regard to academic affairs,
was, from the first, nourished and emphasized. Each professor
was and is expected to make clear to his classes each fall how tests,
projects, reports, term papers, laboratory exercises are to be done;
i.e., whether with open or closed books, independently or working
with others. Great care was taken to stress proper library proce-
dures and to define plagiarism. At first, the Handbook noted, "The
presence of a member of the faculty or her representative during
an examination lends dignity to the examination and hence is
desired," but in 1935 the faculty voted "not to remain in the
rooms." Since then, tests and examinations have been given
without proctors or faculty supervision. Of all the privileges and
responsibilities of the Mary Baldwin College honor system, this is
the most cherished and has continued to have almost unanimous
support. ^^

The student council included, in addition to the usual officers,
six "house presidents," the presidents of the YWCA, the Athletic
Association, and the Day Club, plus a freshman representative
chosen after the first semester. The council met weekly and the
association (all the students) met monthly. Missing an association
meeting was a "call down" offense. In addition, a president's

102

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

forum, made up of class and organization presidents, met to
coordinate activities and calendars. Because there were many
opportunities for leadership on the campus, an elaborate point
system for office holding was devised so that no one would be
overburdened with non-academic responsibilities, and so that
more students could participate. By 1945, the burden of council
duties led to the creation of an "Executive Council" made up of
three faculty and four students, a social committee, and a com-
mittee of freshman advisors. In addition, there still remained an
advisory board of faculty and deans. The student government
association in the 15 years of the Jarman administration moved
beyond the duties of setting and enforcing regulations to active
participation in freshman orientation, a major role in the "New
Century" program, and to the directing of the college's World War
II activities. It was an integral part of Mary Baldwin College.

Although he had originally proposed a student government
association, a concept which had been part of modern college life
since early in the 20th century. Dr. Jarman, who had "very strict
ideas as to the conduct of students [and]... what kind of privileges
should be allowed..." would frequently interpose his own wishes
on the fledgling student council. The best example of this behavior
comes from the prolonged debate over student smoking policies.
At the very first meeting of the student government association
held 14 September 1929, the constitution, or charter, and the
regulations which had been proposed by the council, with the
assistance of a faculty committee, were discussed and approved.
The problem of students smoking arose, and was "thoroughly
discussed." The minutes of the student government association
best describe what happened next: "Dr. Jarman was recalled. He
put the question directly, frankly, and quite fairly to the stud-
ents; 'Is smoking consistent with the ideals of Mary Baldwin Col-
lege?'...By a unanimous vote the student body decided that smok-
ing was not consistent with the ideals of Mary Baldwin College
and would not be indulged in while students were under the
jurisdiction of the college." The students were, obviously, at a
considerable disadvantage here, but Dr. Jarman did not always
prevail. By 1931, after several other attempts to modify the
absolute prohibition had failed, the council, although avoiding a
positive statement in support of students smoking, declared that
college rules prohibiting it would not be "imposed" in the Alum-
nae Club House, private homes, or in restaurants. ^°

Other social and dress regulations changed slowly over the

103

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jar?nan Years

years but did respond to the broader changes in society's stan-
dards. There were impassioned debates over whether or not socks
(as opposed to hose) could be worn "downtown." No one in this era
would have suggested bare legs. By 1945, students could "skip"
breakfast, but attendance at lunch and dinner was still compul-
sory. They were likewise expected to "dress" for dinner. All meals
were eaten together at family style table service, although by the
mid- 1930s faculty had a faculty area and no longer were requir-
ed to act as table hostesses. One's presence at a church service of
one's choice on Sunday was required, as was attendance at college
chapel five times a week. Not all "chapel" services were religious.
Every Monday, when he was on campus, Dr. Jarman discussed
the current events of the week. Friday chapel was used for student
government association business and reports. Religious services,
led by faculty, students or outside speakers, were held on the other
two or three days. Class rank and academic standing determined
many privileges, from the number of class cuts to "away" week-
ends and overnights. As late as 1945, students were allowed to
ride in automobiles only with approved chaperones, and students
attending dances at neighboring colleges had to stay in approved
houses. There was an elaborate system of "sign outs," chaperones,
and parental permission slips. Perhaps the greatest change came
in the activities permitted on Sundays, which had previously been
reserved exclusively for Sunday school and church. Quiet hours
had been from 2 to 4 pm. No victrolas were to be played, and only
relatives or approved out-of-town guests could be received. But, by
1945, walking with "dates," meals in town or private homes, and
afternoon tennis were allowed. A "date" was defined as a "conver-
sation with a young man covering a period longer than 15 min-
utes."

Dancing had long been a part of the seminary's activities, and
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, formal "soirees" and
"cotillions" had been held. Later teas, receptions, "open houses,"
and other formal occasions had male guests (with proper introduc-
tion), and as the college years began, carefully regulated "dating"
was approved. It was not until 1936 that mixed "informal danc-
ing," to radio or victrola, was allowed on upper back gallery. Two
formal dances had been held in the dining room in Chapel Hall
during 1941-1942, but it was not until the opening of the King
Building, in 1942, that formal dances regularly became part of
Mary Baldwin College's social calendar. Students had been per-
mitted to attend dances elsewhere, with chaperones, since 1936.

104

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Janyian Years

Penalties for violations of social and dormitory regulations
included "call downs," "restrictions," "campus," and for major
offenses, probation, suspension and dismissal from the college.
Major offenses were defined as dishonesty in academic work,
drinking, being absent from the campus at night without permis-
sion, and riding in automobiles with men without permission.
Major offenses were considered by the student council and the
faculty advisory board, and in cases of "severe discipline" were
referred to the entire faculty. ^^

Most of the social regulations and some of the academic ones
appear quaint and even demeaning to the young women of 1990,
but they were very similar in scope and expectation to those of
other women's colleges of this period, and not too dissimilar to
university regulations for their women students. The concept of
in loco parentis was alive and well in the period before the 1960s.
Parents and society expected a protected environment and appro-
priate behavior for young women. Dr. Jarman expected even
more, but as long as the machinery for bringing about change
existed and as long as some changes could be perceived, the
students do not seem to have been particularly restive.

The 1930s also saw a changing attitude toward day students.
Mary Baldwin was and is a residential college. All students were
expected to live on campus in supervised housing and to eat in
the college dining hall, with the exception of local young women
who lived at home and were classified as "non-boarders." These
day students had always played an important role. The seminary
had begun primarily as a day school, and it was not until 1857,
when the two wings were added to the Administration Building,
that there was room for more than a few boarders. After the Civil
War, the reputation of "Miss Baldwin's school" had attracted
students from many southern states and elsewhere, and the
"boarding" character of the seminary was established. By the time
that Mary Baldwin College was chartered, in 1922, it was increas-
ingly obvious that the "non-boarders" were an important part of
the student body, financially as well as in other ways. Therefore,
efforts began to incorporate them more fully into the college as a
whole. '^- Instrumental in this was Fannie Strauss, herself a
"townie" and seminary graduate ( 1912); and, as a faculty member
since 1918, she became the advisor and friend to the day students,
who organized themselves into a club in November 1929. By 1930,
they had a constitution, a room in the Administration Building,
and were represented on the student council and the YWCA

105

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

Board. In the ensuing years, they played an increasingly impor-
tant role in various college activities. They assumed responsibility
for one chapel program a year, they entertained the faculty, and
in the spring sponsored a tea for senior girls from the local high
schools. Invitations to their homes were prized by the boarders as
one means of circumventing some social regulations.^'^

The college, as the seminary before it, had many student
organizations: some of ephemeral character; others with long-
lasting impact. In this era, the YWCA had "the most important
influence... perhaps because we are constantly in contact with it."
It had begun in October 1894, and by the 1920s Dr. Fraser could
report to the synod that the entire student body belonged, al-
though membership was "voluntary." The YWCA undertook fund-
raising activities for missionary and local charities, supervised
the "Big Sister" program in the fall, published the Handbook
yearly, sponsored the "peanut/shell" pre-exam stress relievers,
held vesper services on Sunday evenings at the Chapel, gave
Saturday night parties in the gym, and organized visits to the
Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, Western State Hospital,
the Bettie Bickle home, and the Queenie Miller orphanage. It was
the YWCA which began the custom of many years' standing of
students singing Christmas carols on the last evening before
Christmas vacation. Only seniors were allowed to leave the
grounds, and they carolled at various churches, at the hospital,
and ended at Staunton Military Academy, where Mrs. Russell
invited them in for hot chocolate. For several years the YWCA ran
a bookstore, and World Fellowship groups encouraged conscious-
ness of national and international issues. The YWCA president
was a member of the student government association council, and
its officers were among the most respected student leaders on
campus. ^^

Another campus-wide organization was the athletic associa-
tion, organized (after some false starts) in 1919 and expanded in
1931. All students were automatically members and were at one
time divided into "yellow" and "white" teams. Later there were
"Irish" and "Scots" clans. Since there were no intercollegiate
sports programs, the students had to be content with intramural
and class contests. In 1942, the sports listed were field hockey,
basketball, track, hiking, swimming, golf, tennis, horseback riding,
archery, Softball and baseball. These sports had "leaders" and
"varsity" teams were chosen annually. Student-faculty games
added to the interest. At the annual Athletic Banquet,

106

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

monogrammed sweater letters were awarded and much- prized.
In addition, bowling and ping pong were available, and, at a pool
table in the upper back gallery, instruction in billiards was
provided by Dr. Martinez of the Spanish department. Since three
years of Physical Education were required for graduation, with
the third year's requirement being satisfied by participation in
"elective sports," there was a ready pool of students, and college
policy encouraged student voluntary participation as a means of
promoting good health and providing skills which would bring
enjoyment in later life. Among these could be counted horseback
riding, which was very popular in the 1930s. A riding club was
organized by Mr. King, who had been a skilled and devoted
horseman, and some students were invited to participate in the
Glenmore Hunt Club events. Dr. Jarman was an enthusiastic
golfer, and during his administration students and faculty were
encouraged to develop skills in this area. Tennis, which has been
of major interest since the 1960s, had been introduced before 1900
and had a steady but small following. Perhaps the sport that
excited the most enthusiastic support in the 1930s and which
would appear a curiosity to our students of the 1990s was "tramp-
ing" or hiking. Campus Comments regularly reported Saturday
afternoon expeditions and adventures, as groups of thirty or more
students and faculty walked to the "Tea Room" at the "Triangle,"
to Betsy Bell, Fort Defiance, the "Orchard" (now Baldwin Acres),
or simply started out on Churchville Avenue and went across
country wherever their spirits took them. It was not unusual to
hike for 10 or 15 miles and to enjoy a picnic supper at the end. In
the later 1940s, student groups would even occasionally hike to
"Chip Inn" at Stuarts Draft. There were fewer automobiles on the
roads, the Valley had great beauty, no particular skill was in-
volved in these walks, and they were very popular. The students
of the 1990s who jog along our crowded streets and scarce side-
walks are the inheritors of this tradition. ^^

During these early college years, there were many student
clubs and associations, some of which had originated in seminary
days, others emerging as appropriate for college life. Several were
associated with academic subjects, such as the Art Club, the
Dramatic Club (previously called "Sock and Buskin" "Curtain
Callers" and "Green Masque"), the Glee Club, the Modern Lan-
guage Club, the Science Club, the Psychology Club, the Music
Club, and the Garden Club which was associated with Botany
classes. For several years a Debating Club, sponsored by Martha

107

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

Grafton, flourished and provided a touch of intercollegiate com-
petition as teams from Bridgewater, Hampden-Sydney, the Uni-
versity of Virginia, and even Cambridge, England, on one occa-
sion, earnestly presented the pro's and con's of such questions as
"Is co-education desirable?"; "The emergence of women from the
home is to be deplored," "Should utility rather than culture be the
basis of a college curriculum?"; and "Should students help achieve
world disarmament?" Eventually the debaters were absorbed in-
to the International Relations Club. Mock campus elections were
held in 1936 and 1940. Franklin D. Roosevelt won on both
occasions.

Each college class was organized with appropriate class offi-
cers, and classes were paired as "sisters" (freshmen-juniors;
sophomores-seniors) and sponsored teas, receptions and dinners
for each other. In the beginning of the college years, there had been
state and regional clubs, but they were disbanded in the early
1930s. However, "Little Sisters/Granddaughters Clubs" flourish-
ed in these years. Another monthly event was the birthday dinner
given for all students born in that month. Tables were decorated,
horoscopes were read, and "Happy Birthday to You" was permit-
ted on this occasion - and on this occasion only.*^*^

One tradition that had begun in seminary days was "Rat Day."
This involved sophomore "hazing" of the freshman class and took
place shortly after freshman orientation was completed. The
freshmen had to make the sophomores' beds, clean rooms, shine
shoes. They had to wear black stockings and red and gold ribbons
in their braided hair, carry eggs and have them autographed, eat
their meals only with a knife or their hands, and generally "hop
when the sophomores said hop." By 1940, such activities did not
seem in keeping with the seriousness of the year's events nor the
dignity of college students, and the sophomores instead invited
the entire college to a picnic honoring the freshman class. Classes
were dismissed for the day, and there were athletic contests, skits
and songs. The freshmen were then declared full-fledged mem-
bers of Mary Baldwin College. At first, the picnic was held at
Grafton's Park, Sherando, or Massanutten Caverns, but by 1942,
with wartime labor shortages inspiring the change, the picnic was
moved to the college orchard and the students, having walked the
two miles there, then picked over 1,000 bushels of apples. Al-
though the term "Apple Day" was not yet applied to this event
(students were at a loss as to what it should be called and referred
to it as "freshman-sophomore day"), this is the origin of one of the

108

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

most popular fall events at the college.*^"

There were three major publications (four if the Handbook is
counted) directed and organized by the students. The oldest was
the yearbook, beginning as the Augusta Seminary Annual. Its
name was changed to Souvenir in 1899, and it was renamed The
Bluestocking in 1900. Apparently the name was not favored by
Miss Weimar because the followingyear it was entitled "Baldwin's" ;
but in 1902, the student preference prevailed, and it has been The
Bluestocking ever since. Traditionally it had been the responsibil-
ity of the junior class, and for many years Fannie Strauss was the
invaluable advisor.

The Miscellanv (the title appeared in 1899) was the student
literary magazine. Like The Bluestocking, it was the child of the
seminary Literary Society (1898-1929). In the early years, class
essays, alumnae news items, poems and parodies appeared, but
by the college years, the present format as a magazine had
emerged. Exchanges with other college magazines had been
arranged, and it was an important avenue for student artistic and
literary expression.

Campus Comments made its rather hesitant appearance as
the student newspaper in 1924, claiming to be the "child" of the
Miscellanv. Apparently, Dean Higgins had some doubts about the
wisdom of this venture. Her report on the matter to the board of
trustees says that the student newspaper "calls attention to the
eccentricities of all of us living on the campus," and the first
editorial says, "In order to carry out our policy of freer expression
of our thoughts, the circulation is to be limited to the campus only
- no circulation outside the walls, and no exchange..." After the
first year, no issues appeared until 1926, but as the college
identity emerged, the publication became more valued, and by the
1930s was requesting parent subscriptions, so apparently the
prohibition of circulation beyond the campus had been dropped.
In the 1930s, the sponsor of Campus Comments was the indefati-
gable Mary Swan Carroll. After 1939, Dr. Lillian Thomson pro-
vided most of the photographs used in the newspaper.

The editors and business managers of all three publications
were elected by the student body and were members of the
president's forum. Their budgets were met in part by portions of
the students' activities fees, and in part by various fund-raising
activities, such as waffle and strawberiy breakfasts. As college
publications, all of them were members of the Virginia
Intercollegiate and National Associated Collegiate Press Associa-

109

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

tions and in the Jarman era won many first place and high honor
awards.^*

As if all this activity were not enough to keep about 300 young
women busy — presumably they were also studying, as well —
there were annual "special events," which provided a break in the
daily routine and reinforced the college's efforts to adapt and
absorb the seminary traditions. Some of these events would not
seem appropriate college activities today, and have since been
discontinued, but they were again very similar to the activities at
other women's colleges of this era. When one talks to alumnae,
there is no doubt that these special times are cherished in their
memories.

Early in October, the college celebrated what came to be
known as "Founders' Day." Since 1898, the year after Mary Julia
Baldwin's death, the seminary had observed a holiday on the 4th
of October, which was her birthday. There were carriage rides,
picnics, hikes, wreath laying at Miss Baldwin's grave, and songs
and prayers. By 1904, the alumnae decided to use this occasion as
their "Homecoming," and there were reunions, reminiscences,
luncheons and tea parties for the "old girls." On the centennial of
Miss Baldwin's birth, and coincidentally the first year without the
seminary, the Jarman administration decided that this would be
an appropriate time to invest the 14 seniors, the class of 1930, with
their caps and gowns. An elaborate ceremony was held in front
of Hill Top with the entire student body present. Each senior had
two attendants dressed in white; the faculty processed in full
regalia; and the seniors were robed and capped by the president.
The seniors thereafter wore their caps and gowns to Chapel five
times a week. By 1932, the "Ivy Ceremony" was added, in which
the class officers planted ivy as a symbol of enduring values and
the "Ivy Song" and class songs were sung; in 1933 the first outside
speaker. Bishop J. K. Pfohl, was added to the program. Partly
because Dean Henry D. Campbell (the grandson of Rufus Bailey)
was chairman of the college's board of trustees, and because the
college's centennial was approaching (1942), the first "founder" of
the college was "rediscovered." The orientation since the latter
part of the 19th century had been toward Miss Baldwin, but by
1941, the October 4th investiture ceremony was called Founders'
Day, honoring both Rufus Bailey and Mary Julia Baldwin.^^

The next major event on the college calendar was Thanksgiv-
ing. Only Thanksgiving day was a holiday. Students who cut
classes before or after a holiday were charged double cuts; but, in

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

any case, few of them were able to go home, given the transporta-
tion realities of the 1930s. The college always had a family style
Thanksgiving dinner, athletic contests, especially basketball, and
a special chapel service. Queenie Miller, a black woman who had
begun an orphanage in Staunton in 1910 and had cared for more
than 200 children in the intervening years, was always invited by
the YWCA to bring some of the children with her for the Friday
Chapel after Thanksgiving. They sang and presented skits, and it
was universally agreed that this was one of the favorite chapel
programs of the year. The YWCA made regular donations of food,
clothing and funds to the Miller Orphanage.™

Close on Thanksgiving festivities came the Christmas obser-
vances. In addition to carolling, there was a party given by the
faculty and students for all the college employees; Christmas
baskets were collected for needy families and for mountain chil-
dren, and there was an elegant, formal Christmas dinner, with
prizes for the best decorated tables. Then, there was the excite-
ment of packing and train tickets and the first visit home for many
of the students since they had left in September.

Examinations were held toward the end of January, a new
semester was begun, there was a week's spring vacation (until the
war years, when it was curtailed), and the year culminated in the
four-day commencement activities, which were reduced to three
days in the 1940s. All of the students remained, unlike the custom
of today, and, in the more leisurely world of 50 years ago, the event
proceeded with dignity and decorum, except when youthful exu-
berance burst forth. There were art exhibits, faculty and student
concerts, a "high tea" given by the Jarmans and the deans, and a
garden party on the front terrace. The seniors were entertained
at a breakfast by their class sponsors. There were elaborate "class
day" and "May Day" ceremonies. The May Queen, her attendants,
and her court consisting of all the seniors were entertained by the
remainder of the student body in an elaborate pageant, combining
acting, dancing, singing, oration - an effort that took most of the
spring to devise and rehearse . The themes were varied and appear
to us today as very "non-collegiate," such as Mother Goose, Alice
in Wonderland, Pandora, Virginiana, Americana, and Fiesta.
Class Day involved a laurel chain, white dresses and red roses,
and attendants who held shepherds' crooks forming a flowering
aisle through which the seniors marched. The class gift was
presented. One such gift, in 1929, was a stone bench to be placed
on the front terrace, whose use was reserved only for seniors. It

111

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

is still there, but as the center of the campus has shifted inward
and upward, it is now seldom used. The class colors were pre-
sented to a representative from the incoming freshman class, and
class songs were sung. Sunday Baccalaureate, with full academic
procession and the seniors in their caps and gowns, was held at
the First Presbyterian Church, followed by Sunday dinner for
family and friends and a "senior farewell" vesper service con-
ducted by the YWCA. Monday was Alumnae Day, and the seniors
were entertained at their banquet, and on Tuesday the Com-
mencement exercises were held, with everyone kept in order and
on time by the faculty marshal. Dr. Mildred Taylor. These events
were somewhat compressed during the war years, but the May
Queen and her pageant, the shepherds' crooks and the passing of
class colors, continued through the decade of the 50s. ^^

This long, lingering farewell is perhaps indicative of one of the
great strengths of the early years of the college. These were young
women of the depression and war years, and there are many
indications that they were serious about their responsibilities,
their futures, their careers, their marriages and their obligations
as citizens. But they were also young and healthy and fun loving.
They developed lifelong friendships. They gave each other sur-
prise birthday parties, shared boxes from home, attended football
games and dances, anxiously waited for young men to call,
gossiped and laughed. They played bridge in the Club, haunted
the post office for mail, cried over movie heroines, worried about
their weight (the use of a rolling pin was suggested as a help in
reducing), and kept careful note of the engagement rings that
appeared after each holiday. One cannot help but be impressed
with the many long hours they spent decorating for their social
occasions, creating "tableaux," finding properties for plays, pre-
paring programs and fudge. Their relationships with the faculty,
who frequently had teas and suppers for their classes, were often
close, and alumnae never return to the campus without looking
up their favorite "teachers." There was also real affection for the
college employees — Mary Scott, Mr. "Bill" Crone (everyone's
friend), "Fru" (a maid in Hill Top), and Carrie, the head waitress
for fifteen years. All were, from time to time, featured in Campus
Comments. Mrs. StoUenworck, the hostess who met the young
men who called for their dates, was respected and admired and
hoodwinked when possible, though it seldom was. The successive
deans became friends rather then authority figures, and some
were recalled with love by alumnae a quarter century or more

112

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

after they had left the college. In many ways, it was a small, closed
world — the college campus of the 30s. There were not the modern
distractions of automobiles (an early Campus Comments article
describes the automobiles owned by five faculty members with
something akin to awe), of television, of rapid transportation, of
social freedoms, then undreamed of. Their world was themselves,
and it is impossible to read their records without a touch of
nostalgic sadness for a time of innocence long vanished."^^

It should not be inferred from the above comments that the
college was indifferent to the momentous events of the 1930s. By
means of visiting lecturers, chapel programs, faculty efforts, the
debate teams, the International Relations Club, the YWCA and
Campus Comments, students were encouraged to broaden their
social and political concerns, and many did. Their attention
focused on the Depression, the "race problem," the missionary
efforts in China and Korea, the "peace" movement, as well as
knowledge and better understanding of "Bolshevism," the Chi-
nese civil war, and European culture and crises.

Comments about the Depression largely centered on the
elections of 1932 and 1936 and how the respective candidates
would remedy the situation. Dr. Jarman's chapel lectures on
causes and cures and on working hard at college so that one's
education would justify one's parents' "sacrifices" continued the
theme. A student analysis in 1931 indicated that, among the
students' fathers' occupations, there were three in the Army/
Navy; 64 in "general business"; four teachers; five dentists; 13
medical doctors; nine "railroad men"; 12 bankers, five in real
estate; six newspaper editors; eight ministers; eight manufactur-
ers and 16 lawyers - a middle class group, who could still afford to
send their daughters to a private college. Mary Baldwin did
provide modest scholarship help and free tuition for Presbyterian
ministers' and missionaries' daughters, and by the mid-1930s
some students received FERA and NYA funds. There were very
few other scholarships derived from some generous alumnae trust
funds, but Dr. Jarman quickly began to stress the need for more
scholarship money. '-^

If there is not a great deal of evidence that the Depression was
a frequent topic of conversation among students - faculty, ad-
ministration and board of trustees were naturally very con-
ns

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

cerned — the same is not true of the "Peace Movement" of the
1930s. In the years between the wars, Armistice Day had always
been an important occasion. It was not a school holiday, but there
were always special chapel speakers, and in the early 1930s
students would participate in the parade held in downtown
Staunton. However, as the decade progressed. Armistice Day
became the focus of the "Peace Movement" — a largely college
student inspired effort to reject any U.S. participation in future
wars. Sponsored by the American Youth Congress, a controver-
sial organization at one time supported by Eleanor Roosevelt, it
sought to curb ROTC units on college campuses, held yearly
conventions, parades, and demonstrations, and used tactics not
unlike those employed in the 1960s and early 70s - if somewhat
more subdued. Mary Baldwin students were not immune to these
views: chapel programs on disarmament and peace were pre-
sented; telegrams were sent to the President of the U.S. and the
Secretary of State; Mary Baldwin students attended the Nation-
al Student Federation of America meetings and reported back
on "peace efforts." A Campus Comments editorial expressed the
opinion that colleges were "used" in World War I. (One assumes
this refers to propaganda efforts.) We should "refuse to support
the American government in any war they undertake," the edito-
rial continued. In 1937, the opinion that "any war is wrong" was
expressed; we are against "militaristic and jingoistic propagan-
da." In October 1939, a month after the war in Europe began, a
reprint editorial from California, "Why should I fight - 1 ain't mad
at anybody," appeared. There is no way to gauge how much these
editorial opinions were shared by the student body as a whole and
how much they merely reflected the isolationist sentiment pre-
valent in the country in the 1930s. Certainly there were no sit-ins
or demonstrations, and Mary Baldwin had no ROTC to criticize.
There were no letters to the editor pro or con, and perhaps it can
be inferred that the majority of the students were non-committal.
By 1941, the orientation was changing. A Campus Comments
editorial (2 February 1941) declared that the American Youth
Congress was "one of the most unpopular youth organizations in
America," and on 4 April 1941, a later editorial criticized women
who had protested the passage of HR Bill 1776 (Lend-Lease); the
protest "made women as a whole... [look like]... foolish sentimen-
talists as well as brainless ninnies." Fathers, brothers and fiances
were subject to the draft after 1940, and campus opinions chang-
ed rapidly after the "blitzkrieg" victories of that j^ear.^^

114

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

If Depression and peace were largely student editors' con-
cerns, there does seem to have been a somewhat broader interest
in a subject most Americans in this era paid little attention to; the
concerns of America's black citizens. The chief spark plug of this
awareness was the YWCA, which, as early as 1930, sponsored a
discussion led by the World Fellowship Committee on "race
relations." In 1931, a student representing Mary Baldwin at-
tended the Virginia Student Volunteer Union meeting in Farm-
ville, Virginia, where addresses on India, China, the Muslim
World and U.S. relations were discussed — the latter by William
M. Cooper of Hampton Institute. This implies a racially-mixed
meeting, which at this early date in a southern state was unusual.
By 1934, the National Student Federation of America, of which
Mary Baldwin College was a member, was calling for an end to
racial prejudice, and in November of that year Mary Baldwin
delegates attended an interracial Youth Council meeting at
Randolph-Macon College, where they hoped to plan a state-wide
meeting, no further mention of which is made. The YWCA's
relationship with Queenie Miller and her Franklin Hill orphan-
age has already been noted and, during World War II, Mary
Baldwin students packed special kits for black soldiers and
declared "racial justice" to be a war aim; but they suggested that
economic and political justice could come without "intermingl-
ing" on the social scale. These perceptions, not unlike those of
most of Middle America, do suggest an increasing sensitivity to
the "American Dilemma. "'°

The student interest likewise focused on the special ties which
the seminary, and later the college, had long had with some speci-
fic missionary efforts. In 1882, Charlotte Kemper, who had taught
at the seminary for eleven years, felt called to a missionary life in
Lauras, Brazil, where she stayed until her death in 1926. She was
later joined by Ruth See, an alumna. The seminary and later the
college girls remained interested and supportive of the Brazil
"connection." Perhaps even greater concern focused on the activi-
ties of Mary Baldwin alumnae in China, Korea and Japan.
Founded in 1912, in Kunsan, Korea, by alumna Libby Alby Bull,
the "Mary Baldwin School for Girls" was a major factor in spread-
ing the Christian faith and intellectual activities to girls and
women in a society that did not consider females worthy of such
attention. The Kunsan school was forced to close in the early
1940s during the Shinto Shrine Controversy. Reopened in the
late 1950s, the school's original buildings were destroyed during

115

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

the Korean War, and thereafter it was run under Korean owner-
ship. In China, Agnes and Lily Woods worked and supported the
Martha Riddle School (named after a beloved seminary history
teacher) in Hwaianfu. It, too, became a victim of war, in this case
the Chinese Civil War of the 1920s and the Japanese invasion of
the 1930s. Pictures of the ruins appeared in the Alumnae Bulletin,
and letters describing the turmoil appeared in Campus Com-
ments and piqued the students' interest and support. There were
many alumnae who were missionaries. In 1924, the Bulletin list-
ed over 25 who were at that time active in the mission field, and
there had been many before them and since. Their daughters and
granddaughters frequently returned to attend the seminary and
college and often became second and third generation missionar-
ies in their turn. With the help of the YWCA, these schools and
many other missionaiy activities were supported by Mary Baldwin
College students in the 1930s. The Second World War put a
temporary end to these activities, but many were later resumed.^^
Other stimuli led the students toward an interest in the world
around them. The faculty had recommended in 1932 that two
foreign exchange students a year be allowed to attend Mary
Baldwin, and arrangements made through the Institute of In-
ternational Education brought Ruth Laue of Konigsberg, East
Prussia, and Jeanne-Renee Campana of Paris to the college in
1933-34. There was much student interest in them and they were
vocal and assertive — far more interested in international issues
than their American counterparts. It is possible to suggest, as one
reads the Campus Comments and the Miscellany, that German-
French animosity was reflected in their relationships. They joined
the debating team, they gave programs to civic clubs, wrote for
college publications, and enlivened dormitory conversations.
Jeanne-Renee defended the French position on the war debts
controversy, and Ruth had pictures of Frederick the Great, Paul
von Hindenberg, and Adolf Hitler in her room. This was 1933, and
what was occurring in Germany became, of course, a matter of
increasing concern. But Professor Schmidt, who made frequent
visits to Germany and Austria, and other college faculty and
students who visited there, failed, as did most of their contempo-
raries, to recognize the implications of National Socialism. One
later exchange student, Rudolfa Schorchtova (1935) from Prague
was deemed to have enough college credits to be allowed to
graduate from Mary Baldwin in 1936. She returned to Czechoslo-
vakia to begin graduate work. As Dr. Watters reports, she wrote

116

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

back to her friends in Staunton, "I wish I could come back
again... one does not meet so much goodwill anywhere..." and
Watters adds (in 1942) "and now - one wonders." In April 1946,
word had come from Ruda, the first since the German occupation
of her homeland in 1938. She wrote, "This is a letter of thanks to
all American women who by their courage and high ideals of
democracy have helped to win the war. After the years of hell we
have gone through...! want to tell you that the ideals of Mary
Baldwin have helped me carry on; and have inspired me to 'high
endeavor', as we sang... we are happy - happy in our newly found
sense of freedom..." Poor Ruda - her sense of freedom was soon
shattered (this time by the Russians) . Brief reference to her death
is noted in the Alumnae Newsletter of 1954."

Other exchange students came in the 1930s; another French
girl, one from Uruguay, from Puerto Rico, from Mexico. They
helped with French and Spanish and set a precedent for the years
after World War II, when others would follow in their footsteps.

The faculty and administration did take seriously their re-
sponsibility in teaching their students about the purpose and
function of the church related liberal arts college education for
young women. Dean Elizabeth E. Hoon's report in 1936-37 de-
clared:

It was to reflect the right of a woman
to the highest possible individual
development intellectual, moral, social
and physical to the end that she may be
the best kind of woman; secondly, the
right of a woman to the highest social
development in the sense of responsibility
to and realization of the group in which
she finds herself the family, the community,
and the state.'**

Pursuant to this aim. Dr. Jarman reported to the seniors that
Mary Baldwin alumnae were teaching, involved in social work,
were librarians, musicians and "designers"; a later program
discussed salary levels for those working with and without a
college degree and concluded college did "pay." Two-thirds of all
women college graduates who were in the labor force were em-
ployed either in teaching or "clerical work," it was reported. In
1935, a series of chapel programs brought speakers to the cam-

117

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

pus to discuss "Women in Journalism," "Women in Medicine,"
careers in fashion, retailing and business women as an "asset to
the world." In 1938, another two-week chapel series discussed
vocations for women (including teaching, which provided a "kind
of immortality") and "homemaking" by former Dean Elizabeth
Pfohl Campbell. Dr. Jarman concluded the series with some pithy
observations on "Education as a Vocation." Seventy-five percent
of all Mary Baldwin girls "eventually marry," he reported, but
"twenty-five percent will never marry... Each added degree de-
creases the number of men you would be interested in and who
would be interested in you... teach in a town that is not too large
if you want to get a husband," he advised. In a later report to the
board of trustees. Dr. Jarman expanded these views:

The goal of Mary Baldwin College,
is to foster a type of personality; the
goal is neither a business woman, nor
a mother or even the scholar, but the
person, resourceful, attractive and
service minded, fitted with habits and
attitudes, interests and ideals that
qualify her for the good life in her chosen
community... Thus it is through their in-
fluences on their husband and children
that their lives count in society at large. ^^

The Mary Baldwin College women of the 1930s seemed to be
getting some mixed signals about careers and marriage, and it is
apparent that Dr. Jarman and Dr. Eraser had similar views about
women's roles, even if Dr. Jarman's was a bit more flexible. But in
thel940s (if briefly) many new fields of endeavor opened for
women, and the college encouraged them to take advantage of
these opportunities.

An indispensable partner in the well-being of any college is its
active and dedicated alumnae. Dr. Jarman and Margarett Kable
Russell worked very hard during these early college years to
organize and expand alumnae activities. In 1925, Dr. Eraser,
while dealing with the uncomfortable realities of the alumnae
campaign, had perceptively pointed out the handicap under which

118

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

the Alumnae Association labored. All of the alumnae (until 1924)
were graduates of the seminary, not the college. Many had
attended the school for two years or less; others had entered as
"little girls" and had gone elsewhere for their more advanced
education. Thus, almost all alumnae had divided loyalties, having
attended more than one school. And, of course, they were women,
most of whose husbands had their own colleges and universities
to support. Until very recent years, family support for education-
al institutions has very heavily favored the husband's alma
mater. The Mary Baldwin alumnae were widely scattered geo-
graphically which made the formation and sustaining of local
chapters difficult, and limited those who had the time and energy
to visit their old school. Until the campaigns of the 1920s, the
alumnae had never been asked to do anything for the college;
their meetings had been for fellowship and reminiscence. Their
dues were $1.00 a year, and there had been no other sources of
financial support. There was not even a satisfactory directory or
record of previous students, and many were "lost." Although
valiant efforts had been made during the 1925-28 fund-raising
projects to create an alumnae association more in keeping with
a college, the failures of the campaigns (particularly their own)
had dampened alumnae spirits and lowered their morale. In 1926,
there were about 5800 living alumnae. Addresses had been
secured for a little more than half of them, and only 700 were dues-
paying members. By 1929, when Dr. Jarman came, the active
members numbered about 1,000, due largely to the determined
efforts of Margarett Kable Russell, president of the National
Association, and Fannie Strauss, treasurer; but the organization
desperately needed a sense of purpose and direction. ^° This they
received from the new president, who was keenly aware of the
need to revitalize alumnae spirit. The board of trustees continued
to provide $1200 a year support (a practice begun in 1927), and Dr.
Jarman provided office space, at first in the Administration
Building and later in a rented and eventually purchased building
which became the Alumnae "Club House." In addition, a full-time
"executive secretary" was employed and the alumnae records
were made part of the official archives of the college. Mrs. Russell
had insisted that an "educated Alumna is an interested Alumna"
and regular publications, called variously "Newsletters" and
"Bulletins," with illustrations, messages from the administration,
chapter news, and other pertinent information were created to
make this slogan a reality. A new constitution had been approved

119

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

in 1929, and another in 1932. A Directory was published in 1930.
A program of sending birthday cards (begun by Mary Benham
Mitchell Black and Dorothy Hisey Bridges) was continued and
expanded. Alumnae were invited to return to the campus on two
special occasions during the year: Mary Julia Baldwin's birthday
(October 4th) and Commencement Weekend.

In 1935 and again in 1936, a very ambitious progi'am called
"Alumnae Weekend" was introduced. This was held in March with
a series of lectures by faculty and others, concerts, exhibits and
chapel programs. The first "weekend" had the theme of "America
in a Changing World." Eighty-four alumnae attended. The sec-
ond, called "Toward an Understanding of our Present World," had
61 registrants. The scholarly papers were published in the Bulle-
tins, as was a reading list, and this attempt at "adult education"
was launched with idealistic hopes and energies. Unfortunately,
the numbers of those who were able to come were not sufficient to
support the costs, and no other "weekends" were held until after
World War II, although the idea has never been totally abandoned
and many variations have since been tried. ^^

Local chapters have waxed and waned in number and enthu-
siasm. In 1928, there were 15 "active" local chapters. Forty-two
chapters were listed in 1941, but due to war conditions only four
of these (Washington, Norfolk, Richmond and Staunton) survived
by 1945. By far the most active chapters were, naturally, the local
ones — Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County (variously
combined and separated). Although not officially organized as a
"chapter" until 1914, the local alumnae were the center of the
"Home Association," and in the early years distinguishing the
local from the "national" organization was often difficult, since the
same women participated in both groups. ^^ The Staunton chapter
had taken the lead in supporting the alumnae campaigns of the
1920s and was an ever-present help in the 1930s. The distin-
guished lecture and concert series of that decade were often
initiated and subsidized by them. They brought Amelia Earhart,
Helen Keller, Lowell Thomas, and the Don Cossack Chorus to the
campus. They entertained the "granddaughters and little sisters"
(legacy students), acted as hostesses for the annual alumnae
meetings, and were the bridge between the college and the
community. Many were local women who had been seminary
"girls"; others were seminary and college students who met and
married local men. Indefatigable in their loyalty and devotion to
the college were Margarett Kable Russell, Emily Pancake Smith

120

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

and Fannie Strauss, and so many of their contemporaries that
listing is impossible.

One of the most important projects of the Alumnae Association
in the 1930s was the "Club House." It is hard to imagine how the
students' need for a social center could have been met without it,
although the original purpose seems to have been more as office
space for the alumnae executive secretary and a quiet room for
visiting alumnae, than as a student club. The house was on the
corner of New and Frederick; it later became the Biology building,
and later the home of the Adult Degree Program offices. It had
belonged to Margaret Cochran, an alumna, and in 1931, when the
college loaned the Alumnae Association the money to rent it, it
became a student haven, as well. Although they could not enter-
tain "dates" there, there was a "tea room" which served sand-
wiches, Coca-Cola, and desserts; one could play bridge, read
magazines, smoke (the only place on campus where a student
could ), and listen to the radio. In 1936, an "automatic Victrola,"
which a later generation would call a "jukebox," was installed, the
club receiving 25% of the proceeds of the nickels charged for each
record. This soon proved to be one of the largest sources of re-
venue. Upstairs bedrooms were rented to visiting alumnae, and
"The Club" was used for alumnae chapter meetings and social
occasions, and just as a place to "drop in" while shopping down-
town. There was much painting and papering. In 1937, two new
davenports, three overstuffed chairs, two mirrors, two single
beds, two chests of drawers, and curtains cost $137.15, plus some
old furniture which was traded in, and when the college purchas-
ed the property in 1937 for $ 14,000, the alumnae could report they
were out of debt and had sufficient income to pay a full-time
manager and to cover operating expenses. There was a student
government committee which shared with the alumnae the mak-
ing and enforcing of house rules, and the alumnae perceived the
student contact as a very useful way of encouraging students to
support the college after their graduation. Other than "The Club,"
student social life was confined to the college parlors which were
also redecorated in this decade with alumnae assistance; the
Upper Back Gallery; the "long room" where they played Ping-
Pong and billiards; the stairways in the Administration Building;
and the outside front terraces. So the "Club" was a much-needed
asset, and the alumnae undertaking of this ambitious project was
much appreciated."'^

Money was scarce during the Depression years. Often the one-

121

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

dollar-a-year alumnae dues dropped off alarmingly, and the
publication costs of the Bulletin were hard to cover. In an effort to
raise additional funds, the Association devised one of its most
successful projects: Emily Smith was chairman of the "Plate
Committee," and, in 1936, arrangements were made to secure
Wedgwood dinner plates in four colors, blue, mulberry, green and
sepia, with a floral border and a picture of the Administration
Building in the middle. They were to be a "sentimental reminder
of happy school days — ideal for... wedding or Christmas presents."
They were $1.50 each or $15.00 a dozen. They were an immediate
success, and several reorders were made before World War II
temporarily brought the supply to a halt.^^

Returning alumnae would see modest changes and improve-
ments to the physical plant in the 1930s, although no major
building program could be undertaken. The college campus, four
acres in size at the time of Mary Julia's death, was not much
greater thirty years later. One of the priorities of the Jarman
administration was to acquire ownership of all the remaining non-
college properties bounded by Frederick, New, Academy and
Market Streets. In the 1930s there were small privately owned
frame houses behind Memorial, all along Academy and between
Rose Terrace and Academy Street. All of this property was finally
purchased by 1940. In addition, the college held title to and
provided upkeep expenses for the Manse (the Woodrow Wilson
Birthplace) from 1929-39. The college still owned the 200+ acres
on the north end of town — the apple orchard — which had been the
hoped-for new site of the college and was to be sold in 1944, and
the property on North Augusta Street which had been Miss
Baldwin's "farm."

There was also a house across Frederick Street, next to the
First Presbyterian Church, called the "Teachers House" (later
Fraser Hall) which had been owned by Miss Baldwin.

As the student enrollment increased, it became imperative
that more dormitory space be secured. Students were housed in
Fraser Hall, where the Graftons occupied a downstairs apart-
ment, in the Chapel building, in Main, in Sky High, which also
housed the totally inadequate gymnasium and the pool, and after
1935, in Riddle Hall, a large house across New Street, purchased
for $15,000. Still, the need for new dormitory space was an ever-

122

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

present concern throughout the Jarman era.

Even more necessary was more classroom and laboratory
space and room for expanded library needs. Something absolutely
had to be done to relieve the congestion and the noise in Academic,
which not only housed the library (on the second floor), but music
and practice rooms, lecture rooms and laboratories! The first to go
were the music rooms, moved temporarily to two small buildings
on North New Street, later to Riddle, and then in 1941, to the
Schmidt House, which is now called Miller and is used for
Development and Institutional Planning. The laboratories for
Chemistry and Physics were housed, after 1936, in a building on
the corner of Market and Frederick ( originally the Beckler House) ,
simply called the Chemistry, or Science Building, and the library
was allowed to expand to part of the third floor of Academic, where
some faculty offices were also provided. After 1942, Business and
Speech classes were moved to Sky High, which further helped to
relieve some of the pressure on Academic. The Art department
eventually found a home in the Pancake House on Frederick
Street. The total of all of these purchases, made from current
funds and bought year by year as funds allowed, was approxi-
mately $100,000. Considering that the income-producing endow-
ment funds of the college had suffered considerable depreciation
during the years of the Depression (Dr. Watters shows a net gain
in endowment funds of only $154,350 for the ten years, 1929-39),
one can appreciate how carefully these purchases were made and
how hard it was to predict from year to year what funds would be
available. ^^

Other money was spent during this decade to provide more
modern conveniences and safety for students and faculty. Show-
ers and laundry facilities were installed in the dormitories, a mail
room with boxes for each student was provided in 1931 (endingthe
old familiar "mail call"), the entire physical plant was rewired in
1935, and a limited system of automatic sprinklers was added to
some wooden structures. The students were delighted with the
changes in the Chapel building and contributed materially to
bringing them about. Gone were the "circus benches" and the
study desks. The stage was widened, a hardwood floor was
installed, stage lights were provided, brown velvet curtains hung,
and an organ installed for use in chapel programs. "Opera seats"
were set on a sloping floor, and for several years each student
purchased one seat, as did many faculty and alumnae. The floor
of the Chapel was reinforced and strengthened, the dining room

123

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

on the lower floor was remodeled and redecorated, with some
insulating material added to deaden the noise and rubber tips
fastened onto the chairs, so that when 300 students arose simul-
taneously (no one could leave until the dean folded her napkin and
stood up), the noise would be less deafening. Late in the decade,
two large mirrors were installed, which helped to give the appear-
ance of greater space than actually existed in that very crowded
facility.

Campus Comments in 1936 makes mention of "Little House,"
beloved for years as the "home" of the junior class president. It
called it the "smallest dormitory on a college campus."

Throughout the decade of the thirties. Dr. Jarman, with the
help of generous gifts, sought to secure boxwood to replace those
trampled and destroyed during Woodrow Wilson's 1912 visit and
to add them elsewhere on the campus. There was also a modest
bookstore, at first behind the dining room and later in the "post
office gallery" in Main. Some clay tennis courts were placed
behind Rose Terrace for student use.

There was considerable shuffling of office space in the Admin-
istration Building. In addition to the rooms for day students, the
expanded administrative staff needed office space and more
"college-appropriate" equipment. Somehow this was managed.
The parlors were redecorated with the help of a gift honoring
Elizabeth Hamer Stackhouse (a seminary student of 1882), the
alumnae, and the senior classes of 1934 and 1938. Even a new
front door was provided as the class gift of 1935!'^*'

Throughout all of these improvements, the same careful
standards of upkeep, maintenance and cleanliness which had
characterized the King era continued into the next generation.
One of the outstanding features of the seminary and then of the
college was the beauty of the physical plant and the park-like
atmosphere of the tranquil inner courts. The students themselves
prized this highly, as do the current students, and while the
modern-day bulletin boards are filled to overflowing, and occa-
sionally the lounges are a bit rumpled, generally graffiti is at a
minimum, and the "homelike" atmosphere so cherished by Miss
Baldwin and her successors has continued. Until recent years,
when the campus is occupied year-round, every summer as soon
as the students left, the paint buckets and ladders emerged and
the "usual summer refurnishing," as Dr. Jarman called it, began.
Without this care, our venerable campus would look its age;
instead, it projects architectural charm, cream paint, green ter-

124

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

races, and mature trees and shrubs.

All of these efforts were, at best, temporary solutions to long-
range problems. With an enrollment of over 300 students and
with the increasing requirements of accrediting agencies for
facilities to match academic offerings, Dr. Jarman and his deans
recognized early in the 1930s that a building program would
eventually have to be undertaken. But the college had such
limited financial resources (and seemingly no place to secure any
more) that this appeared, in the strained years of the Depression,
an impossibility.^' It is difficult to imagine how Dr. Jarman and
the board had the courage even to conceive such a scheme, with
painful memories of the 1920s campaigns still so vivid, but Dr.
Jarman persisted. As early as 1932, he had proposed a 10-year
program of physical expansion, which would culminate in the
centennial in 1942. It would include building a new gymnasium,
a new dormitory, and a music building, and called for increasing
the endowment and adding scholarships. On 26 February 1937,
Dr. Jarman appointed a faculty committee to study the physical
needs of the college, to invite student suggestions, to visit three
other Virginia women's colleges and to return with a priorities
list. The final report listed a science building, then a gymnasium
(auditorium), a fine arts building, a dormitory, and a dining room
as immediate basic needs. The list continued with at least 10
further suggestions and was given added urgency by the refusal
of the Association of American Universities to place the college on
its approved list until more classroom/library space was available.
But, the AAU relented in 1938, and the college was fully accred-
ited by 1940.88

Appearing in the Catalogue for the first time in 1936-37, and
for many years thereafter, was an insert called "An Enduring
Investment — The Needs of the College." This listed the various
buildings needed for college expansion as well as the land on
which to erect them, and special academic areas which needed
endowed support. These included Sociology, Science, as well as
Bible and Religion (as a memorial to Mary Julia Baldwin). A
bequest form was included and additional inquiries invited. This
public effort at attracting parent, alumnae, corporation and
foundation support lagged far behind that of competing colleges,
but it was the beginning of modern development campaign tech-
niques which Mary Baldwin desperately needed. ^^ One can
assume that the process of redefining the synod-college relation-
ship also stemmed from the perception that "outside" sources of

125

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

revenue would have to be secured and that a Umiting church
relationship could no longer be afforded.^*'

In 1938, the board of trustees appointed a Committee on
Survey and Planning, with Dr. Jarman as chairman (in spite of his
absence of several months the year before owing to ill health). The
committee worked diligently and presented to the board in May
1939 a plan for a "New Century" of the college's existence, which
the board approved. Its most immediate recommendation was to
build an auditorium-gymnasium, to be placed at the corner of
Academy and New Streets and to be completed by 1942 as the
"Centennial Building." (Three months later, in September 1939,
Hitler's and Stalin's tanks rolled into Poland, and World War II
began. ) By giving approval for the building of a major new facility
on the "old" campus, the board gave tacit consent to the concept
that the downtown location of the college was permanent. In fact,
they had been moving to this position since the mid- 1930s when
they had begun to acquire the real estate bounded by Frederick,
New, Academy and Market Streets.®^ In April 1937, Lucien P.
Giddens was appointed as "Director of Public Relations," to be in
"full charge" of the Centennial plans and programs, and as
assistant to President Jarman. He soon named the project "Ensie"
(New Century). The girls enthusiastically embraced the concept
of "baby Ensie" and pushed a student, Ruth Peters, around in a
baby carriage as a symbol of their support. Mr. Giddens embarked
on an ambitious program of alumnae solicitation, community and
church support, and faculty, staff, and student contribution. It
almost seemed as though the campaigns of the 1920s had been
revived, but the goals were far more modest, the organization far
better and the immediate results much more quickly apparent. ^'^

To assist Mr. Giddens, a faculty member, Karl E. Shedd,
Professor of Modern Languages since 1934, was given some
released time; the alumnae executive secretary, Winifred Love,
coordinated her efforts with theirs, and Margarett Kable Russell
agi^eed to another term as president of the Alumnae Association
to help. She was ably assisted by An villa Prescott Schultz, later
president of the Alumnae Association (1942-44), and by President
Jarman.

The decision to build an auditorium/gymnasium was not made
lightly. The need for more physical education facilities had been
recognized since the junior college days, and Miss Higgins, in the
1920s, had frequently importuned Dr. Eraser and the executive
committee of the board for such a facility. The swimming pool in

126

To Live III Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

Sky High was hardly more than an oversized bathtub — today, if
there had been hot water circulating, it would be called a Jacuzzi —
and the gym had hardly room for two basketball teams, much less
spectators. In the 1930s the Mary Baldwin College students used
the facilities of the YMCA a block from the campus for swimming,
bowling, and other sports activities. They took taxis (the college
had briefly considered buying a bus but had been unable to afford
it) to the "athletic field," or the old seminary farm for field hockey
and Softball, and transportation for golf and horseback riding was
even more complicated. An excellent physical education instruc-
tor, Mary Collins Powell, sought odd corners for calisthenics, for
modern dance, for archery; and there were yearly contests for the
student with the "best posture."

Equally obvious was the need for an auditorium. The college
had outgi'own the old "chapel," refurbished though it had been,
and the physical condition of the building meant only limited
attendance could be permitted at community events such as
lectures, plays and concerts.

Although the pressures were great on the board Committee on
Survey and Planning to build instead a Fine Arts Center or a
dormitory or new eating facilities, in the end they opted to build
the gymnasium/auditorium first, to be followed "immediately" by
a new dormitory. Their choice was perhaps made a bit easier by
the acquisition of the Beckler House, which provided laboratory
and classroom space for Physics and Chemistry and which might
be considered to meet these needs for at least a decade. An
engineer surveyed the existing campus, and a planning architect
was hired who presented a plan for the future growth of the
campus after the gymnasium/auditorium, which suggested that
any further new buildings would have to be located across Market
Street. The decision was made that the student body would
remain at approximately 350. "... a student body much larger than
the present one would so dilute the personal message of the faculty
and the administration that the general tone and tradition of the
college would be changed." The committee also noted that, in
1939, there were only 600 dues-paying alumnae out of 5000 and
that the annual income from the college endowment was $14,305.
The committee agreed that it was primarily the duty of the board
of trustees to "procure the funds for the building and the endow-
ment" but v/arned it would depend on "the earnestness, the
enthusiasm, the persistence, and the cooperation" of everyone. ^^

How did the board of trustees propose to raise the money?

127

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

Unless some major gifts materialized (and none, at this time, did),
it would have to come from the same sources to which Dr. Fraser
had appealed: the alumnae, the students, parents and faculty,
and from the community and college "friends." There was a
modest financial foundation. The $30,000 left from the alumnae
campaign of 1925-26 had been retained. Interest on that account
had added $6,000 more. The money had been intended to pay for
a building to be named in honor of W. W. King, but the alumnae
in the 1930s had allowed the funds to be counted toward the
college endowment in order to qualify for the various accredita-
tions. Now this money could be used for the first new building to
be erected on the campus since 1911; the Board of Trustees agreed
it would be called the "William Wayt King Gymnasium-Audito-
rium." There followed a vigorous campaign to appeal to and to
activate the alumnae. President Jarman, Lucien Giddens, Karl
Shedd and Winifred Love "visited alumnae from Michigan to
Texas, from Florida to Boston." In the end, a personal appeal was
made to almost the entire 5,000 alumnae, with gratifying results.
Another $57,000 was pledged, which combined with the $36,000
made the alumnae contribution a possible $93,000. In the spring
of 1940, a well organized campus campaign raised another $20,000
from faculty, students and their parents and, in 1941, the Staunton
Chamber of Commerce consented to sponsor a local campaign as
well. It was agreed that the new auditorium would be available
for community events (but not community dances) on a limited
basis, and with the understanding that this would provide a civic
facility as well as a college one. The local campaign, assisted with
vigor by the local alumnae and board of trustees members, raised
nearly another $20,000.^^ All the expenses coincident to these
campaigns were borne by the college from current expenses.

An architect, Henry C. Hibbs of Nashville, Tennessee, was
engaged in 194 1 , and the plans for a three story, brick, cinderblock
building (60' x 130') were approved, as was the location on the
corner on New and Academy Streets. The swimming pool and
necessary locker rooms were to be on the ground floor; the
auxiliary gymnasium (soon to be called the "Mirror Room"),
classrooms, a "social center" and offices on the second floor; and
the auditorium-gymnasium, seating up to 1,000 with a raised
stage at one end, on the third floor. The exterior style was to match
the rest of the college architecture, described inaccurately as
"southern colonial." The estimated cost of construction was
$150,000, and in view of the possible shortfall in funds because

128

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

pledges were not always paid on time or in full, the board agreed
that "one unit at a time" should be built with a "pay-as-you-go
policy" not to exceed (at first) $100,000. The assumption was that
the swimming pool floor would be left unfinished if necessary.

The board was aware of the psychological advantage the "New
Century" program provided to the fund raising; they also were
appreciative of the necessity of proceeding quickly lest the rising
costs of a war economy, even though the United States was not yet
an active participant, swallow up what financial advantage they
had achieved. It was also, with considerable foresight, pointed out
that building materials might be scarce unless they were ordered
immediately, and they felt, since "we have discussed a building for
fifteen years..." to delay longer "would be disastrous to the long
term building programs." Consequently, a decision was reached
to begin work in June of 1941, lay the cornerstone in October of
1941, and complete the building, or as much of it as could be paid
for, by October 1942, on Founders' Day.^^

The seminary had not, for various reasons, observed previous
chronological milestones. There had been no mention in 1892 of
the 50th anniversary of its "founding," and the 75th, in 1917, had
coincided with World War I, so some proposed plans for that had
been set aside. But Dr. Jarman was determined that the 100th
year would be observed with dignity, commitment, and celebra-
tion- and so it was, even though World War II was in progress and
the United States had been actively involved for nine months by
the time the ceremonies were concluded.

Three occasions were selected: 4 October 1941; the Centennial
Commencement, 5-8 June 1942; and 4 October 1942, as special
highlights of the Centennial year. In the first such ceremony since
the cornerstone of the Administration Building had been laid in
1843, the cornerstone for the King Building was duly put in place
with the help of the Masons, the Governor of Virginia (whose two
sisters were alumnae), the Mayor of Staunton, and relatives of
Rufus Bailey and Mary Julia Baldwin. Congratulatory telegrams
came from President and Mrs. F. D. Roosevelt and Mrs. Cordell
Hull, wife of the Secretary of State and an alumna. The former
dean, Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, gave the Senior Investiture
address, "We March as We Remember." The pastor of the First
Presbyterian Church, the president of Hampden-Sydney, repre-
sentatives of the Synod of Virginia, of the alumnae, of the board
of trustees, all were participants. The beauty and care with which
the ceremony was observed signaled that Mary Baldwin College

129

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

had indeed come of age.^^ Two months later, Japanese bombers
attacked Pearl Harbor.

Inevitably, some plans for 1942 were curtailed, but the King
Building was rising rapidly on the corner of New and Academy, as
most of the supplies ordered so hastily in 1941 had been delivered,
and the board and college administration decided that "there will
be a Centennial... changed not in kind but in degree". Even the
"scaled down" version of Commencement, 5-8 June 1942, is
enough to make a college administration, 50 years later, wince.
The events covered a four-day period and included solemn ad-
dresses, historical pageants, class gifts (large boxwoods for the
front of the new building), a May Queen and her court, bands,
tableaux, banquets, a baccalaureate sermon at First Presbyterian
Church, a garden party at Rose Terrace, a Commencement speaker,
Herbert Agar, who assured the 64 graduates of the largest class
to date that "Our Men are Not Dying in a Charade," and an
exuberance of awards. Dr. Jarman presented the non-student
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award to "all the Alumnae" in recogni-
tion of their generous contributions and long struggle to erect a
building to honor their dearly loved Mr. King. Later, preceding
the Open House at President Jarman's home, the 90 alumnae
graduates of the old seminary "university course" were admitted
en masse to the Mary Baldwin Honor Society. No one could deny
that Mary Baldwin College had entered upon her "New Century"
in style. ^^

In September of 1942, the Synod of Virginia had its annual
meeting on the Mary Baldwin College campus in honor of the
Centennial, and, on 3 October 1942, senior investiture was fol-
lowed as usual by the Ivy Ceremony. This time the ivy was planted
in front of the King Building. The president of Davidson College,
Dr. John Rood Cunningham, delivered the dedicatory address,
followed by comments on the service of W. W. King by Dr. Jarman.
There was an academic procession, but by no means the elaborate
one that had been previously planned. The celebrations con-
cluded, the college turned its attention to the concerns and
decisions that the Second World War had brought.

The shock of Pearl Harbor brought Dr. Jarman back to the
campus in January, 1942, from his usual Florida vacation. He and
Dean Grafton attended conferences in Richmond and Lynchburg

130

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

in which the presidents of the four-year colleges in Virginia
discussed their response to the war emergency. Meeting with the
students at Chapel, in those bewildering days of January 1942,
Dr. Jarman told them that they and their country were in a "total
war," that all must make a "united effort to win this war so that
we all can make a nev/ start toward a better world." Women in
wartime, he continued, often take over many tasks "ordinarily
assigned to men," but women's primary role will continue to be the
conserving of the "intangible, the spiritual values of life,
centering... around the home." Women's task is to keep and
expand morale -"all of you must be cheerful, hopeful and helpful."
Secondty, Dr. Jarman told them what their principal task would
be when the war was finished — "your generation must win the
peace... College women must be ready for the opportunities and
responsibilities of peace..." To do this, women must commit
themselves to "more and better" education than ever before,
where sound training in liberal values would be the best contribu-
tion one could make to the war effort.

It was agreed that there would be no "accelerated program" at
Mary Baldwin College, although approved summer school credit
secured elsewhere would be accepted; academic standards would
be upheld; the commitment to men faculty members (up to one-
third of the total faculty) would be maintained, if possible; student
and faculty efforts to help the war effort would be encouraged; and
vacation schedules would be adjusted to transportation realities.
(Students living west of the Mississippi were given two or three
extra days to return to college after Christmas.) Spring vacation
became an "Easter Weekend." Accommodation for students who
left before graduation, either for marriage or service, would be
arranged. Men faculty members who were subject to the draft or
who volunteered would be given leaves of absence. Dr. Mahler,
Mr. Day, Dr. Broman, and Dr. Vandiver all departed for military
assignments, as did Winifred Love, the Alumnae executive secre-
tary, who became one of the first WAVES in the country. The
Alumnae News Letter and Campus Comments reprinted letters
from these and o^her absent friends. Fathers, brothers, fiances
were soon on far-flung battlefields, and there was an undercur-
rent of sadness and tension in much that transpired in the next
four years.

Although there had been much uncertainty about the impact
of the war on enrollment (and those "provisional" contracts were
again issued), the college continued to operate at boarding capac-

131

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

ity during the war. It is not exactly clear as to why this was so;
perhaps parents felt their daughters would be "safe" in a rural
area far from military camps and urban centers. By 1943, how-
ever, a military hospital had been erected less than five miles from
the campus, with some college interaction not previously antici-
pated. Nor did the war appear to affect the number of seniors,
which, except for 1942, the Centennial year, remained relatively
stable at about 43 each year. There does not seem to have been a
major geographical impact, either. If an3rthing, the number of
students from Virginia declined (from 122 to 101); the number
from southern states gradually increased; those from the north-
east and the midwest peaked in the early war years (at 78) and
then declined. Those from Staunton and the immediate vicinity
remained relatively constant.^®

There was, however, a decided impact on the curriculum and
on the living style of students and faculty. Pursuant to govern-
ment direction, and with newsreel pictures of the bombings in
Coventry, Liverpool and London on their minds, blackout cur-
tains were devised for the buildings, and an air raid alert system
using junior and senior students in the dormitories was put in
place. Dr. Mildred Taylor was appointed chief Air Raid Warden
for the college, and her efficiency and enthusiasm were predict-
able. Extracurricular courses in first aid and automobile mechan-
ics were introduced and were immediately popular. Seven faculty
emergency committees were appointed in the spring of 1942;
Books for Soldiers, Defense Savings, Academic Consideration,
Publicity, Physical Fitness and Health, Safety and Spiritual
Preparedness and Morale. After the situation clarified, many of
these committees became inactive or merged into the work of the
Victory Corps. The faculty and staff voted that, "for the duration,"
all would commit themselves to buying up to two percent of their
yearly salary in Defense Bonds and Stamps and, in the first wave
of patriotism, voted that they would "share" any "risks and
burdens incident to the war situation." The board later inter-
preted this to mean that the faculty would accept cuts in salary if
it were necessary. Fortunately, although salaries were not raised
until 1944, they were not cut, but the regular teaching load was
increased to 16 hours. As some custodians were drafted and maids
left for more profitable war work, they were not always replaced.
"Students will be used to do some of the work," it was announced,
although exactly how this was implemented is not clear. By 1943,
the faculty were prepared as a "wartime measure" to give aca-

132

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

demic credit for "secretarial courses"; up to 12 semester hours
toward graduation for accounting and business law were to be
granted, but not typing unless taken in conjunction with stenog-
raphy. The board of trustees "dubiously" agreed. Vocational
guidance efforts were expanded and course sequences for "pre-
nursing," laboratory technology, and professional education ap-
peared in the Catalogue. Beginning in 1943 and continuing until
1946, a "War Supplement" was included, committing the college
to the two-fold task of preserving the "fundamental objectives... of
the liberal arts tradition" and making "such adjustments in
requirements, courses, emphases and procedures as will permit
early specialization... and preparation for practical service to our
countiy." "War courses" were added: "Refresher Mathematics";
foods and menu planning; community recreational leadership;
medical laboratory techniques; "contemporary literature as pro-
paganda"; current world history; and introduction to social work.
Advice on how to qualify for civil service positions in personnel
work, militaiy cryptogi^aphy, meteorology, public administration,
consular and diplomatic services, newspaper writing, translat-
ing, and also in the various branches of the armed services open
to women ( WAACS, WAVES, SPARS, Marines) and the Red Cross
were included. B}^ 1943, individual students were allowed to
"accelerate" their work by taking overloads and attending sum-
mer school, and to take examinations early. In addition, various
non-credit "war classes" were held on Friday evenings, Saturday
afternoons, and Saturday night. They included Home Nursing,
Home Mechanics, Photography, "Propaganda Through Posters"
and "Keeping up with the War."

By 1943, a student-faculty group known as the "Victory Corps"
and directed by Dr. Mary Humphreys coordinated student volun-
teer efforts. Bandages were rolled, salvage collected, and war
bonds and stamps sold regularly. Excerpts from letters from men
in the armed forces to their sisters and fiancees at Mary Baldwin
College regularly appeared in Campus Comments. Information
about how many cartridges (five for ten cents), guns, helmets, and
jeeps, war bonds would buy, along with diagi^ams of anti-aircraft
guns and maps of war-zones regularly appeared.

By June 1943, the Mary Baldwin Victory Corps had raised
enough money to buy a "jeep" ($1,049), and in 1944, proposed to
buy an airplane. Eventually they did raise the $3,000 which was
required to buy a small "spotter" airplane called a "grasshopper."
By the fall of 1943, arrangements for student donations of blood

133

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

had been made (parental permission was required), and a chapel
address focused on women's responsibilities "after the war." The
list is interesting. Women should demand equal pay for equal
work; there must be "racial justice"; volunteer work should be
continued and expanded; and the family unit must be kept
strong.^*' At least as far as the latter commitment is concerned,
Mary Baldwin students did their part. Campus Comments, as
well as the Alumnae Newsletter, was regularly full of wartime
marriages, both of recent graduates, as well as of some students
who left before completing their degrees. At least one day student
was allowed to return to classes after her marriage for the
remaining months of her senior year, her husband having left the
country.

In April 1945, a memorial service honoring Franklin D.
Roosevelt was held, but there was no mention of President
Truman, and V-E Day was acknowledged in a Chapel service in a
muted fashion. However, student participation in war bond
drives continued, culminating in at least two raffles in which
wounded veterans from the Woodrow Wilson Hospital were auc-
tioned for war bonds and stamps. There followed dances in King,
with the highest bidders claiming their dates. Earlier, the regular
"spring dance" had been held in honor of the United Nations. The
college was still closed for the summer on V-J Day, and the first
postwar edition of the student newspaper focused on campus
events, some of which had great portent for the future.""^

And yet, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that life at the
college, at least for the students, continued on during the war
years relatively uninterrupted. The customs and traditions of the
previous decade were observed: Openings, Founders' Day, guest
lecturers, concerts, YWCA installations, religious emphasis weeks,
dances, plays, comprehensives, fund raisers, holidays and exams,
May Day and graduation — all remained on the college calendars.
As one student wrote in an open letter to the alumnae:

[The war] has affected us too, but hardly
as much, I think, as it has affected you [the
alumnae]... of course we have our meat
rationed somewhat, but not heavily rationed.
Every now and then we skip dessert. No
one minds... Almost every Monday in Chapel
we hear a news summary. ..(but) It seems we have
our own little world here... we have more or less not

134

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

gotten ultra-serious over the situation. We hear a
great deal about it, but really it all seems so far
away that it has been hard to realize. ^°^

Certainly the administration was affected by the war and by
their perceptions about the needs of the college in the postwar
years. As difficult as the funding of King Building had been, the
building itself was immediately put to full use - and it was hard
to imagine how the college had managed without it. Not only were
community war bond drives held there, but since Physical Educa-
tion was now required twice a week for all students, the building
was regularly filled with classroom activities. College formal
dances were held in the auditorium; teas and receptions were
given in the Mirror Room; the YWCA undertook to operate "The
Nook" as a means of relieving the pressure on the alumnae Club
House and raising money for YWCA projects. "The Nook" occu-
pied a corner of the Mirror Room, sold sandwiches and drinks, and
provided yet another place for the bridge games. By 1946, plans
were underway to allow the formation of community lecture-
concert programs, to be called the "King Series," using the audi-
torium facilities. These later became very successful college-
com.munity events. All students were automatically members of
the King Series and were required to attend the programs. There
was always a special dinner held in the dining room before each
performance, and the students were formally dressed and given
the choice seats. The distinguished series continued for many
years, only coming to an end when fire regulations in the 1970s,
coupled with student demands for relaxation of enforced atten-
dance, brought about the demise of the program. ^^^

Wartime inflation, in spite of wage/price controls, put pres-
sure on the administration to increase the long static salaries of
faculty and staff. In 1943, the college, having received permission
from the federal government, raised faculty salaries 57c for the
year 1943-44 and another 59c for the following year, with the
eventual goal of reaching a basic minimum salary for a full
professor of $3,300. In addition, individual merit increases, as
determined by the president, could bring the maximum paid a full
professor to $3,600, which would put Mary Baldwin College in line
(barely) with its competing sister institutions. By 1945, all
administrative and clerical personnel had shared in the 10%
raise. Soon thereafter, it was considered necessary to raise stu-
dent fees. For boarding students in 1945-46, the annual tuition

135

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

fees would be $950. Day students would pay $260, and, because
the number of students withdrawing after they had paid the
registration fee but before the college began in the fall was
increasing, it was agreed that the non-refundable registration fee
would be raised to $100 beginning in 1946-47. ^°'^

In spite of the war, some physical plant improvements contin-
ued. New refrigerators and gas cooking units were installed in the
summer of 1944, which helped immeasurably in solving the
rationing and ordering problems of the school's dietitian. And a
continuing committee of the board of trustees pursued its goal of
meeting the future space needs of the college. By common consent,
a new dormitory was considered to be the next priority, and the
planning for this had advanced to the stage of hiring an architect.
One of the difficulties was where to put a new dormitory. The
college site was already very crowded, and plans to add contiguous
real estate (mostly to the east of Market Street) had been halted
by the war, by the lack of funds, and by the reluctance of some
private owners to sell their properties to the college. Then, in the
winter of 1944-45, an opportunity to sell the college's 210 acres
north of the city arose. There were several offers, and the property
was eventually sold to Joseph F. Tannehill for $65,000. It was
intended that the money would help in the acquiring of additional
land closer to the downtown college site, and perhaps help with
the final payments due on the King Building.^"'*

Within a year, a "secret and confidential" meeting had been
held between the executive committee of the board and Mrs. W.
Wayt Gibbs and Mrs. Frank Black, representing King's Daugh-
ters' Hospital, in which a possible exchange of property was
discussed. King's Daughters' Hospital was located on Frederick
Street, less than half a block from the college science building. In
addition to the principal building, a contiguous "nurses' home"
existed. The hospital (a community non-profit institution in
existence since 1890) was feeling the need of new and modernized
facilities, and it was hoped that Mary Baldwin College might be
willing to acquire the present hospital building in exchange for the
college property on North Augusta Street. The old hospital could
be remodeled for the badly needed "new" dormitory, housing up to
85 students, at much less expense than building a new one, and a
"small committee" representing both institutions was appointed
to work out the details. By April of 1946, public announcement of
these plans had been made, with an appeal directed to alumnae
and friends for $150,000 to be raised by April 1947. Thus the

136

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

process was under way which finally resulted in Bailey dormitory.
It opened for student use 10 years later, in 1955.^°°

As World War II approached its dramatic conclusion, some
unexpected personnel changes came to the college. Mrs. Bessie
Stollenwerck, for so long the able assistant to the dean of students,
was forced to retire in December 1944, due to her health. At about
the same time. Dr. Karl E. Shedd, head of the Modern Language
Department, abruptly resigned, effective June 1945. He had been
at Mary Baldwin College since 1935 and had assisted Dr. Jarman
with the New Century Campaign. He had actively supported
faculty programs, particularly those concerning Latin America,
and he and his family had contributed generously to the library
acquisitions. Apparently a quarrel with Dr. Jarman precipitated
this resignation, but the origin of the disagreement is not clear. ^°*^
Then, Dean of Students Katherine Sherrill, who had been at the
college since 1943, resigned in May 1945 due to a change in her
family situation, and Anne Elizabeth Parker (1941) was ap-
pointed the new dean of students, a position she held until her
retirement in 1972. That same year Miss Abbie and Miss Nancy
McFarland were each granted a year's sabbatical at full salary, "in
appreciation of approximately thirty years of service to the college
by each." The following year, both ladies retired. In the fall of

1945, Dr. Mary Watters, who had written the centennial college
history, was granted a leave, which eventually became a resigna-
tion, and in May 1946, Dr. Mary Latimer (English, Speech and
Drama) also left the college. ^*^'

But the most unexpected change came during the first week in
September 1945, when Dr. Jarman suffered a crippling stroke. He
had been present at the executive committee meeting the week
before and had appeared as well as usual, but his illness was
severe, and it soon became apparent that he could not return to his
duties for many months. At a special called meeting of the
executive committee, those responsible for the college's welfare
turned over the administrative duties of the president to Dean
Martha Grafton, to be assisted by Dr. Turner and Mr. Daffin. She
was later named ' Administrative Head of the College" and then
"Acting President." Dr. Bridges would act as academic dean. The
executive committee itself would assume the president's external
duties. Although Dr. Jarman recovered to some extent, he and the
board agreed that he could not return, and he resigned in March

1946. He was named "President Emeritus," and although he
retained his interest in the college until his death, he was never

137

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

again to be actively involved. ^°^ Dean Martha Grafton generously
summarized the accomplishments of Dr. Jarman's 16 years as
president of Mary Baldwin College for the student body on 19
March 1946:

The library increased from 12,000 to 33,000 volumes and
the space available for library resources had almost doubled.

The William Wayt King Building had been financed and
constructed.

Martha Riddle Hall, Fraser Hall, the Music and Chemistry
Buildings, the Club House and Rose Terrace were added to the
campus and renovated.

The dining room and kitchen were renovated.

The student body had gone from 180 to 320.

The endowment fund had increased from $444,550 to
$588,994.

The total value of the college had risen from $1 million to
$1,611,429.

The faculty had increased from 20 to 34 and 1 7 of these had
earned Ph.D.'s.

The curriculum had been broadened to meet the demands
of college women in Depression and War; an Honor Society had
been founded.

The student government association and the honor system
had been instituted.

The Centennial History of the college had been written.

The "charm" of the campus had been retained by addi-
tional plantings, shrubs, trees, flowers and walkways.

The Alumnae Association had been strengthened and
"professionalized. "

The college was governed by its own self-perpetuating
board of trustees, which now included women and which had
been reorganized to give greater service to the college.

Plans for the future of the college had been projected. ^"^

So, an era had ended, and the college faced an uncertain post-
war world without the only full-time president it had ever had. It
was fortunate, as it would be on other occasions in the future, that
Martha Grafton and Edmund Campbell, president of the board of
trustees, were determined that it would grow and prosper.

138

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

Notes

1 Minutes, BT 9 Oct. 1928. 22 Jan. 1929. 22 May 1929. The
comittee was composed of Col. T. H. Russell, chairman; Dr. H. D.
Campbell, W. H. Landis, H. B. Sproul and M. M. Edgar.

^ Watters 409-10. Laura Martin Jarman Rivera became the
first Mary Baldwin College graduate to earn a Ph.D. ( Spanish and
French from Duke); Margaret Jarman Hagood later earned her
Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina, Watters
410. CC 17 Jan. 1930. Staunton News Leader 10 Jan. 1930.

■^The house next to the church was called "Teachers' Hall." In
the 1930s the Graftons lived there and also eight to ten students.
Rose Terrace was built in 1874, reputedly the "most costly house
in Staunton," for a Holmes Erwin. Later it had been Augusta
Sanatorium, a private hospital owned by Dr. Whitmore and Mr.
Catlett. By 1919, when Maiy Baldwin Seminary purchased it for
$10,000, it was known as the "Bruce" property. It was rented in the
1920s to Professor W. R. Schmidt, for over 40 years Professor of
Music at the seminary. It served as the "President's home" in the
1930s, '40s and early '50s, became a student dormitory in 1958,
and was the French House in the 1960s. It is currently used as a
dormitory.

^ Many female faculty, almost all of whom were single, occu-
pied rooms or apartments in various college buildings; their
contracts always called for (modest) cash salaries and "home,"
which included board as well as lodging. Teachers (and some
deans) ate with the students and acted as hostesses at student
tables, in addition to their academic duties. Naturally, male
faculty and male employees lived off campus (and were paid
higher salaries in consequence). It was not until the mid 1940s,
when dormitory space was very limited due to a large enrollment,
that most faculty lived off campus. Their places were taken by
dormitory hostesses and female administrators in the dean of
students' office.

5 Minutes EC 13 Sept. 1929.

^ The "list" is no longer in existence. Minutes , EC 30 July 1929.

^ Taped interview. Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell and Irene W. D.
Hecht, 22 Jan. 1984. Edmund and Elizabeth Campbell and Patricia
H. Menk, 8 Oct. 1987. It was certainly EHzabethPfohl's (Campbell)
belief that Miss Higgins would be leaving at the end of the 1929-
30 term. She found her intimidating and resentful. MBC Ar-
chives.

139

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

^Minutes, BT 21 Mar. 1930. Minutes SV 1929.

9 Staunton News Leader 15 Mar. 1930.

10 Minutes, BT 21 Mar. 1930.

11 CC 21 Mar. 1930. 18 Apr. 1930. Staunton News Leader 30
Mar. 1930. AN Apr. 1930. BS 1930.

12 Staunton News Leader 15 Mar. 1930. AN July 1938. Miss
Higgins died 7 March 1938. A memorial service in her honor was
held at a regular chapel service at the college, Dr. Jarman spoke
and Miss Abbie McFarland and J. W. Pilson of the board of
trustees attended the funeral in Accomac. CC 11 Mar. 1938.

i3MinutesEC8Apr. 1930.31Mar. 1930. Deposits at Montreat.
Almost no manuscript records of the seminary's 19th century
history remain; sadly, it has only been in the last generation that
an official archives of the college has been established and many
20th century records are incomplete or inadequate. Perhaps as an
outgrowth of this, Dr. Jarman arranged that many of the early
printed records of the institution, (Catalogues. Bluestockings.
Miscellany, and selected photographs) be deposited with the
Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches
at Montreat, North Carolina.

" Watters 216-20: Waddell 47-48, 57, 59.

15 Minutes, BT 21 Jan. 1930.

1"^ Minutes, BT 21 Jan. 1930. 18 July 1933. 20 Feb. 1936.

1^ Minutes, BT Sept. 1930. Mr. King was succeeded by Mr.
John B. Daffin, who was appointed business manager and profes-
sor of Physics in September 1930. James T. Spillman was named
assistant business manager at the same time. Both were worthy
successors of W.W. King and served the college faithfully and
efficiently for many years. See also: AN July 1930. Mr. King was
awarded the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award in June of 1934,
and the entire Alumnae Newsletter of March 1935 was dedicated
to him. AN July 1934. On 14 Dec. 1934, the alumnae presented to
the college an oil portrait of W.W. King, done by Bjorn Egeli, who,
in the 1930s, did several outstanding paintings for the college.
This portrait now hangs in the King Building. AN Mar. 1935.
See also: AN Mar. 1939 (also quoted from Staunton News Leader
16 Apr. 1939). See also: Minutes, BT 18 July 1935. Note that title
and numbering of the Alumnae Association Publication vary;
sometimes it is called "Newsletter"; sometimes "Bulletin" and the
volume numbers are sometimes, in these early years, out of
sequence.

IS Minutes, BT 26 May 1930. In addition to the faculty resigna-

140

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

tions and those of Higgins, Bateman and Wallace mentioned
above, Miss Lucy (1920) and Miss Gertrude Edmondson (1919),
matron and supervisor of practice, resigned. Faculty resignations
included Professor C. F. Eisenberg, Music, who had been at the
seminary since 1885, and Gertrude Ellen Meyer, Art, who had
been on the faculty for 10 years.

^^ In the 1927-28 session, there had been 250 students; in
1928-29 after it was known that the seminary would close the
following year, there were 245. In 1929-30 there were 203 stu-
dents enrolled, including a number of "certificate students" com-
pleting the work begun at the seminary level before 1929. There
were 21 seniors. Minutes, BT 15 Jan. 1929. 2 July 1929. 26 May
1930. 1 Aug. 1930. Minutes SV 1930.

20MinutesSV1930.

"^Minutes SV 1931.

2^ President Jarman's personality was controversial. Essen-
tially authoritarian, self-willed and determined to achieve the
goals he had set, he often seems to have been unaware of the
verbal and body signals he sent. His administrative staff mem-
bers, Elizabeth Pfohl and Martha Grafton, acted as buffers be-
tween the faculty, the student body and the president. He was,
however, much respected and well known in the Presbyterian
church bureaucracy and was comfortable in professional and
business circles, attributes very valuable to the college.

^'Minutes SV 1930. passim. Minutes, BT 2 1 Feb. 1933. passim.
21 Feb. 1935. Also, comments made to author by Dr. Mildred
Taylor (nd). See also: Minutes^ BT 20 Mar. 1942. Salaries ranged
from $3,300 (Daffm) to $1,600 (McFarland— librarian). Most
female salaries included $500 "living." Minutes, BT 21 Feb. 1933.
This concept, provisional contracts, occurred in both the World
War I and World War II periods, as well as in the early years of the
Depression — illustrating how uncertain of the future the college
administration was, and how close a financial operating margin
there was.

^■^ This was based on an assumption that the synod churches
would make an annual contribution of at least $30,000. Minutes
SV 1930. In practice, synod contributions rarely amounted to
more than $6,000 a year, which were used largely for scholarship
funds. Dr. Jarman's brother-in-law was Dr. James R. McCain,
who was President of Agnes Scott College and who held office in
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Dr. Jarman's
wide acquaintance with the association officials and other influ-

141

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

ential educational leaders may well have helped the accreditation
process. Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell and Patricia Menk, interview,
8 Oct. 1987. Dr. McCain and Dean H. D. Campbell (a member of
the Mary Baldwin College Board of Trustees) were both members
of the Commission of the Institutions of Higher Education of
SACS. In addition, Dean Campbell was on the SACS executive
committee. Proceedings of the 1935, (and 1938) Annual Meeting
of the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the
Southern States. 4-5 Dec. 1930. 3-4 and 7-8 Dec. 1931.

^^ Elizabeth Campbell and Patricia Menk, interview, 8 Oct.
1987. MBC Archives. Dr. Jarman took a long vacation / business
trip in December and early January each year. This coincided
with the annual meetings of SACS, which he attended faithfully,
and he also visited private and public high schools in an effort to
recruit students. But he always spent time in Florida or Mexico,
leaving the college in the capable hands of his administrative
staff. He was usually back by the time the second semester began
at the end of January.

26 Minutes EC 25 Apr. 1932. Watters 460. Customarily, the
Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is made annually to a graduat-
ing senior and a non-student (often an alumna or faculty mem-
ber). In the 1930s, Dr. Eraser, W. W. King, Margarett Kable
Russell, Elizabeth Pfohl (Campbell), the Misses McFarlands,
Rosa Witz Hull, and Dr. Hunter Blakely were among the honor-
ees. But, in 1942, in the exuberance of the Centennial celebration.
Dr. Jarman presented the award to "all the alumnae."

2' Minutes SV 1929. 1930.

28 Minutes SV 1936. 1937. They suggested a relationship
similar to that of Agnes Scott College and the Presbyterian
Church. The report indicated that in the 13 years that the college
had been controlled by the synod, $134,499 had been contributed,
an average of $10,346 a year. It acknowledged that there had been
a decline in recent years "due to the Depression." (If the synod
churches had paid $30,000 a year, the total amount would have
been $390,000, but the committee report did not mention that
fact.) The synod claimed that its control of the college had led to
an "increase" of students and made the somewhat questionable
claim that "the seminary would never have become a college had
not the Synod assumed ownership and control." Minutes SV 1937.
Minutes, BT 10 Mar. 1938.

2^MinutesSV1938.

3« Charter of Mary Baldwin College— Charter Book #3. 21

142

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

June 1939. City of Staunton, Virginia.

^^ It should be acknowledged that no president makes appoint-
ments totally on his own. He relies heavily on the advice of his
deans and senior faculty. With this in mind, the fact still remains
that the Jarman appointments ensured the success of the college
for the next quarter century.

32 Minutes, BT 18 July 1933. The records show that Dr. H. D.
Campbell proposed the "wisdom and propriety" of having women
on the board of trustees. The resolution was approved and, in
1934, the Synod of Virginia approved the appointment of Margarett
Kable Russell, who for many years had been president of the
Alumnae Association. Her husband. Col. T. H. Russell (who had
died in 1933), had been a devoted member of the board of trustees.
In 1939, Mrs. Russell became the first woman to serve on the
executive committee of the board. In 1939, two other women, both
alumnae, were elected: Mrs. W. R. Craig, and Mrs. H. L. Hunt.
Catalogue. 1933-34. 1939-40. 1940-41.

33 Dr. Turner became a full-time faculty member in 1946. He
resigned from the board of trustees the following year. He also
acted as a counselor and chaplain.

3^ Catalogue, 1929-45. passim. Edmund Campbell had acted
for the college in a legal capacity (a matter of a disputed legacy) as
early as 1938. Minutes EC 8 Sept. 1938. He also married Dean
Elizabeth Pfohl in 1936, and both have remained devoted friends
of Mary Baldwin College even after their period of active service
ended.

35 Report of the president of the college to the board of trustees
of Mary Baldwin College for the session of 1937-38.

36 Ibid.

3" Report 1938-39. Dr. Jarman gives the following figures to
substantiate his claims:

1929-30 - Instructional expenses: $36,300

Administrative expenses $32,900

1938-39 - Instructional expenses: $77,900

Administrative expenses $31,600

It has not been possible to ascertain where Dr. Jarman got his
1929-30 figures, since Mr. King's accounts did not break out
administration from faculty. Dr. Jarman had access to records
that no longer exist, so one must accept their accuracy-although
it does raise some interesting questions.

143

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarnian Years

^^ Dr. Jarman learned about Elizabeth Pfohl from mutual
friends in North Carolina. The Pfohl family was highly thought of
in Winston-Salem, with many connections to the Moravian Salem
College located there. Elizabeth Pfohl had graduated from Salem
and had done additional work at Columbia University and the
University of Pennsylvania; she had also been dean of the Moravian
College for Women in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Martha
Stackhouse was newly graduated from Agnes Scott College in
Decatur, Georgia, and Dr. Jarman knew about her (she had been
the president of the student body) from his brother-in-law. Dr.
James Ross McCain, President of Agnes Scott College. Both
Elizabeth and Martha had worked with college honor systems and
student government. Edmund Campbell and Elizabeth Pfohl
Campbell and Irene Hecht. Interview. 22 Jan. 1984. Edmund and
Elizabeth Campbell, and Patricia H. Menk, interview, 8 Oct.
1987. MBC Archives. Elizabeth Pfohl remained as dean of women
until 1936, when she resigned to marry Edmund D. Campbell.
Although Mr. Campbell's law practice necessitated that the couple
live in the Washington area, they remained in close contact with
the school. Elizabeth Campbell expended much energy and ser-
vice in helping with the preparation for the Centennial celebra-
tion. She was a frequent visitor and guest lecturer. Her husband
provided legal services for the college, became a member of the
board of trustees in 1943 (as his father had been before him), and
served as chairman of the board after 1944, for many years.

Martha Stackhouse served as assistant to the dean (Elizabeth
Pfohl), and from 1932-38 as registrar, as well. In December 1932
she married Thomas Hancock Grafton (they had met while Martha
was still a student at Agnes Scott), who joined the Mary Baldwin
College faculty in September 1933 as Professor of Social Sciences
and Education (later Professor of Sociology). Dr. Jarman ap-
proved the marriage, made arrangements to hire Dr. Grafton, and
gave leaves of absence to accommodate the birth of twins, and
later that of a third daughter. Martha Grafton was appointed
dean of instruction (later called academic dean and/or dean of the
college) in 1938. In 1942, she was designated assistant to the
president and virtually ran the internal affairs of the college
during the difficult war years. In 1945, she was named acting
president, as she was in 1953, 1965, and 1968. She retired as dean
in 1970, but both she and Thomas Grafton remained good and
loyal friends of the college. The library, completed in 1967, is
named in her honor.

144

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

^^ Other deans of women were: Elizabeth E. Hoon, 1937-38;
Mary Ehzabeth Poole, 1938-41; Anne Inez Morton, 1941-42;
Katherine Sherrill, 1943-45; Anne Elizabeth Parker, 1945-71.
Catalogue, passim.

^° Edmund D. Campbell and Patricia H. Menk, interview, 8
Oct. 1987. MBC Archives.

"^^ Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell and Patricia Menk, interview, 8
Oct. 1987. Mrs. Campbell added that Miss Abbie had come to her
several times during the period when the library had to be
reorganized to meet SACS standards, protesting that the faculty
were choosing the books in their respective disciplines for pur-
chase. She said that she, as librarian, had a much better sense of
what was needed and that she should make the fmal purchase
decisions. Dean Pfohl was able to persuade her that the new
standards required faculty choice.

42 Catalogue, 1939-45. passim. In addition, there were memo-
rable faculty members who stayed several years during the
Jarman administration and then moved on. They made a real
contribution to these early college years but did not have the
longevity and therefore the inpact on generations of students that
others had. Included among these were Kenneth L. Smoke,
Psychology; Mary Collins Powell, Physical Education; Karl
Eastman Shedd, Romance Languages; William E. Trout and
Juanita Greer, Chemistry; Mary E. Latimer, Drama; and Mary
Watters, research historian and assistant dean.

^nVatters 443. Minutes, Fac. 6 Dec. 1938. 9 Jan. 1940.

*4 Minutes, Fac. 9 Jan. 1940. Usually, the academic dean would
be the person to evaluate classroom procedure and performance,
but Dr. Jarman apparently wished to be personally involved.

"^5 Dr. Jarman did appear faithfully at major college events,
such as opening Chapel, Founders' Day, Apple Day, Christmas
celebrations, and Commencement week activities, and he regu-
larly gave current events programs to the student body. In the last
few years of his administration. Dr. Jarman's activities were
restricted by his poor health, and he was often absent for long
periods of time.

46 In 1931, the salary range was $1,500 to $3,000; in 1945, the
range was $2,000 to $3,600. Men and women of equal ranks were
paid equally, although one couple, Elizabeth and Horace Day,
occasionally shared one position. Minutes, BT 27 May 1930. 8
Mar. 1945.

4- Minutes, Fac. 9 Dec. 1935. 12 Apr. 1938.

145

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

^^ Elizabeth Campbell and Patricia Menk, interview, 8 Oct.
1987. MBC Archives.

'^^ Watters 446-58, gives an excellent summary of these cur-
riculum changes. See also: BS 1942. Report of the president, Jan,
1931, in Minutes, Fac. 2 Mar. 1931. Among the speakers and
programs presented at the college during these years were such
distinguished persons as Peter Marshall, Will Durant, Carl
Sandburg, Amelia Earhart, Virginius Dabney, John Mason Brown,
Douglas Southall Freeman, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Arthur H.
Compton, Francis Pickens Miller, Efrem Zimbalist, Arthur Fiedler
and the Boston Sinfonietta, and Alexander Kerensky.

^° The pattern of the woman physician teaching Biology came
to an end when the "team" of Dr. Lillian Thomsen and Dr. Mary
Humphreys became the Biology faculty — a happy relationship
that existed until 1963, when Dr. Thomsen retired and Dr. John
Mehner became the first male to teach Biology at Mary Baldwin
College. There is no question that the decision to have women
physicians teach Biology was originally a deliberate choice, but
the long persistence of the pattern may well be happenstance.
Minutes, BT 21 Feb. 1935. 18 July 1935. 21 July 1936. It says
something about the plight of women physicians that Dr. Amelia
Gill (BA Westhampton, MA Duke, MD Medical College of Vir-
ginia) was paid $2,000 and "living" (valued at $500), and her
successors similar amounts. The Thomson-Humphreys team
worked well together, and there was neither the demand nor the
resources to expand the department beyond the two members
(and an occasional lab assistant) for many years. See Catalogue,
1924-25. 1935-36. 1963-64. passim. In April 1936, Campus Com-
ments recorded the fact that all classes had been dismissed and
the entire student body had gone to the Strand Theater to see a
special (closed) showing of a movie called "Life Begins" (about the
development of a fetus) CC 24 Apr. 1936.

^^ Annual Report of the President. However, the charter of the
college stated (and has continued to do so) that "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," Charter Book 3, 492, City of Staunton.

^2 Reports to Fac. 1935-36. Minutes, Fac. 1935-36.

^^ The seminary and then the college have always had a major
economic impact on the community. MBC has been one of the
biggest employers in the city. Faculty, students and their parents
are a mainstay of the downtown commercial enterprises and

146

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

hotels. Until more recent times, much in the way of cultural events
and entertainment for the city was provided by the college.
Townspeople were invited to concerts, lecture series, and art
exhibits; faculty were members of and shared their talents with
many civic groups; downtown churches benefited from student
and faculty attendance. This is not to suggest that "town and
gown" relationships have always been free from strain. Staunton
is (socially and otherwise) a very conservative community and
student exuberance and mores often clashed with community
concepts of appropriate behavior, never more so than in the 1960s
and 1970s.

^"^ Sixteen units from accredited high schools were required for
admission, including four units of English, one of History, two and
one-half to three of Mathematics, three to four of Latin (this
requirement changed in 1930-31), two units of Modern Language
and one unit of Science. Catalogue, 1928-29. By 1945, entrance
requirements were three units of English, one unit of History,
Algebra, and Geometry and two units of Foreign Language.
Catalogue, 1944-45. Was the lowering of admissions require-
ments due to the need to attract students in the Depression era,
or were requirements merely being brought in line with admis-
sions standards of comparable colleges? The records do not reveal
the reasons for the change, but Dean Higgins' departure (March
1930) might have provided an opportunity to bring the college
more in line with competitors,

^^Registrar's Reports, passim. Bound in Fac. Minutes 1930-45.
Enrollment of 320-335 students remained fairly constant through-
out the Jarman era.

^^ Although Mary Julia Baldwin had relied heavily on Profes-
sor McGuffey for advice about her curriculum, and although the
early catalogues state that "the plan of instruction" is "that of the
University of Virginia," no effort appears to have been made to
introduce in the seminary the famed University of Virginia Honor
System which had been in existence there since 1842. For example
see Catalogue, 1896-97. There does appear to have been briefly, in
the early days of Mary Julia Baldwin (or perhaps before), a scheme
whereby students would publicly "confess" their violations of
rules and regulations; but this appears to have been short-lived,
and in any case, did not apply to academic concerns. Watters 158.
It would appear that an effort toward student government began
even before President Jarman appeared. Dean Higgins proposed
that students in McClung "institute" student government, and

147

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

the student Council began in May 1929. Jarman and Pfohl arrived
in July 1929. The aim was to support a "strong Christian College"
providing the students with a "trained intellect and womanly
courage." CC 8 Feb. 1929. 4 May 1929.

^^The wording of this pledge has evolved, but the principle has
remained intact for over 60 years and has been one of the most
deeply held and preserved traditions of the college. See HB 1929-
30. 1930-31. 1988-89. Catalogue, 1988-89.

^'^ Irene W. Hecht and Elizabeth Campbell, interview 22 Jan.
1984; Patricia H. Menk and Elizabeth Campbell, interview, 8 Oct.
1987. MBC Archives.

59 HB 1930. Minutes, Fac. 15 Jan. 1935.

60 Minutes, SGA 14 Sept. 1929. Watters 471, 478.

61 HB 1933-34. 1945-46. Watters 521-23. The list of "major
offenses" stayed very much the same from 1930-45 (and for some
time thereafter), with the exception of the prohibition of drinking
alcoholic beverages. This was first noted in the Handbook in 1932,
almost as an afterthought, and became a part of the major
"offenses" hst only in 1940. HB 1932. 1940. The Handbook speci-
fies that a student might be "dismissed" because her general
character and behavior "bring discredit" or deviated from "the
recognized standards" of the college. There did not need to be a
specific offense, an all-encompassing power included at the insis-
tence of President Jarman. The records, however, do not indicate
any dismissals without actual violations of written rules. HB
1941-42. Watters 475.

62 Watters 154. Out of the first six college graduates (1924-25),
four were "town girls". BS 1923-24. 1924-25.

63 BS 1942. (Centennial issue)

64 Minutes SV 1924. 1925. CC 3 Apr. 1925. BS 1942. (Centen-
nial issue) Today, the Christmas program is called "Christmas
Cheer" and involves a Christmas concert by the college choir at
First Presbyterian Church on the first Sunday in December, after
which the college hillside is lighted by "luminaries" and a recep-
tion for the college community and townspeople is held at Spencer
dormitory.

65 Watters 482-88. BS 1942.

66 See CC 1930-45. passim. The device of the monthly birthday
party evolved as a means of preventing "Happy Birthday" from
being sung on innumerable occasions throughout the year. A
particularly useful source for this information is the Centennial
Bluestocking 1942. See also: HB 1930-45. passim.

148

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

6" CC 2 Oct. 1931. 13 Nov. 1931. 27 Sept. 1940. 23 Oct. 1942.
Baskets of apples placed outside the doors of the dining hall and
in the mail room were a long-standing tradition at Mary Baldwin.
In seminary days many of the fresh vegetables and fruits used in
the dining hall came from the seminary "farm" (now the site of the
main Staunton Post Office) and the apples were provided as a
means of ensuring students' health. The seminary had acquired
an extensive apple orchard in 1923 (as a site for the new college),
and Mr. King had not only marketed the apples but provided an
apple a day for each girl. On at least one occasion, when apple
cores were not disposed of properly, the baskets were left empty
for two days; presumably this lesson did not have to be repeated.
Students were also admonished by Mr. King not to take more than
one apple a day (he carefully counted them). Even after Mr. King's
death, the custom continued. The orchard was sold in 1944, but by
then the connection between the fall picnic and apples had been
established and other orchards were visited. The records show
that the first use of the words "Apple Day" does not appear until
1 Oct. 1946. Minutes, Fac. 1946-47. The Alumnae Association
sells apples for Christmas gifts, members of the board of trustees
and other boards are presented baskets of Virginia apples, and
the modern student paints apples on her face, wears "apple" tee
shirts and welcomes the freshman class on the annual Apple Day.

^*^ BS 1942. (Centennial issue) Watters 363-70. CC 15 Dec.
1924. Minutes, BT 20 June 1925. The Handbook was begun in
1929, sponsored by the Student Government Association, the
YWCA and the Athletic Association. By the 1940s it was under-
taken by the Student Government Association and the dean of
students' office. HB. passim. A curious episode involving Campus
Comments was revealed in March 1941. Without explanation or
references in succeeding editions, the space for the editorial was
left blank except for a big black "Censored" printed in the middle
of the column. The editorial the week before had been a reprint of
a student editorial from the University of California regarding
student rights to "free thought"; it was not particularly controver-
sial. No reference to censorship is made in succeeding issues, nor
are there any further examples of administrative control. CC 28
Feb. 1941. 7 Mar. 1941.

^^ Today Founders' Day is held on the first Friday in October.
The Ivy Ceremony no longer is observed, the senior "attendants"
are gone, and the alumnae reunion is now held in May during
Commencement weekend. There is still an address (usually by

149

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

someone associated with the college), seniors, already robed,
stand and put on their own mortarboards at the invitation of the
president, and various academic awards and recognitions are
acknowledged. One important custom has persisted. For 35 years,
Dr. Fraser had read the 121st Psalm at the opening exercises of
the school. After his death, Dr. Blakely had continued the practice
and as Founders' Day became institutionalized, that Psalm be-
came part of the program. It has been read annually since 1898.
CC 4 Oct. 1932. This is also the occasion for senior and freshman
parents to visit the campus, and weekend lectures, excursions and
faculty conferences are planned. Simultaneously, the Fall Alum-
nae Leadership Conference is held. See program. Founders' Day
Convocation, 7 Oct. 1988. MBC Archives.

^0 CC 25 Nov. 1933. passim. Watters 493.

'^^ College calendars are found in the Handbook. 1930-45.
passim. Watters 527-29.

^2 These comments are taken from the various issues of
Campus Comments. 1936-45. It would be wearisome and repeti-
tious to cite all the individual sources. In his president's Report to
the Board. Dr. Jarman reported that 70% to 80% of the students
had "dated." 75% married within five years of graduation. CC 4
May 1929 refers to the stone bench. CC 4 Oct. 1932 refers to the
five faculty automobiles, including Dean Pfohl's Buick called
"Delight."

'3 CC 3 Oct. 1931. 27 Nov. 1931. 15 Oct. 1932. Watters 466.
Tuition and expenses in 1930 were $675 per year (extra for
"special" courses, laboratory fees, etc); in 1944, tuition was $950
(and there were still some special fees). Catalogue. 1930-31. 1944-
45. At the same time, salaries had remained constant from 1930-
43.

^4 CC 1 Nov. 1935. 15 Nov. 1935. 14 Feb. 1936. 5 Feb. 1937. 5
May 1939. 1 Oct. 1939. 20 Oct. 1939. 4 Apr. 1941. Of course, the
editor of Campus Comments changed yearly (although the spon-
sor. Dr. Carroll, was a constant), and a student generation
changes every four years. Consistency of editorial viewpoints is
not characteristic of college newspapers.

^^CC 17 Oct. 1930. 6 Mar. 1931. 28 Apr. 1934. 24 Nov. 1934. 22
Oct. 1943. 16 Oct. 1944.

^*^ There is a very interesting folder in the college archives with
letters, pictures and mementos of these missionary activities. See
also: CC 16 Feb. 1935. 27 Apr. 1935. 11 Nov. 1933.

150

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

" Minutes, Fac. 6 Dec. 1932. CC 27 Nov. 1931. 21 Oct. 1933.
15 Nov. 1933. 13 Jan. 1934. 28 Oct. 1938. Watters 465. AN Apr.
1946. Campus Comments notes that the YWCA sent Ruda a box
of "selected clothing" in 1949. 8 Apr. 1949. In 1954, Rudolfa
Schorchtova (class of 1937) is listed in the In Memoriam column.
There is no further information given. AN Nov. 1954.

'« Report of the Dean of Mary Baldwin College, 1936-37.

^9 CC 14 Nov. 1930. 12 Dec. 1930. 24 Feb. 1934. 17 Mar. 1934.
9 Feb. 1935. 25 Nov. 1938. 9 Dec. 1938. President's Report to the
Board of Trustees, 1938-39. Recent, rather casual study suggests
that in 1989, 509f of the alumnae of the previous 10 years have
married since leaving college, reflecting a nationwide trend for
later (or no) marriage among educated middle Americans.

^° AN 1925. This is not to suggest that the alumnae did nothing
but social activities. They had been active in first suggesting
junior and then full college status. They had collected records,
reminiscences and mementos of the seminary days (without
which Dr. Watters would have found it hard to write her History):
they had established a scholarship for missionary daughters; they
had commissioned and paid for the Mary Julia Baldwin Memorial
Window in the Chapel; they had helped recruit new students.
However, the fact that, in the 1920s, only 331 alumnae had
contributed to the college campaigns indicated that, while a few
had worked very hard and sacrificially, most of the alumnae were
not yet persuaded that their "loyalty and service" were needed by
the college. Watters 536-54.

81 AN Mar. 1935. Mar. 1936. Gloria Jones Atkinson of the
Staunton Chapter v/as largely responsible for organizing this
project. The executive secretaries in this era were Eugenia
Bumgardner and Dorothy Morris Fauver (part-time). After 1924,
Mary Houston Turk, Constance Curry Carter, Mary Moore Pan-
cake, Winifred Love and Nancy Gwyn Gilliam were full-time
executive secretaries. Watters 543.

82 AN Oct. 1941. Oct. 1946. Watters 538.

^^ AN Apr. 1932. July 1936. July 1937. Dean Pfohl recalled
having to paper the stairwell outside her apartment each summer
because the boys' heads pressed against the wall left hair pomade
stains on the wallpaper. Watters 543, Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell
and Irene Hecht, interview, Jan. 1984. MBC Archives.

84 In 1937, it was decided that the News Letter would be sent
only to dues-paying and life members. AN July 1937. July 1936.
July 1937. Jan. 1938. The Wedgwood plate project was revived

151

To Live In Time Another' Beginning: The Jarman Years

after World War II and continued until the 1960s. One of the
Sesquicentennial committee's projects has been to secure a reis-
suing of the plates and also the Ham and Jam bookends.

^^ Watters 422-31. Real estate (lots with no houses) on Acad-
emy was purchased in 1933, and 1934 for $9500; two more lots and
houses on North New Street were acquired in 1936, for $5,000 and
$7,500; and the remaining property on the college side of New
Street was purchased in 1940, for $20,000. (The buildings were all
razed to make room for King Auditorium.) In addition, Martha
Riddle Hall was acquired in 1936 for $15,000, and the Alumnae
House ("The Club") in 1937 for $14,000. In 1936, the "Beckler
House" (the Science Building) was purchased for $5,900, and in a
somewhat complicated transaction involving annuity payments
to Professor Schmidt, Miller House was secured for $19,600 (over
a seven-year period). None of these buildings (which had been
private homes) was, in reality, suitable for the uses to which the
college put them. They were simply the best that could be provided
under the circumstance. Some of them are still standing a half
century later and are still in use.

^^ See note 72. CC passim. Much of the credit for this physical
appearance rests with "Bill" and Richard Crone and their able
assistants over the almost 90 years they have been associated
with the seminary and college.

^^ It had been the college's proud statement (going back to Mr.
King's annual reports) that the institution had operated since the
Civil War with "no debts, and no deficits." Mr. King had also
proudly added - no "outside help," but, as has been noted, that part
of Mr. King's claims had been revised in the 1920s although very
little "outside help" had emerged. The executive committee min-
utes reveal how close indeed, the college was to deficit financing
in the 1930s. Dr. Jarman had criticized the "perfunctory" audits
of Mr. King' s accounts and had, since 1932, provided the board of
trustees with a yearly projected budget which never indicated
more that a few thousand dollars surplus. The finance committee
of the board and its advisor. National Valley Bank (after 1935),
began cautiously to move the college's endowment funds into
stocks and bonds (including Pennsylvania Railroad, Chesapeake
& Ohio, Virginia Railroad, Bethlehem Steel, Commodity Credit
Corporation Bonds, American Telephone & Telegraph) and away
from the local real estate investment and local bonds (most of
which were liquidated at a loss) so dear to Mr. King's heart.
Minutes EC 20 Aug. 1936. He protested bitterly. But the cash flow

152

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

was so poor that, in 1932, Dr. Jarman had to pay $200 for gas heat
in his home "until such a time... [as] the college shall have
sufficient funds to reimburse him." Minutes EC 10 Sept. 1932.
Almost every year throughout the decade of the 1930s $5,000 to
$15,000 was transferred from endowment to operating funds (to
be repaid when tuition fees were received in the fall). Money was
spent for the purchase of the property "abutting on the campus"
but salaries remained unchanged for over 10 years. The risks of
Dr. Jarman's proposals were, in retrospect, staggering. It would
not be the last time such risks were taken.

^« Minutes, Fac. 5 Apr. 1932. Reports to Fac. 1937-38. See p.77.

89 Catalogue, 1936-37. passim.

90 See pp 77-79.

9^ The complete 25-year plan called for $2.5 million to be raised
by 1965; half for endowment, half for campus development. A five-
year plan to raise $500,000, divided in the same manner, was to
be instituted immediately. Nowhere in the records does it appear
that a clear-cut decision not to move the college plant was ever
made. It does not even seem to have been debated. Once, however,
the new building, "PCing," was erected, the sale of the 200 acres
(the orchard; at the north of Staunton was inevitable and probably
wise. It was sold in 1944 for $65,000; the college achieved a $5,000
"profit" after holding the property since 1922. With the wisdom of
hindsight, it would have appeared wiser to have held the property
longer; it now constitutes some of the most valuable private
residential property in Staunton. But the needs of the 1945-50s
were immediate and pressing, and the decision was made to sell
it then. Minutes EC 28 Nov. 1944. See also note 104.

^^Lucien P. Giddens was a Birmingham Southern and
Vanderbilt graduate (MA 1937), a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford
(1928-31), and had begun work on his Ph.D. at Peabody College in
Nashville. He was an enthusiastic lacrosse player, with varied
travel and administrative experience and obvious academic cre-
dentials. It was a considerable disappointment that, within a
year, his health forced him to resign. His appointment, in part,
had stemmed from a desire to ease some of Dr. Jarman's burden,
as the president's health was somewhat impeded, and had been
since 1937. CC 10 Mar. 1939. AN March 1939. Martha Grafton
was made an assistant to the president until June 1942, presum-
ably to help fill the vacuum left by Mr. Giddens' departure. Dr.
Bridges assumed the role of acting dean. Minutes, BT 31 Oct.
1941.

153

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

^^AN March 1939. The physical characteristics of the Mary
Baldwin campus are a challenge to any builder or architect.
Market Street (so often referred to) was one of the steepest hills
in Staunton; New Street, parallel to Market and one block farther
west, is almost as bad. The campus has very little flat ground,
except that derived from terraces, artificially created. It makes for
great beauty, but is a nightmare when it comes to providing
handicap access or even lawn mowing or snow removal from the
sidewalks. An architect told a later president, Samuel R. Spencer,
Jr., looking at the lots east of Market Street -"... This is a mighty
rugged place to build... But it has character!" Samuel R. Spencer,
Jr., letter to Patricia Menk, 11 Feb. 1988. MBC Archives. The
"Beckler House," acquired in 1936, remained the Science building
until 1966, when Grafton Library construction necessitated its
removal.

^^ It will be remembered that in 1924 the Staunton Chamber
of Commerce had raised $110,000 in six weeks — much of which
was eventually returned.

^^ Actually, the funding was more complicated than this ac-
count suggests. As President Jarman pointed out, the college
contributed $10,000 a year (for two years) for campaign and
startup expenses; the money should have been returned to the
endowment fund to help compensate for the $36,000 withdrawn
by the alumnae. To that should be added the $32,500 cost of
acquiring the building site; the $300 Sam Gardner wanted for
demolition of the existing structures so construction could pro-
ceed; the cost of Mr. Giddens' salary ($3,600 a year), and the
released time for Dr. Shedd; the extension of the heating and
plumbing. No money had been earmarked for furnishings. Alum-
nae chapters later provided curtains for the stage and a lectern;
Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Francis, (chairman of the board of trustees)
gave the auditorium foldingchairs. Later, when people asked why
the pool that was built in 1942 is "so small" (it is 60' x 20' ), Mrs.
Grafton replied, "we had no money," which this simple analysis
shows was true. Eventually, the building cost approximately
$153,000. The college paid, for several years, out of annual income
the $46,000 necessary to complete the project, and the endowment
account remained minus at least $70,000. Minutes, BT 26 Oct.
1940. 13 Mar. 1941. 21 Oct. 1943 . By present standards, this
timetable was very ambitious, but it was met. Actually, the first
public use of King Auditorium occurred in September 1942, when
Greer Garson appeared there at a Defense Bond Rally.

154

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jarman Years

The difficulties of the gymnasium occupying the same build-
ing as a college/civic auditorium had been recognized by the
faculty committee as early as 1937. "A number of colleges have
their main auditoriums in the gymnasium," they wrote. "While we
recognize that this is not an ideal arrangement, it is a possible
combination to be used for a few years". Reports to Fac. 1936-37.
Actually, the arrangement proved to be very awkward, indeed.
The auditorium was on the third floor (second from the front of the
building). Handicapped access not often considered in the 1940s
was extremely difficult, if not impossible; parking was on a hill
and severely limited; and without a graduated floor, sitting on
removable seats persons in the back rows had poor visibility. None
of this mattered in the euphoria of 1942, but it limited the use of
the auditorium after the mid-1970s when more stringent fire
safety regulations restricted its use to 500 people. The "gymna-
sium" was used until 1990. The Drama department also found a
home in King Building and remained there in uncomfortable
juxtaposition with Physical Education until the opening of Deming
in 1983 partially solved its problems. King Building is presently
being renovated for new and more appropriate uses.

^^ For an extended account of the ceremonies, see: CC 31 Oct.
1941. AN Feb. 1942. BS 1942. (Centennial issue— the entire
annual is a valuable summation and illustration of the first 100
years). Watters 557-64.

The cornerstone contains a copy of the original charter of
Augusta Female Seminary; a picture of Rufus W. Bailey; Semi-
nary records; a copy of the Bible (also included in 1842 Adminis-
tration Building cornerstone, as the "first textbook of Augusta
Female Seminary"); a copy of the charter of Staunton; a city
history; and Waddell's History of Mary Baldwin Seminary. Also
included were sketches of Mr. King, alumnae records, a catalogue
and viewbook, the Student Handbook for 1942, and a copy of the
Staunton News Leader for that date. Watters 558.

The masons were from Lodge No. 13, A. F. and A. M.

^' Not all of the 90 inducted into the honor society were living.
Actually, 24 were present for the induction ceremony and "several
others" were inducted the following October. Watters 561. AN
July 1942.

155

To Live In Time

Anothe?- Beginning: The Jarman Years

The following figures reflect these conclusions:

Other

Enrollment:

Virginia

Southern States

States & Countries

1941-332

120

134

1942-336

122

138

1943-341

118

149

1944-327

111

149

1945-318

105

168

1946-349

101

196

Seniors

From Staunton

From Virginia

South

Other

Includes Staunton

1941-43

1942-64 (Cent.) 11

1943-43

1944-34

1945-44

1946-43

These figures mostly reflect normal yearly variations. 1942,
the Centennial year, obviously encouraged many students to stay
to graduate (64) . The next year there were 21 fewer seniors and
nine fewer than that in 1944; but then the numbers increased
again. The worst year for the enrollment was the hardest year of
the war, 1944-45 and as the war years lengthened, the enrollment
from the northeast, mid-and far west declined, perhaps due to
transportation difficulties. But, for a "tuition-driven college,"
Mary Baldwin survived the war years very well and even felt
confident enough to plan another building campaign when the
war should end. Catalogue. 1941-46. passim.

99 CC 20 Feb. 1942. 7 June 1943. 22 Oct. 1943.

100 CC 11 May 1945. 5 Oct. 1945.

101 AN Feb. 1943.

102 CC 29 Sept. 1944. AN July 1945.

103 Minutes, Fac. 2 Nov. 1943. Minutes, BT 9 Mar. 1944. 26 Oct.
1944. Minutes EC 6 Oct. 1945.

104 Minutes EC 28 Nov. 1944. 8 Dec. 1944. The terms of the sale
involved $30,000 in cash and $35,000 in bonds secured by a first
lien deed of trust on the real estate conveyed, at an annual rate of
4%, payable over the next 10 years. See note 91.

10° The committee consisted of Edmund Campbell, Campbell

156

To Live In Time Another Beginning: The Jannan Years

Pancake, John B. Baffin and F. L. Brown, representing Mary
Baldwin College, and Mrs. W. Wayt Gibbs, Mr. Fred Prufer and
Mrs. Charles S. Hunter, Jr., representing King's Daughters'
Hospital. Minutes EC 18 Dec. 1945. 31 Jan. 1946. AN Apr. 1946.

106 Minutes EC Dec. 1944. 28 Nov. 1944. By March, Dr. Shedd
had reconsidered his request and asked that his resignation be
withdrawn, which the board refused to do, but did agree to his
reappointment at the same salaiy and title he had held previ-
ously, but without tenure. He would be treated as a "new appoin-
tee." Under these circumstances. Dr. Shedd refused to return and
left the college in 1945. Minutes, BT 8 Mar. 1945.

10' Minutes EC 6 Oct. 1945. 3 May 1946.

108 Minutes EC 1 Sept. 1945. 10 Sept. 1948.

109 AN Apr. 1946.

157

Frank Bell Lewis

Charles Wallace McKenzie

158

FOUR

A Time of Transition:

The Triumvirate

1945-1957

fter Dr. Jarman's illness in
September 1945, the college was left in the capable hands of
Dean Martha Grafton while a board committee sought a new chief
executive. He (or she - the board left open the possibility that a
wom.an might be considered) was to be a "sincerely active" Pres-
byterian, an educator, a "true" executive, and possess "innate
abilities in public relations."^ It was not until May 1947 that the
appointment was made. Dr. Frank Bell Lewis, Professor of Bible
and Philosophy at Davis & Elkins College, was an ordained
Presbyterian minister who also possessed an earned Ph.D. in
Philosophy from Duke, had studied at the University of Edinburgh,
and was well known to the members of the Synod of Virginia as a
preacher and teacher. He had an attractive young wife and a soon-
to-be infant daughter. His appointment was greeted with much
enthusiasm and good will; no one could have foreseen that, largely
due to external conditions beyond his control, the six years of his
tenure would be marked by declining enrollment, financial hard-
ships, and increasing tension between the college and the Synod
of Virginia. When the opportunity arose in 1953 for Dr. Lewis to
accept an offer to serve on the faculty of Union Theological
Seminary in Richmond, he welcomed the opportunity and the
trustees found themselves again looking for a chief executive.
Martha Grafton served as acting president for the second time
with "full administrative authority" until Charles W. McKenzie
was appointed early in 1954. His tenure was brief; a series of

159

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

disagreements with the board of trustees, and the Synod of
Virginia culminated in a major conflict in September 1956, and
Mr. McKenzie abruptly resigned the week before classes were to
begin. ^ This time. Dr. Richard Potter, pastor of the Staunton First
Presbyterian Church and member of the board of trustees, agreed
to serve as acting president (without salary) until another chief
executive could be found.

The immediate postwar years were, indeed, times of crisis and
transition; the euphoria of the World War II victory quickly gave
way to the sobering problems of inflation, economic dislocations,
the Cold War and McCarthyism. By 1950, United States military
forces were actively engaged in the "police action" in Korea; the
USSR had the "bomb," and China had become a Communist
nation. The United Nations was perceived as seriously flawed;
and the civil rights revolution would shortly emerge. College
enrollments throughout the nation plummeted, as in the 1940s
the small pool of "depression" babies reached their late teens. The
"G.I." bill, so supportive of some institutions, did little to help
women's colleges. Almost all of the veterans eligible for tuition
grants were men.

These were the years that Mary Baldwin struggled to adjust
its relationship with the Presbyterian Church; to upgrade its
physical facilities; to "modernize" its curriculum to fit the chang-
ing needs of young women and to reverse the downward curve in
its enrollment. For the first time in its history the college's
operating budget required deficit financing; in addition, money
was borrowed for capital improvements and the endowment was
shrinking. How did Mary Baldwin survive the instability that two
presidents and three interregna in 12 years produced?

The answer, at least in part, comes from administrative (below
the top level) and faculty stability. The "triumvirate" (as they
were called privately by some faculty members) of Martha Graf-
ton, Elizabeth Parker and Marguerite Hillhouse continued steadily
on course throughout these troubled years, impervious to presi-
dential vagaries and synod uncertainties.^ It is interesting to note
that Dr. Jarman, who sent a most cordial letter to Frank Bell
Lewis upon learning of his election as president, wrote:

In one respect you are to be... congratulated, in
that you find there an adequate faculty and
a group of... loyal and able lieutenants. I speak
of Dean Parker, Dean Grafton and Registrar

160

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

Hillhouse. I commend them to you and you
to them. I seldom made a major decision
relative to [the] College without their counsel.'^

Likewise, John Baffin and James T. Spillman continued to
manage the internal finances of the institution; Bill Crone had the
physical plant in hand, and Edmund Campbell as chairman of the
board of trustees gathered together a group of loyal and devoted
supporters. There was also a solid core of, by now, experienced
and skillful faculty, and under Mrs. Grafton's guidance the ap-
pointments that were made during these years brought new
talents and long-time commitments to the college.^ And so Mary
Baldwin survived and grew and prepared for the astonishing
decade of the 1960s.

The board of trustees, headed during these years by Edmund
D. Campbell, reflected the stability of the administration and
faculty. Members usually served until physical disability or death
removed them, and the records reveal how devotedly and gener-
ously many of them gave of their talents and resources. Among
appointees of these years Edmund Campbell remembers as par-
ticularly supportive were the Rev. John Newton Thomas, who
recommended Frank Bell Lewis as president; Francis Pickens
Miller, a Virginia politician and idealist whose mother was an
alumna; the Rev. Richard Potter, carrying on the tradition that
the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church be on the board;
Gilpin Willson, Jr., a Staunton banker whose astute advice eased
some of the college's financial burdens; and Hugh Sproul, Jr.,
long-time secretary of the board and serving, as his father before
him had done, as a "bridge" between the college and the local
community. The Lexington "connection" was kept alive by James
Leyburn, dean of Washington & Lee, a maverick academician
who pushed for the reform of the curriculum. There were always
women on the board, representing alumnae and simply in their
own right. Emily P. Smith, Margarett Kable Russell, Lyda
Bunker Hunt, Julia Gooch Richmond, and Margaret Cunningham
Craig Woodson all served in this era.*'

In 1954, Francis Pickens Miller raised the question of limited
terms for board members and rotation as a system more in
keeping with the Synod of Virginia's practice and as a means of
allowing some younger representation. There was resistance to
this idea; Edmund Campbell observed that the board had an
authorized strength of 28 but seldom had more than 20 members,

161

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

SO there was room for "new blood." The debate continued and was
merged with the long struggle to define the relationships with the
Synod of Virginia.

The two presidents (Lewis and McKenzie) had differing rela-
tionships with the board and the college. Dr. Lewis regularly
reported to the faculty and students the actions and decisions of
the board; Mr. McKenzie wished Dean Grafton and Mr. Daffin to
be present at board meetings, but he seldom shared board deci-
sions with the other college constituencies. Dr. Lewis was even-
tempered, amiable, popular with the faculty and students. A
"pleasant relationship" the Campus Comments called it. "He
guided us through our difficulties, successes and strivings
with... gentle understanding, delightful humor, and calm
strength..."' He was deeply committed to fostering the spiritual
life of the campus and closer synod-college ties. In truth, he had
little administrative experience, found it very difficult to dismiss
faculty and personnel, which economic necessity forced him to do,
was deeply distressed by the falling enrollment and the conflicts
with the synod. Mr. McKenzie, on the other hand, had a confron-
tational style, both with the board and with the faculty, and little
real understanding of the tradition-bound, conservative Staunton
community. He demanded recognition of his prerogatives as
president, was impatient with synod indecision and board fiscal
conservatism, and was clearly too unlike previous Mary Baldwin
College presidents to be easily accepted. Yet both these men and
their wives sincerely worked and sacrificed for the good of the
college, sought its survival and expansion, and each, in his own
way, made some lasting contributions.

Dr. Lewis became president on 1 July 1947. The previous
year's enrollment had been 347, the highest it had ever been, but
each year of the Lewis presidency saw the numbers decline; by
1953, the enrollment was 229; it thereafter gradually improved,
until, by 1958, it was 311. But it would not be until 1960 that the
enrollment exceeded that of 1945.*^

The old pattern of transfers at the end of the sophomore year
had persisted. In 1946, there had been 43 seniors; by 1953 there
were only 29; four years later there were 32.^ Faculty numbers
reflected these dismal statistics. There had been 37 full-time
faculty in 1946; 10 years later there were 31, although the use of
adjuncts helped cover some of the inevitable deficiencies. On the
other hand, tuition and fees had risen steadily - from $950 in 1946,
to $1,650 in 1956, a 73.7% increase; day student fees had inflated

162

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

even more quickly - from $300 to $575, or an 91.7% increase. But
even increased fees could not compensate for the lack of student
numbers as salary increases and improved retirement policies
were mandated by actions of competitive colleges. After 1949,
funds were withdrawn from the Investment Income Account to
cover operating deficiencies every year, and the provision that the
account was not to drop below $25,000 was modified as the needs
of the college increased. In 1956, acting president Potter was
authorized to borrow $75,000 (from outside sources) to cover
operating expenses, and ultimately a bond issue was floated to
handle capital improvements and debts.

All possible methods for raising additional funds and increas-
ing the enrollment were pursued with vigor. Dr. Lewis addressed
innumerable Presbyterian congi^egations and Presbyterian meet-
ings as he sought to have the churches increase their giving to
synod higher educational institutions (of which Mary Baldwin
College was one) and to send students to the college. A proposal
to pay tuition and fees on an installment plan was instituted;
scholarship aid increased, and a tuition exchange program among
Presbyterian colleges was approved in 1955. President Lewis was
responsible for the college in 1952 becoming a charter member of
the newly organized Virginia Foundation for Independent Col-
leges; thereafter Mary Baldwin College shared modestly with a
number of other Virginia institutions in contributions from busi-
nesses and corporations to assist private education in the state.

The finance committee of the board experimented with a
gi^eater mix of investments in stocks and bonds for the endowment
fund, although the old policy of making local loans secured by real
estate continued until the mid-1950s. Alumnae were again asked
to step into the breach; each chapter appointed a student recruit-
ment chairman; and on at least one occasion in 1955, the Annual
Fund was used as a "recognition gift" for the faculty.

Few students and faculty were aware of the severe financial
difficulties of these years. Boards of trustees and administrations
did not share such information in the 1950s, but in retrospect it
can be seen how difficult it was.^°

Dr. Lewis's task was made infinitely more complex by the plan
to exchange the old King's Daughters' Hospital property on
Frederick Street for Mary Baldwin College's "farm" north of town.
The plan had been first proposed in 1945 and was well under way
by 1947, when Dr. Lewis became president. At this point the
impact of declining enrollment was not yet fully realized. Indeed,

163

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

the college residence space was full and, once Dr. Jarman and his
family left, students were housed in Rose Terrace. The college
rented in 1947 a lovely old home several blocks from the campus
for the new president and his family. Although a "new dormitory"
had been next on the priority list from the moment King Building
had been authorized, promises that the student body would not be
"enlarged" had been made and would be repeated. It was feared
that a larger student body would destroy the intimate character
of the institution, but some housing in the outlying buildings was
inadequate, and a new dormitory was an admitted necessity. It
was determined that $150,000 (plus the college real estate at the
"farm") would be sufficient to complete the purchase of the old
King's Daughters' Hospital, and by 1946 a campaign was under
way to raise the money from alumnae, churches, trustees and
friends. Mr. Daffin was in charge of the project and, in the
euphoria of the immediate postwar years, it was surprisingly
successful. By 1948, $ 139,000 had been contributed; this included
an anonymous $30,000 donation, the largest single gift the college
had ever received; $10,000 from the local Alumnae Association;
and a $15,000 grant from the General Education Board, to be
matched 3:1. Eventually, the total amount of $158,000 was raised
or borrowed, and the exchange and purchase was completed on 1
March 1951.^^

By this time, the implications of the shrinking enrollment
were clearly visible. That same year. Dr. Lewis and his family had
moved into Rose Terrace since it was no longer needed for student
housing, and the question, "What now?" must have been asked. ^^

Additional purchases of lots and houses on Frederick Street
had been negotiated during this five-year period in order to tie the
"new dormitory" into the campus, and a nurses' home had come
with the hospital property. There was now no immediate need for
these buildings for student housing. It was embarrassing to have
two empty structures and several lots on hand when neither
student numbers nor financial resources were there for them, but
the board and the college authorities were committed and pro-
ceeded with deliberate but stubborn plans for the future needs of
a college they did not intend to let die.^"^

During the fall of 1951, a proposal by the faculty that a
demonstration school for children ages three to five be established
on the Mary Baldwin campus was seriously considered. Alumnae
comments that, since 80% of the graduates married and estab-
lished homes, more attention should be paid to child care courses,

164

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

were taken seriously. The Education faculty, responding to
developing state and national trends, perceived expanding career
opportunities for qualified early childhood education teachers and
the new course offerings were seen as one more reason why some
students might choose to come and to stay for four years at Mary
Baldwin College. Therefore, the board in 1952 approved convert-
ing the first floor of the nurses' home into the Nannie Tate
Demonstration School. ^^ An alumna gift of $8,000 made the
necessary alterations possible, and in the fall of 1952 the school
was opened with 20 pupils, whose parents paid $150 tuition a
year. Julia Weill was appointed as Director of the Tate Demon-
stration School; a series of "one-way" windows allowed college
students and parents to view the youngsters, and a new dimen-
sion had been added to the college's academic offerings. ^^

By 1953, the board had authorized the employment of an
architect, Floyd Johnson and Associates of Charlottesville, to
assist in the remodeling of the former hospital into a dormitory,
and a year later the figure of $180,000 for renovations and
equipment was proposed. Mrs. Grafton and Mr. Daffin, seeking
financial assistance, made trips to Texas and elsewhere to the
college's friends. There were generous gifts, but not enough of
them; and in 1956 a $200,000 bond issue, using the college
property as security, was offered, with the interest on the bonds
"not to exceed 59^."^°

The new dormitory, "the latest word in modern design and
convenience," was named Rufus W. Bailey Residence Hall. It was
first occupied in September 1955. There were 45 double student
rooms, five singles, two guest suites, a kitchen, a fully equipped
laundry, and two student lounges. Enrollment figures had shown
some modest increases, and other campus changes in housing
facilities made it possible to occupy the building. It was dedicated
on Founders' Day 1955, with Edmund Campbell honoring his
great-grandfather, for whom the building was named. This was
but a first step in what would be an explosion of new construction
in the 1960s.i'

There were other physical changes during these years. Shortly
after the end of the war, the Graftons donated to the college a lot
adjacent to a small country home which they owned near Stuarts
Draft. The SGA president's forum undertook to have a simple
cabin constructed on the land for use as a student "retreat" center.
During the next three years a variety of fund-raising projects
resulted in the $2500 necessary to build "Chip Inn." Furnished

165

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

largely from the war surplus store and with contributions from all
the clubs on campus, the country "retreat" opened in early 1948
and was immediately popular. Dates were permitted to attend
picnics, if properly chaperoned, and SGA and "Y" planning ses-
sions were held there; it was 13 miles from the campus, and
occasionally some energetic students would hike out for a spring-
time evening supper.^®

There continued great pressure on the Academic Building,
and particularly the provision of new quarters for Biology could no
longer be delayed. There had been hopes that a new science
building could soon be erected, but when it became obvious by the
late 1940s that this would not be possible in the foreseeable
future, something had to be done. So the decision was therefore
made that the Alumnae Club House would become the Biology
Building and that a Student Activities Building would be erected
next to Hill Top on the upper terrace. While these discussions
were under way, the First Presbyterian Church offered to buy
from the college Fraser Hall, a building next to their sanctuary
which had belonged to Mary Julia Baldwin. A price of $22,500 was
agreed to, which came close to the preliminary estimates for the
Student Activities Center. Unfortunately, as the plans for that
facility expanded, so did the price, and by 1950 Edmund Campbell
suggested that the building be put under roof and then halted
until other money became available. The board, however, voted
to complete it, using contingency funds. ^^ The building, which had
no name other than the "Student Activities Building" for many
years, was finished by May 1951. The lower floor was the student
club and "tea room," with a fireplace, a small kitchen, a post office,
and a"bookstore." The main floor had a more formal lounge, also
with a fireplace, and an outside porch facing the inner campus.
The top floor had a faculty/alumnae "parlor," a day students'
lounge, and a locker room. The architecture conformed to the
neoclassical style of Hill Top and Memorial; it had massive white
columns, was painted a light cream (as were all the other build-
ings on campus except Rose Terrace), and was connected with the
"covered way." The building was completed within 18 months,
somewhat delayed by the Korean War and by rock which had to
be blasted before the foundation could be laid. It was occupied in
September 1951; it cost $81,000, two-thirds of which was paid by
gifts from friends and alumnae.^"

Additional sums were spent to renovate McClung, Hill Top
and Memorial; to put reinforced windows into King; to expand and

166

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

remodel the Library (still located in Academic). The Alumnae
offices were moved back to Main Building; new wiring and a new
PBX telephone system were installed; the inevitable summer
painting continued at a slower pace. Somehow funds for all of
these activities were "found." Sometimes the funds did not
"stretch" — a Building and Grounds Report to the trustees in
March of 1956 concluded: "We pray the heating plant will carry us
through another winter... we hope it will hold out."^^

Lillian Thomsen and Mary Humphreys rejoiced in having a
whole building, albeit an old one that was once a residence, for
Biology. They moved out of Academic in the summer of 1950 into
the remodeled Club House on New Street, where they now had
"two large laboratories and three small ones," a lecture room, a
greenhouse, a student lounge, and three "store rooms." It seemed
luxurious after their cramped quarters in Academic but, com-
pared to their "sister" colleges, the facilities were still woefully
inadequate for both Biology and Chemistry; the latter remained
in the small frame building on the corner of Market and Frederick
to which it had moved in 1936.^^

By the mid-1950s the Lexington Presbytery was seeking new
physical quarters for the Presb3d:erian Guidance Center, which
had been located at the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in
Fishersville. Mary Baldwin students majoring in Psychology had
been helping with the testing program there, and Dean Grafton
believed having the Center located on the college campus would
assist not only Psychology and Education students, but would
provide counseling services for everyone. After two years of
negotiations, an agreement was reached and the Guidance Center
moved to Riddle Hall 1 September 1955. The Director, Dr. Lillian
Pennell, became a familiar figure at most college activities, and
the board and college administration hoped that this evidence of
college-church cooperation would lead to more synod support for
the college's needs. ^^

There were dreams of still more physical changes. Alumnae,
some faculty, and others hoped for the restoring of the old Chapel
"to the way it was " It was still occasionally used as a dormitory;
with increased enrollment in the late 1950s, some 11 to 16
students were housed there. Space in Chapel also provided a
projection room, and, of course, the college dining room and
kitchens still occupied the gi'ound floor. In 1952, Horace Day
made sketches of the Administration Building (Main), Rose Ter-
race, Hill Top and the Chapel to be used to show prospective

167

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

donors and on Christmas cards and stationery sold by the Alum-
nae Association. Not all dreams become reality, unfortunately,
and in 1962 serious structural weaknesses in the old building
could no longer be ignored. Since there were no funds to restore
it, the building, which dated from 1817, had to be removed. ^^

The Board of Trustees and the executives of Mary Baldwin
were well aware that the college very much needed a "master
plan." Much of the past experience had been a kind of piecemeal
response to opportunities that presented themselves or to needs
that could no longer be denied. True, Dr. Jarman had set as an
objective acquiring title to all the property of the college's original
rectangle, (Frederick, New, Academy and Market Streets), and
the building of King in 1942 had validated his projections. But
even then, the college had acquired property beyond the perim-
eters of these modest holdings; i.e. Riddle, the Music Building, the
Biology and the Chemistry Buildings. The war years had, of
course, prohibited any further expansion, and a rather casual
decision had been made in 1944 to sell the orchard properties
north of town, thereby committing the college to stay in its historic
location. Now, in the postwar years, when more deliberate and
judicious decisions might have been made, the declining enroll-
ments, the lack of funds, and the necessary expenditures each
year just to keep the current physical plant operating, severely
limited the capacity to plan. The three "new" buildings, Bailey,
Tate Demonstration School and the Student Activities Building,
were again responses to opportunity and necessity, rather than
step one in a coordinated projection for the future. By the mid-
1950s, however, the enrollment figures were slightly better, and
the new President Charles McKenzie addressed the Board of
Trustees on his vision of the college's future. For the first time, a
suggestion for a larger student body, up to 400, was raised. The
college should teach "Christian Education," erect a Chapel, ("one
of the greatest needs"), and would have "to increase its physical
plant, its faculty and their salaries. "^^ The Fund Raising Commit-
tee of the board, chaired by Eldon Wilson, discussed at a called
meeting a proposed $2 1/2 million Ten Year Development Pro-
gram worked out with a professional firm, Marts and Lundy. A
Development Office headed by a special assistant to the president
was created; its immediate task was to raise $500,000 in 1956 to
replace the heating plant, reduce the debt on Bailey, and to
acquire more property; there was to be a "major convocation" 11-
13 May 1956 to publicly announce the plan; and the costs for the

168

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

first three years of the campaign were to be charged against the
campaign, rather than the college operating costs. The board gave
tentative approval to the proposal; Ray Williams was hired as the
presidential special assistant; a resident representative of Marts
and Lundy appeared on the campus in January 1956; and an-
nouncements of the "Great Convocation" were made in Campus
Comments. All of this came to an abrupt halt in the spring of 1956,
when, after years of discussion, a proposal from the Synod of
Virginia appeared to conflict with Mary Baldwin College's inde-
pendent plans. It was agreed that all actions would be delayed
until the fall of 1956; Marts and Lundy were dismissed, and their
current expenses of $10,000 were to be paid by the college, adding
to its already considerable debt. Mr. McKenzie, who was con-
gratulated by the board on his "diplomatic handling" of the
sensitive problem, was bitterly disappointed. "The suspension of
our fund drive after one month's operation and its present aban-
donment were... heartbreaking to many of us," he wrote.^^

In 1939, when the college was returned by the Synod of
Virginia to a "self-perpetuating" board of trustees, it had been
specified that a "close relationship" with the Synod of Virginia
would be continued. Ten of the possible 28 trustees were to be
chosen from within the geographical bounds of the Synod of
Virginia, which would approve their appointments; the college
made annual reports to the synod and continued throughout the
war years and beyond to receive modest financial payments from
the Christian Higher Educational Institutions budget.-' Mem-
bers of the college's board of trustees and administration made
repeated and sincere efforts to strengthen the college-church ties.
Most of the Mary Baldwin College administration were active
Presbyterians, as were many faculty members and, in the early
1940s, a majority of the students. Religious chapel was held two
times a week, often with student leaders; there was a yearly
"Religious Emphasis Week" ; academic courses in the Old and New
Testaments were required for graduation; and Sunday atten-
dance at the church of one's choice was mandatory. The "purpose
of the College," the synod was assured, was to "deepen [the
students'] faith and to strengthen their loyalty to the Church... "^^
But synod financial support continued to be minimal. When the
possibility of purchasing the old King's Daughters' Hospital
buildings arose, the synod agreed to contribute $50,000 toward
the purchase price; three years later ( 1950 ) , only $29,000 had been
raised for this special pledge; further mention is not recorded in

169

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

the synod Minutes. Annual contributions from the church seldom
exceeded $8,000-$9,000, most of which was spent as scholarship
funds for ministers' daughters.-^

In 1952, Dr. Lewis had informed the board and the faculty that
the Presbyterian Church had requested the college to make a
thorough study of its curriculum and to evaluate its aims and
objectives. Committees of trustees, alumnae, faculty, and stu-
dents were appointed to examine the academic progi^am, campus
life, fund raising, church-college connections, and public rela-
tions. At a special two-day meeting of the board of trustees on 18-
19 March 1953, the reports were carefully analyzed and "closer
ties" with the Council on Educational Institutions of the Synod of
Virginia were mandated. ^°

It was apparent that the synod was seriously considering what
its role and responsibilities should be toward the educational
institutions which were "related" to it; i.e. Hampden-Sydney,
Mary Baldwin College, and Union Theological Seminary. Annual
reports to the Committee on Educational Institutions made it very
clear that the colleges felt that the synod did not support them,
and the synod committee had responded by asking the perennial
question, "What makes an educational institution Christian?"
The usual Presbyterian solution to a problem-i.e., to create
another committee was observed, and in 1953 the Council on
Educational Institutions was asked to bring some long-range
plans to the synod. Perhaps the synod had been goaded by a talk
given at Montreat by Dr. R.T.L. Listen entitled the "Folklore of
Presbyterianism," the principal thesis of which was that Presby-
terians prided themselves on a commitment to their educational
institutions, but in reality only gave "lip service" to the idea. The
Baptists supported their institutions much more generously! The
remarks occasioned a good deal of anger but perhaps did lead to
a more careful consideration of the needs of the synod's educa-
tional commitment.'^

However it came about, Francis Pickens Miller was appointed
to head a synod committee of 12 members; they decided that yet
another survey of the three institutions be done but were unable
to secure funds to pay for such a study. It was not until 1955 that
Mary Baldwin College and Hampden-Sydney were each awarded
$2,500 to conduct the survey: the committee, enlarged to 40
members, then engaged five "distinguished educators" as consult-
ants; and by June 1956 they were ready to present their recom-
mendations to the synod and to the colleges involved. It was this

170

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

survey and self -study which had interrupted President McKenzie's
cherished "Development" campaign. When the recommendations
of the consultants became known, Mr. McKenzie's dismay in-
creased. The evaluations were hardly complimentary.

Referring to Mary Baldwin, the consultants observed that,
because of the small number of juniors and seniors, "it would
appear that the institution serves predominantly a junior college
function"; the students are about average on national test scores;
"they show little interest in civic or political affairs"; "with a top
salary of $4,800, practically every man in the faculty has had to
take outside employment to augment his salary"; the faculty gives
"little evidence of scholarly activity" and they are "treated more
like employees than full-time faculty members of a community of
scholars"; the instructional plant is "inferior" to the residential
plant; the "present location can never be made to suggest spa-
ciousness or to provide extensive vistas of lawns and plants"; the
"staff is perplexed by the tremendously formidable obstacle which
the college faces in its tiny campus and its meager physical plant";
"a Christian college does not have a religious progi^am; it is a
religious progi'am"; faculty should be "oriented" to the Christian
mission of the college; they should attend "religious" seminars in
the summer; the Old Testament course is too much of a survey;
more attention should be paid to an intensive study of fundamen-
tal Biblical questions; we "could not prove the vitality" of the "Y"
program; there are "few indications of active connection with
national work," the report concluded. ^^

What should the synod do? Several alternatives were sug-
gested by the consultants:

(1) A new four-year coeducational urban college could be
constructed "somewhere within the bounds of the Synod" and
Mary Baldwin College and Hampden-Sydney should be closed.
This was the first choice of the consultants.

(2) The synod might concentrate its direct financial support on
one college; since the synod "owned" Hampden-Sydney, that
would be the one. Scholarships for Presbj^erian "girls" who
wished to go elsewhere to college might be provided from synod
funds.

(3) Mary Baldwin College should move to the campus of
Hampden-Sydney and become a "coordinate" church college;

171

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

its buildings and property could be sold to the city of Staunton
to be used as a "municipal" college and/or a "private prepara-
tory school."

(4) Both Mary Baldwin College and Hampden-Sydney could
become junior colleges.

(5) Both Hampden-Sydney and Mary Baldwin College should
stay where and how they were, but the enrollment should be
increased to 600 each.

If this last alternative were to be adopted, the consultants
estimated it would take $7,500,000 in additional capital funds
and $84,000 in annual giving for the operating costs of both
institutions. The consultants acknowledged that the synod "has
not been generous" in the past, but warned that the program
outlined above would require seven times the present annual
synod commitment to succeed. Even then, they warned, "this
expenditure [will] not be sufficient to guarantee survival of these
colleges to 2000 A.D."33

Not all of these opinions and alternatives were made public in
detail, nor were they even shared totally with the faculty; but the
comments and conclusions were shocking and cost board mem-
bers and administrators many sleepless nights. Was this to be the
end of Rufus Bailey's and Mary Julia Baldwin's dreams? Were all
the struggles, hardships and disappointments to go for naught?
Was the hope of inspiring to "high endeavour" of the college alma
mater to end? In the face of this appraisal, it is perhaps easier to
understand why President McKenzie abruptly resigned in Sep-
tember 1956, ostensibly over a relatively minor disagreement
with the Board of Trustees. ^^

It was, of course, up to the synod to make a choice among the
five alternatives presented by its consultants. A great deal of
discussion continued throughout the summer, and when Mary
Baldwin College's Board of Trustees met on 7 September 1956, Dr.
Potter, the acting president, proposed that

in view of the earnest efforts being made... to
increase Synod's support of its educational
institutions... and, in the belief that the
spirit of the 1956 Synod meeting revealed
a sincere concern and readiness for extensive

172

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

positive action... the Board of Trustees of
Mary Baldwin College expresses its willingness
to cooperate with the Synod of Virginia in
further exploration of the possibilities of the
establishment of a coordinate coeducational
college, but at the present time.. .agree that
the alternative, support by the Virginia Synod
towards the maintenance of Hampden-Svdney
and Marv Baldwin College at their present
sites. ..is most acceptable to us.

The motion was carried somewhat reluctantly, since no one
wanted a coordinate college, and an immediate resolution that a
special long-range development plan for Mary Baldwin College be
recommended to the board no later than the spring of 1957 was
quickly adopted. ^^ By November 1956, the synod had acquiesced
in the wishes of both Hampden-Sydney and Mary Baldwin Col-
lege to remain in their present locations and had agreed that, in
January 1957, a special offering for the two colleges "because of
the present emergency" would be taken; a dollar per member was
proposed. •'"^

Further, the synod agreed to support any development plans
the Board of Trustees of Mary Baldwin College might propose
and to undertake a united financial campaign on "behalf of
Christian Higher Education," including the two colleges, two
Presbyterian Guidance Centers, and Campus Christian Life, in
the amount of $2,500,000; 45% to Mary Baldwin College, and a
like amount to Hampden-Sydney. It was agreed that each college
could also undertake its own separate campaign among its own
constituents, and that the simultaneous campaigns would "coop-
erate." The synod further agreed that the campaign would begin
in 1959, and "adequate" funds from the benevolence budget would
be assigned annually to each college.-^'

One can only speculate about the protests that must have
come to the synod from outraged alumnae and others once the
proposal to close Hampden-Sydney and Mary Baldwin College
became known. The fact that they did not accept the recommen-
dation of their consultants and so quickly agreed that each college
could mount a separate campaign, as well as agreed to support yet
another synod campaign, suggests that the pressure was consid-
erable. It also leaves an area of doubt concerning how fully
committed the synod was to the promised fund raising; would

173

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

there have been more enthusiasm than there was if they had been
engaged in building a totally new, "co-ed, urban" Presbyterian
college? There is no doubt that the years of delay, debate, and
indecision cost Mary Baldwin College dearly. Enrollment, which
had been increasing slowly since 1954, dropped from 286 in 1956
to 264 in 1957; gifts that were expected to come to the college were
delayed or denied as rumors of projected moving or closing
circulated. Only the fact that the board acted quickly in announc-
ing their own new development plans and that they were able to
find a charismatic, personable, dedicated new president in less
than a year saved the college from disaster.^^

For most of the college's constituencies-i.e., students, parents,
faculty and community, all of the discussions of board and synod
finances and development programs were at the periphery of their
attention. Of more immediate concern were course offerings, the
grading system, how long was Thanksgiving vacation, and what
did one do after college? Pressures on the curriculum came from
many sources during this 13-year period; from the synod of the
Presb3^erian Church, as they sought a closer correlation with a
"Christian" perspective; from regional college accrediting boards;
from the administration and faculty, who felt a deep commitment
to upgrade and "modernize" course offerings; and from the stu-
dents and their parents, who were beginning to consider seriously
the role of educated women in contemporary society. Added to
these considerations were the declining enrollment, until the mid-
1950s, and the almost desperate search for course offerings which
would "attract" and "hold" students. There were at least two
thorough-going studies of the curriculum involving many commit-
tees and year-long processes made in this period, and a number of
efforts were made to integrate learning and to relate education to
a young woman's life after she left college. The 1940s and 1950s
were a time of change in the perception of women's roles and
capabilities. Thousands of women had performed creditable work
in "men's positions" during the war, and if "Rosie the Riveter"
returned to the kitchen after the war, she did not always do so
willingly. The "sexual revolution" was to be a generation in the
future, but already the signs were there that young women,
especially college young women, hoped and expected to do more
than marry and raise families immediately after graduation. As

174

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

one Mary Baldwin student phrased it, "I expect to have a career
when I get out of college, at least for a while, preliminary to
marriage, you know."^^ In 1949, the most popular major on
campus was Psychology, followed by Sociology, and chapel pro-
grams encouraged students to consider careers in the care and
prevention of mental illness, social work, religious vocations,
merchandising, journalism, foreign service, and psychotherapy.
In 1956, a Medical Technology program in cooperation with King's
Daughters' Hospital was added, permitting a Mary Baldwin
College woman to graduate from the college and simultaneously
to be eligible to work as a registered medical technologist.'**^

Yet there were still mixed signals. As board member James G.
Leyburn expressed it, in a speech to the faculty, "Your Mary
Baldwin graduates are not going to be atomic physicists or
specialists of any other sort. They are going to be wives, mothers,
citizens and human beings." Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell's Founders'
Day Address in 1955 declared, "Woman's essential role is that of
taking care of the needs of others, and she cannot depart too far
from this. . .women need good health, a good heart, a good mind and
a good soul. "^^ Responses to questionnaires sent to alumnae made
it plain that they wished the college curriculum to focus on early
childhood development (hence the Demonstration School), hu-
man relationships, and healthy living habits. The church felt the
college's principal teaching objective should be "Christian citizen-
ship."

Howard Mumford Jones, writing in Mademoiselle in January
1952, presented still another perception. "College Women have
Let us Down," he declared, and proceeded to say that female
college students were characterized by political apathy, "listless-
ness" about public issues, " a queer sort of genteel selfishness, and
a desire for a job, but no interest in a career... They want jobs that
are small, safe and secure — but [they must not be] routine." As
might be expected, this article brought a spate of angry answers,
often from mothers, the gist of which was that if this condition was
indeed true, it was because of lack of "faculty leadership" and the
"petrified" curriculum. Professional educators, in the meantime,
were deploring the "fragmentation" of knowledge and demanding
more interdisciplinary studies, more integration of theory with
practice, and more choice and flexibility in meeting graduation
requirements.'*^

With limited resources, a small faculty, with a thin margin for
experimentation if those "inflexible" accreditation standards were

175

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

to be continually met, the Mary Baldwin academic community did
its best to answer these pressures and concerns. The college, as
a college, was still so young, comparatively speaking, and from a
suspect heritage, that a major priority had to be the upholding and
increasing of academic standards. Entrance requirements were
increased to 16 high school units; placement tests for languages
and English were administered; faculty were assigned as advisors
to freshmen and a required freshman orientation course, meeting
throughout the year, was introduced. Mary Baldwin students
became a thoroughly tested group of young women. SAT scores
were required for admission, and sophomores participated in the
National College Sophomore Testing program. This eight-hour
experience met with instant student dismay; one young lady
announced that she approached the ordeal with "distaste, disap-
proval, and weary resignation." After the major was declared, the
students were presented with "reading lists" which, at the end of
the next two years, provided the nucleus for "senior com-
prehensives." All seniors also were required to take Graduate
Record Examinations in their major fields.'*^

Although upperclassmen in good standing were now allowed
unlimited cuts (1955), no one could cut for two days before and
after a holiday. By 1953, Mrs. Grafton was warning that grades
were "too high," and the faculty spent an unprofitable amount of
time reevaluating the grading system and debating the meaning
of such phrases as "conspicuously excellent. "'^^

The Secretarial Certificate was discontinued in 1948, and that
same year it was agreed that not ah speech and music majors
would present recitals and not ah art majors would give exhibits;
only outstanding students would be invited to do so. A Biology
honorary society. Beta Beta Beta, was installed on campus ( 1948),
but the college quietly withdrew an application for Phi Beta
Kappa when it became obvious that neither the physical nor the
endowment requirements could be met. Instead, the college
Honor Society was made more visible. Election to it was very
selective-10% or less of the graduating class-but, beginning in
1952, a special Honors' Society breakfast was held the morning of
commencement each year. In addition, an annual Honors' Day
Convocation was held in February. There was an academic
procession, the Honors and Dean's lists for the first semester were
read aloud, and a visiting scholar presented an address. In 1953,
the first Margarett Kable Russell Scholar was named. ^^ The
historical pilgrimages were revived (1948); "literary teas" were

176

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

held in the Library on Sunday afternoons; the first Shakespeare
play to be presented by students in its entirety, The Tempest, was
performed on campus to great acclaim in 1953. Everything that
could give visibility and support for academic excellence was
encouraged.

Curiously enough, in 1953 a board of trustees committee,
evaluating the academic program at the behest of the synod, sent
a list of 14 items to the faculty for their consideration. Among its
"suggestions" was the request that seniors be excused from final
course exams after they had passed the senior comprehensive;
that the Physical Education requirement be abolished or modified
(there is "too much time and energy spent on Physical Education,"
a board member noted) ; that a course on "Our Religious Heritage"
be introduced; that a major in Education and one in "Natural
Sciences" be added. All of the above were either tabled or
disapproved by faculty vote, and nothing more was heard of
them.^*^

In an attempt to "integrate" knowledge, an American Studies
Major and other Interdisciplinary majors were developed during
these years, such as Sociology/Economics or Bible/Philosophy.
The most ambitious of these efforts was a course entitled "Philoso-
phy and the Arts", team-taught by Drs. Broman, Collins, Day,
Mahler, and Turner. The course, open to upperclassmen, met
once a week for 90 minutes throughout the year and was immedi-
ately a popular and sought-after choice.^"

Other courses introduced during these years included Logic,
Horticulture, World Literature in English Translation, Compara-
tive Economic Systems, Psychological Testing, Journalism (which
had lapsed after Dr. Carroll requested in 1949 that she be relieved
of the responsibilities of Public Relations), and a variety of courses
on the Far East and the U.S.S.R. After several years of often
heated debate, agreement was finally reached on how much credit
would be given for foreign language and that first-year foreign
language courses would meet five times a week.

Other changes included the first attempts at student evalua-
tion of faculty (1953) and the offering of summer school courses
by the members of the Psychology and Education faculty to
provide college credit for local school teachers and other commu-
nity adults. There is occasional mention of "night classes," but
they must have been small and infrequent. The problem of
Thanksgiving vacation (how long?), much on student minds in
this era, remains to this day. All possible combinations have been

177

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

tried over the years, none of which has ever been totally satisfac-
tory.

These years were the Golden Era of the college Music Depart-
ment. There were usually four full-time faculty, with three
"regulars" (Broman, McNeil and Page) always present. Majors
were offered in voice, piano and organ. The college glee club
numbered in the 90s, over one-fourth of the student body. They
sang with Harvard, Princeton, the University of Virginia, Wash-
ington & Lee and Davidson glee clubs; presented annual pro-
grams at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; took road
tours for the college; and were an integral part of campus life.
Wearing the stoles given them by President Lewis, they sang two
times a week at college chapel services, had Christmas and Easter
concerts, and appeared at major college events such as Founders'
Day and graduation. The music faculty gave solo recitals for the
college and the community and were a major factor in the contin-
ued success of the King Series. In 1953, the folk opera "Down in
the Valley" was presented by the combined glee clubs of Mary
Baldwin and Washington & Lee; there were 130 participants.
Other special programs commemorated the 100th anniversary of
Woodrow Wilson's birth, and "Amahl and the Night Visitors" was
presented several times. ^^

Drama and art were equally popular. Fletcher Collins and his
students undertook challenging theater experiences. Seven plays
during the college year were presented, most of them directed by
undergraduates. It was noted that the new Play Production class
would enable a student "to teach her husband to saw, paint walls,
and to cope with electricity." In 1954, after years of planning and
preparation, a summer community theater. Oak Grove, opened at
the Collins' farm five miles from Staunton. Here the energetic and
talented Collins family joined college students and townspeople in
all aspects of practical and creative theater. Oak Grove Theater
still flourishes, and its close association with the college has
continued for 38 years. ^^

Horace and Elizabeth Day provided Mary Baldwin students
with the rare experience of close association with two of the
region's leadingyoung artists whose works were exhibited through-
out Virginia and elsewhere in the United States. They were
equally superb teachers who sought "to avoid narrow vocational"
orientation in their courses and hoped to enlarge the "area of
aesthetic living... to engender a creative approach and to broaden
appreciation." One of the tragedies of these years was the pro-

178

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

longed illness and eventual death of Elizabeth Nottingham Day
on 2 April 1956. "She was," wrote President McKenzie, "one of our
finest teachers and one of our best influences on student life"; and
she was indeed very close to students, alumnae, faculty and the
community. ^°

The synod committee's remark that faculty were treated like
"paid employees" stung, but it did perhaps suggest an important
fact of faculty-administration relationships. There is little evi-
dence that faculty could participate in discussions concerning
salary levels. Such information was kept carefully confidential.
Nor were there any studies to reveal whether women were paid
less than men of the same rank and seniority. Faculty could and
did participate in discussions concerning pension, health insur-
ance, and extended illness policies. ^^ In an effort to make more
opportunities for faculty-student contact, it was proposed, in
1951, to offer faculty "free lunches" in the college dining hall, a
custom that persisted until the late 1970s. °^ By 1952, the board
was considering a formal tenure statement, but this difficult
subject was postponed (and "studied") for several years. It is
perhaps a coincidence that Louis Locke proposed that a chapter of
AAUP be organized on campus the same year that tenure discus-
sions began. In any case, it was not until 1955 that the board
approved President McKenzie's sweeping recommendation that
all members of the faculty (with the exception of three recent
appointees) be granted permanent tenure! It does not appear that
any formal notification of this policy was made. The whole area
of formalized tenure awaited further clarification under Dr.
Spencer's administration. It would become a major controversy in
the late 1970s at Mary Baldwin as well as elsewhere in the
country. ^^

In spite of these conditions, many continued to stay on the
faculty for their lifetimes. A previous policy of compulsory re-
tirement at age 65 was modified in 1956, allowing appointment to
continue on a yearly basis until age 70. This action was motivated
by two desires: one to allow Miss Fannie and Dr. Turner to remain
past their 65th birthdays; the second to avoid the difficulty that
replacement of senior faculty by new appointments of "equal skill
and qualifications," which would require "greatly increased sala-
ries." Older faculty were kept because they expected less and
worked harder than younger, equally qualified persons would. ^^
As is the case with many small, privately supported colleges,
faculty qualifications, skills and dedication had little relationship

179

To Live In Tune A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

to compensation and working conditions.

Although there were Hmited budgets, the college was able to
maintain a surprising schedule of exhibits, lectures, concerts and
performers in these postwar years. Deliberate efforts continued
to be made to introduce a wide variety of viewpoints and interests
to help compensate for a remote "rural" location and the supposed
disadvantages this entailed. The Days sponsored exhibits of their
own work, as well as that of other Virginia artists and their
students. The Don Cossack Chorus, Carl Van Doren, the National
Symphony Orchestra (an annual event for many years), William
L. Shirer, Charles Collingwood, Martha Graham and her dance
company, Stringfellow Barr, Charles Laughton, the Trapp Fam-
ily, and John Temple Graves all presented programs here, and the
Barter Theater regularly performed.

Beginning in 1950 and continuing for several years, a "Great
Books" class met two times a month at the college. Open to the
community as well as to interested students. Dr. Turner, Dr.
Lewis, and Dr. Brice led the discussions. The Classical Associa-
tion of Virginia met on campus, as did the Virginia Humanities
Conference.

The Centennial of Woodrow Wilson's birth (1956) involved a,
three-day celebration in which the college participated. "America's
Town Meeting of the Air" originated in King Auditorium; former
Governor Colgate Darden and former Vice-President of the United
States Alben Barkley were present; three months later, Virginius
Dabney, Arthur Krock, Harold Willis Dodd (the president of
Princeton), and Dr. T.J. Wertenbaker spoke in King Auditorium
about the World War I president. The National Symphony was
here, there was a flower show, an interdenominational hymn
"sing," and a "Tri-Faith" panel focused on world peace.

In 1956, Don Hamilton sponsored the first "mock political
convention" held on the Mary Baldwin campus. President
Eisenhower and Richard Nixon were duly renominated, and a
tradition was born that continued for more than a quarter of a
century. A Parents' Weekend, shortly to be combined with
Founders' Day, was begun in the fall of 1953.^^

In addition, there were, of course, inaugurations of two presi-
dents, and the usual college annual observances of Charter Night,
Founders' Day, Apple Day, Christmas Tradition, Religious Em-
phasis Week, the King series. Honors Convocation, and com-
mencement activities. In these days, before there was little, if any,
television and social activities off campus were still limited and

180

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

restricted, students looked primarily to campus activities for
cultural and recreational opportunities. Attendance at these
innumerable events was good; there was an informal mingling of
students, faculty, community people and church personnae, and
the college campus was "home" to the students for four years in a
way of life which was disappearing as the decade of the 1950s drew
to a close.

These transition years were as difficult for the Alumnae
Association as they were for the other constituencies of the college.
Its efforts and support for the college had been limited by the war
effort, and its modest annual dues (a dollar per year) plus its
various fund-raising projects had resulted in insufficient funds to
cover the costs of publications, office expenses, and executive
secretaries' salaries. For many years, the college had included as
part of the operating budget the expenses of the alumnae office.
When Biology moved into the Club building (1950), alumnae
personnel were moved back to the Main Building, and the valiant
efforts to rebuild alumnae chapters proceeded slowly. In 1946, a
somewhat idealistic effort to increase alumnae support was made.
Instead of regular dues, each alumna was asked to contribute
"whatever amount she feels she can afford or desires to give" each
year. The Fund was to run from 1 July through the following 30
June, and regular mailings reminded the faithful to "give some-
thing every year." The number of donors rose from 302 in 1946-
1947, to 728 in 1955-1956; but the annual amount never exceeded
$7,500. In addition to the expenses of the association, the fund
provided contributions for scholarships, support for the mission-
ary activities associated with the college alumnae, and homecom-
ing activities, which were revived in 1948.^*^

Alumnae executive secretaries during these years continued
the high standards and dedicated service of their predecessors.
Dorothy Hisey Bridges, who had served for eight years, resigned
in 1953, to be succeeded by Mary Moore Pancake and then, in
1955, by Hannah Campbell. They were all alumnae themselves
and had close ties with the college, but they labored under
enormous difficulties because of skeleton staffs and the increas-
ing professionalism demanded of college alumnae organizations.
These women were assisted (and sometimes possibly hindered) by
various members of the administration and faculty. Both presi-

181

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

dents Lewis and McKenzie travelled extensively during their
terms of office, renewing alumnae contacts and seeking financial
support and help in student recruitment. John Baffin journeyed
18,000 miles in one year, looking for funds for Bailey dormitory;
Martha Grafton, Elizabeth Parker, Marguerite Hillhouse, some
trustees, and others tried to fill the gaps left by inadequate office
staffing. In 1952, the first full-time "field representative," Marg-
aret McLaughlin, was appointed; but, since the alumnae budget
had to be "trimmed," the long-standing birthday card tradition
was discontinued. The generosity of various alumnae over these
and subsequent years in providing "bed and breakfast," as well as
friendly greetings, profitable contacts, and generous personal
gifts can only be looked upon with awe.

There were, of course, many alumnae donations that were not
designated for the annual fund. A vigorous local campaign, run by
Emily Smith, Mildred Taylor and John Baffin, raised $10,000 for
the "New Bormitory" in 1946; an additional $12,000 donation was
made in 1951. Over the years, special gifts helped dormitory
improvements, the building of the Student Activities Building,
and the contribution for the faculty in 1955 was given "in recog-
nition and appreciation to them to symbolize the outstanding
faculties Mary Baldwin College has had all through its history. "^^

In 1950, the alumnae office undertook to send 5,000 question-
naires to former students, focusing on alumnae impressions of the
weaknesses and strengths of the college experience, as related to
their post-graduate activities and their life styles. This was
intended to supplement the faculty curriculum study of the same
year and was perhaps part of the effort to reverse the decline in
enrollment. Now, 40 years later, the responses provide a fascinat-
ing sociological study of college (and seminary) educated women
of the mid-20th century. Fourteen hundred and three responses
were received, a 29% return. Of these women, 78.4% were
married. The average number of children was 1.5, although
seminary graduates (as opposed to college graduates), had more —
2.1. Of the married alumnae, 21.7% had no children at all, but less
than 1% were divorced. Seventy-five percent of all husbands were
college-educated and were "overwhelmingly" in professional occu-
pations. The alumnae themselves were primarily teachers; sec-
ondly involved in secretarial and social work, journalism, book-
keeping, merchandising, religious work, as librarians and "tech-
nicians." Twenty-five percent had done graduate work. Alumnae
were active in church auxiliaries, in women's clubs, PTA's, Girl

182

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

and Boy Scouts and patriotic organizations. They also devoted
time and energy to junior leagues, garden clubs, service associa-
tions, and various business and professional groups. Music, art
and sports occupied their leisure time. There was little evidence
that either they or their husbands were actively involved in
political or social concerns, but by 1957 the explosive issues of the
'60s were already beginning to emerge on college campuses. Their
daughters and granddaughters would shortly face challenges and
changes undreamed of in the conformist world of the 1950s.^^

Student life in these immediate postwar years changed, but
slowly. The college community was so small that, of course, the
students were aware of presidential tensions, curricula studies,
declining enrollments, and financial problems, but their chief
interests centered, understandably, on themselves. Social regu-
lations were modified, were made simpler and less restricting.
Miss Parker and SGA officers monitored carefully other local
colleges' rules and sought to keep Mary Baldwin in the main-
stream of such matters. There were open houses to which college
men were invited, and two formal dances were held each year.
Apparently by the mid-1950s these dances, although there were
elaborate decorations and exquisite gowns, had become a "drag"
from the student point of view. Attendance was declining, and the
young women obviously preferred events at the University of
Virginia and Washington & Lee to their own campus. There were
already murmurs against the prohibition of alcoholic beverages;
"the Presb3derian Church is more a hindrance to our social life
than a boost to our education... we should stand up and demand
what we came for... are we a boarding house for blind dates?"
demanded one Campus Comments editorial. But it would be many
years before that particular restriction was relaxed. An energetic
effort at supporting a "dance weekend" took place in 1956, when
a "major" band (Ralph Flanagan) was engaged and 500 students
were expected to attend. The records do not indicate that the
experiment was repeated, but Campus Comments regularly re-
ported large numbers of students attending events at men's
colleges all over the East Coast. By 1956, seniors could have
automobiles, which were to be parked in a private lot two blocks
from campus. All but freshmen now had unlimited class cuts, and
lights-out restrictions became a thing of the past. Permission for

183

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

"overnights" and weekends off campus were increased. Still,
colleges felt an obligation to young women and their parents in
these years; sign outs, approvals and chaperones were still neces-
sary, and freshman social rules were more restrictive than those
for upperclassmen,^^

It is interesting to note how prevalent (and how accepted)
smoking was. The stories and poems in the Miscellany made
frequent references to cigarettes and Coca-Cola. Protests about
increased taxes on cigarettes, part of the Korean war effort, did
not cut down on purchases: "The girls will smoke, whether a pack
costs ten or fifty cents, " declared Campus Comments. Later it was
noted that there were 35 ashtrays in the Club — and that they were
never clean.

This was the era of the "poodle" haircut, LP and 45 RPM
records, and students going in large numbers to Morgan's Music
Store to see "TV" sets or to the Checkerboard for candy and
stationery from Mr. Lewis. Florida and Texas girls posed in
bathing suits beside a snowman they had built. Curiously, on one
occasion, the junior class entertained the freshmen by putting on
a "mock wrestling match," and apparently it was customary in
some years to play "sardines" and "hide and seek" on the front
campus to celebrate the end of senior comprehensives.^^

Other changes emerged. After 1952, students had to make
their own beds, and maids cleaned the rooms only once a week
instead of daily . The "Eta Betas, " student waitresses in the dining
room, were born that same year; Miss Carr was "pleased," and the
Eta Betas were an important part of college life until changes in
eating patterns in the 1980s saw their role diminish. By 1956,
Mary Baldwin students began to appear in Who's Who in Ameri-
can Colleges and Universities, and the "beauty section" of the
Bluestocking had been dropped. *^^

The composition of the student body changed little in these
postwar years, although the small enrollments from the mid-West
and New England that had characterized the war years vanished.
There were always more students from Virginia than elsewhere,
although they never constituted a majority of the student body.
Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia all sent
their daughters north to Mary Baldwin College, a pattern that
had really not changed markedly since the late seminary years.
But some cosmopolitanism was introduced by the presence again
of foreign students. The first was Maria Ineri, a "displaced person"
from Estonia, whose year at Mary Baldwin College (1948-1949)

184

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

was partially sponsored by the YWCA. In 1950, a Korean student,
Suk Hjoin Lee, arrived. Shortly after, Grace Mizuno from Japan
stayed to graduate from Mary Baldwin College and to become an
enthusiastic alumna. In the years that followed, other young
women from Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, and
elsewhere appeared on campus. Within five years of the end of the
hostilities in Europe, Mary Baldwin students were finding their
way there by ship, for summer study and travel. Vega Lytton and
B.C. Carr took student groups to France, Italy and Switzerland on
several occasions, and Gordon and Barbara Page chaperoned
trips to Bermuda and New York City over spring vacations. ^^

Although the five-day week and more numerous permitted
overnights began to cut in on student attention to on-campus
activities, the usual clubs continued. Prominent among them
remained the YWCA, whose candlelight vespers, sponsorship of
the World Service Student Fund, Big Sisters, the Bettie Bickle
Home, Effie Ann Johnson Nursery, exam devotions, and fresh-
man orientation activities continued an integral part of campus
life. The "Y" dues at $1.25 per year were collected from each
student as part of the SGA budget, suggesting that every member
of the student body v/as automatically a member of the "Y". By
1956, however, it appears that there were active and not-so-active
members. Proposed changes in the "Y" constitution suggested
only "members" should participate in the election of the four
principal officers. A Campus Comments editorial asked, "What is
the "Y"? — should the entire student body elect its officers?" — "It
is," continued Laura Clausen, who wrote the editorial, "a fellow-
ship of students, not merely an organization or a club." It was
concerned with "aU people, not merely those who belong... it exists
for students who are not members... [it is] a call to be something,
to be a Christian while also being a student." Later that year, it
was agreed that the entire student body would continue to elect
the "Y" officers.

Other Christian fellowship groups remained popular: the
Westminster Club carried on active progi^ams with fellow clubs
from the University of Virginia and Washington & Lee; the
Canterbury Club, Wesley Foundation and Newman Club all
provided Christian-related activities. "^^

The "Y," as well as the Christian Fellowship groups on cam-
pus, had taken the lead in studying and discussing the puzzling
and often emotional subject of race relations in the United States.
From time to time, Mary Baldwin College students had attended

185

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

racially mixed conferences and meetings, but never apparently in
Staunton or at the college itself. Of course, there were interracial
contacts. The maids in the dormitories, the cooks in the kitchen,
and the groundsmen were usually black, and many and firm were
the friendships between students and some of these individuals
who did so much to make life pleasant and comfortable at the
college. In 1954, a feature article in Campus Comments focused
on Maud Kenney and Margaret Fountain, who ran the sandwich
counter at "The Nook." The writer noted, "They are examples of
harmony and efficiency," and indeed they were. Two years later
(1956), a picture and story about Martha Smith (who baked all the
bread and rolls) talked of her "wonderful understanding nature
and a constantly friendly manner."

Queenie Miller's orphanage (so long related to the seminary
and college) closed in 1948, but the "Y" made a contribution to
James Miller (Queenie's son), who was studying business courses
at a university. The "Y's" monthly supplements were now sent to
the Effie Ann Johnson Nursery, and the service projects and
Christmas programs continued for many years.

In 1947, President Truman had received his Civil Rights
Commission report. To Secure These Rights, which bluntly de-
tailed the racial system that denied blacks equal opportunity in
most aspects of American life. Frustrated by Congress's refusal to
implement some of the committee's recommendations, Truman,
in 1948, desegregated the Armed Forces of the United States by
executive order. Supreme Court decisions challenged state laws
denying black students admission to graduate schools in their
own states and threatened the separate-but-equal doctrine of
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). At long last, in 1954, Brown v. Board
of Education ordered that public school segregation was to end
everywhere in the United States "with all deliberate speed." The
following year the American Council of Education recommended
all colleges admit students without regard to race, color, or creed;
but the State of Virginia's blue ribbon Gray Commission opposed
all integi'ation efforts, called for "massive resistance," and even an
end to public education rather than submit. As early as 1948,
Campus Comments had noted that segregated schools need to be
"equalized" and that "justice" must be done both races in regard
to opportunities in higher education. A student editorial hoped
"agitators" would not "hamper" the movement by "drastic and
unpolitic" demands. Somewhat ironically, the Dolphin Show that
year was entitled "Darkies in the Old South" and featured a

186

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

plantation setting.

Subsequent Campus Comments stories and Chapel programs
served to keep the Mary Baldwin student cognizant of the unfold-
ing drama, but there was little evidence of mass student concern
or commitment until the Brown decision. In October 1954,
Campus Comments asked students how they felt about desegre-
gation. Most said the process was "inevitable" but should be slow.
"If people will be calm about it, it won't be nearly as bad as people
think." One young lady observed that the "antagonism" of older
people was "far greater than among the young." "In time, Negro
and White will work together for common ends." One student
equated going to school with blacks as being similar to attending
school with "Mexicans," which she had done in Texas. However,
another observed, "I would not care to associate with the majority
of the Negi'o population," and undoubtedly there were many who
agreed with her viewpoint.

After 1954, Mary Baldwin members of the National Student
Federation, the International Relations Club, and the YWCA
regularly attended desegregated regional and national meetings.
In 1956, editorial outrage over the Arthurine Lucy episode in
Alabama was widely supported. It was to be hoped that "our
students" would show a "sane attitude" if a similar occurrence
happened in Virginia. The Virginia school closings were vigor-
ously opposed in editorial comment, and the subject was reported
and discussed with fair regularity in the years that followed. The
time was not long distant when the pious sentiment of SGA
leaders would be put to a practical test at Miss Baldwin's school.*^'*

This was the era of burgeoning intercollegiate athletics, and
some women's colleges, as well as coeducational institutions, were
responding with larger stadiums, professional coaches, and re-
gional "conferences." Mary Baldwin, of course, had no tradition of
intercollegiate sports activities and was woefully lacking, as it
always had been, in physical resources to support such programs.
True, the college now possessed the King Building, but the
outdoor athletic field was more than a mile from the campus and
was reached by taxi, hiking, or occasionally a faculty car. The
main emphasis continued to be on intramural activities and inter-
dorm rivalries. However, the Physical Education faculty made
valiant efforts to broaden the sports horizon. There existed a
Virginia Field Hockey Association, and on frequent occasions in
the 1940s Mary Baldwin College sent students, as many as 24, to
enter "mixed team" competitions in the Western Section. In the

187

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

mid- 1940s, Constance Applebee, a septuagenarian who had intro-
duced field hockey to the United States, appeared at various
"field" days and coached Mary Baldwin players. By 1948, a
Virginia Athletic Federation of Colleges for Women had been
formed. They held their annual "sports" day at the Mary Baldwin
campus in 1949. Over 100 students attended, but there were no
awards or rankings; it was merely for the "sociability of play."
Hockey continued to be popular throughout the 1950s, and the
evidence suggests that Mary Baldwin continued to participate in
state tournaments, usually as members of "combined" teams.

Likewise, there is some evidence of intercollegiate activity in
basketball and, in 1955, in tennis. ^^

The major athletic interest remained on campus. Three years
of Physical Education were required of all students, including a
course in "personal hygiene." There were usually two Physical
Education faculty members, with occasional adjuncts, and 11
sports were listed in the catalogue. Swimming was very popular,
and the Dolphin Club presented annual shows to much acclaim.
Volleyball and basketball both provided occasions of student/
faculty rivalries. Softball, golf, archery, modern dance, and tennis
were also well supported.

In 1953, the Athletic Association became the Recreation Asso-
ciation. The entire student body and faculty were divided by lot
into two teams, called the "Scotch" and the "Irish," with the
intention of promoting intramural spirit and competition. "Carni-
vals" were held in King Auditorium to raise funds for sports
activities, and the annual banquet presented team and individual
awards. In the early years the rallies were colorful and enthusi-
astic, but interest waned, and later editorials asked, "Where is the
RA spirit?" and deplored the lack of spectators at intramural
games. "^"^

The Student Government Association continued to be an
important aspect of student life. The commitment to uphold the
Honor System never wavered; it was and has remained one of the
most prized aspects of the students' lives together. But changes
came here as well as in other divisions of the college. In the
immediate postwar period and for some time thereafter, student
elections were decorous affairs (although election day was a school
holiday, and after the winners were announced there was a school
celebration). Nomination was by committee. There was no cam-
paigning. "The fact that campus politics are not practiced at Mary
Baldwin is, in our mind, an attribute to the college," one editorial

188

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

observed. Two years later, the same theme was repeated: "We are
proud of the fact that there is no pohticking [sic] for election. The
best girl always wins. Favoritism and partiality are not dis-
played," it was declared. But shortly thereafter, efforts were made
to change the nominating procedure to make it more "democratic. "
By 1956, nominations were by both student committee and peti-
tion, and there was some thought of changing the no-campaigning
rule — "We need to cast off antiquated modesty... our leaders need
to have initiative," a young woman declared.

During these years there were modest changes in the SGA
Constitution. The president's forum was replaced by the board of
review; later a student board, with legislative and executive
duties, and a judicial board were instituted. Some SGA meetings
were open to any who wished to attend. In 1954, the SGA
celebrated its 25th anniversary with a three-day conference
attended by representatives from 20 other "companion colleges,"
and at least eight former SGA presidents returned for the occa-
sion. The theme of the Conference was, "What is our Generation?"
and, although the major speakers were hardly optimistic about
the future, their comments about international relations, reli-
gion, arts and philosophy, followed by discussion groups, were
well received. ""^

One controversy in this era was whether or not Mary Baldwin
College would join the National Student Association. Member-
ship was proposed in 1953, and the idea was approved by the
Student Council, but the final decision to join was postponed until
the spring of 1954. Opposition to the proposal seemed to center on
whether or not the Mary Baldwin College representative should
or should not be a member of the Student Government Association
Council. Would this be adding another organization to an already
overcrowded club and association calendar? What advantages
would Mary Baldwin derive? One editorial observed, "Mary
Baldwin has become too much interested in itself, and too little
interested in what is going on in the rest of the world. This
provincialism is one of the things the promoters of the National
Student Association are trying to combat." There is no hint that
the suggestion to join was discouraged by the administration; but
this was the McCarthy era, and some remembered the fear and
dislike the National Youth Congress of the 1930s had aroused.
Were there those who were fearful that the National Student
Association and its international connections might be distasteful
to alumnae and church synods? Whatever the reason for the

189

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

delay, the students seemed indifferent; one editorial observed
that the delay had been for the purpose of allowing student debate,
but "since that time we have not noticed a single discussion of the
issues going on within our hearing." Finally, early in 1954, Mary
Baldwin College did join the National Student Association and
representatives were sent to the regional meeting in February.
Their reports were published in Campus Comments, and it was
promised that the following year there would be a regular column
in the student newspaper detailing the group's activities. The
column never appeared and, although the college retained its
membership for a number of years, it never became a major
influence on campus. *^^

The college publications continued with varying successes.
The Virginia Intercollegiate Press Association, which had lapsed
during the war, was revived in 1947, and Mary Baldwin College
was an active member. Sensitivity to freedom of the press issues,
always stressed by the VIPA, surfaced rarely during these years,
but it did surface. By 1953, a column entitled "Little Comments,"
which featured one-line student interviews, had appeared. An
editorial in December 1954 related that some students who had
been quoted in the column as being in favor of admitting Red
China to the United Nations "had been warned" (it is not specified
by whom) that their comments might keep them from getting a
government job. The editorial vigorously demanded the right of
students and reporters to express any views they chose. Subse-
quent stories on academic and press freedom continued, and the
Campus Comments won First Class Honor Rating in 1956 and
was cited for its "excellent content and coverage." As the college
began to quietly acquire real estate in the mid-1950s, Campus
Comments vigorously protested that it was not informed of such
purchases first, before the city and state newspapers.

With limited resources and a student body composed mostly of
freshmen and sophomores, all of the college publications faced
many difficulties. But they did not hesitate to print criticisms.
The Miscellany goes from "infantile to adolescent... the cover is
attached, but to nothing," ran one comment. "We need more
competent, more professional publications." We need a new
school song, demanded another letter to the editor; "nothing is
impossible (except maybe our present alma mater)!" In 1956, the
venerable custom of the May Day Queen and her court came under
attack. Everyone laughs at the ivy planting ceremony, the editor
declared, "because it will die and who wants the front lawn to

190

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

become a mat of creeping vines?" Signing the Honor Pledge is a
"derogatory ritual," declared another student. And a running
commentary throughout these years is the plea for more student
involvement and participation in college activities, and for better
behavior when they were required to attend. There are "the
knitters, sleepers, letter writers, manicurists, crammers, doo-
dlers, note copiers... they practically told [the speaker] to sit
down!" protested one letter to the editor. "^^

By 1957, when Dr. Samuel Spencer became the fifth president
of Mary Baldwin College, there had been seven generations of
Mary Baldwin College students. In some ways, the young women
of 1957 were different from their counterparts of the 1930s;
different in their expectations, their ambitions, their feelings
about themselves. "This business of being equal and a partner is
a new and exhausting experience," wrote one student. Another,
somewhat ahead of her time, declared "We have had to fight
against blocks put in our path by men and other women!" But in
other ways, the strong thread of tradition and continuity contin-
ued to make these students not greatly changed from their
grandmothers' generation. They had come to college "to make
friends, meet boys, get along with each other... they are friendly,
cooperative, polite... college work is taken seriously but not 'too
seriously.'" '° But they were the last student generation for whom
this was true. The swift changes of the 1960s were almost upon
them, and the college — and the world — would never be the same
again.

191

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

Notes

1 Minutes. BT 14 Mar. 1946.

^ Minutes. BT 7 Sept. 1956. Dr. Lewis remained president
until there was a slight improvement in the enrollment and the
post-World War II economic adjustment had been, at least,
partially achieved. Charles W. McKenzie was a native of Boston,
Massachusetts, a graduate of Dartmouth and Columbia Univer-
sities. He had held a William Tucker Fellowship and had earned
a MA degree in public law. He had been the Dean of Westminster
College in Fulton, Missouri and had been on the faculty at
Washington University in St. Louis. During World War II he had
been the Director of Personnel at the U.S. Army Pre-Flight School
in San Antonio, Texas and had spent three years in Great Britain
shortly before coming to Mary Baldwin, doing research for a book
on the British political party system. He married Margaret
Elizabeth Hines of Greensboro, N.C., who was a graduate of Bryn
Mawr and had studied at Oxford. They had no children. Mr.
McKenzie came to Mary Baldwin in September 1954 and was
inaugurated, in what he described as a "simple ceremony," held
at First Presbyterian Church on 16 April 1955. There were 200
delegates from 29 colleges and universities present. He resigned
his office on 7 September 1956. C.C. 16 April 1955. MBC Archives.

^ Anne Elizabeth Parker came to Mary Baldwin College in
September 1941, to teach French and Spanish and to live in Hill
Top dormitory. Her graduate work had been at Duke. In 1942,
she was made assistant dean (helping Katherine Sherrill) and
continued to teach two classes of French for several years.
Earlier, she had taught high school in depression-racked
Tennessee, and low as Mary Baldwin College salaries were, they
were an improvement over her public school's $900-a-year com-
pensation. As an assistant dean, Miss Parker had an 11-month
contract, and what had been intended as a temporary arrange-
ment lengthened happily into 30 years. She became dean of
students in 1945 and retired in 1972. In addition to her many and
changing college duties, she was active in the Girl Scouts, the
First Presbyterian Church, and other community activities. Her
work with the physical plant personnel and her own staff was
always tactful and harmonious, and she had many life-long
friends across a broad spectrum of faculty, students and
administrators. Each Christmas, on the last day of classes,
Elizabeth would invite the faculty and staff to a Christmas

192

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

reception in her apartment. Her Christmas trees were unique;
her artistic skills were beautifully portrayed in her hand-made
ornaments and the craft work she had collected. Her culinary
skills were equally remarkable; she prepared all the food herself,
and it was superb. She proved a skillful, conscientious and
thoughtful dean of students, although she found it hard to adapt
to the changing mores of the late 60s, and she missed Martha
Grafton and Marguerite Hillhouse when they both retired in
1970, two years before she did. She was a most practical lady.
Once a student telephoned her that she was unable to return to
the college by the approved curfew time because of a fierce winter
storm and that she would have to spend the night in unapproved
housing. What should she do? Elizabeth Parker answered that if
it was a case of her life or her reputation, she should save her life!
Understandably, her relationship with students was generally
excellent. Interview: Cally Lewis Wiggin and Patricia Menk, 3
Feb. 1988. MBC Archives.

"" L. Wilson Jarman to Frank Bell Lewis. 26 May 1947. MBC
Archives.

° Alumnae and friends remember with pleasure and respect
the talents, teaching skills and devoted services of Fletcher
Collins, James McAllister, Patricia Menk, Gertrude Davis
(Middendorf), Gordon Page, Ashton Trice, and Julia Weill, all of
whom were appointed during these years. There were others, of
course, equally appreciated, but their service was briefer and they
did not influence as many generations of students as the above.
Familiar faces who were no longer at the college by 1957 included
Catherine Mims, Mary Watters, William Crone, Mary Lakenan,
and Louis Locke.

^Minutes. BT 1946-1957. passim.

' CC 1 June 1953.

^Catalogue. 1945-1958. passim. Note: Total accuracy of these
numbers is hard to achieve since different sources may vary 5-10
points.

^ The Bluestocking 1952, has a poignant reminder on how
deeply these numbers affected everyone, even the students. At
the conclusion of their two and a half pages of pictures, the juniors
added these paragraphs:

You must admit that not everything
grows larger with Time — certainly not
the size of the Junior Class. One hundred

193

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

and twenty-four strong we numbered
in September '49, but now even with
larger pictures, we can't cover three pages
of the annual we have published! Oh
well, it was "quantity", not "quality" we
lost... We, who have not much longer to be
with you as Juniors, do wish but one
thing: that the rising Juniors will bring
with them their "quality" (of which they
have a super-abundance) and a little more
of that "quantity" that we lacked. Don't
too many of you all think it would be more
fun to be a lost Co-ed in a big University,
or wildly negotiate matrimonial bonds.
Your Class comes too close to dying out!
Be brave, be fearless, be tough, be
true — without much effort, the Juniors
could outnumber the Seniors next year!

10 Minutes, BT 1933. 1966. passim. Minutes EC 1933. 1950.
passim. Minutes FC 13 Mar. 1947. 29 Nov. 1954. AN November
1955. Dr. Lewis and Francis Pendleton Gaines (Washington &
Lee), who were good friends and often worked together, may have
been partly responsible for the organization of the Virginia Foun-
dation for Independent Colleges. Dr. Gaines also advised Dr.
Lewis on long-range plans for college development and physical
expansion, the first such coordinated plan for Mary Baldwin.
Patricia Menk and Cally Lewis Wiggin, interview, 3 Feb. 1988.
Minutes EC 11 Nov. 1953. 22 May 1954. Minutes, Fac. 5 Feb.
1952. Minutes. BT 13 Mar. 1952. AN Apr. 1954.

11 The $30,000 grant came from the Hunt Oil Company of
Texas. Minutes, BT 9 Oct. 1947. Minutes EC 17 Feb. 1950.

1^ Cally Lewis liked the move, it made us "feel more a part of
the college." Patricia Menk and Cally Lewis Wiggin, interview, 3
Feb. 1988.

1^ Lots 14, 15 and 16 in the Grand View Section were purchased
in 1946 for $3,000 using some New Century funds, as was 213 East
Frederick Street (the Thomas property) for $10,000. Options on
the Bickle and Turner properties (facing Market Street) were
approved in 1951, using contingency funds; in 1956, 211 East
Frederick Street was purchased for $12,400; and without any
final approved over-all plan, it was clear that the trustees had

194

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

decided that the only way to expand the campus was to move east
across Market Street and acquire the property from Market, to
Coalter Street. From time to time, the board had authorized
modest sums for consultation planning and architectural studies,
but no formal, coordinated decision of future expansion plans
appears in the records. Minutes, BT 25 Oct. 1945. 14 Mar. 1946.
21 Oct. 1948. llMar. 1954. MinutesEC6 Jan. 1951. 1 Nov. 1956.

^^ Emily Smith suggested the name in honor of the first "full"
graduate of the seminary (1863). Miss Tate had taught the
younger children and remained on the faculty of the seminary
until 1919. Minutes, BT 13 Mar. 1952.

^^ In spite of a relatively high tuition charge for the children,
the Nursery School was never self-supporting. Within three
years, a new furnace ($1,600) was needed for the old building.
There were three full-time employees: Miss Weill, a cook (the
children were served lunch each day), and one or more assistants.
The trustees were aware when they approved the project that
similar schools had seldom been profitable and accepted the view
of the Education faculty that it was an essential part of the Mary
Baldwin College academic program. Minutes. BT 13 Oct. 1955.
CC 14 Jan. 1952.

^^ Minutes, BT 7 Sept. 1956. Generous gifts were made by the
Hunt Family, Consuelo Wenger (who also contributed to the
remodeling in Memorial and Hill Top, which was done in 1955-
1956), J. D. Francis and others.

^' At least one person born in the old King's Daughters'
Hospital returned to her birthplace 18 years later and, as a college
student, lived in the building, now Bailey Hall, where she had
been born. The total cost of the project was $380,000. CC 30 Sept.
1955. AN Nov. 1955.

^^One of the more popular fund-raising activities was "Cabin
Day." Students were permitted to wear blue jeans to classes if
they paid 25 cents. Or, they were permitted to appear as "Sup-
pressed Desires" for a fee. CC 19 Oct 1945. 23 Jan. 1948. 9 Apr.
1948. Minutes. BT 25 Oct. 1945. Minutes. Fac. 14 Mar. 1956.

19 Minutes EC 3 Apr. 1950. 5 June 1950. 25 Aug. 1951.
Minutes, BT 19 Oct. 1950. 8 March 1951.

2° AN Nov. 1951. Substantial gifts were received from board
member Francis Pickens Miller and his family honoring his
mother Flora McElwee Miller, who was an alumna (1880).

^1 AN Apr. 1949. Minutes, BT 8 Mar. 1956. Over $15,000 was
spent on the Library, providing a "browsing" room, more reference

195

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

and periodical space, and work space for the librarians. It was
obvious, however, that a new library was imperative if the college
was to retain its accreditation.

^2 CC 13 Oct. 1950. AN Nov. 1950. Chemistry and Physics
remained in the "Beckler House" for another 11 years, and then
Physics was moved to the old dining room after Hunt opened. The
next year (1962) Waddell Chapel had to be removed, and Chem-
istry and Physics moved once again to the old kitchen (first floor
Academic), where they stayed until 1970.

23 Minutes, BT 11 Mar. 1954. 10 Mar. 1955. 13 Oct. 1955. Dr.
Pennell was a semi-quadriplegic due to an automobile accident.
Her energy, skill and accommodation to her physical disabilities
were an example and inspiration to all about her and presented
the students with a view of "exceptional" persons long before this
area of "sensitivity" emerged in the mid-1970s. Likewise, the
expanded counseling services provided Mary Baldwin students
an opportunity to participate in "guidance" programs which the
college would otherwise not have been able to afford some 20 years
before such services were common on other college campuses.

With the low student enrollment in the mid-1950s and the
opening of Bailey dormitory in 1955, Riddle would have been
unoccupied unless this use for it had been found. The Guidance
Center (later called the Career and Personal Counseling Center
and associated with the Synod of Virginia) remained at Mary
Baldwin College (in different locations) until 1980. Catalogue,
passim.

24 Minutes. BT 13 Mar. 1952. CC 2 Dec. 1949.

25 Minutes. BT 1 1 Mar. 1954. "Rather than teach them to earn
a living we try to teach how they may live a full life of service,"
declared President McKenzie. MBC Archives.

26 Minutes. BT 14 Oct. 1954. 15 Apr. 1955. 8 Mar. 1956.
President's report bound in Minutes, BT 7 Sept. 1956. Mr.
McKenzie was not only "heartbroken," but bitter — perhaps justi-
fiably so. As early as April 1955, Marts & Lundy had presented
specific fund-raising plans to President McKenzie, who had taken
them to the Board of Trustees for approval. This called for an
"intensive campaign" to begin 1 January 1956, soliciting 3000
prospects in Staunton and the surrounding community, 2000
alumnae, parents and friends, 1000 "selected individuals" and
others, totaling in all 8000 contacts, the lists for whom had been
laboriously compiled. A budget of $65,500 had been proposed.
Division chairmen had been solicited and had agreed to serve. The

196

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

theme of the "Great Convocation" set for 11-13 May 1956 was
"Christian Education for the Modern World" and, in addition to
the keynote speaker, (perhaps Peter Marshall), there would be
four panels. Panel members had been solicited, and some distin-
guished individuals had agreed to come. Then the synod's Council
on Educational Institutions informed Mary Baldwin College that
they desired a meeting on 28 Jan. 1956, to "integrate" fund-raising
plans. There was to be yet another survey of the college's
curriculum and resources (one had been done in 1952-1953), and
if any of the three institutions (Hampden-Sydney, Mary Baldwin
College, Union Theological Seminary) chose to hold a separate
campaign, the synod would refuse all cooperation and support.
The result was that both Hampden-Sydney (who had a new
President, Joseph S. Robert) and Mary Baldwin agreed to "post-
pone" their own plans so a unified campaign could be waged.
President McKenzie "objected strongly" but agreed to delay his
"Grand Convocation" until October 1956, giving the synod time to
announce what they proposed to do. This meant, of course, more
letters to panel participants; a search for replacements for those
who could not come in October; and a hiatus until the end of July
1956, in planning. At this stage, President and Mrs. McKenzie left
on a 30-day trip to South America. When they returned, a series
of letters 16 August 1956 went from President McKenzie's office
to convocation committees and participants: "During the past
month several matters of vital importance to Mary Baldwin
College have arisen which have required much careful and thor-
ough deliberation... it would be unwise to hold our convocation on
the dates set... We are therefore, cancelling all our plans and
postponing the convocation indefinitely." Within three weeks,
President McKenzie had resigned. MBC Archives.

2^ See Chapter Three, "Another Begining ..." pp. 83-85.

^^ Among the board members who were very active in seeking
closer church support were Francis Pickens Miller, John N.
Thomas, Herbert Turner, Richard Potter and President Frank
Bell Lewis. See also Minutes SV 1945.

29 Minutes SV 1946. 1947. 1949. 1950.

30 Minutes. BT 16 Oct. 1952. 18 Mar. 1953.

3^ Patricia Menk and Cally Lewis Wiggin, interview, 3 Feb.
1988. Reports made to the Council on Educational Institutions
indicated other synods supported their colleges more generously.
Contributions ranged from $ .56 to $3.10 for each adult Presbyte-
rian in such synods. There were ca 100,000 church members in

197

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

the Synod of Virginia. In the special offering for the colleges
collected on Sunday, 20 Jan. 1957. Hampden-Sydney received
$.24 per capita; Mary Baldwin College, $.12. MBC Archives.

•^^ Mr. Miller, having accepted an overseas assignment, was
replaced by Frank S. Moore, who chaired the committee from 1954
through 1956, when it was dismissed. The entire lengthy report
was published separately as Higher Education and the Virginia
Synod; Survey Staff Report on the Educational Institutions Sur-
vey Respectfully Submitted to the Council on Educational Insti-
tutions of the Synod of Virginia, Presbyterian Church in the
United States, June 1956. MBC Archives. Excerpts appear in
Minutes SV 1955-57.

33 Higher Education and the Virginia Synod.

34 Minutes, BT 7 Sept. 1956. Mr. McKenzie had a quick tem-
per and a proud nature. The disagreement had to do with who had
the authority to grant the college degree in absentia and under
what circumstances. Mr. McKenzie had requested that the board
give him the sole authority to make that decision, rather than
leave it to the faculty. When queried, the college administrators
replied that the faculty grants degrees and sets the conditions
under which they are granted. Members of the board, many of
whom were connected with other higher educational institutions,
concurred, whereupon Mr. McKenzie abruptly resigned and with-
drew from the meeting. After a very brief discussion, the board
voted to accept his resignation and Dr. Richard Potter, minister of
First Presbyterian Church, agreed to become acting president.
The college was due to open for the fall session in six days. (13
September).

This abrupt change in the college leadership was handled with
tact and decorum. A brief notice by Mr. Campbell, the chairman
of the board, was sent to the press and to interested college
constituencies. Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie refused to comment and
departed for North Carolina within a month. Modern administra-
tors must envy the ability of institutions of 40 years ago to
minimize unpleasant realities. Alumnae, faculty, and students
simply did not (publicly) ask; good manners demanded that one
not do so.

It should be gratefully acknowledged that both Charles and
Margaret McKenzie made real contributions to the college and
were deeply interested in its welfare. Mrs. McKenzie loved
decorating and had made personal gifts of several thousand
dollars for student lounges, the "Straw Corner" in Main, and the

198

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

Club. The McKenzies used their own money to make repairs and
remodehng at Rose Terrace, where they Hved, possible. Records
from the college archives reveal that the McKenzies contributed
$10,925 to the college during their brief tenure. They had
travelled widely, visiting alumnae and college friends and partici-
pating in student recruitment. They were genial hosts and
entertained faculty, parents and students with gi^acious hospital-
ity. Mr. McKenzie had skill in public presentations and truly,
within the limits of personality and objectives, labored hard for
Mary Baldwin. It simply was, unfortunately, not a good "match."

'^° Minutes, BT 7 Sept. 1956. Underlining mine.

^^ The Synod, within months, abandoned all ideas about
merging the two colleges. "All the proposals... went out the
window months ago," wrote Dr. Spencer to a friend. "Alumni at
both institutions were very much opposed to the move," he added.
Survey groups, he said, may do some good, but "they also can
muddy the water considerably. In this instance, they got the
Synod of Virginia completely wrought up and I might say con-
fused, by making a completely unrealistic proposal." SRS to Mc
Ferrar Crowe, 23 January 1958. Ultimately ca. $30,000 was
realized, divided equally between Hampden-Sydney and Mary
Baldwin College. Minutes SV 1956. It had cost Mary Baldwin
College $10,000 when its own proposed development campaign
had been halted in the spring of 1956. Minutes, BT 21 Mar. 1959.
It also should be noted that even if the college had lost ah synod
support, it would not necessarily have closed, since it was a self-
governing legal entity. But it would have broken more than 100
years of tradition if the church-college relationship had been
severed. The church and its values were interwoven into the fabric
of Mary Baldwin College. The college might not have survived a
total divorce even though the direct financial contributions pro-
vided such meager support.

3" Minutes. BT 17 Jan. 1957. Minutes SV 1957.

^^ In fairness to the synod, it should be noted that it is not a
money-generating institution. Its funds come from the individual
Presb3d:erian church members of the synod and come only volun-
tarily. The synod has to join with its various presbyteries and its
ministers in asking, pleading, educating, and persuading its
members to support its causes and its commitments. Perhaps Dr.
Liston was right. Presbyterians were not deeply committed to
supporting Christian higher educational institutions or did not
understand what such support entailed.

199

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

Enrollment figures from reports to the synod. Minutes SV
1956. 1957.

39 The curriculum studies were 1950-1951 and 1955-1956. CC
18 Oct. 1946.

40 CC 10 May 1946. 20 May 1949. Minutes. Fac. 28 May 1955.
4^ AN Nov. 1950. Reprinted from an address Dr. Leyburn made

to the faculty at the invitation of President Lewis in Sept. 1950. It
included an impassioned plea that Mary Baldwin ignore accred-
iting agency requirements; demand good teaching skills rather
than professional research credentials; emphasize "learning by
doing"; and integrate course work so that learning was not
compartmentalized. It should be noted that Dr. Leyburn's own
college, Washington & Lee, did not ignore SACS requirements
any more than Mary Baldwin did. Elizabeth's Campbell's address
was printed in the Alumnae Newsletter Nov. 1955.

42 Mademoiselle Jan. 1952. May 1952. Time deplored the
"silent, fatalistic, security-minded, conservative, grave, morally
confused, tolerant of almost anything" generation. "American
young women are, in many ways the generation's most serious
problem... large numbers of them feel that a home and children
alone would be a fate worse than death and invade the big cities
in search of a career... career girls would like, if possible, to have
marriage and a career." CC 16 Nov. 1951.

43 CC 18 Mar. 1949. Minutes. Fac. 7 Oct. 1947. 9 Dec. 1947.
2 Mar. 1948. 7 Nov. 1950. 3 Apr. 1951.

44 Grade "inflation" arrived with the 1960s but, as always, Mrs.
Grafton read the signals earlier than most. The problem has
plagued college faculties ever since. Minutes. Fac. 2 Mar. 1948.

45 She was Mary Ann Taylor. Minutes. Fac. 31 Mar. 1953.
Minutes. Fac. 1945-57. passim.

4^ Since matters of curriculum are usually recognized as a
faculty prerogative, it is a brave (or foolhardy) board of trustees
that sends such "suggestions." There was, in this instance, a study
committee made up of board, administration, faculty, alumnae
and students who originated these ideas. Although the faculty
was receptive to some of the other 14 points (most of which were
peripheral to the academic program), they did not hesitate to vote
down those they considered inappropriate. Minutes. Fac. 31 Mar.
1953.

4'^ Although the faculty involved changed, the course remained
successful and in demand for more than 1 1 years, 1949 until 1960.

200

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

^^ In the late 1950s the glee club was limited to 45 members and
then discontinued. The choir numbered 60, chosen by very
competitive auditions. There was also, from time to time, a
smaller "Chapel Choir." Mr. Page simply could not, as one person,
work with more than that number effectively. Each year there
was a long waiting list of young women who wished to join the
choir. See Rosalia Jones, "And She Shall Have Music," senior
thesis, Mary Baldwin College, Apr. 1978.

49 AN Nov. 1953.

^^ AN Apr. 1953. Nov. 1953. President's report bound in
Minutes, BT 7 Sept. 1956. Elizabeth Day had been at the college
for 15 years. Horace continued on (there were two young sons to
care for) and was eventually joined by other talented art teachers,
but the Elizabeth-Horace partnership had been special and unique.

^^ Faculty salaries had ranged from $l,800-$4,500 per year in
1947; 10 years later, the board "hoped" to achieve a pay scale of
$3,500-$7,000. Minutes. BT 10 Oct. 1946. 21 Mar. 1957. Faculty
did serve on some ad hoc board committees, particularly concern-
ing curriculum and church relationships, but had no avenue of
expression on a regular basis except through Dean Grafton. There
were no faculty "handbooks" in this era, and the yearly contract
simply stated title, salary, and opening and closing dates of the
school calendar.

^^ It is not clear whether the "free lunch" policy began in 1951
(President Lewis's suggestion) or 1955, when President McKenzie
again recommended it for board consideration. Minutes. BT 8
Mar. 1951. lOMar. 1955. Faculty generally ate at "faculty tables"
and interaction with students was limited. Communication with
colleagues was beneficial.

^^ The idea of a whole faculty (the three exceptions were two
Physical Education teachers and the recently appointed librar-
ian, who, in any case, left at mid-semester) "tenured in" would give
administrators and boards of trustees nightmares in the 1990s.
The implications for inflexibility, inadequate teaching, and top-
heavy lists of full and associate professors were enormous, but the
Minutes do not reveal that any extended discussion about these
matters took place. Rather, it suggests that in the face of
inadequate salaries and demanding teaching schedules, with
little available in the way of research funds and support for
summer study, the board and administration were seeking what-
ever means they could to give reassurance and benefits to an

201

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

under-supported faculty. Minutes. Fac. 2 Dec. 1952. Minutes. BT
10 Mar. 1955.

54 Minutes. BT 7 Sept. 1956.

55 CC 1946-57. passim. See also CC 21 Mar. 1956. Minutes.
Fac. 6 May 1953.

56 AN Nov. 1948. Nov. 1953. May 1956. Apr. 1957. A lounge
on the second floor of the Student Activities Building was reserved
for faculty and alumnae use. Minutes, BT 7 Sept. 1956. In his last
report to the board, President McKenzie wrote, "Our dissatisfac-
tion with the handling of alumnae activities continues." The
Alumnae Fund "lost money during its ten years of existence," by
which it is assumed he meant that it did not cover the expenses of
the office. He indicated that $2000 a year came from the college's
operating budget to support alumnae activities, and that only "5-
600 Alumnae out of5,200" were active. In 1955- 1956 Mr. McKenzie
declared that alumnae office expenses were $10,000.

57 CC 16 Mar. 1956. AN Oct. 1946. Nov. 1952. 1946-57.
passim.

5s AN Nov. 1951. Apr. 1952. These statistics would seem to
bear out the comment made on the 25'^ anniversary celebration of
the Student Government Association in 1954. Quoting Newsweek,
the editors of Campus Comments agreed that the mid-20th
century college graduate was "more mature than our grandfa-
thers; more cautious than our fathers, we work harder and are
more likely to think things through... one of our main aims is to
conform and to seek security." CC16Mar. 1954. In 1987, a similar
alumnae questionnaire was sent. This time the response rate was
50% (4,136 responses were received). The results offer interesting
comparisons. Two-thirds of the alumnae were married; 60% had
children (an average of two); 9.4% reported they were separated
or divorced. Over 20% had received advanced degrees, and 14%
said they were housewives. Those who worked outside the home
were engaged primarily in educational occupations (18.8%), fol-
lowed by "professional" firms, banks, non-profit organizations
and self-employment. Almost 60% reported church, junior league,
arts-related or social welfare activities, and about 7% said they
were actively engaged in politics. The continuity of life-style
patterns is surprising. Alumnae Follow-Up Study: December
1988, Lew Askegaard and Judy Klein, Office of Institutional
Research, MBC Archives.

59 Elizabeth Parker, "Do They Still...?" AN Nov. 1952. CC 16
Nov. 1956. 25 Nov. 1956. 30 Nov. 1956. 3 May 1957. Some

202

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

alumnae will recall vividly the rule that prohibited drinking of
alcoholic beverages within 25 miles of Staunton City limits — the
Handbook said "vicinity." HB 1956. 1957. As much as a quarter
of the student body could be found at the University of Virginia or
Washington & Lee on any given weekend. CC 9 June 1952.

60 CC 2 Nov. 1951. 13 Oct. 1950. 2 Mar. 1951. 9 May 1952.
Miscellany, passim.

^^ Betty Carr had come to Mary Baldwin College as the
dietitian in 1943 and remained until 1982. All of the food
consumed by the students and staff was prepared on campus (first
in the inadequate kitchens under the old Chapel building, and
later in Hunt Hall). Although Mr. King's beloved garden and fresh
produce therefrom were gone, the food was excellent, usually local
in origin, varied and healthful. Few bakers could equal the rolls,
pies and biscuits produced in "B. C.'s" kitchen, and even the
students, who are notorious for objecting to college food, found
little to complain about, at least until the 1960s imposed different
demands. Alumnae will remember nostalgically "train wreck"
("invented" by Hallas Nicholas), and faculty will remember the
excellent "free" lunches with gratitude. CC 9 June 1952. 17 Dec.
1954. Minutes. Fac. 6 Oct. 1953. The Bluestocking in these years
printed pictures of the May Queen and her attendants instead.

*^2 CC 18 Mar. 1949. 20 Oct. 1950. 20 Apr. 1951.

63 CC 20 Oct. 1950. 21 Mar. 1956. AN Apr. 1949.

6^* It seems obvious that, although the college community was
aware of the unfolding developments in race relations, it was not
an issue that impinged directly on or aroused any passionate
commitment among the majority of students and faculty. There
was one vigorous response, however. In October 1956, Campus
Comments reprinted a long and controversial editorial from the
Hampden-Sydney Tiger predicting that the Brown decision would
create segregated schools all over the country based on intelli-
gence levels; i.e., schools for bright, schools for retarded and
schools for average students. "The Negro is inferior in cultural,
intellectual and even sanitary conditions" and "segregation by
intelligence would keep Negroes in class 'B' schools." To her
credit, Judy Gallup responded with a blistering attack on the
premise of the editorial, concluding "our consciences hurt!" CC 26
Oct. 1956. 15 Mar. 1957.

Also: CC20Feb. 1948. 27 Feb. 1948. 29 Oct. 1948. 24 Mar. 1950.
16 Feb. 1951. 4 Apr. 1952. 1 Apr. 1953. 23 Oct. 1953. 1 Apr. 1954.

203

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Trium,virate

70ct. 1954. 9Dec. 1954. lOFeb. 1955. 13Jan. 1956. 17Feb. 1956.
26 Nov. 1956.

65 CC 26 Oct. 1945. 2 Nov. 1945. 27 Feb. 1948. 27 Oct. 1950.
3 Nov. 1950. 1 Apr. 1953. 11 Nov. 1955.

66 CC 11 June 1951. 1 Apr. 1953. 2 Oct. 1953. 31 Oct. 1953.
21 Mar. 1956. 17 May 1956. 10 May 1957.

6' CC 9 Apr. 1948. 21 Apr. 1950. 16 Feb. 1952. 2 Mar. 1956.
AN Apr. 1954.

68 CC 9 Oct. 1953. 31 Oct. 1953. 19 Feb. 1954. 13 May 1954.
The last mention of the NSA is in the SGA Handbook, 1960, 1961,
and the Bluestocking, 1961.

69 CC 16 Apr. 1948. 17 Dec. 1954. 4 May 1956. 22 Feb. 1957.
11 Mar. 1949. 11 Dec. 1953. 5 Oct. 1956. 18 Mar. 1949.
Miscellany, March 1953. In 1957, May Day was separated from
Commencement in the interest of shortening the ceremonies,
since it was becoming increasingly difficult to require all students
to stay. May Day was now to be held on the same weekend as the
Spring Dance. The Queen and her court (14 students) were
elected from all classes by the student body. In the past all the
seniors had constituted the court. That year, another tradition
was broken when a married day student, Elizabeth Crawford
Perry was elected the May Queen. CC 15 Feb. 1957. 3 May 1957.

^0CC27Apr. 1956. 26 Oct. 1956. 10 May 1957. The quotations
are from Mikie Kline, who peppered Campus Comments with her
views of women's roles and her outraged sense of justice.

204

To Live In Time A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

205

To Live In Time

A Time of Transition: The Triumvirate

Samuel Reid Spencer, Jr.

206

^=^^ ^^

FIVE

Bulldozers, Steam Shovels

and Academic Excellence

Samuel R. Spencer, 1957- 1968

t was August 1957, when Samuel R.,
Jr. and Ava C. Spencer and their three children came to Mary
Baldwin College. They were a young, handsome, vigorous family,
with exceptional intellectual abilities, a firm Christian commit-
ment, experience and empathy in relating to a college campus. Dr.
Spencer was 38 years old, of medium height, trim and athletic in
appearance, outgoing and cordial in manner but with a confidence
and innate dignity that commanded respect. Mrs. Spencer had a
Master's degree in Political Science from the University of Penn-
sylvania and had been the first woman to teach at Wharton
School. She was an excellent manager, a gracious hostess,
cosmopolitan and experienced in travel, but familiar with small
southern town mores. There were three children, Reid, Ellen and
Clayton, and a fourth, Frank, would be born in Staunton.

Dr. Spencer was certainly the most highly qualified president
and the most appropriate in background and purpose that the
college had had. He grew up in Columbia, South Carolina in a
family firmly dedicated to the Presbyterian Church. He once
wrote that he had been to Montreat (North Carolina) every
summer since he was 12, and that his mother's family had gone
there for "years before I was born... so many of my youthful
memories are bound up in that mountain cove."^ He, Ava and the
children regularly spent a month or more there every summer.
His father had been a banker, his grandfather a college professor:
Ava's father was a Presbyterian minister. Dr. Spencer was an

207

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

outstanding honor graduate of Davidson, class of 1940, where he
had been president of the student body and a member of Phi Beta
Kappa. After a brief experience in advertising and sales for Vicks
Chemical Company, he had joined the U.S. Army and served
throughout World War II in a number of capacities including air
intelligence, attaining the rank of major. Graduate work at the
University of California at Los Angeles and Harvard followed and,
in 195 1, Davidson College called him back to act as assistant to the
president, dean of students, and professor of History.

He had been at Davidson only a short time when some
members of the Mary Baldwin College Board of Trustees made
their first tenuous contacts with him.- In the 1950s as the Synod
of Virginia had been struggling with its concerns about appropri-
ate support for "their" institutions of higher education, these
Mary Baldwin trustees had looked to North Carolina (which had
earlier undertaken, successfully, similar projects) as a model, and
thus had come to understand and appreciate the skills and talents
of the young dean of Davidson. Dr. Spencer had been aware of
their interest even before the synod's Council on Educational
Institutions had released its controversial report in June 1956.
When, in September, Mr. McKenzie abruptly resigned the presi-
dency of Mary Baldwin College, the trustees put in motion the
process which might lead to Dr. Spencer's becoming the fifth
president. There followed almost a year of discussions, inter-
views, and appraisals. Dr. Spencer's apprehensions were under-
standable. It was a pivotal time in the life of the college. It was
in debt and with no discernible means of retiring that debt. Its
small enrollment meant administrative costs and overhead were
severe burdens on its operating budget. Faculty salaries were
low, its endowment minuscule, its physical plant cramped and
old-fashioned. Dr. Potter, the acting president, reported to the
trustees movingly of the problems of his interim administration:
he had spent much time in "trouble shooting"; there had been
"rumor, suspicion, unrest..."; he had "sought to keep morale high,
hopes alive and our program stable," but the "steam plant is a
problem and an eyesore," a "fire hazard," a "silent threat"; and the
walls and floors of the library need to be reinforced, he wrote.

In order to complete the payments on Bailey dormitory, the
college had had to issue $200,000 in bonds, something they had
not previously done. Several longtime members of the board were
ill and missed important meetings, had died or resigned. There
was the matter of property exchanges and/or sales with the First

208

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steum Shovels and Academic Excellence

Presbyterian Church and a group of Staunton physicians.^ And
there were many in the synod who felt that the college should re-
vert to junior college status or close. One of Dr. Spencer's friends
wrote him:

You know full well the limitations of a
church school both in finances and vision...
somebody has to be president of Mary
Baldwin which is a very nice worthy little
school. But there are many preachers who
would give their eye teeth to be out of the
pastorate and into the prestige of a sound
little college, where nothing would be required
of them but to be responsible and respectable.
And that is all that would be allowed of you.
[I would be] sad [if you go to Mary Baldwin
College]... so many of your talents would
necessarily have to go unused.^

It was indeed a difficult choice. It was tempting to become a
college president while still in one's thirties, and, if Dr. Spencer
could make it succeed, it would be an invaluable asset in future
career plans; but there were considerations of family, present and
future financial needs, his own ultimate hopes and dreams to take
into account. Essentially a modest and unassuming man (no one
could ever accuse Dr. Spencer of arrogance or self-aggrandize-
ment), he was yet a thoughtful and intelligent person who made
wise decisions because he took the time and effort to learn about
all the factors involved before he acted. He made several quiet
trips to Staunton, and both he and Mrs. Spencer met members of
the board who came to Greensboro, North Carolina for that
purpose in January 1957. There was good rapport with board
members, and the relationship with Edmund Campbell, the
president of the board, would grow into one of mutual respect and
affection in the years to come. However, Dr. Spencer had also
called and spoken at length to Marts & Lundy, the professional
fund-raising firm which had helped plan Mr. McKenzie's financial
campaign and which had also been consulted by the synod's
Educational Institutions Committee. Their initial report to Mr.
McKenzie about the college in 1955 had been "optimistic in tone
and had concluded a ten-year major development program could
be undertaken successfully." But, in 1956, when Marts & Lundy

209

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

had looked at the synod's analysis, they had been "pessimistic in
tone" and thought Mary Baldwin College should leave its present
site. How could these two reports be reconciled? Their answer was
that the report to the synod had "materially changed the situa-
tion— that "potential 'big givers"' had been given a perfect "out" by
the unfavorable report and if the Mary Baldwin College Board
chose to go ahead at this time with a financial campaign, it would
be "highly questionable."

Dr. Spencer talked to J. N. Thomas, Chairman of the Mary
Baldwin Presidential Search Committee on 1 November 1956 and
agreed, "The college needs leadership and needs it badly... my
general conclusion is that definite plans for the future should be
decided upon before the presidency of Mary Baldwin is filled. . . " If,
he continued, the Board wishes to choose a president and "then
work out the future, I hope and assume that the Board will have
no hesitancy about approaching someone else." He indicated that
his "optimism was shaken."^

But, the college trustees had already taken steps to involve
Samuel Spencer in the college's future. As soon as the McKenzie
resignation was concluded (7 September 1956), the board ap-
pointed a committee to prepare a 10-year development program
for the college and to use it to persuade the synod to mount a major
capital campaign to support it. This committee was empowered
to appoint consultants to help them in their deliberations, and
they promptly named Samuel Spencer. Throughout the autumn
of 1956, Dr. Spencer worked with them as they sought to develop
a plan which would appeal to the synod and would meet the
college's needs and his own perceptions.^

Another difficulty was the coordination of Mary Baldwin
College's desires with those of Hampden-Sydney and of both of
them agreeing to the mechanics of a synod campaign which would
still leave each of them free to conduct separate fund-raising
drives of their own. By 28 December 1956, some guidelines had
been worked out, although there was no certainty that the synod
would agree. Mary Baldwin College and Hampden-Sydney would
each increase enrollments to 600, perhaps eventually 800 stu-
dents; Mary Baldwin College would amend its charter so that "in
the eyes of the Church and the public it will be identified as a
church college"; another site "in the Valley of Virginia" would be
sought and "gradually developed" over a 10-year period. There
was a possibility that sometime in the remote future the college
might become a coordinate or even coeducational institution, but

210

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

certainly not at the present. The curriculum would focus on
liberal arts from a Christian perspective; faculty salaries would be
raised sufficiently to challenge "well-qualified men and women to
dedicate their lives to Christian education." A tentative cost
estimate suggested that about $9 million would be necessary. ' It
was really a Spencer blueprint for the future. It is hard to see how
Samuel Spencer could have not agi'eed to become president
considering the extent of his involvement at this point.
On 20 December 1956, Dr. Spencer wrote,

There are still persons of experience and sound judg-
ment who feel that ...I should not go to Mary Baldwin
until the synod has given tangible evidence, in the
form of money or commitment, of major support for the
College. However, because I feel that Mary Baldwin
offers both a need and an opportunity, I am willing to
have my name presented to the Board on the following
conditions:

1. The College Charter should be
amended so that Mary Baldwin qual-
ified as a Presbyterian College. "I am
thoroughly sold on Christian education
and believe that education with a
Christian emphasis is Mary Baldwin's
primary purpose for existence."

2. The Synod must "enthusiastically
approve" a capital fund campaign that
would provide sufficient money to under-
take the development of a new campus,
"...the provision of major funds

by the Synod is essential."^

There were some other conditions regarding housing, trans-
portation, etc. , bul: they were the ordinary requests of an incoming
president. "You and the other members of the Committee," he
wrote, "may feel that such an acceptance... is so hedged with
conditions as to be undesirable... If so, I want to assure you again
that I will fully understand your turning to someone else. If, on
the other hand, the whole matter should work out and I should
come to Mary Baldwin, I can assure you and the Board that I will

211

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

give of myself to the very maximum." Apprised of this proposal,
the college trustees lost no time in trying to meet Dr. Spencer's
conditions.

The next step in the process was for the board to agree to
amend the charter. This was not done without question. Al-
though there were significant legal and philosophical differences
between Dr. Eraser's charter of 1922 and this one of 1957, there
were those who remembered all too well the history of the 1920s
and sought to avoid repeating it.^ Some board members were
Episcopalian and disliked the closer ties the new charter re-
flected, but in the end the proposal was accepted. ^°

The next condition was for a firm commitment from the synod
to undertake a major capital funds campaign, and this also was a
major hurdle to cross. The synod's committee on education had
backed away from their expensive and time-consuming consult-
ants' report, and Hampden-Sydney had refused outright to con-
sider either moving or becoming coeducational . Hampden-Sydney
had a new president and was already committed to its own major
fund-raising campaign. How could the Mary Baldwin College
Board persuade the synod to agree to a joint capital funds
campaign benefiting both Hampden-Sydney and Mary Baldwin ?
More importantly, how would the money that accrued be divided?
In fact, the synod would not meet until May, but everyone agreed
that it would follow the recommendation of the committee of
higher education, so that committee was the one that must be
persuaded. Subcommittees and regional groups met and tele-
phoned and debated and bargained endlessly. The calendar was
catching up with the Spencers and with Mary Baldwin College.
There must be proper notice given to Davidson if Dr. Spencer
were to leave. If he decided not to accept Mary Baldwin's call, the
board would have to find someone else quickly since Dr. Potter
could no longer sustain his double responsibility as pastor at First
Presbyterian Church and interim president. J. N. Thomas wrote
the Spencers, "I have the deepest sympathy for both of you in this
period of uncertainty..." There came a time, about mid-March,
when Dr. Spencer wrote:

As I told him [Eldon D. Wilson] I am
really disturbed by the whole situation
in that I cannot see how the picture can
be brought into focus by April 1. Even
under optimum conditions, development

212

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

of Mary Baldwin into a larger institution
on a new campus is going to be difficult
indeed... but unless the less-than-optimum
conditions threatened by the continued
resentment and delay of Hampden-Sydney
can be corrected, I seriously question
whether the Board should undertake
the new program.

I told Ava at the time of my conditional
acceptance [December 20, 1956] that I
was willing and ready to go, but if the
way to development of the new pro-
gram should not open up, I would take
it as the Lord's indication that for me the
thing was not supposed to be. This is still
the way I feel about it.^^

The next week saw intensified consultation among the various
committees of the synod's Committee on Higher Education,
Hampden-Sydney and Mary Baldwin College trustees. On 15
March the Council agi^eed to recommend to the Synod of Virginia
that it undertake a "unified financial campaign" for the benefit of
Christian higher education. ^'^ When Dr. Spencer was informed of
this action, he signified that it would meet his second (and major)
"condition" (although it was in reality far from complying with his
original request), and on 21 March 1957 he formally accepted
appointment as president of Mary Baldwin College. The trustees
were in session and Dr. Spencer was invited to join them and to
participate in their deliberations. He already had a personal
agenda, and even at this first meeting it was apparent that he
would be a strong executive, with carefully prepared and substan-
tiated proposals, specific objectives, and imaginative ideas about
how to achieve them. After the previous decade, the trustees
might be excused if they breathed a sigh of relief as they trans-
ferred the mantle of leadership to their new young president.

Dr. Spencer "hit the ground running," a phrase which was
often repeated around the campus in the early years of his
administration. In fact, he had some carefully worked out objec-

213

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

tives, and it is instructive to list them and then to trace how they
were achieved as the years passed.

It is impossible to read the speeches and addresses he gave, or
his correspondence, or his reports and recommendations to the
board without coming to understand Samuel Spencer's great
commitment to independent, liberal arts, church-related colleges.
Sooner than many others, he understood that the pressures of the
"Sputnik" crises and the space age would mean greater federal
support — and greater government interference with public edu-
cational institutions. In an increasingly secular age, with im-
pending court decisions about separation of Church and State, the
church college, he wrote, is the church's "insurance policy" — the
only way we can guarantee that the church will be able to work
with college age groups at all. Twenty, thirty or fifty years from
now... the church college may become the only place where the
curriculum includes religious discussions or can work freely with
young people on its own terms — "without deference and without
apology." By means of a strong group of Christian colleges, the
church will have a "channel through which it can speak directly on
such matters as ethical standards and moral values." For Dr.
Spencer, the "church college" existed not to benefit any one
denomination — or indeed, even the church itself, but instead, the
church college should be the way "the church serves mankind. " A
church college, he declared should promote the "general diffusion
of knowledge and virtue"; it must educate, but also provide the
"extra qualities of a personal Christian faith, a sense of mission
about vocation, and the foundation of a social conscience. "^^

Much of Dr. Spencer's energy and the gambles he took came
from this deep-seated conviction about the importance of church-
related colleges. He was determined Mary Baldwin would become
an outstanding example of one.

There was likewise a deep commitment to academic excellence
and innovative teaching methods. Early in his acquaintance with
the college, Samuel Spencer had met Martha Grafton and the
rapport between the two was immediate and long-lasting. It is
difficult for a college president to influence directly academic
goals, standards and practices; that is the responsibility of the
faculty, and it usually jealously guards its prerogatives in these
matters. But Martha Grafton had long experience with the
college faculty (she had recommended the hiring of most of them)
and sensitivity in dealing with their concerns and demands. Dr.
Spencer had been at the college for less than two months when he

214

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

went on a ten-day "western" trip to visit colleges and universities
in Texas, Missouri, and Indiana. In February 1958, he and Mrs.
Grafton together visited prestigious educational institutions in
New England and the Middle Atlantic states. They returned
"excited about the possibilities of a dynamic and imaginative
educational program," an excitement that was ultimately trans-
lated into seven or more changes in the content and methodology
of the curriculum. ^^

External events often influence the history of a college as
much, if not more, than the internal dynamics of the campus. The
1960s was a turbulent decade for the U.S. and the world. A U.S.
president, a presidential candidate and a beloved civil rights
leader were assassinated; Cuba was unsuccessfully "invaded" ; the
following year there was a "missile crisis" and a change in Soviet
leadership; a wall was built in Berlin. After more than two
centuries of ignoring or evading the problem, the deep-seated
racial prejudices of American society were dragged into the light
to be debated, evaluated, rioted over and possibly remedied. There
were truly revolutionary social changes — in clothing and orna-
mentation, in music and art, in life-style, in sexual relations, in
family structure. A public drug culture was born and flourished.
All middle class values, mores, habits, and perceptions were
challenged. American geographic knowledge broadened as places
called Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam entered the vocabulary.
Demonstrations, protests, riots filled the television screens, which
had entered fully into American conscious experience by the early
60s. It was an incredibly difficult time for college administrations,
faculty, students and their parents, and Dr. Spencer sought a
"bridge over troubled waters" with his third major dream for Mary
Baldwin College. There was to be a firm commitment to interna-
tional understanding and communication. Mary Baldwin faculty
and students would live and study in foreign countries. They
would think in terms of service careers which would foster
knowledge and empathy with those of different cultures. They
would welcome to the Staunton campus overseas teachers and
students. They \/ould move beyond the parochial limits of the
Shenandoah Valley into the wider world that awaited educated
and committed women in the 1960s.

There was still another major (and indispensable) goal. Mary
Baldwin College must become an economically viable institution.
Without this, none of the other objectives could be met. The
student body must double in size, and so must the faculty. ^*^ The

215

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

physical plant must be modernized and expanded to meet these
needs. At first Dr. Spencer believed that the physical college itself
would have to move to another area (in or near Staunton) which
would provide more (flat) space and opportunity for growth but
eventually agreed the college should stay in its traditional loca-
tion. An enormous amount of time and effort was expended
fleshing out this 10-year development program and in estimating
costs and sources of revenue. A successful synod campaign was
the first requirement, coupled with a carefully crafted Mary
Baldwin fund-raising proposal. Land must be acquired, archi-
tects hired, a professional advisory firm contracted with; alum-
nae, parents, friends, foundations, corporations were to be solic-
ited. Would the city contribute? (Samuel Spencer at one time
thought they might give up to a half million dollars based on his
North Carolina experience as various cities had vied for St.
Andrews College to locate in one of them). There were federal
housing, academic facilities and student loan programs in which
Mary Baldwin might participate, provided academic and religious
freedom was not compromised. A new library was an absolute
must, as was a heating plant; so were dining facilities and
dormitory space. The science faculty had struggled for 30 years in
facilities that had been private homes. There were certain
uncomfortable parallels between Samuel Spencer's ideas and Dr.
Eraser's proposals of the 1920s for those who chose to see them,
but few did. The new president was dynamic, self-confident,
organized and effective. Within the space of one college genera-
tion (four years), Mary Baldwin was a changed institution, and all
four of these "dreams and visions" were on the way to reality.

Dr. Spencer's working relationship with Dean Martha Grafton
had been firmly established even before he had accepted the
presidency; in fact, they had corresponded since 1956, after
having met at a conference earlier, and he once wrote that he was
"more interested [in being president! now than I was several years
ago... because I have had the opportunity to know you and conse-
quently believe we could work well together." He had written her
on 19 March 1957, telling her that he had agreed to be the
president and asking for an organizational chart and a "job
description" for each staff member. He was already thmking of
possible commencement speakers for June 1958 and the appropri-

216

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

ate dates for the trustees' meeting in the fall.

When he met with the board of trustees on 21 March he asked
them to approve his appointment of James W. Jackson, Jr., as
"assistant to the president" in charge of the development progi'am
and public relations. Dr. Spencer had worked with Jim Jackson
at Davidson and understood, in a way that many at Mary Baldwin
College did not, that a new era of professionalism concerning fund
raising, alumnae contacts and college public relations was dawn-
ing. The whole gamut of what would be called "development" was
emerging. It included the college's "public image," from logos and
stationery, to coordinated publications, to contracts with develop-
ment advisors and government progi^ams, to planning visits to
local and regional alumnae groups — all of this and more had to
come under the direction of one individual who could schedule the
president and other administrative figures where they could be
the most effective. This required office space, bulk mailings,
expensive equipment (not yet computers, but duplicators, type-
writers, long distance telephoning) and clerical help at a level
previously unknown at Mary Baldwin, where alumnae affairs had
been handled by former alumnae with part-time secretarial help,
public relations by a faculty member in her spare time, and part-
time fund raising by the president and the board members, with
a little financial advice from the treasurer (and Chemistry profes-
sor) about where to invest endowment funds. It was a "hard sell"
to persuade board members and faculty that administrative
personnel must increase; that it took money to raise money; that
physical necessity required architects, lawyers, landscape spe-
cialists, interior designers to be more or less permanently on the
college payroll. Dr. Spencer was a good salesman, and he accom-
plished the transition from an amateur to professional develop-
ment office with probably as little trauma as was possible, even
though there were bound to be misunderstandings and hurt
feelings along the way.^*

During his years at Mary Baldwin, Dr. Spencer had four
development "assistants." They bore different titles at different
times; most eventually were called "vice-president for develop-
ment" or something similar. The first was James W. Jackson, Jr.,
who arrived with Dr. Spencer from Davidson in 1957 and resigned
abruptly on 19 July 1960, partly over disagi^eement about his lines
of responsibility and partly because he had a better job offer. The
second incumbant was Joseph W. Timberlake, Jr., known as
"Buck." He was a friendly, outgoing man whose wife Betty

217

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

("Butch") was a devoted alumna and had been on the board of
trustees. Buck's experience had been in television and communi-
cations, and he and his family were immediately welcomed by
students and others as an integral part of campus life. The
Timberlakes left in 1968, and Craven Williams arrived that same
spring. Most of Williams' service would come under President
Kelly, but he and his family made a place for themselves as part
of the college community. The fourth assistant was John B.
Baffin, who had come to the college in 1930 as a teacher of
Chemistry and Physics and had worked with Mr. King. He had
later acted as treasurer and comptroller and had retired from
active teaching in June 1965. Mr. Baffin had been an indefati-
gable traveller for the college, kept track of alumnae and former
board members, and played a major role in securing gifts and
bequests during the great building era of the 1960s. He, of course,
had a special interest in the science building, which was still in the
planning stages in 1965, and thus was asked to remain as a
"Special Assistant" to the president for two more years.

On 17 October 1957, the board of trustees of the college
amended its charter as Br. Spencer had asked them to do, so that
the college would, in every respect, be legally a "church college."
It was a busy board meeting. Not only did they have to restructure
the board of trustees, but matters of faculty, tenure, insurance,
retirement and salaries were studied; gradual increases in enroll-
ment were approved; synod relationships and the upcoming
capital funds campaign were discussed; a study of endowment
investment policies was instituted; matters of student housing
and physical plant improvements and salary increases were all on
the agenda. The board was organized into six standing commit-
tees and one temporary one (to amend the bylaws), and each was
given specific assignments. There was no question that the
president intended to exert vigorous leadership and that future
board members would be expected to make concrete contributions
to the college's progress. Generally, in the next decade, the board
was given a great deal of material to study before it came to the
meetings. The trustees made some very significant decisions and
undertook at least three two-day workshops for special purposes.
They lent their physical presence to important events on campus
and were generous in their financial contributions. There is no
evidence that there was ever any serious disagreement with Br.
Spencer's proposals. There were occasional negative votes, but
never was there a majority to oppose what would be some very

218

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

controversial decisions. It was not a "rubber stamp" board, but it
was one that was accustomed to strong leadership and to success.
When these conditions changed in the 1970s, the board lacked the
practice and the machinery for assuming more control. ^^

Because the volume of letters, documents, contracts, orders
and reports that were generated by the president's office steadily
increased during Dr. Spencer's tenure, it was essential that good
administrative help be available. Until her tragic death in Novem-
ber 1962, Barbara Page had acted as administrative assistant to
the president and had made possible the efficient operation of that
office. Her loss was keenly felt by all members of the college
community, and her services are commemorated in the Barbara
Kares Page Terrace in front of the library. ^°

Martha Anne Pool, class of 1948, had been in Staunton for a
year carrying out her duties as president of the Alumnae Associa-
tion, at a time of major fund raising. She now became acting
administrative assistant to Dr. Spencer, remaining in that post
until 1964 and easing the transition in a way that was invaluable
to the president. Then Jane Wilhelm, 1963-1977, constituted the
president's immediate staff.

But, of course, all the administrative offices expanded and
grew as the college's numbers increased. When Dr. Spencer
arrived there were seven senior administrators supported by 10
"staff members" plus one mxodical doctor (on call). The library had
a staff of three, plus student assistants. Ten years later (just
before Dr. Spencer's resignation) there were 11 administrative
"offices," supported by 30 "staff members" and the library staff
had grown to seven, a not unreasonable increase but still a
dramatic change. ^^

Among the senior administrators, there was remarkable sta-
bility. Dr. Spencer "inherited" Dean Grafton, Dean Parker, and
Miss Hillhouse, as well as Mr. Spillman, Miss Carr, and, of course,
Mr. Daffin. In March 1957, Mrs. Dolores P. Lescure had been
hired as a part-time director of the news bureau. Within a year,
she was working full time and had added invaluable experience,
skill and talent to the Information Services and College Publica-
tions. Mrs. Gertrude C. Davis had returned to the campus in 1957
as librarian and brought skill and dedication to the difficult
library situation. All of these individuals remained during Dr.
Spencer's presidency and gave welcome continuity and experi-
ence in this era of dramatic change. There was less stability in the
Alumnae Office. There were four executive directors of the

219

To Live III Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Alumnae Association between 1957-68; Hannah Campbell to
1960, Rachel Cover, 1961, Sarah M. Matthews, 1961-62, and
Virginia W. Munce, 1962-1979, and of course the development
office not only had three directors, but had seen much turnover in
office personnel.

In 1965, the required Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools Self-Study commented that the college was "functioning
well" under the present "informal organization," but believed that
this was so "because of the personalities involved and their
dedication." The college, they added, "operates by custom and
understanding." They recommended a more formal organization
with clear lines of responsibility and authority drawn.-- This
recommendation was not followed by Dr. Spencer. Having many
responsibilities and decisions to make, he was well aware that few
college presidents could find such a closely knit, experienced and
dedicated senior staff as he had. He saw no reason to change what
worked well.

However, in addition to the senior staff, the Spencer era saw
others already at the college or who came during the Spencer
years whose services were invaluable, their loyalties great, their
talents outstanding. Without their contributions, the senior staff
could not have functioned as competently as they did. They were
an integral part of the college community.

Carolyn Meeks came to the college in 1961 as secretary to both
Mrs. Grafton and Miss Parker. Totally discreet, trustworthy,
efficient and accurate, she has served deans and college presi-
dents for more than 30 years; Ellen O. Holtz, class of '60, joined
admissions in 1960, learned the increasing complexities of stu-
dent financial aid and has sympathetically counseled innumer-
able students and their families about monetary concerns ever
since. There was also Fran Schmid, class of '40, who had worked
at the college since her graduation and eventually served in every
administrative office that existed or could be invented. She had
particular skills with returning alumnae, a charming courtesy
and quiet dignity. Julia Patch, assistant to the dean of students
and hostess at the Main Desk (1946-66) was a particular favorite
with the young men who came to visit the students.

When he was on campus. Dr. Spencer met his five co-equal
senior officers once a week in a formal staff meeting, but any of
them, at any time, could take a problem directly to him (a practice
criticized by the Self- Study as blurring internal lines of commu-
nication). He likewise had monthly "general staff meetings" as a

220

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

clearinghouse for information and matters of general attention.
Because he was so frequently off the campus for extended periods
of time, Dr. Spencer, in 1958, had specified to the faculty and staff
that Dean Grafton was to have authority to make decisions about
the internal administration of the college in his absence. After it
had been decided in 1961 that the director of development would
be called a "vice-president," Dr. Spencer wrote to a worried
alumna that the title should not be understood as "overshadow-
ing" the dean of the college. He did not feel it was "pretentious"
because the title gave Mr. Timberlake "entree which a lesser title
might not" as he represented the college in public relations and
other areas. Dr. Spencer added that Dean Grafton was respon-
sible for academic and faculty matters. ^^ But there were ambigu-
ities; sometimes Dean Grafton presided at faculty meetings when
Dr. Spencer was absent; occasionally Mr. Timberlake did. When
Dr. Spencer was on leave for a year as Fulbright Lecturer in
Munich, August 1965 - August 1966, a committee made up of Mr.
Lunsford (chairman of the board of trustees), Mr. Timberlake,
Dean Grafton and Mr. Spillman were made jointly responsible for
policy decisions.

Dr. Spencer had not been on the campus very long when he
discovered that some staff offices which often had only one or two
people in them simply closed down at lunchtime and instructed
the switchboard to report that they would receive calls after 1:30
p.m. The president immediately sent a notice that all college
offices were to be open for five and a half days a week and must be
"covered" during the working day. Office personnel were to be
allowed to have "free" lunches in the college dining room, but there
must always be someone to answer office phones during business
hours. ^"^

At that first board of trustees meeting, 17 October 1957, Dr.
Spencer had proposed that his inauguration "contribute some-
thing to the educational world" instead of following the usual
format of a conventional academic procession followed by two or
three speeches with platitudes and flowery rhetoric. Instead, he
wished to have a "symposium" called "New Directions in the
Liberal Arts" where panels of distinguished scholars, faculty and
students would discuss modern advances in curricula content and
teaching methods. This symposium was to ultimately involve

221

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

more than 400 participants and guests, not including the Mary
Baldwin College community, and encompass two days, 15-16
April 1958. The proceedings were filmed and recorded. A faculty-
student planning committee was quickly appointed and began
work under the unflappable chairmanship of Dr. Andrew Mahler.
Eventually convention was partially observed by agreeing to an
academic procession and a formal charge to the president to be
held Tuesday night, 15 April, with one panel, "New Methods in
Teaching," held that afternoon and the other, "New Directions in
Content," on Wednesday morning. The featured evening speaker
was Arnold J. Toynbee, Scholar in Residence at Washington &
Lee, who was enjoying a popular acclaim which few historians had
been accorded in the United States because his 10 volume Study
of History had been featured in Life Magazine. It had not been
easy to persuade Professor Toynbee to appear. He had told
Washington & Lee when he agreed to spend a semester there that
he would not accept invitations from other nearby colleges or
universities. How, pondered Dean Leyburn, could he tell these
others that Toynbee had agreed to come to Mary Baldwin? Tell
them that this is a presidential inauguration. Dr. Spencer re-
sponded.^^ The other principal speaker was Arthur E. Bestor,
Professor of History, University of Illinois. The whole affair was
a remarkable blending of distinguished scholars, Presbyterian
dignitaries, past Mary Baldwin College presidents, local political
figures, alumnae, faculty and students. All seven former and
present deans of the college were in attendance. ^"^ The president,
dean, and one faculty member from each of 25 Virginia colleges
and universities were invited, as well as those of 19 Presbyterian
colleges. Others who came were personal friends or longtime
college "connections." The college choir sang, there was an exhibit
of Modern French Paintings (on loan from the Virginia Museum
of Fine Arts) and another exhibit of materials from 25 colleges who
had been awarded Ford Foundation grants to experiment with
new methods and content. There were two "coffee hours," a formal
dinner in the college dining hall, a reception and a formal lun-
cheon. Travel plans and housing had to be coordinated for all the
out-of-town guests, and arrangements had to be made for filming,
taping, editing and distributing the proceedings. It was a mam-
moth undertaking, given the inadequate physical facilities of the
campus and the community, the limited time to prepare, and the
fact that two major fund-raising campaigns were ongoing.-^
Just as final plans were completed and less than a week before

222

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

the symposium was to begin, Dr. Spencer developed acute appen-
dicitis. Surgery was performed, and the decision was made that
everything would proceed, even if Dr. Spencer himself could not
attend. But attend he did, and although he was a bit shaky and
pale, few people were even aware that an emergency had oc-
curred.^^ His address, really his first formal address to the college
community, was eloquent and earnest. "Many years from now,"
he said, "I hope it can be said that 1957-58 marked a renewed
intellectual vigour in the life of this college... this college is an
educational institution dedicated to enriching the spiritual and
intellectual life of our students... we are making our plans not for
a year or five years, but for fifty years or more... [this symposium]
marks our determination to offer our students an education which
is basically sound, but dynamic and imaginative in character."
The whole affair was an astounding success and was the first of
many more special events which would take place on the campus
in the Spencer years. United States presidents and governors
spoke, buildings were dedicated, anniversaries observed — there
was always something happening. The Spencer years were never
dull.

In evaluating the Spencer presidency, it would appear that Dr.
Spencer was more an "outside" man than an "inside" administra-
tor. And it is certainly true that he was frequently away from the
campus for extended periods of time. There were the numerous
and necessary visits to alumnae chapters, major donors, founda-
tions and corporations, all of whom were asked to contribute to the
college's building program and financial campaigns. There were
frequent duties and contacts with various divisions of the Presby-
terian Church. There were trips to Europe when the "junior year
abroad" programs in Madrid and Paris were envisioned and later
monitored. There was the sabbatical already mentioned when Dr.
Spencer was a Fulbright Scholar, teaching American Social His-
tory at the Amerika Institute at the University of Munich. Al-
most immediately after his arrival in Staunton, Dr. Spencer
became an effective and sought-after participant in the Virginia
Foundation for Independent Colleges, and although the "junior
member," as he expressed it, he served as president of that
organization from 1960 to 1963. He was a member of the College
Scholarship Service Commission, 1959-62; the Advising Commit-

223

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

tee for Two-Year Community Colleges of the State Council of
Higher Education; participant in the Association of Virginia
Colleges; a member of the Board of Christian Education, PCUS;
and on the Editorial Advising Committee of John Knox Press. Nor
did he neglect community obligations in Staunton. He was a
Rotarian, a member of the Staunton- Augusta County Chamber of
Commerce, and an active member of First Presbyterian Church.
Davidson College had been loath to let Dr. Spencer leave them in
1957, and they kept the relationship warm and active. Samuel
Spencer was a member of the Davidson board of visitors, he was
awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by them in 1964; and
served on the board of trustees after 1966. He was also much in
demand as a commencement speaker at high schools, junior,
community and regional colleges and universities. He wrote his
speeches himself, and they were thoughtfully constructed and
frequently eloquent. He was likewise approached for church
programs, and his acquaintance with and friendship for Presby-
terian ministers in Virginia and elsewhere were phenomenal.
However, he refused to officiate in Sunday morning worship
services, saying that he was not a minister and felt uncomfortable
in that role. He added that he had obligations to his own family
(whenever possible they attended services together) and to his
own church, and would speak to church groups only at other times
of the week.^^

Of course, there were regional and national association obliga-
tions as well, and a 10-year college expansion and building
program to supervise. Dr. Spencer had been at Mary Baldwin
College less than five years when he was asked by the United
States Health, Education and Welfare Department if he would
accept an appointment as Assistant Commissioner for Higher
Education. He declined the offer, as he did a later request that he
become the executive secretary of the Division of Church Educa-
tion of PCUS. Undoubtedly there were other proposals over the
years of which no records now remain, but until midsummer of
1968 they were all politely refused.

It was possible to meet all of these obligations and responsibili-
ties because of the support systems that existed at the college for
its president. But to view Dr. Spencer as unaware and unknowing
about the "inside" college life is to misread the historical record.
A positive avalanche of letters and reports poured out of the
president's office year after year. Dr. Spencer wrote personal
letters to the parents of students who had committed judiciary

224

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

or honor offenses; letters to the parents and ministers of young
women who were not admitted to the college; letters to parents of
students who wished to transfer, in or out; to visitors who had
physical difficulties on the campus, such as automobiles rolling
down steep hills or turned ankles as grandmothers scrambled
over clods of earth and heaps of rock; to the students themselves;
letters of praise, condolence, persuasion. He wrote letters to
alumnae and donors and to principals and headmasters of private
and public secondary schools. There were political letters to
congressmen, senators, governors, state representatives; letters
of recommendation for former students who were seeking employ-
ment; 1500 Christmas cards a year and gifts of apples to college
friends. There were "thank you" notes to friends and supporters
and financial contributors. There was scrupulous concern to
acknowledge any contribution from a church, no matter how
small. In one case, a note was sent thanking the donor for $1;
another for $8.50, another for $ 10.00.^" These kinds of letters were
all personal, dictated by the president himself and expressed in
his own words.

Samuel Spencer was interested in everything that was occur-
ring on the campus. When he travelled abroad, he took the
opportunity to buy "antique furniture" for the new dormitory
lounges. He explored with G. E. and W. W. Sproul the possibility
of an "outdoor escalator" to tie together the upper and lower
campuses. He chose the china pattern for the new dining room,
supported the opening of Shenandoah Valley Airport and more
frequent railroad schedules for Staunton. He investigated the
new Nestle coffee dispensers and proposed several be installed
around the campus. He had flowers sent on significant anniver-
saries to women in Staunton who had long connections with the
college. Both Dr. and Mrs. Spencer entertained faculty and
student groups, as well as innumerable college visitors and
distinguished Presbyterian clergy. They both had remarkable
facility in identifying students quickly, and it was not unusual for
the president of the college to call by name a student who had been
on the campus only briefly. Dr. Spencer liked young women,
enjoyed teaching them, and respected their capabilities and
achievements. He was a tennis enthusiast and there were close
ties with the college tennis team, then achieving a national
reputation.

There are many personal characteristics that help to explain
Dr. Spencer's successes as president of the college. He had a

225

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

retentive memory, a keen sense of organization and priorities, a
pleasant disposition and the capacity to accept but not dwell on
disappointments. He did not hold grudges and could work with
those with whom he disagreed. Perhaps one of his greatest
strengths was his ability to make decisions and not agonize over
them unduly. Although he was younger than any of his senior
staff, and although he had never been a college president before,
he had no difficulty in assuming presidential responsibilities — or
in defining them. There are, he said,

four prerequisites to genuine excellence
in a college or university: a first-rate
faculty and staff; a first-rate student
body; a first-rate library; and first-rate
physical equipment... The president's
peculiar opportunity to improve the
quality of his institution derives from
the fact that he is the only person on
campus concerned with all four. There
is an intangible factor which might be
defined as its [the college's] spirit or ethos.
It is in this realm that the president's
opportunity lies. Because he is concerned
with all phases of the college's operation,
because he can see things in perspective...
and because of the power he inevitably
wields as chief executive officer, the
president more than anyone else can
determine the distinguishing characteristics
or tone of his campus. ^^

Lest this sound too terribly earnest, perhaps even a bit
pompous, it must be noted that Dr. Spencer really did not take
himself too seriously. There was a quiet sense of humor — the
historian's perspective that simply did not allow one to consider
oneself too important. He once wrote to a lady who had invited
him to talk to a church group, "A man can probably be pretty
ridiculous in talking to women about women." His invitation to
Arthur M. Schlesinger (Sr.) to attend the New Directions in the
Liberal Arts symposium concluded, "Certainly I do not want you
to feel any obligation to come. Mary Baldwin is a small operation
and I have not lost my sense of proportion to the extent of

226

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

considering this an earthshaking event. "^^

And finally, Dr. Spencer made time (never as much as he
wished) to be with his family. The Spencers' fourth child, Frank
Clark, was born on 17 September 1960 and was an immediate
favorite with the students. The children were frequently on
campus and participated in many college events and holidays.
There were close friendships with faculty and community fami-
lies, and these activities made it possible to see the college
president in a less formal role.

Dr. Spencer's acceptance of the presidency of the college had
been so closely tied to the promise of synod financial support that
it is no surprise that his first priority was to work out the details
of the promised Mary Baldwin College/Hampden-Sydney/Presby-
terian Guidance Centers campaigns. Since this effort would focus
only on Presbyterians within the bounds of the Synod of Virginia,
and since it was understood that the synod campaign could not
hope to raise enough money for the total needs of the institutions
involved, Mary Baldwin and Hampden-Sydney proposed to mount
a concurrent effort among their own alumnae, friends and sup-
porters. In the summer of 1957, the synod required each benefi-
ciary of its proposed campaign to flesh out the details of its 10-year
development program and to come to an agreement about how the
synod funds would be apportioned among them. In October 1957,
the Mary Baldwin board of trustees agreed that the student body
should be increased to 600-700 as quickly as facilities for them
could be provided; that new academic programs would be in-
stalled; that faculty salaries would be increased to reach competi-
tive levels; that increased scholarship funds would be available to
help equalize increasing tuition; that an architectural firm would
be hired to plan the physical expansion of the college; and that
financial estimates of expenses, sources of revenue and modes of
payment would be put in place.^^ There followed innumerable
meetings in Richmond and elsewhere as the synod committee
sought to establish its own plans and objectives. There were major
disagreements concerning the division of the funds. Jim Jackson
called it the problem of "equalization" and said it was "most
discouraging and frustrating. " There was "internal bickering, " he
continued, and "unfortunately, there is a good deal of sniping
among persons who are favorable to one or another of the courses. . . "

227

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Dr. Spencer wrote John N. Thomas that summer, that

Running into what seemed continual
problems of apathy, hostility and
ignorance in the synod makes dis-
couragement about the campaign
come rather easy these days... If only
we can come through the campaign
with reasonable success by next spring,
I think we will be over the hump as far
as Mary Baldwin's future is concerned. '^^

After several months of interviews and debates, the firm of
Ketchum Inc. was hired by the synod to conduct the campaign.
They proposed a fee of 5% of the total objective ($125,000) plus
expenses, and a campaign committee of the synod was organized.
Both Dr. Spencer and Dr. Joseph Robert (president of Hampden-
Sydney) were ex officio members; eventually Dr. Bernard Bain
and Dr. W. T. Thompson agreed to act as chairmen (both men had
played important roles in Dr. Spencer's New Directions sympo-
sium), and the laborious process got under way. Most of the year
of 1958 was taken up with planning, organization and structure.
A short film called "In Christian Hands" was produced; brochures
about the beneficiaries were written, a question-and-answer
pamphlet prepared. The presbytery leaders were identified and
workshops were held; a speakers' bureau was organized (Dr.
Spencer was an active participant, as were Mr. Daffin and Mrs.
Grafton); and workshops for "leaders" were held. Major gift
solicitations began in November 1958, and congregational pledges
were received in January/February of 1959. Pledges could be
redeemed over "four tax years" (ending in March 1961), and the
goal was at least a $21.00 pledge from each of the 114,000 synod
communicants, to reach a total of $ 2.5 million.

The synod campaign officially ended on 1 March 1959 and
Ketchum services (to the synod) were concluded, although there
would be "follow-up work" for several years. It was apparent even
before the figures were in that the results were "disappointing."
Only 43% of the synod's churches participated, with an average
per capita gift of $6.96. The total amount pledged came to less
than $1 million. There had been much dedicated and sacrificial
work on the part of many individuals, and the whole subject had
occupied the synod's meetings for six years. Why had the effort

228

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

failed? Ketchum Inc., in analyzing the result, declared, "No
denominational campaign can succeed without the enthusiastic
backing of the ministers." In the past, colleges had not been
considered part of the churches' responsibility and it was hard to
persuade congregations to believe they were. There had been no
"challenge" gifts or congregational quotas established. The presi-
dents of both institutions had each been in office only a limited
time. The 1956 survey report had "muddied the waters consider-
ably." Others complained that the "timing" was bad. The national
economy was slowing. The drive had coincided with local Commu-
nity Chests, "Every Member Canvasses" building programs in
several churches, and "the protective instincts of some ministers."
And there was the largely unspoken but pervasive problem of
social change. Many ministers were "actively preaching integra-
tion," and there were those who might have supported the colleges
who simply refused to do so because they perceived colleges would
accept black students in the near future.^^

Throughout 1958, while the synod campaign pursued its
tortuous path, Mary Baldwin's president and trustees devoted
many weeks to some strategic decisions of their own. Dr. Spencer
had come to Mary Baldwin pretty well convinced that the college
would have to move to a more appropriate and spacious site, but
a careful survey of the real estate options available, the logistics
involved, and the tradition associated with the "old campus," led
increasingly to a decision to keep the college where it was. He and
the board settled for what he would come to call a "tilted quad-
rangle" and quietly began to acquire the property between Market
and Coalter streets. After interviewing several architectural
firms, the board, 14 March 1958, authorized a study by the firm
of Clark, Nexsen & Owen of Lynchburg to determine how such
property could be used, and thus began a relationship that lasted
for many years. It was a relationship that went far beyond a
"strictly business" one. It has been, Samuel Spencer wrote, "a
most satisfying and pleasant one for me... six years and four
buildings after we started... I would make exactly the same choice
of architects for our program if we had to do it again. "^"^ There was
no question about priorities — a new heating plant had to be
provided, and the increase in the student body meant more
kitchen and dining room spaces were imperative; and, although

229

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

peripheral housing could help the student overflow for a year or
two, new dormitories had to be planned. But, true to his academic
convictions, Dr. Spencer wanted to build a new library first and
make it the central feature of a new campus. There were two
obstacles in the way of this Phase I part of the Ten Year Develop-
ment plan. The college was in debt to the amount of nearly
$200,000, and although operating budgets were modestly bal-
anced, as they were every year of Dr. Spencer's tenure, there was
no discernible money available to buy the land and homes on
Coalter and Market Streets. Dr. Spencer began to buy them
anyway, with borrowed funds, "on faith" as he expressed it, that
the "effort of the synod is going to succeed and that we are going
to raise the money that will allow us to start toward our long-range
goals. "^' Eventually the properties were acquired. The campus
would in time encompass about 19 "sloping" acres and the $2.5
million campaign for Phase I could begin. Both Dr. Spencer and
Clark, Nexsen & Owen agreed that the color and architectural
style of the old campus would be replicated in the new. "We cannot
radically change the pattern on such a small campus," Dr. Spencer
declared. So successful would this effort be that few people today
can even tell where the "old campus" ended and the "new" began.
There remained one more obstacle before the building could
proceed. Market Street (one of the steepest hills in Staunton) had
been the eastern boundary of the "old" campus. Once the "grounds"
extended to Coalter Street, this city thoroughfare would bisect the
campus and destroy the proposed unity of terraces and new
buildings. Would the city agree to donate the street to the college,
and on what terms? For several weeks in the summer of 1959, the
issue was in doubt. The City Council, thinking of the future
widening of New, Frederick, and Coalter Streets wanted 28' and
14' setbacks in exchange for closing the street. Mr. Clark declared
that the proposed master plan required "every foot of property"
and that if the city would not yield, he could not recommend that
the college remain "in town." Careful statistics were prepared
showing that, far from losing tax revenues when the college
acquired property or closed Market Street, the college, by means
of purchases of supplies and services, payment of salaries and
student local expenditures (and a 10-year construction plan),
would bring almost $1 million annually to the Staunton commu-
nity. Mary Baldwin College, Dr. Spencer told City Council, is
"actually a multi-million dollar urban renewal program in the
heart of the city at no cost to the taxpayer." It was not until 26

230

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

March 1959, after some contracts had been signed and the college
national fundraising campaign had begun, that the City Council
relented. Market Street was closed and the new campus construc-
tion began. ^'^

During the next decade (1960-1970) the college erected six
major buildings (a heating plant, two dormitories, a food service
facility, a library, a science center and five modern tennis courts).
There was never a year that there were not bulldozers leveling,
backhoes digging, steel beams rising, plumbers, plasterers, elec-
tricians, painters, bricklayers, and roofers laboring. Two-and-a-
half generations of students did not know what it was like to live
and study on a quiet campus. As the work progressed, deterio-
rated or unsightly structures from the old campus (the "covered
way", the old heating plant. Sky High, Chapel, the infirmary, the
"maids' cottage," the Chemistry building) were removed. The
building housing the Nannie Tate Demonstration School had to be
demolished to make room for the Pearce Science Center, as did
Bell house. The hills were terraced and grass-covered, four
graduated walkways connected the upper and lower tiers (regret-
tably, the escalator had proved to be impractical), trees and
flowering shrubs softened the landscape. By 1968, Dr. Spencer's
objective of providing a suitable physical setting for an academi-
cally challenging liberal arts college for about 700 women had, to
a great extent, been accomplished. Almost $6,000,000 had been
spent. ■'^^

Where did the money come from? The sources of funds for
private colleges are limited, and in the 1960s competition from
state institutions increasingly seeking supplements to their state
appropriations began to make serious inroads on what had been
private institutions' preserves. By the mid-1960s the "guns and
butter" philosophy of the Johnson administration had begun an
inflationary spiral that added to the woes of college fund raisers.
Still there was a gi'eat deal that a determined president and his
trustees could do, and Dr. Spencer frankly admitted he took many
"calculated risks," sometimes authorizing the beginning of pro-
jects before there was a clear idea of how the necessary funds
would be found.

One little story of a minor episode serves well to illustrate the
curious mixture of faith in the Lord's intentions, the necessity of
taking immiodiate action, and the expectation that the means
would be provided, that appeared to have frequently motivated
Dr. Spencer's development decisions. On 13 September 1961, he

231

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

wrote a letter to the Revered Emmett B. McGukin: "The Lord does
not always give a clear leading about a decision, but sometimes
confirms it after it is made." Yesterday, [12 September], he
continued, "I made the decision to tear down the old covered way.
I had meant to wait another year because I had no money to do it,
but we needed to open up our campus." The cost was $300. The
day after he made his decision, Mr. McGukin's check for $300
arrived!^^ It is a long way from the $300 of this little story to the
$6 million spent in buildings and grounds between 1959-1969, but
the "calculated risk" and the faith attitude played a major role.

The money came from the traditional sources that Mary
Baldwin College had relied on since the days of Dr. Eraser; from
trustees, alumnae, friends, parents, even faculty and students. It
came from foundations and business corporations, from memorial
gifts and bequests. In 1959 (as has been seen) and again in 1968,
synod campaigns for "their" Christian colleges offered modest
help. But the "traditional sources," generous as the donors were
and as much as their dedication was appreciated, were simply not
enough. Somewhere major new means of funding had to be found
if the plans for the physical campus were to be realized. So it was
that, after much debate and prayer, the trustees authorized
President Spencer and his staff to apply for government grants
and loans.

In the late 1950s, a somewhat muted but determined compe-
tition had been ongoing between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S. to
launch and successfully control an unmanned space satellite. The
U.S. effort had faltered badly, with several early attempts explod-
ing on the launching pads. The Russians were secretive about
their progress until 4 October 1957, when their 187-pound "Sput-
nik" roared into the heavens, its radio transmitting "beep beeps"
as it circled the earth proclaiming the superiority of Russian
science and technology. The impact of this event in the United
States was far-reaching. What was "wrong" with our scientists
and why didn't we have more of them? Were our schools and
colleges failing to teach the mathematics, engineering and tech-
nology needed for the modern world? Demographic predictions
warned that the children born after World War II would be of
college age in the 1960s and that there was not nearly enough
space for them in the existing educational facilities. Congress
hastily passed a succession of laws such as the National Educa-
tion Act, the Higher Education Eacilities Act, and the College
Housing Authority Act which made it possible for colleges and

232

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

universities (even private, church-related ones) to borrow funds
at very low rates of interest or to apply for outright grants to
modernize and expand their facilities. Money was available to
build dormitories (since they were income-producing, such loans
were considered secure), to build libraries and science centers.
Federal money was available as never before to support research
and development projects and loans for students to help with
tuition; but these were separate and unrelated to the physical
facilities legislation. Dr. Spencer and his advisors sought to draw
a clear distinction between federal or state money granted and
borrowed for capital expenditures, as opposed to federal or state
money as part of the operating budget, fearing federal restrictions
and controls would accompany the funds. Dr. Spencer's whole
belief in the nature and duties of a Christian college, that it would
be a place where religious values could balance and challenge
secular standards, was threatened by the intrusion of political
government into private college affairs. It was a difficult deci-
sion— applying for that first grant and loan to build a dormitory —
but there seemed to be no other way, and so still another "risk" was
added to those he was already taking. Red, white, and blue federal
billboards appeared on the campus, with long lists of incompre-
hensible codes, proclaiming that the construction of this building
or that was partly supported by federal government funds, and
the back- hoes and bulldozers moved in.

There is no question that this "new" source of revenue made
possible the completion of the Spencer building program, but the
college did not cease its own efforts to help itself. Although the
details changed as the process continued, there were carefully
drawn plans as to what would be built, when, and how the new
buildings would be integrated with the old. There were to be three
"phases." The first would provide living services on the upper tier
of the campus, (i.e., the dining hall and two dormitories, and in
another location the heating plant), the completion of which
would allow the student body to expand to between 600 and 700.
Reluctantly, Dr. Spencer agreed that the library would have to
wait until Phase II, as would the science facility (and in the mid-
1960s there was considerable debate over which should be built
first). Phase III would see the completion of a fine arts center, a
modern auditorium, an enlarged student activities building, im-
proved physical education facilities, perhaps another dormitory. ^^

College fund raising for Phase I was to begin as soon as the
synod's 1958-59 campaign concluded. An intensive six-week

233

To Live III Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

effort, beginning 1 March 1959, was planned. Emily P. Smith
agreed to be the chairman of the national alumnae effort, local
trustees appealed yet again to the community for support, and the
firm of Ketchum Inc. was employed to provide direction and
advice. Things did not go smoothly, either internally at the college
or in the external appeals. That Ketchum had presided over the
synod's unsuccessful effort and that the person chosen to work at
the college, Carman House, became ill and had to leave in the
middle of the effort, made for communication problems and
missed opportunities. Jim Jackson found it difficult to work with
the other college administrators and alumnae and complained
that his little office in the basement of Main Building was so dusty
and noisy that it interfered with his Robotyper and electric
typewriter. But there were some successes. In 1958, 100% of the
trustees, faculty and students contributed to the annual fund — a
national "first." By mid-1959, Mr. Jackson was reporting commu-
nity pledges of $150,000, and gifts from alumnae, parents and
friends of $600,000 (which included $450,000 from the Hunt
family). Dr. Spencer was very active in the VFIC, and Mary
Baldwin College's share of those funds was now added to the
capital campaign. By 1962, the combined contribution of synod,
college, friends, bequests, corporations and federal money had
made possible the completion of Phase I, and the raising of monies
for Phase II began. ^^

This time, no professional fund raisers were employed. Begin-
ning in the summer of 1960, a standing committee of the board of
trustees called Development Planning had been appointed, and
its members shared with Dr. Spencer the responsibility of build-
ing and borrowing decisions. ^'^

A limited solicitation for the new library was conducted in
1963 among alumnae and the community, and more than $300,000
in cash and pledges was received. Federal funds provided the
additional monies needed, and Grafton Library opened for stu-
dent use in 1967. Architectural drawings and fund-raising plans
had already been prepared for the science center. Again there
were generous gifts, particularly from the widow of Jesse Cleve-
land Pearce, for whom the building was named. A Christian
College Fund was undertaken by the Synod of Virginia in 1968-69
(again managed by Ketchum Inc.) for the benefit of Hampden-
Sydney and Mary Baldwin College, and about $500,000 was
ultimately realized toward the science building.^'*

Two comments should be added about the fund-raising activi-

234

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

ties of the Spencer years. The first is that the college staff grew
much better at it. The campaigns of 1958-59 were clumsy,
uncoordinated and pretty unproductive, in spite of tremendous
efforts and dedicated labor. But by the mid-1960s the trustees, the
development offices, the public relations director, the alumnae
office staff had become a team, experienced and confident. They
had put together an invaluable file of information about donors,
prospects, grant agencies and corporations. Almost without
realizing that they were doing so, they were laying a firm founda-
tion for the future when almost continuous capital campaigns
would be an accepted characteristic of colleges and universities.^^

The other insight that emerges as we look back on these years
is Dr. Spencer's observation that, in large part, the students and
their families paid for the campus expansion. The bonds and notes
negotiated with federal and state agencies were paid off yearly
with funds from the operating budget, most of which, in turn,
came from student tuition and fees. Both the numbers of students
and their tuition increased steadily in the decade of the 1960s, and
the additional revenues made it possible to live comfortably with
the yearly interest and principal payments due on these debts. If
either of those sources of revenue were altered, there might be
future problems. "^"^

Dr. Spencer not only had to find the money for the building
program, he had to have money to run the college, to retire old
debts, to raise faculty salaries and benefits as he had pledged to
do, to pay for new academic programs, and to maintain a balanced
operating budget. Because Mary Baldwin has always been a
"tuition-driven" college, most of the funds needed for these projects
had to come from student fees. One of the principal reasons for
planning to increase the student body to 600-700 had been the
"economy of size" factor. It was more economical, per student, to
feed, house and teach 600 students than it was to do the same for
300, and the surplus income would help pay for an expanded
faculty and other needs. However, it has always been difficult for
colleges and universities to explain to students and their parents
that the tuition never covers the total college expenses of a specific
student. Tuition payments must always be supplemented by
other sources (state funds for public institutions, gifts, grants and
endowment for private). In addition, increasing numbers of
students, usually about a third of the student body, received
financial aid in the form of scholarships, student jobs on campus
or loans. The trustees and the synod were always uneasy about

235

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

increasing the amount of the tuition because they felt a commit-
ment that, as a church-related college, students of "moderate"
means should not be excluded. But Dr. Spencer insisted that it
was necessary to increase tuition as well as student numbers. In
1958, the comprehensive fee for a resident student was $1,650 a
year; ten years later it was $2,936. By 1968, a day student paid
almost as much as a resident had done a decade before. ^^

To ease the financial burdens. Dr. Spencer and the board
devised two programs, both imaginative and forward-looking but
controversial and often misunderstood. The first was the "Tuition
Unit Plan" adopted in 1960-61. A base charge of $1,000 for room,
board and services would be charged, and tuition units of $100
each (up to ten units, or $1,000 more) would be imposed. The
number of "tuition units" charged would depend on the financial
resources of the student's family, based on the recommendation of
the College Scholarship Service. The difference between those
students who paid the full charge ($2,000 in 1961) and those who
did not would be paid from a special tuition unit fund made up
from annual gifts to the college. The express purpose of this plan
was to provide funds for additional faculty and to upgrade their
salaries. It was heavily dependent for success on increased
annual giving and, simple as it basically was, apparently was
never satisfactorily explained to the college's constituents. By
1962, the program was modified so that only students whose
academic record was "moderately good" could qualify, and by 1965
the program was quietly dropped.

The second proposal, called the "Guaranteed Fee System,"
was begun that same year. It provided that a student would pay
the same comprehensive fee during her four years in college. This
was intended to protect the students' families from increasing
tuition costs each year and to encourage retention for the entire
four year college program. It was moderately successful as long
as enrollments were at capacity but had the potential of becoming
a financial strain if the college's operating budget diminished and
inflation continued. It had the additional burden of having
students on campus who were receiving the same services but who
paid different amounts, a situation which many perceived to be
unfair. This program was discontinued in 1971-72.'*^

There was one very important aspect of college financing
which appears, on the surface at least, to have received very little
attention in the Spencer years. This was the college endowment,
which until the late 1950s had been very slowly accruing as

236

To Live III Time Bulldozers. Steal?! Shovels and Academic Excellence

modest bequests from loyal friends had been made. It was largely
managed "in-house" by the Finance Committee of the board of
trustees and by the business manager and treasurer of the college.
In 1958 the endowment amounted to $831,962, the income from
which represented about 5% of the operating budget. It was,
observed Dr. Spencer wryly, "a very modest [endowment] which
has much to be modest about." It is, he said to another friend,
"almost negligible." Dr. Spencer had always insisted, as presi-
dents before and after him have done, that the college needed
capital funds and endowment "to compete with other good colleges
which are leaving Mary Baldwin behind." Thus it is curious to
read in a committee report the following statement:

In speaking about the place of endow-
ment in a program of development... this
item was of secondary importance at
present because operating costs could
be adequately met by student fees derived
from large enrollments... annual Alumnae
funds and increased support from [the]
Synod would be better sources of
additional funds for current operations
than returns from an endowment would be.^^

This does not mean, however, that the board and Dr. Spencer
were unaware of this weakness. As early as 1959, the trustees
undertook the study of the management of the endowment funds
(as compared to other colleges), and ]VIr. Daffin was asked to
prepare a comprehensive report of the funds which had been his
responsibility for more than a quarter of a century. The board
cautiously moved to professional management, at first paying
modest fees for consulting services and by the mid-1960s relying
on professional investment management firms. By 1968, the
endowment had grown to $1,864,889, with the most substantial
addition coming from the Woodson bequest; but as college ex-
penses increased and the endowment did not increase proportion-
ately, the percentage of the college revenues derived from the
endowment in income actually declined. ^° Both the college and
the synod had sought to emphasize "deferred giving" and bequest
considerations as part of their financial plans, but with so many
other projects needing fiscal resources, efforts to increase the
endowment inevitably lacked attention. In the "shrinking seven-

237

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

ties," the college would pay the price for this neglect.

Both President McKenzie and his assistant, Ray Williams,
had been critical of the way in which alumnae affairs were
organized and of the financial support for the college which the
alumnae provided. Again, this reflected advances in professional
organization of alumnae activities which many colleges and
universities were undertaking in this period, but which had not
yet affected Mary Baldwin College. But, in the Spencer era, the
alumnae "came of age." They became an integral part of every
fund-raising effort of these years; their opinions and ideas were
respected on the board of trustees; they were delighted and awed
at the physical changes taking place on the campus; they were
informed and inspired by a well-written, provocative Alumnae
Newsletter which reached them regularly; they were embraced
as part of the whole campus community and, as such, had
responsibilities to carry out and serious contributions to make.
Never again, after Dr. Spencer, would they be just the "old girls."

In 1958, there were 5,500 known living alumnae; by 1968, they
numbered 6,750. Many of them, perhaps one-third, were semi-
nary students, and another significant number had attended the
college for less than four years. But as the student enrollment
doubled between 1958 and 1966 so, too, did the number of "Spen-
cer alums" who were enthusiastic and inspired by his program
and who would become a strong nucleus of support in the years to
come.

Perhaps the most significant change in alumnae relationships
came from the well-organized frequent visits from college admin-
istrators and faculty who crisscrossed the country visiting chap-
ters, helping to establish new ones, and asking for support and
understanding.

The 1958 campaign, as has been seen, had an inauspicious
beginning. It was agreed that the alumnae "annual giving"
appeal, established with so much effort in the early 1950s, would
be "folded into" the fund-raising campaign (probably a mistake),
and President Spencer, John Baffin, Jim Jackson, Martha Graf-
ton, and many others tried to follow Ketchum's erratic schedule of
chapter luncheons and dinners explaining Phase I of the cam-
paign. The confusion between the synod's and the college's cam-
paigns, between "annual gifts" and "operating funds," and the

238

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

very apparent lack of local chapter organization and activity made
it mandatory that something be done.

Martha Anne Pool, Martha Grafton, Emily Smith, Buck and
Betty Timberlake, and many others helped to straighten out the
confusion. The executive secretary of the Alumnae Association
became a full-time employee of the college and was provided with
increased secretarial help and physical space. By 1962, the
"annual giving" progi'am was revived, with the monies contrib-
uted earmarked for scholarship aid, faculty salaries, and library
acquisitions. By 1968, 29% of all alumnae were supporting the
Annual Fund, and their gifts had increased from $18,094 in 1962
to $60,519 five years later. ^^

In 1961, a new Constitution for the Alumnae Association was
written, providing for four vice-presidents who would undertake
the direction of: (1) the annual giving program; (2) continuing
education; (3) admissions; and (4) chapter activities. Workshops
and training programs were instituted for alumnae leaders, and
class reunions were better organized and better attended than
they had ever been. In 1963, the tradition of the "Alumnae Choir"
was begun. After a day and a half of intensive practice, all
returning alumnae who had sung for Gordon Page presented a
choral program during homecoming. Mr. Page had lost none of his
demands for perfection. Everyone felt it to be a time of challenge
and a deep emotional experience. The Alumnae Choir has contin-
ued as a homecoming tradition. There also began a particular
emphasis on alumnae intellectual activities. In March of each
year a series of programs, led by the current faculty, provided
campus visits, coffee and discussion for local women. Annotated
book lists suggested by faculty for independent reading were
published in the Alumnae Newsletter, with the information that
paperback versions could be ordered from the college bookstore.
Betty Friedan's Feminine Mvstique provided the inspiration for a
whole series of articles on "Alumnae of Distinction" and their
interesting careers. ^^

Fannie Strauss wrote a history of the Alumnae Association,
which appeared in the magazine. The sale of the Mary Baldwin
Wedgwood plates (which had been a World War II casualty) was
revived in 1959. They cost $3 each and could be purchased in blue
or mulberry. One could also buy Mary Baldwin College chairs (for
$16), and the new college bookstore began to sell many mono-
grammed items which were popular with both present and former
students. In 1964, the trustees approved the alumnae recommen-

239

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

dation that the Emily Pancake Smith medalHon be estabUshed,
honoring Mrs. Smith's "unparalleled record of service to the
college, church, community and to the Alumnae Association." It
was awarded annually to women who had rendered the kinds of
service reminiscent of Mrs. Smith. ^'^ Chapter competition was
encouraged and a handsome cup for chapter achievements was
provided. Dr. Spencer regularly asked alumnae to represent
Mary Baldwin College at the innumerable college and university
inaugurations and other celebrations he was invited to attend. An
alumna living in the vicinity of that particular college would
receive a formal request from President Spencer that she take his
place at the proceedings. The college would send her a Mary
Baldwin cap and gown; she would march in the academic proces-
sion, attend the luncheon and other festivities, and report back to
the president on any programs of interest or unusual comments.
It was yet another way of making the alumnae feel a part of the
college and relieved the president of many appearances that he
simply could not accept.

Mary Baldwin College "is a priceless gem which adorns the
community's whole life," wrote the editor of the Staunton News
Leader 5 February 1963. And, as the terraced hill turned green
and the cream-colored buildings one by one appeared, there was
no denying that a visual asset of major proportion had been added
to the city's aspect. The "flagship" of the new buildings was Lyda
Bunker Hunt Dining Hall. Since it was the first major building
project since 1951, each step in the process was viewed with
proprietary interest by the college community and townspeople
alike. Originally, because of the fiscal restraints, the plans had
called for only one-half of the building to be finished, and for it to
be connected directly to a new dormitory; but the generous gift of
the Hunt children in memory of their mother, Lyda Bunker Hunt,
freed the architects and President Spencer to build the dignified
and lovely building as they wished, "...all the college household
can break bread together in an atmosphere of gracious living,"
said Board Chairman Edmund Campbell. Ground was broken on
28 September 1959, and pictures of Dr. Spencer and student
government officers riding a bulldozer adorned Campus Com-
ments. Ayear later, 22 October 1960, an elaborate and impressive
dedication and cornerstone-laying ceremony was held. Over 900

240

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

people attended, including four of the six Hunt donors. General
Albert C. Wedemeyer spoke, as did John Baffin. Drs. Grafton,
Turner and Potter eloquently delivered invocations, litanies, and
recessionals, and the choir sang "Let All the Nation Praise the
Lord" and "Alleluia." The board of trustees was present for their
fall meeting, as was the board of the Alumnae Association, and
Parents' Day was likewise observed. Brian Sullivan of the
Metropolitan Opera House gave a concert the evening before;
there were exhibition tennis matches on the new hilltop courts;
and the significance of the pineapple atop the white cupola of Hunt
Dining Hall was carefully explained. It was a lovely, sunny fall
day, and the entire ceremony became a kind of model for subse-
quent occasions in the next decade. ^^

The dining hall opened for use in April 1961, somewhat
delayed by a severe winter and a hold up in building materials.
The two dining rooms, each seating 300 persons, were separated
by the central kitchen, which permitted cafeteria-style break-
fasts. The other two meals were family style, served by the student
Eta Betas. The view of Betsy Bell and the Blue Ridge from the
double hung windows was spectacular. The divided staircase
featured a portrait of Lyda Hunt, hung over a credenza upon
which a flower arrangement is always kept. The lower floor
housed the college bookstore and a large lounge/private dining
room facility, and the whole was connected by brick walks and
landscaped terrace to the Student Activities Building on one side
and the "new" dormitory on the other. ^^

Since federal loans and grants were now possible, the con-
struction of a new dormitory began simultaneously with Hunt.
Separated from Hunt by a stepped terrace, it was planned to house
136 students and a resident director and was ready for use by
September 1961. Because the financing had been uncertain, it
was constructed without many extras and frills. Dr. Spencer
called it "minimal," but with built-in bookcases and bureaus,
ample closet space and modern heating, the students were pleased.
They called it "New Dormitory," and it remained unnamed until
November 1963, v^hen the trustees, desiring to honor Mrs. Mar-
garet Craig Woodson, who had been a member of the board of
trustees for twenty-two years, dedicated it to her memory. A
special feature of Woodson was the Charles Vernon Palmer
Meditation Room, given by two alumnae in honor of their father.
It was furnished with the advice of students and dedicated on 1 1
October 1962.^6

241

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

By 1961, the architects were deep into drawings for a second
dormitory (inevitably called "New New") designed to house 171
students. Because there was some difficulty in acquiring the
corner property on Sycamore and Coalter streets, the building
was curved, adding a most pleasing feature to the final construc-
tion on the upper tier. In a memo to his staff, Dr. Spencer declared,
"I think it is highly desirable that we get in every improvement
we can, for this is the last dormitory we will build in a long, long
time." The building was begun on 1 January 1962 and was
(almost) ready for occupancy by September 1963. In addition to
rocks (which had to be blasted) and another difficult winter (with
snowfalls of 30" or more) further delay was occasioned by the U.S.
government requiring that a "fallout shelter" be included in the
plans. Excavation under the entire west wing had to be accom-
plished and special air and water filters installed. The govern-
ment paid in part for the cost, but their allowance did not cover the
necessary extra rock removal. Unwilling to allow this huge, dark,
hollow space to be unused. Dr. Spencer had it converted into a
large lecture hall and faculty offices. Later it became a student
recreation area called the "Chute."

It was indeed a "gracious" building, with two large lounges to
be used for public receptions furnished with antiques and repro-
ductions, elevators, suites for resident advisors, and a curved
columned portico, the top of which provided a roof for sunbathing.
The rear of Woodson and the second dormitory were very close to
Sycamore Street, and to give privacy both to the neighbors and to
the students, tall, rapidly growing trees and shrubs were planted.
As yet this latest building was unnamed. Campus Comments
quietly circulated a petition which was presented to the board of
trustees 22 April 1963, asking that the building be called the
Samuel Reid Spencer, Jr., Residence Hall. The board agreed, and
Dr. Spencer and his four children dedicated it in a simple cer-
emony two days before the students returned in September 1963.
Phase I of the 10-year Development Plan was now completed. ^^

It must have seemed to many students and alumnae that the
college was engaged in a gigantic "musical chairs" program during
these years. Buildings were removed, others leased or bought,
offices transferred to new locations, the overflow of students
housed in peripheral locations. Some of this was planned; other
changes were unexpected, and expensive. Such was the case with
the venerable Waddell Chapel, long a romantic architectural
feature of the old campus and the home of Mary Julia Baldwin's

242

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

memorial stained glass window. As early as the 1920s the
structure had been declared unsafe for large groups. Some
improvements had been made in the 1930s and plays and recitals
were still performed there even after King Auditorium had be-
come available in 1942. The middle floors were used for faculty
and student housing, and, until April 1961, the college dining
room and kitchen had occupied the ground floor. In the 1950s, as
numbers had diminished, no students were housed there, but as
enrollments increased in the early 1960s, up to 16 upperclassmen
called Chapel "home." They liked its convenient location, the
privacy afforded their small group, and the traditions associated
with it. Indeed, as plans for the expansion of the campus had
begun in the early years of the Spencer presidency, there had been
talk of restoring the Chapel to its original appearance when it had
been the pre-Civil War Presbyterian Church. One alumna had
written Dr. Spencer that it "would be the gem of the campus. . .where
students could go for meditation and where we could have morn-
ing devotions and Sunday evening vespers... it would enrich and
deepen the entire spiritual life of the campus. . . "^^ Horace Day had
sketched a possible restoration appearance, and a faculty commit-
tee had been appointed to research the history of the building.
Preliminary estimates suggested that $250,000-$300,000 would
be needed for the project (which would not be large enough to seat
the entire student body if it were done). Alumnae were very
interested, but no large donations were made and there were
other more pressing concerns.

Hence, in 1961, with the old dining room on the ground floor
of Chapel no longer needed, some $10,000 had been spent to
convert that space into a physics laboratory, math and physics
lecture rooms, and four faculty offices. At the same time, in the fall
of 1961, the old, unsightly heating plant, which had stood east of
Chapel, was demolished, and plans called for building a parking
lot in its place. As the earth was being moved for the parking lot,
there suddenly appeared in the corner of the east wall of the
Chapel a large crack, shortly followed by two other vertical splits.
"Some were," Dr. Spencer wrote Mrs. Elizabeth Ebbott, "more
than 1/2" wide." The consulting architect said the movement of
the walls "must be considered most serious and dangerous."
There would probably be little or no warning of impending failure,
and the collapse "could be compared to a sudden explosion. "^^ He
recommended immediate evacuation of all personnel from the
building. The students were moved out in January 1962 and were

243

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

temporarily housed in the Infirmary, Blakely House (with Dean
Parker), and Bailey Hall Guest Suite. The classes and faculty
offices were moved to Riddle, Miller Lounge, and the two "date
parlors." The next question was: What should now be done? There
was great alumnae and community sentiment to save what could
be preserved. Suggestions that the upper two floors of the
building be removed and the first floor be roofed over seemed in-
appropriate and expensive. Next it was proposed to leave the
original walls standing and have within a small "outdoor" chapel.
Once a drawing showing this idea was printed in Campus Com-
ments student opinion was decidedly negative. It would be
"tacky," "out of place," "embarrassing," they declared. "A bombed
out monastery is not the answer," pronounced one editorial. "We
much prefer a memorial garden," they announced. ""^

It was finally decided that the old building would be removed,
and in its place a terrace, using the bricks from the building, would
outline the dimensions of what had been Waddell Chapel. It was
agreed that this terrace would be a memorial to Joseph Ruggles
Wilson, minister of the Presbyterian Church 1855-57 and princi-
pal of Augusta Female Seminary 1855-56, and to his son, Thomas
Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, 1913-1921.
There was an elaborate outdoor ceremony on 18 October 1963
coordinated with the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation's
observance of the 50th anniversary of Wilson's inauguration as
President of the United States. Governor of Virginia Albertis S.
Harrison, Jr., members of the Wilson family, and officials of the
state, city, church and college shared in the installation of a
bronze plaque detailing the historical information. In addition to
lovely plantings of holly, juniper, crepe myrtle, dogwood, box-
wood and sugar maples, three flags were to hang over the terrace:
the Stars and Stripes, the state flag of Virginia, and the banner
of the United Nations. In time, wisteria grew along the back wall
of Academic, from which the flags were flown. Benches and chairs
made this a tranquil spot for quiet lunches and outdoor classes. It
was a fitting and tactful solution to what had been an emotional
issue, and almost everyone was pleased.®^

Other physical changes followed. Rose Terrace became La
Maison Frangaise; Riddle eventually became La Casa Espanola,
and the Guidance Center moved to rented quarters on Coalter
Street. The dean of students' apartment had been moved from the
Administration Building to Blakely House (at the top of Market
Street) in 1959. The student activities building was renamed the

244

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Consuelo Slaughter Wenger Hall in 1963, and Bell House became
student housing until the building of the Science Center necessi-
tated its removal.

Early in 1960, some "pranksters" had succeeded in removing
Ham, or perhaps it was Jam, from his pedestal in front of Main
Building. In the process, he was broken into many pieces, and
then his companion was stored for safekeeping. They were sorely
missed and the students were delighted when a father of one of
them offered to pay for replacing the mascot dogs. By November
1960, Ham and Jam were back, no longer made of terra cotta, but
now carefully re-created in cast-stone and securely bolted to the
front steps. Dr. Spencer wrote a gracious thank you to the
anonymous donor: "As you know, tradition means a gi'eat deal at
an old college like this and there is a very special sentiment
attached to Ham and Jam."^^

Probably no single building engaged the attention of the entire
college community for as long and as much as the new library. As
early as March 1958 the board of trustees, having approved of
Clark, Nexsen & Owen as architects for the campus expansion,
had authorized the preparation of a preliminary set of library
drawings. Dr. Spencer had intended that it would be the first
building constructed as the the new campus took shape.

Obviously, the Library building is the most
important one on a college campus. More
than any other building, the Library is the
one by which the college as a whole will be
judged... The standard I want to set for this
building is as follows: that Mary Baldwin's
Library building will be unquestionably
the best... I want it to be the handsomest,
the best planned, the most distinctive and
the finest — and obviously so... What I am
really groping for here is imaginative treat-
ment which will make this building different
and not just like everybody else's. *^^

Whenever possible during the early years of Dr Spencer's
presidency, gifts and grants were set aside to swell the Library
reserve fund. His disappointment over the failures of the first
synod campaign was deepened by the fact that this meant he could
not yet begin the building, and it was with the utmost reluctance

245

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

that he finally agreed that the dining hall and dormitories would
have to be built first.

When Dr. Spencer came to Mary Baldwin College, the Library
was housed, as it had been since 1907, in the Academic Building.
It contained some 50,000 volumes and occupied all of the second
floor and part of the third floor of the major classroom building on
campus. It was literally bursting at the seams, and worried
administrators frequently checked to be sure the floors could bear
the weight of the books and stacks. There was almost no room for
the librarian and her meager staff. Only a small percentage of
students could use the facilities at any one time, and they con-
stantly complained about the crowded conditions and lack of light
and air. The faculty, as well, felt severely restricted by the
limitations of reference and periodical material (some of which
had to be stored in the basement of Bailey dormitory). Dr. Spenc-
er requested Richard Barksdale Harwell, who was the executive
secretary of the Association of College and Research Libraries, to
survey the situation in 1958, and his report about the physical
conditions was stark.

The trinity of efficiency in a library is
collection, staff, quarters. Mary Baldwin's
collection shows satisfactory quality and
growth... [but the college] is sadly deficient
in both other areas. Mary Baldwin has a well
trained, alert and experienced librarian... [but]
she has to be so heavily engaged in house-
keeping routines that she has little time to
really function as a librarian. The library
needs additional professional help, additional
clerical help and additional student help...

and, he added, lots of additional space.*^"*

Probably no other building plans of the Spencer era were
revised, redrawn, expanded and altered more than was the
Library facility. Originally projected for the upper tier, it was
moved toward the Frederick Street level. Earlier concepts had
said a 100,000 book capacity; later 200,000 was found to be
necessary. Should the entrance face Frederick Street or the inner
campus? Should it be attached to Academic or stand as a separate
building? Dr. Spencer was willing to consider almost any alterna-
tive to raise funds, including naming the building according to the

246

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

wishes of major donors (if they could be found). Should the
building reflect the international commitment which was so much
a part of the Spencer educational philosophy? Where could
enough money be found so that matching grants and federal loans
might be obtained? How soon could the earth be turned and the
building construction start?*^^

Although it meant waiting two years longer than he had
hoped, sufficient money had been contributed and pledged by
1964 to permit the architects to create the final version of prelimi-
nary plans and put the contract out for bids. In spite of now
anticipating a student body of 800 (rather than 600), Dr. Spencer
insisted that the total spent must be less than one million dollars.
The college was able to provide $323,000 toward this total; the rest
came from federal grants and loans. ^"^

There should be further mention of how the college Library
funds were raised. There was a successful local campaign, chaired
by General A. A. Sproul; and there were significant memorial gifts
and bequests from the Cooke, Deming, Wenger, Hoy and Reigner
families and estates. Most of these latter were the direct result
of Dr. Spencer's efforts and contacts, some of whom had had no
previous connection with the college. There was a modest founda-
tion support, and increasing monies were derived from the VFIC.
In the course of this decade, some real estate belonging to the
college not contiguous with the campus was sold and the funds
thus acquired were added to the building funds for both the
Library and the science center.^' But perhaps of most significance
(although not in monetary amount) was the effort mounted by the
student government in 1964-65 to raise money for the Library.
Jean Poland was chairman of the project and by the end of the year
student participation was almost 100%. They washed cars,
addressed envelopes for the Alumnae Association, and secured
permission to wear Bermuda shorts to classes for payment of 25
cents. There was a Christmas candy sale, a January fashion show,
a faculty "slave" auction in February, and a gigantic Carnival Day
in March for which classes were cancelled. There was dormitory
competition at a level that the Athletic Association had long
despaired of creating. There was a "discotheque" (a new word
which had to be explained in Campus Comments), shoes were
shined, leaves raked, faculty dogs walked, and faculty babies
cared for. Hill Top students spent twenty-four hours preparing
and stirring fifteen bushels of apples on Apple Day and the
resulting "butter" was sold. A week seldom passed without some

247

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

new project announced, and by year's end over $6,000 had been
raised. In addition, over one million S&H green stamps were
collected which were sufficient to procure the bookshelves for the
new Library. Many, perhaps most, of these students would, of
course, not be able personally to use the new Library, but the
project welded together an increasingly diverse and numerous
student body in a shared experience that gave a focus for their
college years.

It was not until 20 May 1965 that final approval of the federal
grants and loans was announced, and on 5 June 1965 a "family"
groundbreaking for the Library was held, attended by the seniors,
their families, trustees, faculty and local officials. That summer
construction began. Beckler, which had housed Chemistry since
1936, had to be be demolished and the Chemistry faculty and
facilities moved to the ground floor of Academic, where they would
stay for five years. A large board fence was erected along
Frederick Street to hide the scars of excavation and construction,
and when the students returned in the fall they painted imagina-
tive and unorthodox illustrations upon it, to the amusement and
occasional dismay of passersby . Throughout the year and the next
year, work on the Library continued, until shortly before spring
examinations the SGA was again called on to help. There were
two large decorative planters, 45' x 5', in front of the almost-
completed Library. It would require 2 1 tons of dirt to fill them and
there seemed to be no way that the soil could be transported to
the planters by truck. So, on Tuesday, 23 May 1967, the student
body formed a bucket brigade, filling two-gallon receptacles from
the dirt dumped in the faculty parking lot. Other students lined
up on the steps and across the terrace, passing the buckets from
hand to hand and the empties back again. Thirty-six students
made a chain, and each chain worked two half-hour shifts during
the day. By evening the planters were filled. Campus Comments
reported that the students, viewing their accomplishments and
nursing their "aching muscles," thought "And next year we start
the science building! "*^^

Throughout the summer, Mrs. Davis (librarian), Dr. Joseph
Garrison, and a group of young men from the college and the
community moved the books and materials from the old to the new
Library. In September 1967 the building was ready for the
students. The foyer, in addition to glass-enclosed display cases,
featured a four-foot bronze Mary Baldwin College seal, weighing
300 pounds, mounted on a marble wall. All floors were carpeted,

248

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

and there were individual study carrels and student and staff
lounges. "^^ The senior class of 1965 had given a graceful apple-
wood sculpture by William Muir entitled "Freedom." It was
installed on the mezzanine. The Reigner Rare Book Room housed
the 1967 senior class gift of four antique maps of the world dat-
ing from 1680. The Art Department was temporarily in posses-
sion of the ground floor where a creditable studio had been set up,
and it shared space with the audio-visual department and later
with the language laboratories when they moved from Wenger.
The "penthouse" was used for choir activities, music classes and
a drama workshop/seminar room. The building still had no name.

The year 1967 had been observed with a variety of activities as
the 125th anniversary of the founding of the college. The Library
was the "anniversary" building, but it was not until the spring of
1968, after long delay, that some elaborate plans were undertaken
to dedicate it appropriately. The pattern was similar to that of
the Hunt Dining Hall eight years before. There was a concert on
the evening of 18 April by Jan Peerce (a noted opera star). The
following day, a lovely warm, sunny 19 April, a convocation with
delegates from 40 Virginia colleges and universities in full regalia,
was held in King Auditorium. There was an address by Victor L.
Butterfield, president emeritus of Wesleyan University, followed
by a formal academic procession across the campus to Page
Terrace. The choir sang, a special litany was recited, and the
dedication ceremony was held. There was a formal luncheon with
further remarks from the governor of West Virginia, Hulett C.
Smith, followed by a Library open house. The whole occasion
sparkled with excitement and pleasure because the trustees had
once again agreed to the request of a college constituency. As early
as 1965, the faculty had been circulating a petition that the
building be named the "Martha Stackhouse Grafton Library."
Although even Dr. Thomas Grafton knew about it and had signed
the petition, the secret had been kept until Dr. Spencer announc-
ed the name at the convocation ceremonies. The applause that
followed left no doubt of the approval of the faculty, students and
the community.'^

The summer of 1967 saw a thorough remodeling of the interior
of Academic, now that the Library had been removed. Class-
rooms, seminar rooms, faculty offices, and a faculty lounge pro-
vided, for the first time, adequate academic space. Since both the
language laboratories and the choir materials had been removed
from Wenger, it now became much more of the student activities

249

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

building than it had been before, although still cramped and
inadequate. The substandard faculty offices were likewise moved
from Spencer and the "bomb shelter" became a student recre-
ational center. "^^

But, of course, the next big building project was the construc-
tion of the Science Center, which was as badly needed as the
Library. Feeling equally deprived were the Fine Arts — Drama
was coping with inadequate facilities in King, Art was tempo-
rarily in Grafton, and Music in the chateau-like Miller House,
where it had been since the 1950s. But the 10-year development
plan had called for a Science Center to be next and, long before the
Library had been completed, the science faculty and advisors had
been meeting with the architects to draw preliminary plans.
There are special technical needs in an undergraduate science
center, and from the very beginning the advisory committee was
determined that there would be ample opportunity for student
"hands-on" laboratory experience. There was to be a controlled
environmental suite, a greenhouse and animal rooms annex, and
a large 260- seat lecture hall available not only for science classes,
but for plays, films, piano and voice recitals. John B. Baffin
capped his almost 40 years of service to the college by coordinating
the advisory committee of medical, industrial, and teaching scien-
tists with alumnae, parent, and student representatives."^^

The location of the science building on the corner of Frederick
and Coalter Streets had already been determined, and the last of
the old buildings still standing on the quadrangle was removed in
1967.^^ By June 1968, when the contract was let, it was apparent
that the project would be the most expensive yet constructed —
eventually exceeding $2 million. The financial package was
similar to that of the other buildings: college funds, including
money from a synod campaign; student fund raising; donor gifts;
and grants and loans provided by the National Defense Education
Act.^^ Generous gifts came from the James D. Francis family,
whose support made possible the auditorium which bears his
name, and from the Kresge Foundation, which supported a
research laboratory. The new Chemistry facilities were named
the John Baker Daffin Department of Chemistry. The building
was named in honor of Dr. Jesse Cleveland Pearce whose widow,
Margaret Eldridge Henderson Pearce, was a seminary student in
1910, and whose generous contribution helped to make possible
the completion of the project. There was a dedication ceremony on
Founders' Day 1970, and although by this time Dr. Spencer was

250

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

no longer president of the college, there was much satisfaction in
knowing that Phase II of the Spencer development plans had been
completed.

Since the end of World War II, declining enrollments had
plagued Mary Baldwin College administrations. By mid- 1955,
however, an upturn was apparent and by the early 1960s no one
considered it visionary to plan to double the student population at
the college. By the mid-1960s tentative plans called for a student
body of 800. This was due to the millions of young people who had
been part of the "baby-boom" of the postwar years and who were
now reaching college age. In addition, a larger proportion of them
than ever before were attending colleges and universities, and
their numbers (and their tuition) made possible much of the funds
that had fueled college expansion and provided new academic
programs. Mary Baldwin shared in this student abundance; it
was they, of course, who had made possible Dr. Spencer's building
program. One or two simple figures will illustrate this point. In
1957-58 there were 310 paid freshman class applications; 149
were enrolled, and the student body numbered 311. By 1960-61
there were 525 paid applications; 170 freshmen were enrolled,
and the student body numbered 394. Five years later (after both
the new dormitories and Hunt had been opened) there were over
1000 paid applications; 223 freshmen were enrolled, and the
student body numbered 653. By 1968, 218 freshmen were en-
rolled, and the student body was 713.''^

It is hard to envision an excess of serious, well-qualified
applicants as a problem, but this reversal of fortune did indeed
pose serious concerns for Miss Hillhouse, the admissions commit-
tee, and, ultimately, for the president. As the possibility of
selectivity increased, the admissions committee established cer-
tain goals. The quality of the student body (as measured by SATs,
high school preparation, and references), as well as the quantity,
must improve; more geographic diversity was to be emphasized;
seriousness of purpose (would the candidate be likely to stay for
four years?), good citizenship, and extracurricular activities would
be considered. In 1958, the college had accepted an "early
decision" plan and offered up to ten "honor" scholarships a year.
There were increasing financial aid options, as well, and as tuition
and fees increased, so did the number of students — usually about

251

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

one-third of the student body — who received help with the ex-
penses of their college education. The Alumnae Association began
in the early 1960s an admissions counselor progi^am, and every
effort was made to increase the visibility of the college and to
diversify the student body.'*'

But the penalties for sucess were unavoidable. On more than
one occasion, Dr. Spencer had to explain to a trustee why the
student he had recommended (perhaps a granddaughter or the
child of a close friend or business associate) had been denied
admission. How does one explain to a Presbyterian minister,
whose church has been asked for large sums of money to support
Mary Baldwin two times in 10 years, that the leader of the senior
highs at his church was not accepted? What do you do when a
governor or a congressman sends an urgent telegram about a
prospective student, or a major donor calls to remind you that the
young lady from her hometown has not yet "heard" from admis-
sions? In 1964, Dr. Spencer paid a special tribute to Marguerite
Hillhouse when he told the Board of Trustees that she had the
"unflinching ability" to withstand the substantial pressures. Much
later he wrote:

You may be surprised to know the quality
I immediately identify with Miss Hillhouse...
[it] is that of strength, the kind of strength
which comes from absolute integrity. The
task of an admissions officer is an enormous
strain on character... But Marguerite is not
one to temporize in matters of truth or
principle... and admissions officers must be
a dispenser, not of favors, but of justice.
Over the years she must have handled at
least 20,000 cases. Every single one of
them was treated as a person, rather
than a statistic. Every single one of them
received, at her hand, the best and fairest
judgment she could possibly give.^^

Dr. Spencer himself wrote hundreds of letters to disappointed
applicants and their families explaining the process of admission
and the required standards, but there were, understandably,
many disappointments.

252

To Live In Time

Bulldozers, Steam Shovels ami Aecidemic Excellence

Marguerite Hillhouse

The college, and before it the seminary, had never discrimi-
nated in student admission on the basis of religious preference.
There was always the careful statement that the college was not
"narrowly sectarian" and that girls of "many denominations make
up its student body." By the early 1960s the question of racial
discrimination was addressed at the trustees' meetings. The
various administrative levels of the Presbyterian Church U.S.
had stated their beliefs that all educational institutions (public
and private) should be integrated, but they lacked the power to
compel, and there were many factors that Dr. Spencer and the
trustees felt must be considered. At a time of synod campaigns,
major fund-raising efforts, and expanding enrollments, what
impact would racial integration have on the college's fragile
finances? How "V/ould the ensuing social problems be handled?
How would the student body react? Would Mary Baldwin College
students join sit-ins, demonstrations and street marches, and how
should civil disobedience be handled? These were serious ques-
tions, and the practical men and women of good conscience on the
board and administration wrestled with them. As early as 1959,
Dean Grafton had had two applications from black teachers to

253

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

attend the Mary Baldwin College summer session, and Mrs.
Grafton had written to them and invited them to come; but they
had not appeared. There had been no applications from young
black women for admission to the college, but it was obvious that
there soon would be and, in the spring of 1963, the board of
trustees approved adding to the catalogue statement about ad-
mission the sentence that qualified applicants would be consid-
ered "without regard to race or creed. " A quiet announcement was
released to the press 23 April 1963, and a modest consensus that
the "Board acted in accordance with what they believed right and
wise to do at this time" emerged. A student poll, "Attitude Scale
on my College Accepting Negro Students," was held; 282 students
out of 500 responded, of whom 46 said they would transfer if a
black student was accepted, and six said they would be willing
to share a room with her. Two hundred thirty-five of those polled
did not object to integration. Since the admission process had
already been concluded for 1963-64, it would be at least the 1964-
65 term before a black student could be enrolled, and that gave
some time for various college constituencies to adjust to the idea.
Not everyone did. A few alumnae resigned from the Alumnae
Association, and both Lea Booth (executive secretary, VFIC) and
Dr. Spencer agreed that some contributors ended their support in
consequence of the policy change. The letters that reached the
president's office were about evenly divided, although some were
very critical. Dr. Spencer wrote gratefully to one alumna, thank-
ing her "for your good spirit about the admission matter." The
trustees "took the action knowing that there would be honest
disagreement over the 'rightness' of it but felt that they must
protect the college from risingpressures." Later in 1963, the black
colleges of Virginia were admitted to the Association of Virginia
Colleges, and still later Dr. Spencer was chairman of the United
Negro College Fund in Staunton.^*

Generally, the students reacted calmly. In October 1963,
Campus Comments suggested that the college women tutor local
black students as a "quiet demonstration" of their belief that the
board of trustees had done the "right thing," and in 1965 the
Christian Association Council sponsored a series of programs
entitled "A Christian's Stake in Human Relations." We "wish to
inform the students, clarify the Christian response, suggest what
we can do to help," they wrote. In the spring of that year, the editor
of Campus Comments suggested that Mary Baldwin students
"march" on the YMCA (one block from, the campus) because black

254

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

children were not admitted to the swimming pool, but on 8 April
1965, the "Y" board voted to desegi'egate, and so no "march" was
necessary. ^^

There is no denying that, in spite of the above caveats, Dr.
Spencer's years were exhilarating ones for admissions personnel.
But by the late 1960s there were indications that, if not "over," the
"good times" were softening. As early as 1966, Mr. Spillman, in his
annual budget report to the trustees, warned that he foresaw
"financial difficulties when the leveling off point is reached." The
peak in applications had come the year before. In 1965, there had
been 1,000; in 1966, 819; in 1967, 800. In his president's report in
1967, Dr. Spencer said that the "pool" would not increase again
until 1969 and that the next decade would be hard for single-sex
colleges. He added that, given our physical facilities, Mary
Baldwin could become a coeducational institution of 800 "if the
trustees desired." The "most difficult task," he added, "would be
to reach agreement on a new name."^°

Still, it was hard for most of the college constituencies to be
concerned. Did it really matter whether one accepted one out of
five applicants or one out of four? There were still plenty of young
women applying, and the college was hard pressed to find housing
for them in spite of the new houses on North Market Street. The
college had purchased the block of property extending from
Blakely House to Prospect Street as a possible site of another new
dormitory; considered leasing or purchasing the Stonewall Jack-
son Hotel; finally leased the Putney Apartments across Frederick
Street from the library to handle the overflow.

In his inaugural remarks, Dr. Spencer had declared, "We serve
notice tonight that we are not only willing, but anxious to be
judged by the quality of the education we offer — quality which is
measured by the yardstick of national standards..." All of the
building, financial plans, synod relationships, expanded enroll-
ments really were only the support for the central mission of the
college, academic excellence. ^^ The "New Directions in the Liberal
Arts" had focused on curriculum — both methodology and content
and within a surprisingly short time, given the usual reluctance
of faculty committees to change, several visible programs were in
place.

These included the McFarland Language Laboratory, located

255

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

initially in the Student Activities Building and, after 1973, in
Grafton Library; a lecture-preceptorial method of teaching some
of the required courses which had large enrollments and had had
many duplicate sections; an audio-visual department to coordi-
nate and expand the use of tapes and films for classroom learning;
an Independent Reading Program for freshmen and sophomores;
a "paperback" student-run bookstore; a "Current Issues" series of
lectures featuring "outside" distinguished speakers; and eventu-
ally several overseas study programs, including those in Madrid,
Paris, and Oxford.

A note of empathy is appropriate here. In retrospect, it is
perhaps easier to comprehend the difficulties and challenges of
doubling the size of the student body and increasing the retention
rate to over 50% in a six-year period. What new courses should be
added; what inappropriate ones eliminated? How does one per-
suade long-time faculty to give up cherished teaching methods
and to try new ones? How do you successfully choose new
instructors who will work well with the revised curriculum but
will also integrate happily with the senior faculty? How do you
balance a student body so that a respectable distribution of
courses, not too many freshman-level, enough "advanced" courses
and seminars, are presented? How do you adjust library holdings
with these new demands? How do you persuade persons who are
already working to capacity to add a few more students to their
teaching loads each semester; to help supervise "independent"
reading programs; to attend "current issue" lectures, in addition
to drama presentations, choir concerts, piano recitals, art exhib-
its, and required chapel and convocation four times a week? How
do you "train" faculty to be sensitive and caring academic advisors
as you expand your student guidance programs? In essence, what
kind of "push" is necessary to achieve "new directions" in your
college curriculum?

As has been noted, a determined president and a persuasive
dean can accomplish a good deal, and between 1958 and the mid-
'60s, the faculty made an earnest and exhaustive effort to embrace
the "new directions."

The McFarland Language Laboratory had advanced "elec-
tronic teaching devices" and was dedicated on Founders' Day
1958. The entire third floor of Wenger Hall was given over to the
Modern Language facilities and offices for faculty and their
teaching assistants. There were 12 booths and each student had
the use of one for at least an hour each week in addition to her

256

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

classroom time. By 1964, 10 more booths had been added, but the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Self-Study declared
the equipment to be "obsolete." When the entire laboratory was
moved to Grafton, there was some modest updating, but the speed
of technological advancement made it increasingly hard to stay
current. Dr. Spencer believed that native-speaking language
assistants were necessary, so, although most of the language
faculty in this period were American, young women from Spain,
France and Germany were recruited as foreign exchange students
and helped to pay their college expenses by tutoring in the
language laboratory. ^^

Somewhat akin to the language laboratory was the great
interest in audio-visual learning. Larger universities were ex-
perimenting with closed circuit television classrooms, and by the
end of the decade used films and instant playback to assist in
physical education skills and practice-teaching demonstrations.
Of necessity, Mary Baldwin College made a more modest begin-
ning. Until 1958, any slides or movies which a professor wished
to use in his classroom had been his responsibility. The college
owned a few 16 mm films and the Fine Arts faculty was building
a modest slide library, but there had been no coordinated effort in
providing such services. Lillian Rudeseal was asked to organize
the audio- visual equipment, place orders, and to train students to
assist faculty who were to be "encouraged" to use such resources.
At first the AV Center was in Sky High. Later it was moved to the
overcrowded Library in Academic, and it was not until Grafton
Library opened that AV found a permanent home. Miss Rudeseal
was, of course, a full-time Associate Professor of Economics, and
she found the time involved to be a burden. After four years,
Virginia Bennett was hired to direct AV and the new Placement
and Campus Employment Center. Later the responsibility was
shifted to the library personnel, who certainly had enough to do
already and said so. The college made a modest but increasing
commitment each year to add to and update equipment. The
ubiquitous camera began to appear at all college events, and
endless speeches from conferences, mock political conventions.
Founders' Days, and gi^aduations were duly recorded. Gradually,
the college community became accustomed to AV; imperceptibly,
it became an integral part of the teaching/learning experience.

Another of the "New Directions" had been the introduction of
the "lecture preceptorial" method of teaching. Such courses as Old
and New Testament, European History Survey, English Litera-

257

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academie Excellence

ture, and General Psychology had, in the past, required several
"sections" each to meet student needs. As early as 1958, some of
the professors involved had agreed to have large lecture sections
twice a week, and to meet with several small groups of students
once a week for discussion and questions. Really more appropri-
ate for a large university, where student assistants could handle
the preceptorials, it did little to relieve the classroom hours of the
faculty involved. In some instances, "team teaching" was tried;
two or more professors shared the lecture times and each had one
or two small groups. But numerous precepts made scheduling
classroom space, which was limited, difficult. Students were
confused about who graded what, and the long-prevailing faculty
belief that he/she should have his/her "own" classroom and that
the students were his/hers, was hard to overcome. One professor
proclaimed that, "When that door closes, this is my kingdom and
I want to rule it as I choose." In any case, by the mid- 60s, the Self
Study reported, "Many of the faculty are disenchanted with this
method of teaching," and when the "new curriculum" began in
1968 the lecture-preceptorials came to an unlamented end.^'^

Much closer to Dr. Spencer's concerns than these "mecha-
nized" evidences of modernity was the expansion of the intellec-
tual environment. Academic requirements already included
"reading lists" in their major fields for juniors and seniors. Each
department handled this differently, but the concept embraced
the idea that a student should be acquainted with the seminal and
classical literature in her own field and be able to demonstrate her
awareness of it. Dr. Spencer now proposed that an "Independent
Reading Program" for freshmen and sophomores be incorporated
in the college curriculum. "Its purposes are to assure an acquain-
tance with selections from the great literature of the western
world; to develop the skill of reading critically and in depth; and
to lead students into the world of books..." There were 15 books,
divided into three groups of five. Freshmen were to have read
Group A by the end of their first college year; sophomores were to
complete all 15 by the end of their second year. Each book had a
"faculty sponsor" who in turn had one or two student assistants.
At regularly stated intervals, discussions about individual books
would be held, and a written examination would be given for each
book. Successful completion of the program was a graduation
requirement, although neither credit nor quality points were
involved. Dr. Marshall Brice was in charge of the entire procedure
(in addition to his full teaching load), and the program was begun

258

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

with great enthusiasm and interest in 1958. It was very dear to
Dr. Spencer's heart. "The whole program is based on my feehng
that most of our colleges have required too little from our students
and have tied them too closely to the technicalities of formal
courses," he wrote. He, himself, was responsible for sponsoring
Gulliver's Travels, and he wrote the introduction for the explana-
tory pamphlet. An article about the project, "Plato to Pogo,"
appeared in the Presbyterian Survey: other colleges wrote inquir-
ies, and expectations were high.^^

Closely tied to the program, and really necessitated by it, was
a "paperback" bookstore, founded and administered by the Stu-
dent Government Association. It was intended to be an "educa-
tional" rather than a "commercial" venture and was located on the
ground floor of the Administration Building, conveniently near
the dining room entrance, until the move to Hunt in April 1961.
A faculty/student committee chose the 500 titles, carefully ex-
plaining in Campus Comments that "paperbacks" had now come
of age. 'They were no longer "trash" but included reprints of
classics and gi^eat literature, and one could be seen reading them
without damaging one's reputation. The titles included all the
books on the Independent Reading List, as well as supplementary
titles, prints, and some stationery supplies. The bookstore was
self-service, ran on the Honor System, and lOUs were accepted as
well as payments in sealed envelopes dropped into a locked box.
Dr. Brice was the faculty sponsor. ^°

The entire project was imaginative, idealistic, educationally
sound — and very time-consuming for all involved. It was certainly
not an original idea; some other colleges had similar require-
ments, perhaps reflecting the whole "great books" concepts of the
1950s and 1960s. But, for Mary Baldwin College, it proved hard
to live with. Students asked for "integrated" exams (i.e. one test
encompassing all five books of a group) and then oral tests. Both
the Student Government Association and the Laurel Society
expressed concern about the strain put on the Honor System by
certifying that one had read the entire book. There seemed little
interest in the discussion groups, which were to be held in
dormitories and were to be student-run. Many of the faculty found
sponsoring a book unrewarding and the effort of making up
different but comparable examinations year after year difficult.
Dr. Brice, like Miss Rudeseal, felt that administering the program
on top of his regular duties was an imposition. When Mrs. Grafton
suggested perhaps Ben Smith could take it over, she was told that

259

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

it was not "good" for the program to be permanently associated
with the Enghsh Department. In June 1965, the Independent
Reading Program was changed from "compulsory to voluntary";
Dr. Frances Jacob was placed in charge. Freshmen were to read
three assigned books before coming to college, for discussion
during orientation, and all students were required to read one
"significant" book a year for discussion with their professors. By
midwinter 1966, the faculty reluctantly agreed that the new
proposal was not working, and the program was discontinued.^^

In the meantime, the student bookstore project was likewise
modified. Once Hunt was opened, space was available for a more
formal enterprise, and the college entered into a contract with a
downtown book and stationery supply store to open a college
bookstore in September 1962. Mrs. Marion Moore was the
manager, 1962-1976, and handled textbook ordering as well as
stocking college souvenirs, tee shirts, sundries, books and sup-
plies. It was modestly successful, the college realizing a small
percentage of the profits. Mrs. Moore was a welcome addition to
the campus. She was a friendly, competent. Phi Beta Kappa
intellectual who loved books and conversed about them knowl-
edgeably. Her son, Stewart, was for several years the landscape
and grounds supervisor and did much to beautify our hilly cam-
pus.

Mary Baldwin College became a member of The University
Center in Virginia soon after Dr. Spencer became president.
Founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, with headquarters in
Richmond, this organization coordinated and assisted coopera-
tive programs among its 21 Virginia college and university mem-
bers. One of its principal endeavors was the Visiting Scholars
program, which made available to member colleges 25 or more
speakers a year, encompassing a wide variety of disciplines.
Using these resources, Mary Baldwin was able to present a
number of convocation programs designed to stimulate student
intellectual curiosity. This was coupled, for several years, with a
Current Issues Series. A specialist in some contemporary field
presented a public lecture, after which some 25 students (who had
applied for the privilege previously) would join the visitor at Dr.
Spencer's home for further discussion and debate. ^^

Early in the Spencer years, a careful study of a proposed junior
year abroad program was begun. Dorothy Mulberry had joined
the faculty in 1959, and she and Dr. Spencer agreed that Spain
offered the best immediate opportunity for beginning a Mary

260

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Sieam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Baldwin-sponsored program. There were sufficient numbers of
Spanish students at the college to form a satisfactory base, and the
competition from other American schools was not as gi^eat in
Madrid as it was in Paris or England. Dr. Spencer explained the
rationale for having the college's own progi'am: "When we have
our own, many of our students go..." "We also lose students when
they attend other colleges' groups," he added. This, he told the
board, is the only way to achieve "real language competence." The
students will understand cultural differences. When they return
as seniors, they will be a "stimulus for the entire student body," he
declared. Miss Mulberiy knew Spain and Spanish education well
and worked to be sure the Spanish faculty were irreproachable
and the college credits which the program would give respectable.
The faculty approved the progi^am on 29 May 1961, to begin in
September 1962. A gi^oup of nine students sailed from New York
in August, with an elaborate sendoff involving New York alum-
nae, the captain of the ship, and much fanfare. They spent a
month in Salamanca and then went to Madrid, where they studied
Spanish Art, History and Geogi^aphy, Spanish Literature and
Philosophic Thought, as well as engaged in intensive language
work. Dorothy Mulberry was to stay for two years and then rotate
back to the college campus, and Barbara Ely would be the Madrid
director in her turn. The agi^eement was that the progi^am would
be "self-supporting" (except for the director's salaiy) within two
years. The quality of the Madrid program was enhanced by the
faculty Miss Mulberry recruited. They were distinguished per-
sons well-known in the academic community of Spain, and they
entered into the activities of the Mary Baldwin College gi'oup with
unusual enthusiasm and willingness. Dr. Spencer declared that
it was "successful beyond our highest expectations" and that the
number planning to go in 1963-64 was almost double the first
year. Eventually, he hoped to have 50 students studying abroad
each year and to build a regular exchange progi^am with their
faculty visiting the Mary Baldwin Campus. A weekly "letter from
Madrid" appeared in Campus Comments, and although the pro-
gram was academically demanding and relatively expensive ( Mary
Baldwin College students on financial aid were eligible to attend),
the Madrid program was, for over a decade, one of the "New
Directions" most popular experiments.^^

In November 1963, Dr. Spencer visited Madrid. He also spent
several days in Paris, exploring with the Institute of European
Studies how Mary Baldwin might begin a program there. By

261

To Live III Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

December, he was proposing to the faculty that a junior year in
Paris be approved, permitting Mary Baldwin students to enroll in
either the Sweet Briar, Smith or Hamilton College progi'ams or
that of the Institute. The students would live in pairs, in private
homes, and would study, according to their language ability, at
the Sorbonne or elsewhere. Unwilling to allow the students to be
without direct connection with their home base, Dr. Spencer
arranged for Madame Helene Bernhardt (a translator for General
Eisenhower and a personal friend of Julia Patch) to act as a
resident advisor. The program began in September 1964 but, by
1967, the board of trustees had agreed Mary Baldwin could begin
its own program the following fall. Frances Jacob was to be the
director and it would be similar to the Madrid setup.

One spin-off from these overseas programs was the establish-
ment of "French" and "Spanish" houses on campus, where the
resident students would speak only that language and could
immerse themselves in the culture of the country in which they
hoped to study during their junior year. Interested as he was in
everything. Dr. Spencer wrote, "I am very anxious to see that the
French House succeeds. Life there must be attractive enough so
students will compete to be included. "^^

One other overseas program, which still continues in a modi-
fied form, was a summer study program at St. Anne's College at
Oxford. Proposed by the English and History departments, it was
approved by the faculty in September 1966, and the first group of
largely Mary Baldwin college students departed for England in
late June 1967 under the direction of Dr. Ben Smith and his
energetic family. The area of study was to be Tudor-Stuart
England and six semester hours credit was allowed. Oxford tutors
and lecturers were used and the students were exposed to (and
often panicked by) a totally different method of teaching. ^°

There was still more to Dr. Spencer's international interests.
By 1963, a U.S. State Department project made possible a faculty
exchange between women's colleges in India and the United
States. Eventually there were 13 colleges in the program, of which
Mary Baldwin was one. The arrangements were complicated,
visas delayed, salary differentials hard to adjust, but eventually
the bureaucracy was conquered.

Dr. Mary Humphreys participated in this first exchange. She
arrived at Isabella Thoburn College in Lucknow on 14 July 1964,
and would remain there until April of 1965. (College calendars
had to be reconciled also.) In her place, Joyce Sheila John of

262

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Isabella Thoburn came to Mary Baldwin as a Biology laboratory
instructor. Isabella Thoburn was the oldest women's college in
India and had been established by Methodist missionaries. Both
women found similarities as well as many startling differences in
their new environments. The following year, Dr. Ruth McNeil
lectured and taught music appreciation (and much more) at
Miranda House in Delhi. This was a time of India-Pakistan
hostility, and there were blackouts and soldiers in the streets, but
Dr. McNeil seemed undisturbed.^^ No further exchanges took
place, although an occasional Indian scholar would appear at
Mary Baldwin for a lecture or a weekend visit. India and the State
Department cancelled the program the following year.

Early in 1964, Dr. Spencer had approached the trustees about
the possibility of a leave of absence, but the progress of the
building progi^am and the imminent SACS Self-Study led him to
postpone the request for a year. He was notified in the spring of
1965 that he had been awarded a Fulbright lectureship in Ameri-
can social history at the University of Munich for the school year
(1965-66), and the board agreed that he should go. "International
exchange," he wrote, "is a fact of contemporary education. Unless
college teachers and administrators participate in this process,
they will find themselves stranded in a provincial backwater,
isolated from the main currents of student interest." The three
younger children and Mrs. Spencer accompanied him, and the
campus seemed "different" and empty without his presence. ^^

One is impressed, as these crowded years are reviewed, at the
continual ferment of intellectual debate, contemporary issues and
concerns, and artistic activity which took place on the Mary
Baldwin campus, and the superior quality and high level of
competence of those involved.

The King Series continued, bringing not only musicians but
actors and lecturers as well. There were the Visiting Scholar
program, the Current Issues Series, the Christian Association
programs, the Religious Emphasis Weeks, the cornerstone layings
and dedication speakers. ^^

Perhaps the single most exciting occasion of the decade was
also the most unexpected. The President of the United States,
Dwight David Eisenhower, came to Mary Baldwin on 27 October
1960, and spoke briefly, standing on the porch at Main Building

263

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Sleain Shovels and Academic Excellence

in the same spot Woodrow Wilson had stood in 1912. He then
proceeded up the hill to the King Building, riding in his bubble top
limousine, to have lunch with 700 people. In spite of a cold
persistent rain, a crowd of 10,000 greeted him, packed into all the
available space on the front terraces and brick walks and out into
Frederick Street up to the doors of the First Presbyterian Church.
They were in trees, and even up on the roofs of neighboring
buildings. There were 100 pressmen shepherded by James C.
Hagerty, 25 extra press telephones, 5,000 miles of communica-
tion lines, hastily erected wooden platforms to protect the box-
wood (which had been destroyed during Wilson's visit). All the
schools and most of the businesses in town had closed. The college
(on half-day holiday) had invited trustees, presidents of all Vir-
ginia colleges and universities, and of all the Presbyterian colleges
in the South, the chairmen of all alumnae chapters, foundation
representatives, and special friends. The catered luncheon (coun-
try ham, shrimp, crab and chicken salad, asparagus and spiced
peaches) was held in King Auditorium, with the distinguished
guests at tables on the stage. The President's toast was to "fine
company" and to a "journey full of sentiment and deep feeling."
The whole affair, including a brief appearance by the Virginia
governor, the two Virginia senators, and the mayor of Staunton,
had been put together in two weeks! It was engineered by Emily
Pancake Smith, Lee Cochran and Charles Blackley. Mrs. Smith
always felt that every president of the United States should visit
Woodrow Wilson's Birthplace, and Coolidge, Hoover, and Franklin
D. Roosevelt had, in fact, done so. Throughout President
Eisenhower's terms in office, he had been repeatedly invited; but
now that his presidency was almost at an end, he had abruptly
agreed that he would come. The Birthplace, the college, and the
community joined to put together an appropriate ceremony. The
president wished to visit his mother's birthplace, "the Old Stover
Place" near Mt. Sidney, and the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace,
where he was presented a picture of the Stover home which had
hastily been painted by Horace Day. He would speak at Mary
Baldwin College and after lunch stop briefly at Staunton Military
Academy, where, in 1912, Wilson had given a dinner address.
Then he would ride through the grounds of Augusta Military
Academy on his way back to the airport. There were Secret
Service, state troopers, 1,200 national guardsmen, Staunton and
Augusta County police, and cadets from the military academies.
The "Star Spangled Banner" and other military songs were played

264

To Live III Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

by the 90th Army Band from Roanoke. There was the customary
21-gun salute, and everyone agi'eed that it had been a spectacular
event. There were some unexpected developments. Emily Smith
had worked so hard that, when 27 October arrived, she had lost
her voice, and Dr. Spencer had to preside at the luncheon in her
place. President Eisenhower had briefly wandered out into the
upper back gallery after his speech and had encountered a group
of 25 or so Mary Baldwin students. Looking them up and down he
asked them, "Are all the girls at Mary Baldwin as pretty as you?"
The president also enjoyed his brief reunion with Julia Patch, the
widow of one of his most trusted World War II generals. It seemed
to be part of the spirit of the occasion that the student body had
taken up a collection to buy luncheon tickets for the three foreign
students at the college so that they could eat lunch with the
President of the United States. ^"^

There were other "special occasions" as well. In 1961, a month-
long exhibit in the Mirror Room, "Staunton During the Civil War,"
memorialized the centennial of the nation's greatest tragedy.
Every four years, students with the help of the newly created
Political Science Department, staged a "mock" political conven-
tion complete with banners, slogans, parades and confetti. In
1967, helping to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the
founding of the college, the S. & H. Foundation funded six lec-
tures by distinguished scholars on the general subject, "Science
and Society." These men (they were all men) each spent two days
on the campus, visiting classes and seminars, as well as each
giving public lectures. That same year, the college received an
invitation to participate on the popular television show, "The GE
College Bowl." Five students and their coach (Robert Lafleur)
travelled to New York City to compete against the University of
Texas. Although they didn't win, they provided a real challenge
in the second half and the college was proud of them. On 2 Octo-
ber 1967, a two-day seminar was held for students and public
school teachers on "The Russian Revolution — Fifty Years After."
Featured was a Russian MIG fighter pilot (who had defected), as
well as university scholars and political commentators.

Founders' Day 1967 focused on the theme of "international-
ism" and featured a "Phone In" from around the world. Dr.
Spencer opened the proceedings by declaring:

In this larger world, where the actions
of persons in places as remote as

265

To Live III Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Saigon or Peking or Cairo vitally and
immediately affect us, we cannot be
satisfied to educate young women just
for the polite arts of the local community.
We cannot let them remain provincial...
They must look at the world through a
wide angle lens.

And to illustrate the college's growing international connections,
Dr. Spencer, via satellite, cable and high frequency radio, spoke to
alumnae and they spoke to each other in Hong Kong, London,
Tokyo, Paris, Munich, and Madrid while large clocks behind his
head showed the time in each location. The Mary Baldwin Bul-
letin reported, "A stone-silent audience of 1,000 students, faculty
and parents of seniors listened in wonderment to Dr. Spencer's
worldwide conference call — the first time an educational institu-
tion had done such a thing. "^°

Dean Grafton and President Spencer were determined that
this ferment of ideas and activities would be reflected in the
classroom as well. Not only the faculty, but increasingly the
students, shared in the decision-making as the curriculum was
modified, added to, and finally totally reworked. College course
offerings are selected, both from a broad consensus of what
constitutes "core" learning for a certain discipline, as well as
adequate library and laboratory resources to teach it, and specific
faculty interests and expertise. As the college faculty doubled in
these years, new courses shaped by these parameters appeared.
In addition, college faculty often responded to parental, student or
societal demands that certain subjects be included. In 1960,
funded in part by the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Society, the
George Hammond Sullivan Political Science Department was
added to the Social Science offerings. Alan Geyer was the first
faculty member and, when he resigned after five years, Robbins L.
Gates succeeded him. There could hardly have been a more
appropriate decade for extended "polysci" offerings, and both men
were challenging and rewarding teachers.

When it became known that Dr. Turner planned to retire in
1962, there was immediate discussion about who and what would
replace his popular senior seminar, "Problems in a Philosophy of
Life," which was required for graduation. It was generally agreed
that no one could replace Dr. Turner. After two years of debate
and study, an interdisciplinary course, "Man and Contemporary

266

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Culture," was introduced. Although it was a year's course, only
one semester was required for graduation, and a student could
elect either semester or both. The core faculty were from the
Religion and Philosophy Department, but many other disciplines
were represented. This effort lasted two years. Both faculty and
students found the work thought-provoking, but since faculty
participation was in addition to regular course loads, it could not
be sustained for long, and eventually the Philosophy requirement
for graduation was met by any Philosophy course a student chose
to elect.

In line with Dr. Spencer's stress on "internationalism" and
with increasing popular focus on Asia, Frank Price and Charles J.
Stanley, successive professors of International Studies, introduc-
ed "The World Beyond the West"; "Oriental Religious Thought";
"Modern China"; "The Near East and Africa"; "Chinese and
Japanese Masterpieces in Translation" and similar studies. Nat-
urally, there were major changes in the Modern Language areas,
both to prepare students for their overseas experiences and to
provide a solid language major at the college for those who could
not go abroad. Although no major was offered in Education, the
college had a long tradition of preparing students to teach, and the
courses in this area and in Psychology reflected state certification
requirements, as well as an increasing interest in educational
work for handicapped children.

An exciting development in this period was the translation
and production of a series of medieval music dramas from the Karl
Young collection of medieval manuscripts at Yale University.
Fletcher Collins, Gordon Page, and a succession of dedicated and
talented students, collaborating with scholars in the United
States and England, were able to present several of these plays,
including the great Easter trilogy. The college choir and other
students joined professional singers at the Folger theater in
Washington, D.C., and in performances in Upperville, Virginia,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and of course, in Staunton. ^^

One of Dr. Spencer's objectives had been to add faculty to one-
person departments. By 1968, that had almost been accom-
plished. Naturally, course offerings in each subject had increased
dramatically — there were twice as many Math courses as had
previously been available. There v/ere five faculty members in
English (which had always been a big department), four in
History, three in Chemistry, five in Biology, five in Mathematics,
ten in Modern Languages, three in Music, five in Psychology, four

267

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

in Religion and Philosophy. Only Drama and Physics were still
small; Drama was seriously understaffed, but joined with the
Music and English faculties in many collaborative projects. The
400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's birth was observed in 1964,
and a Fine Arts Festival featured art, music and drama, including
a performance of The Tempest. Readers' Theater was begun in
1963, and the college regularly won recognition at the Virginia
College Drama Festival at the Virginia Museum Theater.

It is almost de rigeur that college women will complain about
Physical Education requirements. Mary Baldwin students cer-
tainly did. There was a long-standing commitment to provide for
the health and physical well-being of the students. In addition,
teacher certification requirements imposed certain demands on
the course offerings, and the college sought to emphasize skills
that would be useful to students after graduation. In 1957, three
years of Physical Education were required for graduation, includ-
ing participation in a team sport, an individual sport, rhythm, and
swimming. Ten years later, the three-year requirement was still
in place, although there was great pressure to change it, and
exemptions and extra credit options made it easier to meet. The
courses were now graded as "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory,"
rather than being given a letter grade, but six semester hours had
to be completed before one could be graduated. By 1966, Campus
Comments was declaring that most students believed that only
two years of Physical Education should be required. Physical
Education courses, they said, demanded weekend activities such
as attendance at tournaments. There were sometimes extra fees.
There were tests and written assignments. It was hard on
students who were away their junior year to make up the require-
ments; one shouldn't have to work out one's academic schedule on
the basis of the Physical Education requirements! And, they said
indignantly, they were not allowed to smoke while they were
bowling!^" By 1967, Physical Education courses were offered in
golf, tennis, swimming, dance, bowling, horseback riding, fencing
and badminton. Team sports were basketball and volleyball.
Hockey had had to be dropped when the athletic field was sold.
There was intercollegiate competition in dance (Virginia College
Dance Festival), golf (Virginia Collegiate Open Championship
Golf Tournament sponsored by Mary Baldwin each fall) equita-
tion, swimming (including Red Cross Life Saving and the Dolphin
Club), fencing (Virginia Intercollegiate Tournament for Women),
and basketball.

268

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

And there was tennis. Mary Jane Donnalley had joined the
faculty in 1959. She held over 60 tennis trophies and was
recognized as one of the nation's top tennis authorities and
teachers. In 1960, five all-weather tennis courts had been con-
structed at the top of Market Street hill. They were appropriate-
ly called the "Skyline" courts, and there were two rebound walls
for practice, as well. The courts v/ere uncomfortably close to an
SMA dormitory. Wishing to screen the players from the catcalls
and comments of adolescent cadets, Dr. Spencer suggested a
"thick thorn hedge."

Under Mrs. Donnalley's leadership, Mary Baldwin College
became a "power" in women's tennis in the 1960s and 1970s. The
Middle Atlantic Lawn Tennis Association, (MALTA) beginning in
1960, regularly held its Women's Intercollegiate meets on the
Mary Baldwin campus, and the college's players consistently won
singles and doubles titles, in some instances advancing to na-
tional tournament levels. Alumnae will remember Nancy
Falkenberg, Cindy Goeltz, Sandy Zeese, Charlotte Folk, Pat
Kenehan, Jill Eiseman, Kit O'Bannon-all of whom won regional
or national recognition. Nor was it unusual to find the president
of the college on the courts, where he tried his skills against the
college's champion players or their coach.

In 1963, the clan system (Scotch and Irish) had been replaced
by four clans (English, Welsh, Scotch, and Irish), with the inten-
tion of promoting intramural athletic competition and wider stu-
dent participation. By 1968, the clans were no more and compe-
tition was organized by classes.^^

The college sought in these years to provide opportunities for
those students who were well-prepared for college work. Fresh-
men were allowed exemptions and even academic credit based on
Advanced Placement tests scores. In 1960 an "AB-3" program was
established, setting up a schedule whereby a student could gradu-
ate in three years by combining advanced placement, overloads,
and summer work. A few students took advantage of this, but
more were completing their requirements at the end of the first
semester of their senior year. No "remedial" work was offered on
the theory that the rigorous selection process had not permitted
entry to anyone who was not prepared for college-level work. The
number of Honor Scholarships increased, as did their monetary
amount. There were independent study opportunities, and by the
mid-60s a special course for superior freshman and sophomore
students had been instituted.

269

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Sleain Shovels and Academic Excellence

The basic curriculum, however, had not been materially chang-
ed since 1953. In 1967, the president appointed a faculty commit-
tee to investigate the curriculum, graduation requirements, and
the calendar. Our structure is 15 years old and "too rigid," the
committee reported. Nationally, colleges were reexamining and
articulating the purposes of higher education and how to imple-
ment them. Students were better prepared than they had been.
They did not need to spend their first two college years continuing
their high school work. A small, church-related liberal arts college
had a "unique opportunity" to work out a new system, with the
advantages of close personal relationships and concern for each
individual. Given faculty guidance, students should have the
opportunity for more choice: their curriculum should be "flexible,
creative, and challenging." A liberal arts college graduate, they
reported, "should have a competent understanding of the methods
of inquiry and modes of conceptualization appropriate to each of
those areas of knowledge and activity which form the totality of
the human experience." Hence the course offerings were to be
grouped into four areas: Modes of Communication; the Natural
World in Scientific Perspective; the Human World in Scientific
Perspective; and Interpreting Human Existence. Students would
elect studies from each of these broad areas according to their own
interests and curiosity. "Course units" would replace "semester
hours." Instead of a normal load of five courses, only four would
be studied at one time, allowing for longer class periods, more
focus on fewer subjects, and greater depth of study. About half of
the college work would be distributed among these areas; the
remainder would meet the specific requirements of a "major."
However, the Physical Education requirement remained the
same. There was a pass/fail option as well as conventional grad-
ing, and the registrar was left to cope with correlation of college
transcripts of this new system with traditional semester hours.
Although there was considerable debate, the faculty agreed to
begin the new system in September 1968.^^

Anyone who has ever attended a college faculty meeting is
aware that "big" proposals, such as a whole new curriculum, can
pass relatively easily. But try to change the class "cut" system,
when and how examinations are to be taken, whether or not to
hold Saturday classes, and how to rearrange things so a longer-
than-normal convocation period can be provided for a distin-
guished speaker, and you will face endless debate, impassioned
speeches, pleas for the parliamentarian to rule on motions that

270

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

are out of order, demands for secret ballots, and arguments over
who is entitled to vote. All of these issues occupied the Mary
Baldwin College faculty in the 1960s.

One indication of the power and prestige of President Spen-
cer was his ability to reintroduce Saturday classes. They had
"always" existed at Mary Baldwin until September 1955, when
the college had gone to a five-day week, partly with the pious hope
that a whole weekend free would permit the students more
"quality" time for their extracurricular sports and activities. Dr.
Spencer believed in Saturday classes. Students came to college
to learn, and that could be done on Saturday as well as the other
five days of the week. In September 1959, the five-and-half-day
week was reinstated. Faculty consciences understood that it
made a more relaxed and balanced schedule, even though their
own personal preferences might have suggested otherwise. The
students had no such internal struggle. They did not like Satur-
day classes and mounted a long campaign to end them. It was not
until social regulations were eased and more frequent "over-
nights" and weekends were permitted that a serious reconsidera-
tion of the issue was made. But Saturday classes remained until
the "new curriculum" was instituted in 1968. By then. Dr. Spencer
had left.

There were some major changes in the examination system, as
well. The Student Government Association's curriculum commit-
tee played an important role in these developments. All examina-
tions were taken under the Honor System, which meant profes-
sors did not remain in the classrooms while they were in progress;
but customarily the dean's office made up the examination sched-
ule, and she dealt as best she could with the inevitable distraught
student who had four examinations in two days. Students wanted
a "reading day" before examinations started; they wanted the
faculty to refrain from giving tests or requiring term papers
during the last week of the semester; they wanted examinations
before Christmas; they wanted exemptions for seniors from ex-
aminations in their major field (on the gi'ounds that seniors were
required to take Graduate Record Examinations and com-
prehensives so they had already been tested); and most of all, they
wanted to be able to set their own examination schedules. They
did not secure all these desires, but they were listened to, and the
faculty yielded where they could. By slow, careful steps the
examination conditions were made more flexible, and in 1967 the
students won a major victory: self-scheduled examinations. On

271

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

the whole, this system worked well. No privilege was or is more
jealously guarded than this.^°°

Even the special curriculum revision committee was unwill-
ing to make recommendations about the college calendar. The
two-semester system would remain in effect for several more
years, although there were student pleas to consider a "short
term" either in January or May.

Mary Baldwin was not immune from the trend away from
strict rules and regulations about class cuts and grading reports.
By 1968, only first semester freshmen and students on probation
were denied "unlimited cuts" and only "unsatisfactory work" was
reported at quarters instead of letter grades. In general, academ-
ic regulations were easing, in some cases almost disappearing, all
over the country. Mary Baldwin remained, by most standards, a
very conservative school; but, in contrast to earlier times, there
was increasing reliance on student decisions. It remained to be
seen if the college was moving along this untried path quickly
enough to satisfy the cultural changes of the late 60s.

It had been considered a triumph and a great relief when
President Jarman's newly created college had been approved by
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1931. It had
meant academic respectability and national accreditation. It also
meant, as time went on, increasingly sophisticated methods of
evaluating colleges' performances and viability. Until the 1960s,
this had been accomplished by detailed reports from the presi-
dent's office. But, shortly after Dr. Spencer came to Mary Baldwin,
he was informed that henceforth each member institution of
SACS would have to undertake an elaborate Self-Studv once
every 10 years, after which a "visiting team" of educators would
spend three or more days on the campus in order to review the
report and to add their suggestions. Continued accreditation
would be based on this procedure and the willingness of the college
to carry out the recommendations that were made. Mary Baldwin
was to undertake this project in 1963-64, but Dr. Spencer pre-
vailed upon SACS to delay for at least a year, so that Phase I of
the building program would be completed for their inspection. The
Self-Study required participation and cooperation from all the
faculty, the administrative staff, and the board of trustees. It

272

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

involved the collection and dissemination of much information
the president might have preferred to keep confidential. It meant
questionnaires to alumnae and students, research into poorly
organized college records, a time commitment from many people
who were already overburdened. But somehow it was done.
Martha Grafton was Chairman of the Steering Committee and
senior faculty chaired the other committees. After careful editing,
the 218 page document was dispatched to Atlanta, and the "team
visit" was awaited with less than enthusiasm. Dr. Spencer was in
Germany when they came (February 1966), and, upon reading
their final report, he was irritated. SACS had, among other
points, said the college had no "long-range plans." Since the
Spencer administration had insisted, both in physical facilities
and academic goals, that it was planning for the next half century,
this seemed unfair. "Perhaps it was because I was not here," he
told the trustees... "They did not see our projections." In any case,
the college was reaccredited and even complimented, and every-
one breathed a sigh of relief and said to each other, "That's done
for another ten years!" It was amazing how quickly the next
decade went by.^°^

There were changes in some of the college "traditions," as well.
Founders' Day was moved to the first Saturday in October, rather
than being held on 4 October, and in 1962 it was combined with
"Senior Parents' Day." Early in the Spencer administration it was
decided to hold an "Honors Convocation" in the second semester,
to emphasize the commitment to academic excellence that the
"New Directions" was seeking. Students whose grade point
averages qualified them for the Honors or Dean's list were recog-
nized, and some of the most interesting speakers who visited the
campus came for this occasion. There was increased interest in
national honorary fraternities. A chapter of Phi Alpha Theta
(History) was chartered in 1965. And in January 1968, Dr.
Spencer was informed that Mary Baldwin College was accepted
by the United Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa for "study." It would
be three years before a final decision was made but, if there had
ever been a personal goal that Mrs. Grafton and Dr. Spencer had
set, it was to see the college with a chapter of the oldest and most
distinguished academic honorary society in the country. It now
appeared that this might be possible. Mary Baldwin students also
began seriously to compete for summer study and graduate
fellowships. During these years, several won support for summer
study in England from the state chapter of the English-Speaking

273

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Union, and two seniors were awarded Woodrow Wilson Graduate
Fellowships. ^°^

The culmination of any academic year is graduation. Here,
too, changes occurred, often reflecting the increasing pace of
American life. Dr. Spencer was interested in this, as well, and
influenced the changing patterns of ceremony. In 1964, he
informed his staff that there should be a new diploma design. "Our
old one is too large and also rather undistinguished, it seems to
me... I want the diploma to express the dignity, grace and strength
of the college." There were other efforts to bring Dr. Spencer's
sense of "dignity" to the college ceremony. The time-honored
Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" seemed to him too closely akin
to high school ceremonies, and both Dr. Spencer and Dr. Broman
wanted to replace it with more classical selections. The seniors
balked and petitions and protests flooded the campus. The presi-
dent compromised; the seniors could have their choice for the
recessional. Dr. Broman would choose an appropriate proces-
sional selection. "While it is not what I would choose," Dr. Spencer
wrote to Carl Broman, "I think it is too small a matter to quibble
over and I have ok'd this." May Day had been removed from the
year-end festivities, and Alumnae Homecoming had been added
to the Commencement weekend. There was a reunion luncheon,
a presidential garden party, a Sunday morning Honor Society
breakfast and a baccalaureate held at the First Presbyterian
Church. Commencement was now held on Sunday afternoon, and
since there was no longer a specific "Class Day," the senior class
gift, the passing of the class colors and the Laurel citations were
now part of the Commencement ceremonies. Fewer and fewer
underclass women stayed for graduation, and as the number of
seniors increased, the custom of senior "attendants" was phased
out.

Happenstance played a role in another modification of Com-
mencement traditions in the Spencer years. One of the most
popular Visiting Scholars had been Dr. Huston Smith, a Dan-
forth lecturer from MIT who had spoken on "The God Seekers."
The students had been so responsive to him that he was asked (at
their request) to give the Commencement address on 3 June 1963.
The Shenandoah Valley Airport had only recently opened and
flights in were few, but arrangements had been made for Dr.
Smith to fly from Boston and to arrive in time for the afternoon
festivities. It also happened to be the weekend that daylight
saving time went into effect. Dr. Smith's flight from Boston to

274

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Washington was delayed, and he missed his Staunton connec-
tions. The schedule failed to take into account the changed time,
and the result was that he was unable to reach Staunton by 3 p.m.
Few events could be calculated to be more upsetting than no
commencement speaker. Dr. Spencer stepped into the breach,
made a few thoughtful remarks, and was greeted with loud
approval. It had been a long day. There had been an eloquent
baccalaureate address; there had been a special commissioning
service for Terry Lee Alexander, who became the second "young
lady" in Virginia to win her "Ensign" rating in the U.S. Navy while
a student on a Virginia college campus; there had been 79
diplomas presented individually; and everyone agreed that not
having a commencement speaker was an excellent idea. There-
after, that custom prevailed at Mary Baldwin College for many
years. ^°^

The continued growth of the college had had a major impact on
the faculty, which increased from 30 full-time members to 59 (not
counting the instructional staff at Madrid and Paris). The sex
ratios remained fairly constant, about 50-50, but the average age
dropped considerably. In 1960, Dr. Spencer reported to the
trustees that it was hard to acquire "good" faculty because Mary
Baldwin was a women's college, it had a Virginia location (which
portrayed "massive resistance" and racial prejudice to many
young professionals), and, as a private, church-related school, its
salary scale was low. In 1964, he added that there were "obvious
difficulties in finding persons of Christian commitment as well as
competence." He and Dean Grafton wanted "bright young faculty
with relatively little experience but considerable future poten-
tial." In order to raise salaries. Dr. Spencer was willing to add a
little to the faculty/student ratio, and he wrote that he would not
fill a vacancy unless he could find the proper candidate to fill it —
he would rather do without. ^°^

Faculty were recruited, in these more informal days, by "net-
working," contacts with graduate schools, and the use of the
Cooperative College Registry. Dr. Spencer asked the faculty from
time to time to make recommendations to him from among their
professional colleagues and acquaintances. Occasionally, a po-
tential candidate would make a direct personal inquiry. In any
case, the faculty appointments of these years were for the most

275

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

part successful, and many of them remained for long years of
service.

From the beginning of his presidency, Dr. Spencer had press-
ed the trustees to raise faculty salaries and compensation. At that
first board of trustees meeting 21 March 1957, before he had
even officially become the president, he had declared, "Unless we
can raise salaries we will cease to be a quality institution," and, in
spite of the many demands for his limited dollars, he kept this as
a high priority. As the familiar request was presented year after
year, one trustee demanded, "Does this ever end?" But it did not.^°^
In 1959, he asked the faculty to express anonymously, by means
of a questionnaire, their feelings about salary levels and other
matters. Many refused to answer, saying that they did not have
sufficient financial information to make suggestions, but there
was general agreement that overall averages should be higher.
Teaching effectiveness, they said, should be the number one
criterion for determining compensation, followed by seniority and
degrees. Many were opposed to "across-the-board" raises, and
some felt community and church work should not be counted in
evaluating performance. One answer asked for "at least" the
"national averages" and said bluntly: "Fire us or 'retire' us when
we do more harm than good... putting us out to pasture might be
fine." There was considerable criticism of faculty who were paid
for "outside" work or who held second positions elsewhere, but
with the consent of the dean this continued to be permitted.

Working with the Association of American Colleges and later
with figures from the American Association of University Profes-
sors, Dr. Spencer had a factual basis upon which to base his salary
projections. He was also privy to information from the Virginia
Foundation of Independent Colleges and thus had a pretty ac-
curate idea of what the 13 independent colleges in Virginia were
paying their faculty. As his objective, he set coming in among the
top five of the VFIC. In 1957, when Dr. Spencer became presi-
dent, the salary scale was $3,500-$6,000. By 1968, the average
salary was $10,671 and the senior professors were paid slightly
over $12,000 a year. There had been significant yearly advances,
and the goal of upper level VFIC ranking had been achieved. ^^"^

Nor were faculty, staff and employee benefits ignored. A
thorough study of retirement and medical insurance policies
resulted in the college making enhanced benefits available for
their professional personnel. In addition, faculty children could
attend the Tate Demonstration School tuition-free, everyone was

276

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

entitled to lunch in the Hunt Dining Hall, and there was a 10%
discount on purchases at the bookstore. If one joined the faculty,
80% of moving expenses were paid, and low-interest second
mortgages loans from the college were available toward home
purchases.

As early as 1959, Dr. Spencer had asked the trustees to give
formal approval to the Association of American Colleges state-
ment on academic freedom. There has "never been a problem"
concerning this, he reported, but "there should be board ac-
knowledgement of the policy." This was shortly followed by
acceptance of the American Association of Colleges "Principles of
Tenure" and in 1963, the first faculty handbook setting forth
specifically all the responsibilities and privileges of faculty status
was printed and distributed. By 1965, the trustees had approved
a sabbatical leave policy, and modest but increasing funds were
set aside each year to help faculty attend professional meetings
and to undertake summer research. By 1967, a part-time faculty
secretary had been employed to help with test and manuscript
preparations. The college also belonged to the Faculty Children's
Tuition Exchange program, but Dr. Spencer was soon disillu-
sioned with it. In 1964, Dr. Spencer wrote, "We have no credits
available: the entire system became badly clogged some time ago
and is virtually defunct."

Faculty promotion was on a merit basis and determined by the
dean and the president. The average academic load was 13 hours
with normally three preparations a semester, although many
faculty exceeded these limits. After the building program was
completed (1970), all faculty had individual offices, but in the
early Spencer years there had been much "doubling up" and
crowded conditions. There was also committee work, and as the
size and disposition of the faculty increased so did the committee
numbers. By 1967, there were 22 standing and ad hoc faculty com-
mittees. Some committee members were nominated and elected
by the faculty; others were appointed by the dean and the presi-
dent. By the end of the Spencer tenure, some faculty made reports
on special occasions to the board of trustees and often participated
on board committees. Likewise, there was student participation
on some faculty committees. Faculty were also active participants
in the student advisory system, particularly after the curriculum
of 1968 was in place. There was also individual faculty research,
and participation in the college's extracurricular activities. All of
this was "accepted as the natural part of the workload of each

277

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

faculty member," reported the Self-Study. ^""^

This bland statement should not be taken to mean that the
Spencer era faculty were indifferent to the great changes that
were occurring in American society or even on their own campus.
In spite of increasing competition for bright young faculty, the
Grafton-Spencer choices were talented, energetic and ambitious
young (for the most part) men and women. Faculty meetings were
no longer the decorous and sedate affairs they had been in the
Jarman era, although they did not reach the decibel levels of the
70s and 80s. There were clashes of personalities and opinion, and
sometimes acrimonious debates over what might appear as trivial
matters; i.e., should there be pluses and minuses in the grading
system (no); should we smoke in faculty meetings (smoking was
discontinued in faculty meetings in 1966); how can we arrange a
longer convocation period for an outstanding program; (The "C"
schedule, five minutes deducted from each class period to add to
convocation or chapel, was universally despised by both faculty
and students, but starting classes at 8:10 a.m. was deemed to be
worse). There were other, more serious matters to discuss. Should
Mary Baldwin apply for a chapter of the AAUP (one was approv-
ed in 1963); should there be student evaluation of the faculty (not
in the Spencer era); should the college participate in "Project
Opportunity" (yes, although well intentioned, it was short-lived).
There was increasing faculty resistance to policy statements from
the administration about which they had not been consulted; i.e.,
"all faculty will have Saturday classes"; "all faculty will post office
hours and keep them!" Dr. Spencer was insistent that faculty
attend chapel and convocations regularly, and, when their visibil-
ity diminished, he reminded them of his expectations. On the
whole, however, faculty-administration and faculty-faculty rela-
tionships were amicable and based on mutual respect and often
close friendships. It was not unusual after a prolonged and vocal
faculty meeting to see opponents clustered around a club table
sharing coffee, and much faculty social life centered around their
working colleagues. ^°^

There were some poignant leave-takings in this decade.
"Mam'selle" Flansburgh, Fannie Strauss, Dr. Turner, Dr. Thom-
sen, Mr. Daffin, Dr. Carroll, Dr. Brice, Dr. Humphreys, and Miss
Weill all retired, and Dr. Mahler resigned to accept a teaching
position elsewhere. Few people remembered a time when some of
these persons had not been on the campus, and the connections
with the Jarman era were now almost severed. ^°^ There were

278

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

always special ceremonies for long-term retirees, and the custom
of presenting Mary Baldwin armchairs to them was begun.

Many of the Spencer appointees followed college tradition and
stayed for decades, if not lifetimes. Alumnae will recall with
affection and respect James McAllister and Gertrude Davis (1958);
Dorothy Mulberry (1959); Betty Myers (Kegley) and Ben Smith
(1960); Barbara Ely, Jackson Galbraith, Frank Price (1961);
Marjorie Chambers, Ulysse Desportes, Owen Walsh (1962); Rob-
ert Lafleur and John Mehner ( 1963); Don Thompson, James Lott
(1964); "Albie" Booth, Joe Garrison, Robbins Gates, Ethel Smeak,
and John Stanley ( 1965); Mary Irving, Bonnie Hohn ( 1966); Jerry
Venn, James Patrick, Bernard Logan (1967); Mary Echols, Frank
Southerington, and Robert Weiss (1968).^^*^

It had been hoped that a larger student body would bring
greater diversity in geographic origin, religious preferences, and
pre-college experiences. To some extent this did happen-yet about
40% of the student body was from Virginia, and 299c more were
from the southern states that had traditionally formed the re-
cruitment pool. There were increasing enrollments from New
York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and
Arkansas year after year contributed 15 to 20 students. There
were always eight to 10 "foreigTi" students, including those em-
ployed in the language laboratory. Patterns of religious prefer-
ence remained relatively unchanged. There were always more
Presbyterians than others (in 1968, 363 out of 701 students).
Episcopalians were usually next (in 1968, 176) followed by Meth-
odists and Baptists. There was usually Catholic representation
(in 1968 there were 18), followed by a sprinkling of other Protes-
tant groups. A small but increasing number of students indicated
no religious preference at all. Economic diversity did not materi-
ally alter either. About one-third of the student body had
traditionally received financial aid, and that proportion contin-
ued as a constant, although as tuition and fees increased so did the
individual financial aid packages. ^^^

Any discussion of student life at Mary Baldwin College must
take into account the world in which they lived and the pressures
which surrounded them. The "Beatles" came to America in 1963
and midwifed what came to be called the "Counterculture." John
F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in November 1963, and in

279

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

response to that tragedy Congress enacted the far-reaching legis-
lation of the Lyndon B. Johnson "Great Society. " This included the
Civil Rights Act, a Voting Rights Act, the War on Poverty, and the
end, by constitutional amendment, of the poll tax. A federal office
of Economic Opportunity was created, as was a new cabinet
position. Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Medicare was
approved, and Headstart, special assistance to Appalachia, and
National Foundations of the Arts and the Humanities were
established. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in
1964, and the American involvement in Vietnam escalated in the
years that followed. A civil rights march led by Martin Luther
King from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, attracted national
attention, followed by race riots of frightening proportions in Los
Angeles, Newark and Detroit. The "black power" movement split
King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and mass
demonstrations against the Vietnam War occurred in many
American (and European) cities. The University of California at
Berkeley saw the birth of the Free Speech Movement (1964), the
"love-ins," the open use of hallucinatory drugs, long hair, sandals,
"flower children" and the "hippie generation." The United States
temporarily occupied the Dominican Republic, the Soviets bru-
tally crushed a revolt in Czechoslovakia, and Israel humiliated
Egypt in a Six Day War (1967). The year 1968 may have been the
most wrenching in recent American history; Martin Luther King
and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated; the TET offensive in
Vietnam was seen as making a United States victory an impossi-
bility; police clashed with anti-war demonstrators. Richard Nixon
was elected President of the United States in November 1968.

Faced with this litany of crisis and tragedy, it is almost
inconceivable, looking back, to realize how innocent, how shel-
tered, how protected the Mary Baldwin College community was.
This was not because the administration and faculty did not try to
expose their students to reality; they did. All of the above events
and topics were discussed in lecture series, in classrooms, in
Christian Association programs, and student "bull" sessions. One
can trace in Campus Comments and Miscellany the growing
awareness of "life beyond the yellow brick walls" as the years go
by, but as late as 1967 editorials deplored student "apathy" about
lectures and convocations. The principal subjects for debates in
these years centered around ending compulsory church and chapel
attendance, modifying the drinking rule, changing sign-out and
approved housing and the "apartment rule" policies as they re-

280

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

lated to Washington & Lee and the University of Virginia, and
amending or rewriting the Student Government Association Con-
stitution.

But the students were changing, nevertheless. They were
more wilhng to criticize traditional customs and policies. They
were increasingly resistant to "requirements," whether academic
or social, and campaigned relentlessly and effectively for more
"choice." They were less and less interested in the intellectually
oriented lectures and concerts which Dr. Spencer and others had
worked so hard to bring to the campus, and, to judge from the
Campus Comments editorials and letters to the editor, their
behavior in chapel was deplorable. By 1968, Mary Baldwin was
definitely a "suitcase" college and, although a special committee
planned attractive weekend events, a large proportion of the
student population was likely to be elsewhere on Saturday and
Sunday. The pressure of numbers meant more and more off-
campus housing, which was usually restricted to seniors and
juniors. They liked the greater freedom and intimacy of this liv-
ing style, but this alternative, coupled with the physically larger
grounds, diluted the close community that had existed on the "old
campus." The YWCA became the "Christian Association," a kind
of umbrella organization for social service projects, and some
excellent work was done, but no one any longer claimed that it
represented the entire student body. The "Scotch/Irish" clans
(and their successors) eventually faded away for lack of support.
Class Day disappeared and May Day was folded into the spring
dance weekend, another victim of the disestablishmentarianism
of the 1970s.

Most of this occurred so gradually that the extent of the
changes was not obvious. It is only in retrospect that one can ap-
preciate how much the basic standards and values were altering.
Still, in some ways, the Mary Baldwin College "girl" (she did not
yet think of herself as a "woman") of 1968 appeared to be the same
kind of young woman who had greeted the Spencers in 1957.
There were still dress codes; when she was in the classroom, the
dining hall, downtown or at church, the Mary Baldwin student
was clad in a skirt and blouse (with a little round collar), matching
sweater sets and loafers or, on Sunday, in a dress, hat, and
perhaps gloves. By 1968, the hats and gloves were gone, the skirts
were much shorter, and waistlines had disappeared in the wake
of the "mini," but most of the students were still "appropriately"
clothed (at least by conservative Staunton standards). They could

281

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

be stirred to mass enthusiasms; the combined student efforts to
raise money for the Library (and to a lesser degree the science
building) were widely supported. There were three "mock" politi-
cal conventions during these years (1960, 1964, and 1968) which
attracted much student participation. The student campaign to
"name" Spencer dormitory was spontaneous and solely student-
directed. The Sophomore Shows during the Spencer years were
increasingly complex and ambitious. A Junior Dads' Day was
begun in 1967. The excitement over President Eisenhower's visit
was genuine. Efforts to redesign the Student Government Asso-
ciation appeared to have provoked endless debate; and "room
check" before 10:00 a.m. (to be sure the beds were made) was in-
dignantly criticized. There was sorrow when the tradition of
individually decorated tables at Christmas dinner was changed in
1964. The Social Committee would now do it. "Somehow it will be
different," they mourned, "but then we are different — we are a big
college now."^^^

The close relationships between faculty and students, so
characteristic of the past, continued. But imperceptibly this, too,
was changing. Some of the younger faculty did not object to a first-
name basis — at least outside of the classroom. There were fewer
"teas" held in faculty homes; they were replaced by picnics and
cookouts. Class structure became less formal and "projects" and
"demonstrations" replaced formal testing and term papers. Stu-
dents "baby-sat" faculty children and even faculty pets. It was
easier to work out the details of field trips, and thus the opportu-
nity for greater informality existed. As always, the work in choir
and glee club, in drama and in athletics, provided special oppor-
tunities for faculty-student contacts. And the major requirements
of book discussions and "comps" meant that a senior almost
always felt a special kinship with at least one professor in her
discipline.

There were changes in the Student Government Association
as well, although not as many or as radical as they were on other
campuses. There was considerable effort in this decade to keep
current with what other colleges' student governments were
doing, but things on the Mary Baldwin College campus changed
slowly. ^^'^

Foreshadowing future problems with the Honor System, the
Student Government Association in 1963 created an Honor Court,
separate from the Judiciary Board. Designed to work closely with
the administration Advisory Board, the Honor Court would con-

282

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

sider major infractions of the Honor Code, leaving minor social
violations to be dealt with by the "Judish." Emphasis was placed
on the understanding that the honor system covered all aspects
of student life, but the strain that the "apartment rule," alcohol
prohibition, and unpaid lOUs at local shops put on the system was
already apparent. For the first time, in 1962, stealing (in the
dormitories) was reported. After an investigation, a student was
expelled. The increasing legalism of the 1960s led to an official
college "Statement of Protection of Personal Property." The Stu-
dent Government Association, in the case of theft, "is free to use
any means at its disposal" to discover the guilty, it warned.
The students may call on the administration for help in recovering
their possessions. When a student accepts her room assignment,
she establishes a "tenant-landlord" relationship, and the college
might undertake room "checks" to see to the security and protec-
tion of its property. ^^^ Still, in the 1960s this remained a relatively
"open" campus. Outside dormitory doors were seldom locked
during daylight hours, faculty and students merely closed but did
not secure their office or room doors in their absence, and pocket-
books and personal possessions were left outside King or at the
church during chapel/convocation period, or in the halls of Aca-
demic or Hunt during meals. Such casualness would vanish in the
1970s.

There was academic stress as well. Some of the recently em-
ployed faculty were not familiar with an honor system and
sometimes failed to implement it. Increasing numbers of transfer
students had to be oriented to unfamiliar freedoms. In 1964, there
was a serious discussion about the integrity of academic work, and
what constitutes plagiarism was explored in detail. Since all
Honor Court hearings were confidential, decisions were made
known by posting a notice in the dormitories for 48 hours, naming
the student who was expelled or suspended or put on probation for
Honor violations. Criticism of this policy led to the well-meaning
attempt to include the student's name in the public notice only
with her consent. By 1968, the notices were posted at the end of
each semester, listing the offenses and penalties but giving no
names at all.

The constitution of the Student Government Association had
not changed materially for many years, and it is understandable
that there would soon be student demands for a document more
responsive to current needs. A new constitution was approved in
1964, but, except for the addition of the Honor Court, there was

283

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

little fundamental change from the former one. The methods of
nomination and election were still viewed as undemocratic and
unnecessarily complicated but would not be changed until the
next decade. Nominations were by a committee made up of senior
Student Government Association officers and the senior members
of the Student Board. They chose nominees for approximately
one-third of the total number of candidates for each office. Other
nominations were secured by general petition from the student
body. There was a two-slate system whereby a student who was
defeated in the first slate election could be nominated for another
office on the second slate. Elections were held in each dormitory.
There were nominating and/or acceptance of nomination speeches
in the Student Government Association Friday convocation, but
there was no campaigning, and student interest was usually only
moderate. Freshman votes still counted only half a point (a
tradition left from the time when the freshman class had out-
numbered the upperclassmen) and the whole process took four or
more days. All upperclassmen signed the Honor Pledge each fall,
but freshmen and transfers had a separate signing ceremony
(poorly attended by others) in February, by which time they were
considered sufficiently oriented to the Mary Baldwin system to
be fully participating members. A point system sought to prevent
any one student or group of students from dominating the system
but, considering that it was often hard to persuade enough
students to agree to be nominated to fill the slate of 55 officers,
that hardly seemed necessary. On 1 May 1964, Campus Com-
ments reported that only 120 out of 580 students had seen fit to
attend the installation of the new student officers. Such a lack of
support was "an insult" to the invited speaker, Dr. Taylor Reveley,
and to the students elected to serve, Campus Comments declared.
If student interest did not improve, it might be "sensible to
dismantle the student government altogether and to just let the
faculty run things," an editor suggested. By 1968, there were
numerous pleas for a change in the election system. Let's elect
"candidates with guts," demanded one letter to the editor, but
generally most students still seemed satisfied or indifferent. ^^^
The Student Government Association officers played an increas-
ingly visible role in the numerous ceremonies and events of the
60s. They met governors and the President of the United States,
trustees and foundation representatives, officials of the SACS,
and distinguished college visitors. And they had major responsi-
bility for shaping the slow, gradual modification of the social rules

284

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

the increasingly emancipated young Mary Baldwin College wo-
men found onerous and "absurd." Their duties and visibility
would increase as the effects of the "counterculture" spread to
Staunton.

Nothing seems to provoke more interest and often criticism
among returning alumnae than changes in social rules. Actually,
regulations and prohibitions were gradually but steadily modified
over the years. The proper behavior and protection of young
women at colleges and universities in the 1960s reflected middle-
class society's views and, although women's colleges might be
more restrictive than larger and more cosmopolitan universities,
their deans were generally cognizant of each other's policies and
adjusted their own accordingly. An additional complication ex-
isted in church-related colleges. Their trustees, who were mostly
men and often ministers, were much more conservative in their
views about young women than society in general. Dr. Spencer's
careful balancing act between Student Government Association
desires, Dean Parker's recommendations, his trustees' sensibili-
ties, and his own moral beliefs held off prolonged dissension until
almost the end of his administration; but it was obvious by 1968
that in loco parentis was under major siege.

Perhaps easiest to modify was the dress code. Students
wanted to wear "Bermudas" and slacks in the Club on Saturdays
and whenever more informal occasions occurred. By 1966, a
heated debate about the new "pants suits" occurred. When
queried, two male faculty members confessed to not knowing what
they were, but asked, "Aren't mini-skirts cold when you sit down?"
By 1966, slacks could be worn to class or even downtown if there
were snow and the temperature was below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
When Grafton Library opened in September 1967, the adminis-
tration viewed it as a showplace of the campus and expected
students who were using it to be dressed as though they were in
the classroom. There was much protest. Within two months, the
Library "dress code" was changed. It was agreed that slacks and
Bermudas could be worn in the library at night and during exam
week. They were even permissible for Saturday meals in Hunt,
but the 1968 Handbook made clear that no jeans or Bermudas
could be worn to class, and no hair curlers worn under scarves
were acceptable on campus "at any time." As early as 1966,
students were asking that rules requiring their dates to wear
collared shirts, ties and jackets be changed. There was some
easing of the restrictions for daytime men's dress, but more for-

285

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

mal attire continued to be required after 6:00 p-m.^^*^

No pronouncement could banish "fads" and "fashions." In
1958, the students were having "hula hoop" contests and dancing
the "Twist" and the "Bird." The early 60s saw hair "teased" into
bouffant "beehives." Five years later it was much longer and
straighter, and some young women even "ironed" their tresses.
Pierced ears and skateboards arrived in 1965, and the "Beatle"
Club flourished in Bailey dorm. There are more and more "ukes,
guitars and folk songs," declared Campus Comments (1963) and
at different times, the "Bombshells" and the "Skyscrapers" held
forth in The Club. FM radio came to the campus (Dr. Spencer
built one of the first in 1962), and for several years the students
nominated a young woman to enter Glamour annual contest to
select the "Ten Best Dressed College Girls." There were spring
fashion shows, "combo" parties, and, by 1963, about three-fourths
of the seniors had ordered their class rings for their little rather
than their fourth fingers. Briefly "abercrombies" replaced "saddle
shoes" ("rah rah's") as popular footwear. One went "hawking" at
Craftons, the Rafters, the Foxes Den, the Elbow Room. There was
the "Needle's Eye" coffeehouse, and after 1966 a student could
have a private telephone "(oh joy!)" in her room. A profusion of
stuffed animals accompanied young women to college, and "tub-
ing" on the Maury River with Washington & Lee men was
increasingly popular. The average student allowance was re-
ported to be $38.00 a month, and profits from the campus cigarette
machines were sent (on orders from Dr. Spencer) to the AMA's
Education and Research Foundation. "Freckles," who belonged to
the Pages, and "Penny" Timberlake were the campus dogs. In
1966, student criticism of Hunt menus led to the formation of a
student committee to explore with "B.C" the changing food pref-
erences of the 60s.^^^

By 1967, the "pill" had been invented and was legal. Three
hundred thirty-five college student health service departments
had been queried as to whether or not they would distribute it.
Only 13 said they would. Mrs. Grafton was asked by the students
her opinion of the matter. Her answer reflected the current
wisdom that world population growth should be checked but that
sex was a very "sensitive subject." Sex was not "safe" outside a
marriage relationship, and the "pill" was not, in her view, appro-
priate for the unmarried. ^^^ Both the Handbook and the college
Catalogue for 1968 continued to carry the statement that "The
College thoroughly disapproves of secret marriages... Failure to

286

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

report promptly a change in marital status will be considered
grounds for dismissal."

The issues which often provoked prolonged debate among
Mary Baldwin students and administration and which were the
most difficult to relate to the "outside" image of the college with
the church and community were so closely interrelated that it is
almost impossible to discuss them separately. They all had to do
with the opportunity for young women to make their own social
and relational decisions as opposed to following regulations ap-
proved by college administrations. Most under attack were
"approved housing," the "apartment rule," and the "25 mile"
prohibition on the use of alcohol. Less important, but closely
related, were the number of "overnights" and weekends permit-
ted, and the issue of "adult residents" in the dormitories. ("We
don't need policing," the students protested). They resented as an
infringement on personal privacy, official checking to see that
everyone had her bed made and her room "straightened" by
chapel/convocation time on weekdays and by noon on Saturdays.
They wanted greater freedom to take their dates places on
campus, including, they said, to "study together" in the Library.
They were increasingly resistant to required attendance at convo-
cations, chapel and church services on Sunday.

As early as 1959, there were occasional requests for rule
changes, and in 1960 the Student Board said that students over
age 21 should be allowed to live by the State of Virginia laws. But
the real crescendo of discontent focused on the years 1965 and
thereafter, as other colleges experienced office sit-ins and clashes
with campus police over "free speech" and other "freedoms." It
seemed to the students "absurd" to have to "sign out" while their
peers were riding "Freedom buses" in Mississippi and invading
the Pentagon. Our old rules are "unrealistic," they wrote. "Is it too
much to ask to be allowed to grow up?" Our social regulations "do
not allow us to show social responsibility"; "we have little say-so
in our social rules," they lamented. ^^^

Dr. Spencer and his family were on sabbatical in Munich from
August 1965 to August 1966, as these rules were being chal-
lenged. Dean Parker met with student leaders, had public forums,
invited student representation and deans from other colleges
similar to Mary Baldwin to meet with the student body. She
resisted "piecemeal" changes and said that, if the whole system
were to be revised, the Student Government Association must
await Dr. Spencer's return. She and Dean Grafton kept Dr.

287

To Live III Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Spencer fully apprised of the swift changes that were taking place,
and he planned a three-day "retreat" for the board of trustees and
administration at the Peaks of Otter Conference Center not far
from Roanoke within two months of his return (12-15, Oct. 1966).

The trustees who met that October in the Blue Ridge Moun-
tains were a thoughtful, hard-working, conscientious group of
men and women. They felt strongly their responsibility to keep
the college free from the disruptions and disorders surrounding
them, but wished to be sensitive to the deep social and political
problems which were agitating the world's educational institu-
tions. They were aware of the massive financial commitments
which had been made to build the new campus, and they under-
took a 10-year budget projection which they hoped would secure
the college's financial stability. They made significant decisions
about church relationships, and "about the college's responsibili-
ties in regard to social regulation." They studied admissions
policies, enrollment and expansion (should we build another
dormitory?), the academic program, development and fund rais-
ing for the future. When they finished, a partial revolution in the
very nature of the college had taken place. Their decisions were
more significant for the future, perhaps, than the physical build-
ing program so closely identified with the Spencer years. ^^°

The trustees agreed to modify (but not to abandon) in loco
parentis. Students should be given "increased responsibilities"
based on a "gradation" from freshman to senior levels. Along with
this, said the trustees, there must be added responsibility in
maintaining "high general standards of conduct and dealing
stringently with students" who do not live up to those standards.
The college "should not abdicate" a definite responsibility in the
matter of "boy-girl relationships" and should make "no apology"
for upholding standards. Its policy should be "flexible" and
characterized by "compassion and concern." The freshman pro-
gram, decided the trustees, should include an "orientation" course
"encompassing the moral, physical and sociological aspects of
sex." The administration was left to fill in the details.

Within the next two years, both the "apartment" rule and the
policy concerning the use of alcohol were modified. Although the
college was opposed "in principle" to a student visiting men's
housing at college and university towns unless "at least" a "third
person is present," juniors and seniors could make such decisions
based on their own discretion until midnight, after which a third
person was still required. The number of "overnights" was now

288

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

unlimited and general permission slips were much broadened,
but the statement that any student "found to be out of harmony"
with the college standards of moral behavior could be asked to
withdraw remained in both the Handbook and the Catalogue.

The whole question of the use of alcohol by Mary Baldwin
students was a very complicated one. Early in the 1960s when the
Student Board had recommended to the administration that the
college students be allowed to follow Virginia's laws on the sub-
ject (an action reported in Campus Comments). Dr Spencer had
received many letters reminding him that the Presbyterian
Church's General Assembly had taken an absolute abstinence
view. "I solemnly question the right of any of us to seek variance
from that ruling — certainly not a student body of a church col-
lege.... I shall count on you to hold the line as well as to encourage
a more wholesome life among your students," wrote one corre-
spondent. Dr. Spencer answered, "It is my strong conviction that
alcohol and education do not mix."^^^

But the issue would not go away. Students reflected the
attitudes and customs of their parents, and, in the more tolerant
atmosphere of the 1960s, public consumption of alcohol was
apparent and accepted, perhaps more so than in the 1990s.
Students blamed the lack of male interest in attending Mary
Baldwin College's two "big dance" weekends on the fact that their
campus did not permit the same customs as did their dates'
colleges.

The college had had, since the 1930s, the simple requirement
that alcohol would not be used while a student was in residence
unless she were under her parents' jurisdiction. There always
followed a general expectation of good conduct, as noted in the
student Handbook:

Whether living as a member of the
college gi'oup or while away from the
college, a student should remember
that in the eyes of the public she repre-
sents the college and its ideals. For this
reason the college requires her conduct
at all times to reflect no discredit on
those ideals.

As Dean Parker reported to the trustees at the "retreat," a
committee comprised of faculty, staff and students had met

289

To Live In Time

Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

during the spring of 1966 to recommend reconsideration of the
rule, based on increasing responsibihty of students for their own
decisions. A further rationale pointed out that with far greater
flexibility in academic matters, students should be allowed that
flexibility in social affairs as well. The committee proposed that
each student be provided identification cards (with pictures); that
no alcoholic beverages be permitted on campus or at college-spon-
sored activities or in automobiles; but left open the possibility of
alcohol use "in town" for those over 18 years of age.

The trustees again agreed that the rules might be modified
with the consent of the administration, and the November 1966,
Campus Comments ran a picture of two upperclassmen drinking
3.2 beer in the Elbow Room.^^^

Anne Elizabeth Parker

Within months, another, and much more serious problem
concerning "substance abuse," faced Dean Parker. On 10 March
1967, Campus Comments had run an editorial on drugs on college
campuses. "There's a new ticket ride," said the "guest" writer, who
went on to mention morning glory seeds, airplane glue and
"Robitussin" as ways of getting high. The newest discovery was
apparently nutmeg, taken with black coffee — careful instructions

290

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

were included as to how it should be used. "There is a minor
disappointment, perhaps, it doesn't get you quite as high as pot."

By the fall of 1967, a convocation speaker. Dr. Harry L.
Williams, was discussing "Drugs in Today's Society," and the
students were debating whether or not the use of drugs on campus
constituted a violation of the Honor System. The Handbook of
1968 reflected this new aspect of college life. "The use, possession
or distribution of the drugs of abuse" was prohibited and cases
would be handled by the Honor Court, "acting in conjunction with
the Faculty Advisory Board and with the advice of a qualified
medical consultant. "^-^

A third major focal point of student discontent centered on
compulsory church and chapel/convocation attendance. One of
the problems, at least in the early years, centered on where to have
chapel. Since the student body had grown and since after 1962
Waddell Chapel, even if it had been big enough, was no longer
available, the only place remaining was King Auditorium. The
atmosphere seemed unsuitable, and Dr. Spencer was able to re-
port to the trustees in 1963 that arrangements had been made to
use the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church for chapel ser-
vices. It was certainly more like a church service, but student
compliance remained reluctant, although Dr. Turner and after-
ward Dr. McAllister worked with Mr. Page and Dr. Broman and
the student Christian Association to provide varied and thought-
ful programs. The time for the service was short — only 30 min-
utes— and the time between classes, particularly if one had to stop
at the post office or drink a cup of coffee on the way, seemed
inadequate. Students who were in the choir and who had a class
immediately preceding the 10:30 a.m. service labored under
special handicaps, but Mr. Page allowed them few excuses and the
choir members were usually in place, robed and ready to sing long
before all of the students and faculty had assembled. Unexcused
absences were a judiciary offence, and at first there were assign-
ed seats and roll was taken (an activity not conducive to worship).
Later, after 1965, seating was by classes, and one was honor
bound to report her own absences. On special occasions, when a
distinguished minister had been invited, the dreaded Schedule
"C" was employed. This meant only five minutes instead of 10
between classes and generally assured a breathless and tardy
audience. There were also difficulties about where to hold convo-
cation. If King Auditorium was used, as it was until 1966, it
meant Mr. Frenger and his crew had to "set up" for 700 on Monday

291

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

and Friday and take down in time for Physical Education classes
immediately before and after. Briefly arrangements were made
to use the Dixie Theater for Student Government Association and
convocation meetings, but this was totally unsuitable, one block
farther and much resented. The students saw an opportunity to
cut back on the three-year Physical Education requirement by
complaining that they had to sit on the floor for their Student
Government Association meetings, since there was not time to put
up the chairs and take them down after their meetings in time for
the next class. They blamed Physical Education for inflexibil-
ity.^^^

There was also the problem of compulsory church attendance.
This had been in effect since Miss Baldwin's day. For several
decades students chose to attend whichever service they pre-
ferred, but, if they were in town and not in the infirmary, they
were required to go and dormitory checks were made. There were
the usual student subterfuges — attending the Temple on Friday
night instead of Sunday church (they were informed they were
welcome to attend Temple services where Dr. McNeil played the
organ, but still must attend Sunday services unless they were
Jewish); and attending "early Church" dressed in "school cloth-
es," which "reflects discredit on herself and the College"; but it
was an unusual student who questioned the validity of compul-
sory worship, at least until the mid-60s. Those who did were
reminded that Mary Baldwin was a "church college" and that the
policy had been clearly explained before they matriculated.

These questions were on the agenda at the Peaks of Otter
meeting, and to them Dr. Spencer added some others. Must all
faculty be members of evangelical Protestant churches, or can
Roman Catholics, Orthodox Jewish persons, or even atheists be
employed? How many of the faculty should be Presbyterian?
Should all members of the Department of Religion be Calvinists?
Should senior administration officers be Presbyterian? Should
race be considered in the employment of faculty and staff (this was
1966)? Should courses in Religion be required for graduation?
Should admissions preference be given to Virginia Presbyterians?
To PCUS members? To any Presbyterian? Should financial aid
continue to be offered to ministers' daughters?

Some possible answers to most of these questions involved
changing church standards (which had been accepted in 1957)
and possibly the college charter. But the board agreed that faculty
recruitment should be "broadened," "to include members of all

292

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Christian bodies." "It is difficult," they said, to insist that a ma-
jority be Presbyterian. Race should not be an exclusionary factor
for either faculty or staff, and Dr. Spencer suggested that there
might possibly be an exchange program with Stillman College.
Required courses in Religion and attendance at chapel should be
continued, but church attendance policies might be modified.

By 1968, the Handbook specified the college's belief in the
value of corporate worship: "Mary Baldwin students are expected
to attend formal church services on a regular basis. Failure to live
up to this expectation will be considered as a lack of acceptance of
the principles" of the college. No penalties, however, were speci-
fied for a failure to observe these principles, nor were checks on
compliance made. Chapel/convocation attendance was expected.
There was no roll taken, but unexcused absence was to be
considered a Judiciary offense.

The principal means of student expression, other than Stu-
dent Government Association general meetings, were the student
publications. Advised and stimulated by Dolores Lescure's lead-
ership and enthusiasm. Campus Comments and the Bluestocking
regularly won First Class Honors and All American ratings.
Campus Comments in particular was more than once judged the
best among women's college newspapers in the Southeast. Cam-
pus Comments celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1964 and
invited all previous editors to the party. The Bluestocking was
imaginatively and accurately organized and its annual dedica-
tions, kept secret until the presentation banquet in the spring,
were the cause of much speculation.^-^ In 1960, Dr. Brice orga-
nized the 402 Workshop, an invited group of creative writers,
among whose activities support for all the college publications,
but particularly for the Miscellany, was announced. The literary
magazine experimented with different sizes and colors of covers
and sought to encourage student creative talents. The poems and
short stories had many references to ocean waves, stars, love,
death, and life's meaning. There was some evidence of concern
with politics, Cuba, race relations, and Vietnam. Its tone was
generally pessimistic. "We like very little or nothing of the world
we live in, and we believe ourselves... the new breed who will take
this sadly misshapen... planet and remold it to correct the errors
of our elders. ..Just whom are we kidding?" asked one editorial.
Another young woman proclaimed (much to the distress of some
alumnae), "We have found there is no God... We are born dead,
deceived."

293

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels ami Academic Excellence

Dr. Spencer had always defended students' right of free
expression. On one occasion, he wrote to an irate college patron,
"Most educators feel that students should be allowed to express
their judgment on controversial questions even if their opinions
should not coincide with established institutional policies." There
is no question that occasional student editorials or comments
were embarrassing, or even offensive, but there is no indication
that any form of censorship or control was ever exerted by his
administration, and all three publications continued and grew.^^*^

It is interesting to trace the development of Dr. Spencer's ideas
about women as he responded to the challenges of his presidency.
In his opening convocation on 19 Sept. 1959, he declared,

You as women face a much less certain
future. Most of you will eventually marry...
you will automatically give up freedom of
choice about many things in your life...
your husband's occupation will determine
your fields of interest, the geographic setting
of your life... the sense of purpose in women's
education is not as specific as a man's. Women
need broad, non-specialized skills which will
enable them to meet their responsibilities to
their husband and children, and to society.
Women are the custodians of culture. College
is a good place to meet the right kind of man
and he you.

It might have been Dr. Lewis or even Dr. Jarman speaking. A
bit later, however, addressing a church group. Dr. Spencer in-
sisted that more women should be encouraged to go to college.
"Society does not understand about educating women seriously.
It is fashionable in certain areas to send daughters to Virginia for
a year or two to acquire charm and grace. I have no patience with
that," he declared. "Women need a solid, well balanced educa-
tion."

By 1963, writing to a free-lance reporter. Dr. Spencer had
shifted, somewhat, his position.

Z94

To Live III Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Women today need to prepare for two
careers; more than half the women who
marry will eventually reenter the labor
force... Women need an education based
on broad principles... they must know
how to analyze, discriminate, make sound
judgments... [a woman] must be allowed
her choice of the types of work she wishes.

In 1967, answering the question, "Which comes first — the
community or the individual?", Dr. Spencer replied:

...both must be in equilibrium: the
claims of both are legitimate. Society
needs persons who understand that individ-
ual rights and community responsibilities
are neither antithetical nor mutually exclu-
sive. I hope Mary Baldwin will continue to
produce its share of persons with this kind
of understanding.

At what turned out to be his last public appearance, Dr.
Spencer, in 1968, spoke to the Maiy Baldwin graduating seniors.
He had just returned from a trip to Europe to check on the pro-
gram in Madrid and to look at the possibility of setting up a simi-
lar junior year in Munich. He had been unable to go to Paris
because of student riots, and he said soberly that student "unrest"
stretched from "Prague to Berkeley." It was, he remarked wryly,
"reassuring [to find] that my office was still open, the desk and
books as they had been left and student assaults being made, not
on the Administration building, but on the exams then in progress. "
There is, however, he said no reason for complacency:

...We must acknowledge the fact that our
very lack of disturbance would be considered
ominous and unhealthy by those who feel
that direct action represents the only solid
evidence of concern on the part of the younger
generation. I must say to you members of this
class of 1968 that I, too, would be seriously
disturbed by our business as usual situation

295

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

if I thought that it signaled a lack of concern
on your part — a failure to share the almost
intuitive reaction of your generation against
the ineffectual nature of the solutions the older
generation has offered for the world's ills, and
the conscious or subconscious hypocrisy with
which we have defended outworn platitudes.

For if this were so — if it were so that you
do not share the legitimate aspirations of
young people today for New Testament rather
than Old Testament solutions — it would mean
that you leave Mary Baldwin College after
four years without two things which are essential
to your making any contribution. The first is a
proper understanding of the fact that despite our
affluence and the pleasurable things that come
with it, the world is not yet redeemed either in
the material or the spiritual sense...

The second is a feeling of responsibility for
doing something about this strife and misery.
Of course it is quite possible, given the enclave
of privilege in which most of us live, to isolate
ourselves from it, to build walls which com-
fortably shut out the sight and sounds of the
less fortunate. I desperately hope you will not
yield to this very seductive temptation...

Actually, I do not fear such disillusionment.
The careers you are choosing indicate that riots,
protests and street demonstrations are not the
only barometers of student concern...

...A fundamental cause of disruption at such
places as Columbia and Berkeley has been a break-
down of the community of learning — a loss of the
feeling of coherence and unity which comes from
shared purposes and mutual respect. Here at
Mary Baldwin our community is far from perfect.
But community is still our recognized ideal, and
when our unconcern for one another crops up, it is

296

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

apparent as an aberration rather than the norm.
For at our best, we do have a sense of real com-
munity...

The accomphshment of teachers must
always be vicarious. If what you succeed
in doing is worthwhile, then what we have
done is worthwhile. Here is the ultimate
justification of the common interest and
purpose we have shared with you for four
years. As you leave, you carry our colors,
and I can only say to you that we have both
an earnest hope and a sure confidence that
you will carry them well.

The college "girl" of 1957 had become, in Dr. Spencer's eyes,
the college "woman" of the troubled 1968.^-'

There was little warning, at least for the general college
community, that Dr. Spencer might shortly resign. It was known,
of course, that Davidson College would, due to the illness of
President Martin, be seeking a new chief executive; but when
Campus Comments had asked Dr. Spencer in February 1968
about such a possibility, he answered truthfully that he had not
been "approached" on the matter. After the conclusion of the
momentous Peaks of Otter retreat. Dr. Spencer had been actively
implementing the recommendations of this meeting. He had
reorganized his administrative staff in April 1967, and had drawn
clearer lines of responsibility and reporting. He had secured
additional help for the treasurer and business manager, Mr.
Spillman, in the persons of Scott Nininger and Freeman Jones.
He had participated in the planning for the Christian College
Fund Campaign, which was due to enter an active phase in early
1969. The trustees agreed to his recommendation that Craven E,
Williams be named vice-president for Development in March
1968, and Mr. Williams and Mr. Timberlake had begun prelimi-
nary plans for a major Mary Baldwin College fund raising project
in the near future. A new Admissions Director, Jack Blackburn,
was due to begin work in September 1968, thus relieving Miss
Hillhouse of some of her many responsibilities. The class of 1972
had all been admitted, new faculty had been hired, and plans for
the fall opening of the college were almost complete, when, on 11
July 1968, a formal letter was sent to "All Members of the Faculty

297

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

and Staff." It opened, "It is with genuine sadness that I write this
letter." After explaining that "after much consideration over the
past month," Dr. Spencer said he had agreed to become Davidson
College's president and was resigning on 31 August 1968.

It is very difficult for me to leave. It would
be impossible if I felt Mary Baldwin would suffer.
However, a new president will unquestionably
bring to our college new strength and a fresh
impetus to further growth... I am proud of what
we have achieved together, and confident that
we have only begun to see what Mary Baldwin
can become.

It was full summer; the students were gone, the faculty
scattered, many staff and support personnel were on vacation.
The news filtered slowly to all those concerned. There was hard-
ly time to adjust to the change before the freshmen would arrive
and classes begin. But there was no feeling of insecurity. Once
again, and for the last time, the Triumvirate quietly took over.
Dean Grafton was named by the board as acting president; Dean
Parker, Dean Hillhouse (she had been named dean of admissions
and registrar in 1967), and Mr. Spillman continued on with their
usual tasks.

A search committee, which this time included three students,
was appointed to seek a new president for the college, and Campus
Comments printed in September a loving resume of the Spencer
years. As always, Mrs. Grafton found appropriate words for an
ending and a beginning. Dr. Spencer, she said, was an "indefati-
gable worker, an imaginative leader and a warm personal friend
to all of us." But, she added, "I like change. Life wouldn't be much
fun without change and growth." She was due to get a bit more
change than she had bargained for.^^^

298

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Notes

^ Montreat, North Carolina is a Presbyterian Conference
Center.

^ Two members of the MBC board who were particularly
interested in having Dr. Spencer come to MBC were John Newton
Thomas and Eldon D. Wilson, both important and influential in
the Presb3^erian Church.

3 Richard Potter, Report to Board of Trustees, 15 Mar 1957
SRS Mss— MBC Aixhives.

Minutes, BT 21 March 1957.

4 Monroe Bush, Jr. letter to SRS, 22 Oct. 1956, SRS Mss— MBC
Archives.

^ Memorandum of telephone conversation, J. N. Thomas and
SRS, 1 Nov. 1956 SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

^ There is some evidence that both members of the Synod of
Virginia and of the MBC Board of Trustees were not at ease with
Mr. McKenzie. They did not understand him and found him
abrasive. Dr. Spencer was "one of their own" and the communi-
cation among them was trustful and open.

' Plan of Development for the Future 1957 SRS Mss-MBC
Archives.

« SRS, letter to J. N. Thomas, 20 Dec. 1956, SRS Mss-MBC
Archives.

Requirements for becoming a Presbyterian Church Col-
lege included:

(1) 2/3 trustees to be approved by the Synod. Number
trustees 30. Elected to 5 year term, 1/5 elected each
year — two term limit.

(2) President to be a Presb3d:erian.

(3) All regular members of the faculty to be "active
members of some evangelical church, the majority
being Presbyterian"

(4) Required courses in Bible for graduation.

(5) Submit to Synod all financial reports.

(6) Accredited by SACS.

(7) Board include five alumnae.

The college charter already reflected all of these re-
quirements except for #1.

Nothing was indicated about required church attend-
ance or mandatory chapel.
^ In 1922, the synod chose all the trustees and "in effect owned"

299

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

the college, as they did Hampden-Sydney. The new charter only
specified that they approve two-thirds of those trustees nomi-
nated by the current board and provided for board rotation.

^^ Although J. N. Thomas wrote Dr. Spencer that the vote
"brings to pass something for which I have worked and hoped for
many years before you came into the picture... it was taken on its
own merit and before the Committee on Nomination of a presi-
dent had made its report," it is hard to believe that this action was
not influenced by the known views of their prospective president.
If they wanted Dr. Spencer, the charter would have to be amend-
ed, and it was.

'' J. N. Thomas, letter to "Ava and Sam," 25 Jan. 1957, SRS
Mss— MBC Archives.

12 SRS, letter to J. N. Thomas, 14 March 1957, SRS Mss— MBC
Archives.

1^ In essence the Committee on Higher Educational Institu-
tions of the Synod approved the preliminaiy development plans of
MBC and H-S trustees; the synod campaign would be undertaken
at the same time that each college conducted a campaign among
its own constituencies — (non Presbyterians within the synod's
boundaries and any possible donors elsewhere); funds contrib-
uted to the synod campaign could be designated; undesignated
funds would be divided 45% MBC, 45% H-S and 10% Presbyterian
Guidance Centers and Christian Campus life, and each would
bear a commensurate amount of the expenses. The financial
objective would be $2.5 million. See "Our Church on our Cam-
puses," A Summary of the Background of the Report of the
Permanent Committee on Christian Education to the Synod of
Virginia," 1957. A special offering in January resulted in $10,000
sent to each college by May 1957. SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

'' SRS, "Why Choose a Church College?", nd. SRS Mss— MBC
Archives.

SRS, "Commitment to Freedom," speech delivered at St.
Andrews College, 4 June 1962, SRS Mss— MBC Archives. These
objectives are not unlike those of the 1991 MBC Catalogue (p. 7)
"Characteristics of the College of the Third Millennium."

^^ SRS Mss— MBC Archives. The trips involved visits to 13
institutions and were paid for by the Fund for the Advancement
of Education.

1^ Even if the student body reached 800 (which some were
already discussing) Mary Baldwin would still be a "small" college.
Dr. Spencer firmly believed that large state institutions lost the

300

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

sense of community and caring that characterized smaller insti-
tutions. It was necessary to increase the student body in order to
achieve "economies of scale" and to provide greater diversity, but
he and subsequent administration would struggle to keep the
"friendly" intimate campus which had always been one of the
major characteristics of the institution since the days of Mary
Julia Baldwin.

" SRS, letter to Martha Grafton, 24 Oct. 1956; 19 March 1957,
SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

^^ In fact, the conflict between administration and faculty has
been ongoing ever since the early 1960s, not only at Mary Baldwin
but in colleges and universities throughout the country. What had
been, in small colleges, at least, a "collegial" relationship, became,
in the acrimonious 60s and 70s, "adversarial." It was muted at
Mary Baldwin until the 1970s and will be discussed in the next
chapter.

^^ It is not possible to name all the men and women who so
generously gave their time and talents on the board of trustees
during Dr. Spencer's tenure, but some should be noted. From
Staunton and the nearby communities came Richard Clemmer,
Hugh Sproul, Jr., William W. Sproul, Gilpin Willson, Jr., Dr.
Richard Potter, Rev. F. Wellford Hobbie, Mrs. Clyde Lambert,
Mrs. Herbert McKelden Smith, and Dr. Albert R. Gillespie.
Edmund D. Campbell served as president of the board of trustees
until 1962 and then became General Counsel, a position he held
until 1976. Among the faithful and influential alumnae board
members during the Spencer years were Mrs. John Deming, Mrs.
James Fancher, Mrs. Charles A. Holt, III, Mrs. Don A. Montgom-
ery, Mrs. Robert H. Moore, and Mrs. Walter H. Woodson. Board
members who had known and worked closely with Dr. Spencer
included the Rev. John R. Cunningham, Dr. D. Grier Martin, Dr.
Marvin B. Perry, Dr. John N. Thomas, and Mr. Eldon Wilson.

^° The plaque on the terrace reads:

The Barbara Kares Page Memorial Terrace

given by her family, friends and the choir

and students of the college

in Honor of

Barbara Kares Page 1916-1962

A Highly Effective and Devoted Member

of the Mary Baldwin Staff

From 1949 to 1962

301

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

"^ See Catalogues. 1958 and 1968. Of course these numbers do
not include maids, cooks and kitchen help, physical plant and
maintenance men and night watchmen. In these years, the
college budget grew from $700,000 to $2,255,000. Full-time
faculty increased from 30 to 56 not counting the faculty in Madrid
and Paris. At the same time, the student body increased from 311
to 701. MBB Dec. 1968.

^^ Self Study Sept. 1965. The system did, indeed, work well
during Dr. Spencer's presidency. However, when five of these
senior officers retired within a three-year period there was confu-
sion and uncertainty among their successors.

23 SelLStudy Sept. 1965. Minutes. Fac. 31 May 1958. SRS,
letter to Ansley E.Moore, 19 Nov. 1962, SRS Mss—MBC Archives.

24 SRS Mss — MBC Archives. There may have been no "formal"
administrative manual but senior staff became aware that they
were responsible for the smooth functioning of their offices.

2^ Dr. Spencer could be flexible; it was a "Symposium" but if
"Inauguration" would bring Dr. Toynbee, that is what he would
call it. SRS Mss — MBC Archives. Dean Leyburn suggested that
Dr. Toynbee had agreed to speak because of a "gaffe" which had
appeared in his monumental history. He had written that Wood-
row Wilson had been born in North Carolina, and it appealed to his
sense of humor to be invited to view Wilson's birthplace in
Staunton, Virginia. In any case he came, and although much
bothered by the camera lights, spoke on "The Proper Study of
Mankind is Man." James G. Leyburn, letter to SRS, 28 Sept. 1957
SRS Mss — MBC Archives. The date indicates that Dr. Spencer
was already planning this symposium before he had discussed it
with the board in Oct. 1957.

2^ The careful attention to detail and the combination of MBC
and Davidson "connections" is apparent when one considers the
following: Dr. Richard Potter, the Rev. Herbert S. Turner, and
former President Frank Bell Lewis all gave either invocations or
benedictions. Edmund D, Campbell, board of trustees president,
presided at the inaugural convocation and spoke briefly. The
charge was delivered by the Rev. John Rood Cunningham, former
president of Davidson, and the Rev. John Newton Thomas (MBC
board and faculty member of Union Theological Seminary) deliv-
ered a Dedicatory Prayer. Also present and participating were the
Rev. Hunter B. Blakely (former minister of First Presbyterian
Church in Staunton and Secretary, Division of Higher Education
PCUS), Dean Martha Grafton; Dean Elizabeth Parker; Dr. An-

302

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

drew J. Mahler (MBC faculty), the Rev. Philip A. Roberts, Modera-
tor-Elect, Synod of Virginia; the Rev. Bernard E. Bain, Moderator
of Synod Virginia; the vice-mayor of Staunton, Richard W. Smith;
Betty Lankford Peek, president of the Alumnae Association of
MBC. College students from MBC, Hampden-Sydney, and Wash-
ington & Lee were on various panels, as were MBC faculty. It was
a remarkable "tour de force" and reflected the broad range of
acquaintances and friends as well as the empathetic understand-
ing of MBC that the new president possessed. See Program: New
Directions in the Liberal Arts, 15-16 April 1958, SRS Mss— MBC
Ai'chives.

It should be remembered that the college had undertaken a
conventional but elaborate and expensive inauguration for Presi-
dent McKenzie three years before (16 April 1955). To use a
different format may have been a tactful way of avoiding notice of
the short interval between presidents, but this was certainly not
Dr. Spencer's principal motive. He was truly interested in
innovative methods and contents of college curricula, and the
symposium device was an effective way of highlighting that
interest.

The seven deans were: Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, Dr.
Elizabeth Hoon (Mrs. E. Robert Cawley ), Elizabeth Poole (Mrs. St.
George Ai'nold), Inez Morton ( King's College), Katherine Sherrill
(Hood College), Elizabeth Parker and Martha Grafton.

^' Campus Comments gleefully reported that over spring
break, the dining room (this was, of course, the old dining room on
the gi^ound floor of Chapel) had been redecorated. The floor was
black and white checkerboard tile, there was new beige wallpaper
and m.odern "draperies." CC 15 April 1958. Even so, it is hard to
imagine how all the guests and participants were fed in that
limited space. The students had a "box supper" that night. At this
time there was only one hotel in Staunton and one or two "guest
houses." Accommodations for some of the visitors had to be found
in private homes, including the president's and the dean's.

-^ The actual surgery was performed on 8 April 1958. In this
era, the normal recovery period for an uncomplicated appendec-
tomy was about ten days, more than half of which would have been
spent in the hospital. Dr. Spencer's physicians were not at all
pleased with his proposed schedule, but cooperated in every way
they could.

29 SRS Mss— MBC AiThives.

^° The number of letters written to prospective students (and

303

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

their parents) who had been denied admission to the college
increased markedly over the years. Population gi^owth patterns
of the 1960s were such that a large number of college age students
were competing for limited space. Although the student numbers
at MBC more than doubled during this decade, the Admissions
office was able to accept only one out of four or five applicants. In
addition to formal notification, Dr. Spencer wrote many personal
letters to these disappointed young women. Dr. Spencer's letters
in this regard were models of tact and sensitivity. In another vein.
Dr. Spencer routinely returned honoraria and checks for travel
expenses to their donors, unless they were for activities directly
connected with MBC.

^^ SRS "Improving the Quality of Higher Education" speech,
nd, no location, SRS Mss — MBC Archives.

32 SRS, letter to Betty Morton, 3 1 Oct. 1962; letter to Arthur M.
Schlesinger, Sr. 23 Jan. 1958, (Mr. Schlesinger did not come),
SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

33 Minutes. BT 14 Oct. 1957. 90-94.

34 James W. Jackson, letter to SRS, 21 Feb. 1958; SRS, letter
to Frank S. Moore, 28 May 1958; SRS, letter to John Cunningham,
24 June, 1958; SRS, letter to John N. Thomas, 19 May 1958, SRS
Mss— MBC Archives.

The problem arose in considering whether or not donors
could "designate" contributions to either MBC, H-S, or PGC.
Should this be allowed only after the proposed $2,500,000 goal
was reached or from the start of the effort? Should the undesignat-
ed funds be distributed on the basis of student enrollment, in
which case H-S would receive considerably more than MBC, or
should it be a formula 45-45-10? Should trustees of the two
colleges contribute directly to the synod campaign or directly to
the college with which they were identified? What about trustees
who lived outside synod boundaries or who were not Presbyte-
rian? What about alumni and friends who were not Presbyterian
but who lived in the synod geographical area? When should they
be solicited? How soon should the college start its own campaign;
before the synod's, during or immediately after? Who would pay
the expenses of Ketchum, Inc., and on what basis? It took ah of
1957, and a good deal of 1958, to work out these answers.
Understandably, both Dr. Robert and Dr. Spencer fought hard for
their own college's interests, but generally Dr. Spencer mediated
and compromised in his effort to strengthen the college-church
connection.

304

To Live III Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels ami Academic Excellence

35 By 29 May 1959, pledges totaled $881,254; cash receipts
were only $211,000, from which Ketchum expenses had to be
deducted. In the end, MBC received about $300,000 from the
synod campaign. There had been some generous support. First
Presbjderian Church in Staunton had pledged $30,000, plus there
had been an additional $2,045 in individual pledges. Grace
Covenant Church in Richmond promised $75,000, and Second
Presbyterian (in Richmond) promised $100,000. Little Finley
Memorial Church in Stuarts Draft (Dr. Grafton was its pastor)
pledged $500 per year for ten years. Its congregation kept its
promise. There had been 14,085 gifts specifically designated for
MBC; (Hampden-Sydney had 18,657 designated gifts), but 207 of
the synod's churches had either ignored the whole thing or refused
to participate. One letter to Dr. Spencer declared, "With the
attitude of our church, I cannot help but fear integration in our
church schools, colleges and churches. I will give nothing to an
integrated school, college or church," and added that Dr. Spencer
should not come for a visit.

The statistics and quotations in this section are all from the
Spencer Mss collection, MBC Archives, labelled "Synod Cam-
paign, 1958-59".

It was probably no help to anyone's feelings that the Meth-
odists in Virginia successfully concluded a $7 million campaign in
1961.

3« SRS, letter to P. S. Clark, 17 Dec. 1964, SRS Mss— MBC
Archives.

As President Spencer and Pendleton Clark stood at the top
of Market Street looking over the terrain of the proposed campus
expansion, Mr. Clark said quietly, "This is a mighty rugged place
to have to build on..." but, then, seeing the concern in Dr. Spencer's
eyes, he added quickly, "but it has character." Dr. Spencer, thirty
years later added, "It took a good deal of courage as well as
imagination to convert the whole area into what it is today, and I
think they deserve credit for that." SRS to Patricia Menk, 2 Nov.
1988, College Archives.

•^^ Speaker's Kit, 1958, Christian Higher Education Founda-
tion, np.

^^ The urban renewal remark was a bit pointed. The city gov-
ernment was taking the first preliminary steps towards a feder-
ally supported "urban renewal project" of its own, two blocks from
the college campus. Already there was dissension in the commu-
nity over the proposal, and, like many urban renewal projects of

305

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

the 1960s, the ultimate result fell far short of expectation.

Actually, the college asked for much more than simply the
closing of Market Street. Encompassed in the property were three
tracts of city-owned land, an undeveloped "Grand Park," and two
other parcels designed for future parks. There was also the
problem of a narrow, winding dead-end street called Sycamore
where there were several private homes and which was supposed,
sometime in the future, to connect up with Market Street at the
top of the hill. Once the Bickle property was acquired. Sycamore
would have to remain "dead end" unless the college would permit
access. The final resolution left the Sycamore Street issue unre-
solved, and it has remained a point of contention with the private
landowners from the mid-1960s until the present time.

The college acknowledges with gratitude the recommenda-
tions of the "Viewing" Committee, Fred Baylor, M. J. Reid, J. J.
Kivlighan, John Clem III and Winston Wine, who recommended
acceding to the college's request and to mayor Thomas Hassett,
vice-mayor Lewis Knowles and Council who approved the recom-
mendation on 26 March 1959.
^^ The timetable looks like this:

1957 — Purchase president's home on Edgewood Road

1960 — Heating plant, tennis courts

April 1961 — Lyda Bunker Hunt Dining Hall-600+ capac-
ity

Sept. 1961— "New Dorm". Named Margaret C. Woodson
Residence Hall, April 1964, 136 students

Sept. 1963 — "New, New Dorm". Named Samuel R. Spen-
cer, Jr. Residence Hall April 1963, 172 students

Early 1963 — Demolition Waddell Chapel; Wilson Terrace
dedicated

Sept. 1967 — Library opened. Named Martha Stackhouse
Grafton Library April 1968

Summer 1967 — ^Academic remodeled

Oct. 1970 — Jesse Cleveland Pearce Science Center dedi-
cated.

Between 1958-1965:
21 houses were purchased; many removed, includingBickle,
McFarland, Bell houses.

1961 — Removal of Covered Way, Sky High, Infirmary,
Maid's Cottage — re-laying of heat and water pipes

306

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

1962 — Removal Chemistry Building (Beckler) — relocated
on first floor Academic until 1970 (after temporary relo-
cation on ground floor of Chapel which then had to be re-
moved).

Total cost: $5,797,000+

40 SRS, letter to Emmett B. McGukin, 13 Sept. 1961, SRS
Mss— MBC Archives

4^ The Spencer building program saw only the completion of
Phase I and II. Phase III was projected for the mid-1970s and by
then Dr. Spencer had resigned. Not all the proposals in phase III
have been met, but most of them have, although not always in the
manner anticipated thirty years ago.

Dr. Spencer reluctantly came to agree that MBC would
participate in the National Defense Student Loan Program. "I
believe most colleges will try to help their students by participat-
ing...," he declared. SRS, letter to Ben Beagle 4 March 1959, SRS
Mss— MBC Archives.

■^2 Throughout this decade, there were good friends of the
college who gave regularly and generously to support college
programs. Grateful acknowledgement to the Deming, Murphy,
Wenger, Grant, Rosenberger, Conlon, Cooke, Davis, Donovan,
and Montgomery families is made. In addition, the six children of
Lyda Bunker Hunt donated $450,000 in honor of their mother to
build Hunt Dining Hall. This gift came at a time early in Phase
I when it appeared that not only the synod, but the MBC cam-
paign would fail. It was exactly the kind of encouragement Dr.
Spencer needed to persevere with this project. Without the Hunt
gift, perhaps the whole expansion of the 1960s would not have
taken place. A generous bequest from Margaret C. Woodson
provided additional funds for the complicated student tuition
packages and a healthy boost to the endowment. The Ford
Foundation made significant contributions during this decade.
Handsome gifts for the Grafton Library^ came from the Richard D.
Cooke family, from Charles G. Reigner, and from the estate of
Austin Y. Hoy (in memory of his mother, Elizabeth Young Hoy).
Foundation support included: U. S. Steel, Mary Reynolds Babcock,
Frueauff, Esso, Kresge, and Benwood gifts. Friends of Barbara
Page contributed $15,000 for Page Terrace where Commence-
ment is now held; the family of James D. Francis and the widow
of Dr. James Cleveland Pearce supported generously the Science
Building.

307

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

For much of this decade, Mrs. Emily P. Smith acted as
National Alumnae Campaign Chairman. She was ably supported
by T. Alex Grant, Hugh Sproul, Jr., James Sprunt and Richard
Clemmer during Phase I. General A. A. Sproul was chairman of
the 1963 MBC Community Campaign for the Library. Much
credit should be given to John B. Baffin, who, as special assistant
to the president, had been of great influence in securing the major
gifts that came to the college during this decade.

"^^ For most of these years, C. P. Nair was the competent and
dedicated chairman of the Trustee Development Committee.
Special acknowlegement should be made of James T. Spillman
and various college legal counsels (Edmund Campbell particu-
larly) who steered the way through the maze of government
contracts and forms. Dr. Spencer was capable of imaginative
suggestions when it came to fund raising. On 22 February 1961,
he suggested that women's colleges should jointly solicit corpora-
tions whose profits came from women's consumer goods, such as
cosmetics, hosiery, etc. Nothing further is mentioned of this
suggestion. SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

4^ By 1966, after much prayerful consideration, the synod
authorized a "Christian College Challenge Fund" for the benefit
of H-S/MBC. The goal was $2 million. Ketchum would again
direct the effort, and Stuart Shumate (president of the Richmond,
Fredericksburg and Potomac RR) and Philip A. Roberts were co-
chairmen. The seven presbyteries of the synod each had a co-
chairman, and undesignated gifts would be divided equally among
the two institutions. Hopes for this effort were high. "I feel the
Synod has a quite different attitude toward the colleges at this
time," SRS wrote. (President's Report to the Synod, April 1964).
By April 1970 about $1 million had been pledged. MBC's
share was ca $400,000 — which was used for Pearce Science
Center. SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

"^'^ The vice-presidents for development after James Jackson
resigned in 1960 were Joseph W. Timberlake, Jr. and Craven
Williams; the director of public relations and publications was
Dolores P. Lescure; and the executive director of the alumnae
association after 1962 was Virginia Munce.

^^ The bonds for Bailey Hall were retired Nov. 1966; the
Library bonds are to be retired in 1995; Woodson and Pearce will
be clear by 1999 and Spencer by 2012. The interest and return of
principal payments for these four buildings amounted to $202,000
annually, which in years of "tight" operating budgets could pose

308

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

a severe financial strain. In addition, of course, there were fur-
nishings and equipment needed, upkeep and maintenance to be
provided, additional utilities to be budgeted. Both Grafton and
Pearce were air-conditioned (the only buildings then on campus
that were), and library and especially science equipment is very
expensive and needs to be kept state of the art. The operating
budget of the college was $700,635 in 1958-59 and $2,255,191 in
1967-68. MBB Dec. 1968; Self Study Sept. 1965, Sept. 1975.

^~' Figures show that in 1970, in spite of increased tuition, the
college "subsidized" each student $5-$600 a year. Financial aid to
students in 1958-59 was $35,907; in 1967-68, $208,100. In 1958,
the tuition was $1,650; in 1968, a day student paid $1,463. MBB
Dec. 1968; Cat. 1958-1968.

4^ Pamphlet, "Tuition Unit Plan" 1960; SRS Mss— MBC Ar-
chives; Cat. 1960-1970.

^^ SRS was paraphrasing a quotation from Winston Churchill
when he made this observation to the Synod of Virginia, as it met
on the MBC campus, 17 June 1964. During the next decade, this
concept of the role of the endowment seemed almost to be ac-
cepted, perhaps inevitably. Future trustees would have to deal
with the consequences. Also, SRS, letter to R. T. Coleman, 12
April 1962. SRS Mss— MBC Archives. Also Schultz, Karen, "A
Decade of Daring," MBB Dec. 1968.

^° The Woodson bequest provided that the college would
receive the income from 1/5 other $4 million estate annually. The
assets were never transferred to the college and are managed by
the Margaret Woodson Foundation. For purposes of bookkeep-
ing, the $800,000 was considered an endowment asset. The
annual income from it in the 1960s and 1970s was ca $32,000. In
addition, the board had authorized the assigning of non-desig-
nated stocks and bonds held in the endowment fund as collateral
for some of the loans of the development program. If, in the future,
the college could not meet its obligations from its operating fund,
some of its endowment was in peril. Self Study Sept. 1965, 88;
Sept. 1975, 84. Minutes BT 21 April 1961.

°' MBB Dec. 1968, 4.

=2 MBB Nov. 1957, July 1959, Dec. 1959, May 1964, Nov. 1964,
April 1966, May 1967, Nov. 1967, June 1968, Dec. 1968. Campus
Comments. 3 May 1963 reported that MBC led all the indepen-
dent women's colleges of the South in the percentage of gi^aduates
listed in Who's Who of American Women; one out of every 88
graduates was so listed.

309

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

^^ The first recipients of the Emily Smith MedaUions were:
Mrs. Richard D. Cooke
Mrs. Neville Ehmann
Miss Ruth D. See
Mrs. Sidney B.Shultz
Miss Fannie B. Strauss
Mrs. William H. White, Jr.
CC 6 June 1965

54 MBB Oct. 1960 Lyda Bunker Hunt (1889-1955) had been a
school teacher in Arkansas before her marriage and removal to
Texas. Her mother had attended the seminary, and she in turn
sent her two daughters, Margaret and Caroline, to Mary Baldwin
College. She was elected a trustee in 1939 and served until shortly
before her death. She had always been interested in the campus
expansion and had contributed generously (and anonymously) to
the Bailey dormitory project, as well as many other projects.

55 The building did have some unusual features for a college
facility. The portico and stuccoed columns matched nicely those
of Memorial, Hill Top and Wenger Hall, which were on a horizon-
tal plane with the new building, but the facade was enriched by
wrought iron trim, planting beds, and aluminum framed glass
doors leading to the terrace. The kitchen and service area was
designed by Howard L. Post, who was the Food Service Consultant
for the United Nations. Mr. I. Delos Wilson of New York was the
primary consultant on interiors for Hunt, Woodson and Spencer.
He had his own business and worked well with Dr. Spencer and
his MBC advisors, MacDiarmid, Page, Timberlake, Parker, and
others, including students. The cupola atop the roof, adorned with
the cast iron symbol of hospitality — a pineapple — is a yearly
challenge as college maintenance men mount a Christmas star
each December. SRS Mss— MBC Archives. MBB Oct. 1960.

5^ The official name is Margaret Cunningham Craig Woodson
Residence Hall. She was a member of the board from 1940-1963
and was a generous supporter of the college. The building was
named in her honor with a cornerstone ceremony 17 April 1964.
Minutes BT 1 Nov. 1963, 17 April 1964.

The meditation room was made possible by Gladys Palmer
Fickling and Elsie Palmer Adams. The old meditation room had
been a small closet off the old chapel auditorium and the students
had requested a new location. They shared in the planning for the
Palmer Room. SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

5^ It is traditional to name college buildings only after deceas-

310

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

ed individuals, but everyone agreed that "Spencer Residence
Hall" was appropriate and the name was authorized.

MBB June 1963, Dec. 1963; CC 2 June 1963, 11 Sept. 1963;
Minutes BT 10 Nov. 1961, 25 Oct. 1962; President's Report to BT,
Oct. 1963 SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

58 Mrs. Gerald Donovan, letter to SRS, 12 Dec. 1961 SRS Mss—
MBC Archives.

59 SRS, letter to Ehzabeth Camp Ebbott, ? Jan. 1962 SRS Mss—
MBC Archives. The Chapel's foundations were never strong
enough to support the additional floor Maiy Julia Baldwin had
added in 1871. In the early years of the 20th century W.W. King
had been concerned about the building's stability. Some bracing
had occurred in the 1920s and further improvements were made
in the 1930s, but the college was indeed fortunate that no major
tragedy had occurred.

60 CC 9 Mar. 1962; MBB Apr. 1962. A picture of the old Chapel
was on the cover; a sketch of proposed outdoor Chapel on back
cover.

61 MBB Dec. 1963. The Mary Julia Baldwin Memorial window
was carefully removed before the Chapel was demolished and has
since been mounted in the Grafton Library. Also discovered in a
cornerstone from the building was a broken wine decanter and
fragments of a document stating that the Presbyterian congrega-
tion in Staunton erected the building in 1817 "...the first year of
the presidency of James Monroe."

Some years later, two antique urns, adorned with ram's horn
handles were placed on either side of the Wilson Terrace entrance.
They had come from an old estate in Augusta County and had been
given to the college by Horace and Mercer Day in memory of
Elizabeth Nottingham Day. CC 15 Feb. 1963.

62 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wenger had been generous supporters
of the college in the 1950s, and had contributed to the Bailey
Residence Hall and Student Activities Building project. An
additional gift had been made which Dr. Spencer added to the
funds he was collecting for the library and he had written to ask
what recognition they would think appropriate. The correspon-
dence is lacking, but in 1963 a brief notice in college publications
announced that the student activities building would be called the
Consuelo Slaughter Wenger Building. Mrs. Wenger graduated
from Mary Baldwin Seminary in 1919.

SRS, letter to Henry E. Wenger, 21 Dec. 1961.

SRS, letter to William B. Coleman, Jr., spring 1960 (re Ham

311

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

and Jam). SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

Shortly after the restoration of "Ham and Jam," the Alum-
nae Association commissioned bookends made in their image.
These remained popular for many years and have been revived for
the Sesquicentennial.

63 SRS letter to John Owen, 5 May 1964, 15 June 1964, SRS
Mss— MBC Archives.

64 Typed report in SRS Mss— MBC Archives by Richard B.
Harwell. The Librarian in question was Gertrude C. Davis, who
had come to the college in 1957 (after a temporary appointment
earlier in the 1950s). She remained during the ensuing decades,
coping with all of the pressures of lack of space, small budgets,
and student discontent. She helped plan the new library, oversaw
the transfer of the contents from Academic in the summer of 1967,
and established the high standards of professionalism and service
that have characterized the library ever since.

6"^ At one time. Dr. Spencer very tentatively suggested he might
call the library "Jefferson Davis" because a possible major donor
was a devoted member of the UDC. He also considered "Woodrow
Wilson" and a "League of Nations" Terrace with a large globe in
the entrance foyer and flags displayed. Student reaction was
immediate and again negative. It would look like the "World's
Fair"; "we already have a Woodrow Wilson memorial [the Terrace]
and I see no real point in having another "..."the ideas look out of
place..." "The League of Nations is 'dead now'". CC 9 Oct. 1964.
SRS, letter to Desiree L. Frankhn, 28 Feb. 1962. The library
remained unnamed until 1968.

66 The final figure was $1,500,000 including furnishings. The
financial breakdown was as follows: $326,676 — Federal grant;
$639,000— Federal loan; and $322,683— college funds. SRS Mss—
MBC Archives. Clark, Nexsen & Owen were assisted by J. Russell
Bailey of Orange, Virginia who was a nationally recognized
library consulting architect, and every effort was made to incorpo-
rate the most recent and imaginative ideas about libraries in the
design. The MBC tradition of open stacks was continued, and
there was a big allowance for expansion. The building was free-
standing and surrounded by terraces and graduated walkways
with planters and trees. The traditional Mary Baldwin exterior
was observed, cream or pale yellow paint and white columns, and
there were many vertical windows and much sunlight. The floors
were all carpeted (once the problem of static electricity was solved)
and the mezzanine curved gracefully above the main floor.

312

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

^^ During the Spencer years, the college athletic field, which
was some distance from the campus, was sold to groups of
investors who were planning to build a regional post office, public
health and social security facility and medical offices. This
remaining portion of Miss Baldwin's farm brought the college
$140,000 but meant there was little space for "field activities"
after 1965. In addition, the "Art Building" on the corner of Mark-
et and Frederick was sold to the First Presbyterian Church in
1968 for $16,500. The college, after 1962, used the sanctuary of
First Presbyterian Church for its biweekly chapel and annual
baccalaureate services and, after 1969, the Tate Demonstration
School was moved to leased quarters in the Potter Building to
make room for the Science Center. Minutes EC 2 July 1968, 13
June 1969.

^^ CC 1964-65 passim; 1966-67 passim, particularly 4 June
1967.

^^ There have been three official versions of the institution's
seal. From 1842-95 there was a shield with the letters AFS
interwoven. From 1895-1929, the Baldwin family shield with oak
leaves and squirrel was used for the seminary. Around the band
were the words " Virtute et Opera. " Since 1929, the college seal has
incorporated the Baldwin shield encircled by "Non Pro Tempore
sedAeternitate" ("Not for the present but for eternity" )CC 15 Nov.
1957.

"° Mrs. Grafton had been told shortly before the public an-
nouncement. She said it was a "good thing or else I would have
been dissolved in tears." The choir sang Psalm 150, for which the
music had been written by Gordon Page. They also sang a
selection, "A Hymn for Mary Baldwin," written by Mr. Page to the
tune of an old Scandinavian folk melody. This had first been
performed in 1966 but increasingly became an "unofficial" alma
mater. A Campus Comments editorial called Mrs. Grafton "a
warm and wise person," saying the library was a "symbol" of her
"strength and faith." CC 25 Apr. 1968; MBB June 1968.

"^ The faculty offices in Spencer were "substandard" because
they had been created by plasterboard partitions, which touched
neither the floor nor the ceiling. They afforded no privacy, poor
lighting, and whenever a large lecture class was in session, the
faculty heard it in their "offices." The lecture classes moved to
Francis Auditorium or to a large lecture room in King by the early
1970s, freeing the space in Spencer for the "Chute."

^^ The Chemistry department was designated as the John B.

313

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Baffin Department of Chemistry by the board of trustees, ac-
ceding to the request of faculty and former students. MBB Apr.
1966.

John B. Baffin coordinated the committee work; honorary
chairmen were Edwin F. Conger and W. P. Tams, Jr.; alumnae
members were Margaret Richardson '46; and Josephine Hannah
Holt '44; there were student members, community leaders, medi-
cal doctors, university physicists, chemists and biologists and
industrial representation. Later Richard B. Robertson and Ameri-
can Safety Razor Corporation offered material as well as techni-
cal advice. Br. John Mehner ably represented faculty wishes,
throughout the planning.

^^ The infirmary was moved to North Market Street next to
Blakely house.

'4 $462,000 grant U.S. Office Education

$395,255 college funds (including synod's)

$772,000 Federal loan. Eventually, the total cost was

$2,200,000. MBB May 1967; June 1968.

Buring 1967-68, a student campaign to raise funds for the
Science Center took place. There was a Christmas Carnival, a
"Mad Hatter's Bizarre," faculty skits, for which tickets were sold,
and bake sales. Jeanne Schaub was in charge of the student effort,
but no final figure for the student contribution has been found.
The effort had been so vigorous and well publicized for the library
that it was perhaps too much to expect that the whole process
could repeat itself. Also, the next two years (1968-70) while the
Science Center was in the process of construction were a time of
change, controversy and protest. Student attention was frag-
mented and overwhelmed. See issues CC 1969-70.

The Synod Christian College Fund Campaign began in 1968
and technically lasted until 1974, although, as always, the major
contributions were made in the first year. Although a goal of $2
million had been set (to be divided equally between H-S and MB),
only $1,093,000 in net receipts were realized. Expenses had
amounted to $71,000, and MB received $492,681 to be used for
Pearce. Only the undesignated gifts were divided equally between
the two colleges and thus, H-S got a larger share. Auditor's
Report, 1974; CC 1 June 1969.

^^ By 1964, there were 11.3 million persons between the ages
of 18-22 in the U.S., an increase of 2.8 million from that same age
group in 1952. That year, only 25% of 18-23 year olds were in
college; by 1964, 42.3% were enrolled in colleges or universities. A

314

To Lire In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels ami Academic Excellence

possible danger signal might have been noted. In 1951, half of
all students attended private colleges; by 1964, only 35.4% (about
a third) of them were in private institutions. The percentage of
students enrolled in private colleges would continue to decline.

MBB Nov. 1964; Sept. 1968. These figures mean that in
1965 over 600 applicants were rejected (out of 1,000). Note that
the number of freshmen enrolled declined after 1966, partly be-
cause retention in the upper classes improved and there was
simply no room for more.

^^ The Admissions Committee was composed of Dean Grafton,
Dean Parker, Miss Hillhouse, and three faculty members who
served three-year terms. Dr. Spencer was an ex officio member
but, other than seeing that the committee had all available
information about each applicant, he left them strictly on their
own to make the best possible selections. SAT scores of entering
students increased from 933 to 1080 between 1958 and 1968.
MBB Sept. 1968

" MBB June 1970, president's report to BT, 17 Apr. 1964, SRS
Mss— MBC Archives.

^8 Cat. 1958, 13; 1964, 25. Dr. Spencer made it clear that in his
view and Dean Grafton's the admission of black students was a
policy decision whose time had come. It was the "right thing to do. "
CC May 1963, Minutes BT 19 Apr. 1963, SRS, letter to Patty
Joe Montgomery, 17 May 1963, SRS Mss— MBC Ai'chives. It was
not until 1968 that the first black young woman enrolled at MBC
as a full-time boarding student. She was Lelia Ann Lytle (class
'72) from Waynesboro, Va. She was shortly followed by Aurelia
Crawford (class '74), but no black students actually enrolled
during Dr. Spencer's presidency.

^9 CC 3 May 1963, 25 Oct. 1963, 26 Feb. 1965, 16 April 1965.
Generally, the college situation was made easier than it otherwise
might have been by local community actions. The public library,
movie houses and the downtown eating places were quietly de-
segregated in the early 1960s, and the public schools were deseg-
regated in 1963-64. This is not to suggest that there was not
tension and upheaval, and the city was actually part of a regional
suit brought by the NAACP concerning the schools. But long
before the case could be heard, the school board and the city (as
well as surrounding areas) had voluntarily desegregated. There
were no riots or massive civil disobedience demonstrations. Some
members of the MBC community faculty and staff, including
President Spencer, participated in memorial services and marches

315

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels ami Academic Excellence

for Martin Luther King, and chapel services took note of the tragic
assassinations of the 1960s. Campus Comments had a poHcy of
not "covering" national news events, and reading the college
newspapers of these years gives little clue to campus emotions.
Much higher visibility of these issues, the Vietnam War and
eventually feminism occurred in the 1970s.
«o Minutes BT 15 Apr. 1966.

President's Report 14 Apr. 1967. Dr. Spencer was a good
prophet — the next decade was very hard for single-sex colleges —
even more difficult than he could have dreamed it would be.

It is interesting to note that Davidson College, N. C. (for-
merly all male) became a coeducational institution within five
years of Dr. Spencer becoming its president in 1968.
SI Quoted in MBB Dec. 1968.

Acceptance Address SRS, MBB May 1958 SRS Mss— MBC
Archives.

^^ The equipment cost $6,298 in 1958 and was contributed
anonymously. There was considerable reshuffling of language
faculty personnel and office space in this decade. All students had
to present the equivalent of two years of a foreign language for
graduation, and as the student body increased, so did the number
of faculty. Occasional classes in Latin, in Chinese, and in Russian
were also taught in response to student demand. Finding office
space and determining whether or not there would be a Chairman
of the Modern Language Department or whether each language
would have its "own" senior member involved some interesting
personality clashes. Mile. Flansburgh retired in 1960 (she had
been at the college since 1927) and Miss Fannie in 1962. Vega
L3d;ton remained, and alumnae will remember Julian White,
Dorothy Mulberry, Barbara Ely, Frances Jacob, and Kurt Kehr,
all of whom were members of the college faculty during the
Spencer years. There were others, some from France, Spain and
Germany, but they usually stayed either one or two years and
space does not permit listing all their names, although many
achieved enduring friendships with other faculty and students.
S'^ SRS Mss— MBC Archives; Minutes Fac. 16 Sept. 1958, 7 May
1963; President's Report 1960 SRS Mss— MBC Archives; CC 3
May 1963; SelfStudv 1965 p. 76.

84 SRS, letter to Myron F. Wicke, 25 Aug. 1958, SRS Mss—
MBC Archives

SRS Mss— MBC Archives

Pamphlets "The Independent Reading Program for Fresh-

316

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

man and Sophomores" June 1958, MBC Archives.

The hst included: Homer, The lUad; Rostand, Cyrano de
Bergerac: Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Bunyan, The
Pilgrim's Progress: Durant, The Story of Philosophy: Virgil, The
Aeneid: Goethe, Faust (Part I); Carroll, Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland: Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter: Toynbee, Civiliza-
tion on Trial: Dante, Divine Comedy, I; Aeschylus, the Oresteian
Trilogy: Dostoevski, The Brothers Karamazov: Swift, Gulliver's
Travels. Darwin, Origin of the Species. The choices were often
modified over the eight years the program lasted.

«5 SRS, letter to Harold H. Laskey, 1 July 1959 SRS Mss—
MBC Archives.

86 SRS Mss— MBC Archives; CC 24 Apr. 1964, 6 June 1965;
Minutes Fac. 13 Apr. 1965, 4 Jan. 1966.

8^ Among the speakers and programs were: "America in Asia,
How Ugly?," "Post Christian Era— Is It Now?," "College Manners
and Morals," "Supreme Court, Temple and Forum," "The Latin
American Revolution," "Our Expanding Universe," "India's For-
eign Policy," "Dynamics of Marxist Revolution," "Value of Schol-
arship," "The Contemporary American Woman," "The U.S. and
the Communist World," "Southeast Asia and the U.S.," "Oriental
and Occidental Ideas," "Uses of Power in University Governance."
Among the lecturers were Dr. Charles Reigner, John Scott
(of Time magazine), Denis Brogan, Supreme Court Justice Wil-
liam O. Douglas, Dr. Marjorie Reeves, Robert Speaight (Murder
in the Cathedral). Dr. Huston Smith (MIT), Dean Vaman Kantak
(University of Baroda, India), Basil Rathbone, Howard Nemerov,
Helen Hill Miller, Dr. Roland M. Frye (Folger Library), Emlyn
Wilhams, Dr. W.W. Sayre, Charles McDowell, Arthur S. Link,
Erskine Caldwell, William C. Battle, Frank Bell Lewis, Joseph
Campbell, The Rev. George A. Chauncy. Others were former
Chancellor of Austria Dr. Kurt von Schuschnigg, Dr. Enrique
Lafuente Ferrari (Director of the Museum of Modern Art in
Madrid), JulianMarias, Dr. Katie Louchheim, Victor L.Butterfield,
Bruce Catton, Jacqueline Grennan, General Alfred M. Gruenther,
the Rev. William Glenesk ("Jesus Wore Long Hair"), Governor
Hulett Smith of West Virginia, Paul A. Freund; Manuel Santana,
(tennis exhibition), Arnold Toynbee, Dame Judith Anderson, and
John Baillie of Edinburgh.

In addition, the National Symphony and the Columbia Boys'
Choir appeared regularly through the King Series.

«8 President's Report 1963, 1964 SRS Mss— MBC Archives;

317

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

CC 3 Nov. 1961 (whole edition), 17 May 1963: Minutes Fac. 29 May
1961, 7 Sept. 1962.

Dr. Spencer visited Madrid in Nov. 1963 and was "much
gratified"; the faculty, he said, are the "most eminent persons in
Spain." Actually, Dorothy Mulberry stayed for three years in
Madrid; 1962-65; and Dr. Ely became the director in 1965-66 for
a two-year period. It was not always easy to persuade parents that
their daughters would be safe in Franco's Madrid (and later in
anarchistic Paris). Another spin-off from the overseas programs
was student attitudes toward college social regulations after they
returned. They "stimulated" the campus in ways Dr. Spencer had
perhaps not anticipated.

Some European faculty did visit the college: Julian Marias
was a visiting scholar for a month in 1965 and was here on at least
three other occasions. Students in the Spanish house had fund
raising activities to pay for Dr. Enrique Lafuente's visits in 1967.

«9 SRS, letter to Martha Grafton, 1963 SRS Mss— MBC
Archives: Minutes BT 20 Oct. 1967, SRS Mss— MBC Archives; CC
29 Sept. 1967, 8 Dec. 1967.

^° The Oxford program was really the child of Dr. Ben Smith
and Professor Marjorie Reeves of St. Anne's College. She had
visited Mary Baldwin in 1966, and a relationship between MBC
and St. Anne's was established which endures to this day. After
several years, the program was partnered with Davidson College
and then became part of the offerings of a consortium of Virginia
colleges and universities. There is always a resident director from
a Virginia college.

91 MBB Nov. 1964, Autumn 1965.

92 MBB May 1965; Minutes BT 9 Apr. 1965.

9^ Almost all of these lectures and programs were attended by
the entire student body, not always voluntarily. Most of them
were presented during the "required" Friday convocations, and
there are occasional remarks in Campus Comments about "bor-
ing" lectures and esoteric topics. But, in spite of student protest
or indifference, there is no question that the intellectual atmo-
sphere of the campus was enhanced by these events. They were
part of the "intellectual vigour" Dr. Spencer had promised, and the
students absorbed more than they knew from four years of
exposure to these ideas.

94 The luncheon tickets cost $10 each and were sold on a first-
come basis except for a small number reserved for distinguished
guests.

318

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Aendemic Excellence

The timing of this affair is significant. As far as Dr. Spencer
and the college were concerned, they were still recovering from the
elaborate cornerstone laying for Hunt Dining Hall, which had
been held 22 October 1960, five days earlier. There was also the
small matter of the luncheon beverage. Mrs. Smith insisted that
there must be champagne for the luncheon toasts; Dr. Spencer
reminded her that college policy forbade alcohol on the campus.
There appeared to be a compromise with "sparkling" gi^ape juice,
but when the honorees' table on the stage was served, it was with
champagne. The rest of the 700 drank apricot nectar. Even more
important was the fact that the election of 1960 was less than a
week away. The White House and Mrs. Smith both insisted that
the trip was "non-political" (after all, Woodrow Wilson had been
a Democrat), but many people did not think it was. Democratic
Virginia had twice voted for a Republican president, and the
Virginia senior senator Harry F. Byrd had supported Eisenhower
in 1952 and 1956. When the word reached the governor of
Virginia, J. Lindsay Almond (who supported Kennedy), that
President Eisenhower was coming, a difficult problem arose.
Almond solved it by flying to the Shenandoah Valley to welcome
the President of the United States to Virginia, and then he
immediately flew back to Richmond. The two Virginia senators,
Harry F. Byrd and A. Willis Robertson, stayed with President
Eisenhower all day. No reference was made during the entire
Virginia visit to the pending 1960 election. In spite of this. Dr.
Spencer did not escape unscathed. Several letters from alumnae
and others criticized the Eisenhower visit, and one person even
declared she had taken the college out of her will. SRS Mss — MBC
Archives; MBB Nov. 1960; Oral interview, SRS and Patricia
Menk, 9 Jan. 1991.

^^ The topics of the lectures are interesting: they included,
"New Horizons in Ecological Research," "The Place of Computers
in our Society," "Economics of Environmental Pollution," "Marsh-
land Dramatics," "Impact of Deficient Diets on Human Behav-
ior," "Fallacies about Feeding the U.S. and Feeding the World."
MBB Nov. 1967.

The students at the College Bowl were Van Lear Logan,
Susan Gamble, Anne Scholl, Barbara Shuler. The alternate was
Kay Culbreath. The final score was 220-110. MBB May 1967.

The Russian Revolution Seminar was funded by the Teacher's
Service Center of the American Historical Association. About 200
public school teachers attended the two-day event, which included

319

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

an art exhibit, a recital by the college choral group and movies as
well as the lectures. Minutes Fac. 2 Oct. 1967.

96 MBB Nov. 1966 The trilogy was composed of "A Visit to the
Sepulcher," "The Lament of Mary," and "The Stranger." The
students were Ginny Royster '64, Anne Corbin '64, Cecelia Flow
'61, and Linda Dolly '61.

9^ CC 8 Dec. 1966, 8 Dec, 1967.

98 MBB May 1964. Cat. 1968-69; CC 10 May 1963, SRS Mss—
MBC Archives.

99 This was an era of much student discontent around the
country. There was criticism of huge lecture sections, graduate
students teaching in place of distinguished professors, the im-
personality of large institutions, the "publish or perish" mandate.
In other places, faculty and administrative offices were occupied
and trashed, demonstrations rent the academic community, and
adversarial relationships became the accepted mode of communi-
cation. Campus Comments remarked, "We at Mary Baldwin are
very fortunate that our faculty... is above all dedicated to the
responsibility of teaching. Our professors are accessible both
inside and outside the classroom." CC 5 Mar. 1965.

Mary Baldwin's answer to these challenges was the new
curriculum. It is interesting to note that all but one member of the
committee who drew up the plan had joined the faculty since 1960.
Their academic credentials were impressive, coming as they did
from major American and European universities, and they were
influenced by these trends. The faculty, in accepting their recom-
mendations, sincerely felt that they were following Dr. Spencer's
commitment for "intellectual vigour." The committee members
were Marjorie Chambers, Chairman; Ulysse Desportes; Joseph
Garrison; Robert Lafleur; John Mehner; Frances Jacob; and
Martha Grafton, ex officio. Minutes. Fac. 3 Jan. 1967; Cat 1968-
69; MBB June 1968.

100 CC 14 Apr. 1967, 17 Nov. 1967.

101 The early Self-Study (the college has now had three of them)
was not opened to public perusal; nor were the "recommenda-
tions" published. The chapter on "Financial Resources" was
considered particularly sensitive. Copies of the report were kept
in the president's office for many years. Although some of the
faculty resented the work involved, it did provide them an oppor-
tunity to collectively (and relatively anonymously) express their
opinions about a number of aspects of the college's program. It
was one more indication of the increasing openness of the college

320

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

world. "Institutional Self-Study" Mary Baldwin College, Sept.
1965 "confidential". Minutes BT Apr. 1964, 15 Oct. 1965, April
1967.

^°^ Beta Beta Beta (biology) had had a chapter since 1948.
Minutes Fac. 23 Jan. 1968.

The Woodrow Wilson Fellows were Joan Goolsby and Ann
Singletary.

^°^ Dr. Spencer had already made one Founders' Day address
and one regular commencement address at Mary Baldwin before
1963. He was generally very popular with the students, and if he
had agreed, the students would have asked him to speak even
more frequently. After 1963, he always made a brief presentation
at commencements, but there were no more formal commence-
ment speakers until the Lester administration. Dr. Huston Smith
was asked to return for Founders' Day in 1963 and did so. The
students dedicated the 1964 Bluestocking to him.

104 President's Report, 11 Mar. 1960, 17 Apr. 1964. In 1964,
there were 15 professors, eight associate professors, eight assis-
tant professors, and 10 instructors. The age distribution was four
between 20-29 years; 23 between 25-44 years; 13 between 50-64
years, and four over 65, and this reflected the situation for the
remainder of Dr. Spencer's presidency. The faculty/student ratio
was 1/14. Self Studv 1965.

105 Minutes. BT 21 Mar. 1957.

In these days, individual salary amounts were considered
confidential, as indeed was the college budget, indebtedness and
sources of income. Faculty appointments were made by the pres-
ident with the advice of the dean, who usually (but not always)
consulted with senior faculty of the discipline before choosing
among potential prospects. A personal interview was required,
but no classroom presentations were made, nor was any student
input sought.

SRS Mss— MBC Archives
lo*^ In 1967, Dr. Spencer persuaded the trustees to allow him to
add $50,000 to the total faculty payroll, in order to qualify for Phi
Beta Kappa consideration. He called it a "daring step" and
compared it to FDR's call for 50,000 airplanes in 1940. It resulted
in MBC being number 2 on the VFIC list, but only briefly.

Minutes BT 20 Oct. 1967

In 1967, the figures show that 60% of the faculty had been
hired since 1960. The consequences of this in the outlook and
attitude of these men and women is obvious. Fourteen faculty and

321

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

administrators were members of Phi Beta Kappa.

10- Self-Study 1965

SRS, letter to William Wendel, 14 Sept. 1964 SRS Mss—
MBC Archives.

1°^ Concerning student/faculty evaluation, the administration
was generally cool to the idea. In 1959 a SGA committee had
prepared confidential evaluations on each department and they
had been distributed to the faculty, but they were not encouraged
to repeat the exercise. Mrs. Grafton felt they had a "right" to do
this if they chose, but, she said, "it might disturb student-faculty
relations needlessly" and "it might be taken too seriously by the
faculty themselves. Overevaluation is a menace which ought to be
sensibly avoided." In 1967, a student faculty committee to study
the whole concept was reactivated but no policy was adopted at
this time.

"Project Opportunity" was sponsored in 1965 by the South-
ern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Ford Foundation.
Seventeen "southern colleges" were to "search out" talented youths
from disadvantaged backgi^ounds at the seventh and eighth gi'ade
levels and devise programs which would enrich their secondary
school experiences and prepare them for admission to college.
MBC joined the University of Virginia in focusing on two high
schools in Nelson County. Some 52 children were involved, and
they attended cultural and academic events on both campuses for
several years. Funding disappeared in the 1970s. Self-Study
1965.

At the same time that the faculty voted to ban smoking at
their meetings, they voted that smoking in classrooms would be
permitted with the permission of the instructor.

109 p^j.^ Qf ^YiQ formalization of faculty regulations had pro-
vided that a continuing, or tenured, contract terminated at age 65.
Yearly appointments might be made thereafter, at the pleasure of
the president, until age 70 at which time retirement was manda-
tory. Some emeriti continued to serve in other ways. Dr. Turner
acted as the college chaplain for several years. Miss Fannie
worked closely with the alumnae office, and Mr. Baffin was
special assistant to the president until 1967.

11° The Spencer appointments had considerable stability, al-
though not all those listed stayed until they retired. Others who
were on the faculty for a shorter period were William Kimball,
Julian White, Mary Jane Donnalley, Alan Geyer, Anne Miller,
June Woodhall, Kurt Kehr, Carl Edwards, Joanne Ferriot, and

322

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Ellen Vopicka. Longtime library staff were Dorothy Ferrell, Alice
Simpkins, Catherine Rosen and Janet Leonard. There were
others whose tenure was briefer, and while appreciated, are not
listed here. A complete listing of all faculty and staff is in the
College Catalogues 1957-1968.

Ill Cat. 1968.

11^ The "Young Democrats" were organized on campus 22 Nov.
1963; the "Young Republicans" on 17 Jan. 1964.

Campus Comments described chapel and convocation be-
havior as based on "indifference, immaturity, pure laziness." A
later comment asked sarcastically, "Should we sell popcorn?"
Editorials said the students left "The Club" in a "gigantic mess,"
and another said that all students cared about is "flicking (mov-
ies), bridgebopping and discussing the merits of various fraterni-
ties". CC 16 Jan. 1959, 26 Feb. 1961, 21 Apr. 1966, 11 Dec. 1964,
21 Apr. 1967. Perhaps it should be remembered the student
editors are frequently harder on their peers than their elders
would be.

^^^ In 1965, President Spencer's report to the trustees men-
tioned, "...we have our normal share of student problems of
varying kinds... [but] morale... is high and there is an unusual
degree of stability in comparison with the unrest on many
campuses... [There is now] an understandable social sensitivity
with regard to the civil rights movement." President's Report 16
Apr. 1965. SRS ]\dss— ]V[BC Archives.

114 Handbook 1965, 99.

115 Handbook 1959, 1968; CC 8 Feb. 1963, 1 JVIar. 1963, 21 Feb.
1964, 17 Apr. 1964, 1 IMay 1964, 11 Feb. 1966, 29 Feb. 1968, 11
Apr. 1968.

116 CC 20 Oct. 1966, 3 IVIar. 1966. There were heavy snow-
storms during the decade of the 60s; 11 separate episodes in 1960-
61; 15" fell on 19 JVIar. 1960 and 30" in IVIar. 1966.

11^ All of these references are in Campus Comments 1958-68;
"IVIystery IVIeat" turned out to be, in answer to a student's query,
milk-fed veal from Wisconsin! The students still rejected it. CC
24 Feb. 1966. Alumnae will enjoy recalling the mercantile
establishments "downtown" (no malls as yet) who supported
student publications by their advertisements. Rick's "Coed Cor-
ner," Central Drug Store, iVlorgan's IVIusic Center, the Palais
Royal, Hogsheads, Schwarzschild's, Leggetts', Woodward, The
Homestead Restaurant, Bennie's Shoe Store, Fink's Jewelry, H.L.
Lang, New York Dress Shop, The Sportsmen, Emily's Knit Shop,

323

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

Carl's Pastry Shop, all welcomed the students year after year.

^^* Needless to say, the MBC Infirmary did not provide "the
pill." CC 2 Nov. 1967. Zero population growth was a very popular
movement in the late 1960s. Couples planned merely to replace
themselves and a family of two children (one of each sex) was
considered "ideal."

^^^ All of these reactions are found in Campus Comments for
these years. From time to time, the MBB would print stories about
changing student mores, but always "after the act" and with little
emphasis on the process involved. Alumnae, of course, were often
the harshest critics of these changes and administrators spent
much time and effort in "explaining" and defending new policies.
Generally Dr. Spencer had such good rapport with alumnae and
board members, who trusted him, that they accepted his word
that new relationships were inevitable. Future administrations,
dealing with more extreme issues, had greater difficulty in win-
ning acceptance.

For those who have forgotten, the "apartment" rule pro-
vided that students could visit apartments or "cabins" in Lexing-
ton and Charlottesville only when two or more couples were
present. They were not allowed to attend parties in motels or
hotels. The "approved housing" required that a student make
room reservations through the dean's office when she was spend-
ing the weekend at a college or university town. She was expected
to "check in" with her hostess and to observe college "hours" for
returning. The hours were quite generous — Friday 3:00 a.m.;
Saturday 2:00 a.m. The much resented "25 mile" rule extended all
college regulations about driving in automobiles, times for sign
ins and outs, and the use of alcoholic beverages to the territory
within a 25 mile radius of the city limits of Staunton. A student
was on her honor to report any personal violations of these
regulations and also to encourage other students whom she might
observe violating them to report themselves. Failure to do this
constituted a serious Honor violation. Handbook 1962 and others.

^-° One prerequisite for a successful college president is that he
have trustees who will come to meetings, work hard and are
generally supportive of his program. By 1966, there were many
new faces on the board, partly because the rotation rule had had
time to take effect and partly because of the attrition of age and
illness. Dr. Spencer had used these opportunities to appoint
congenial, like-minded, but not uncritical, persons, many of whom
were personal friends. At a time when many college presidents

324

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

were suffering from unsympathetic or insensitive boards of trust-
ees, Dr. Spencer generally had the support of both his trustees
and his administration.

Among board members who attended this momentous meet-
ing were Charles P. Lunsford, Chairman; C. P. Nair, Albert R.
Gillespie, Edmund D. Campbell, Bertie Deming, John P.
Edmondson, Katherine N. Fishburn, William H. Foster, Jr., F.
Wellford Hobbie, Willard L. Lemmon, Frank S. Moore, Emily P.
Smith, W. W. Sproul, John N. Thomas and Eldon Wilson. New
members were: John H. Cecil, Horace P. McNeal, Patty Joe
Montgomery, and Marvin B. Perry.

^-^ The college reiterated its belief that premarital sexual
relationships were unacceptable behavior and was thus, idealis-
tically, placing the decision about such matters in the hands of the
junior and senior college women. Students had not been slow to
point out that having another couple present, or even one other
person, was hardly a guarantee of "appropriate" sexual behav-
ior— "apartments" usually had more than one room, they as-
serted.

W. J. B. Livingstone, letter to SRS 13 Apr. 1961; SRS, letter
to W. J. B. Livingstone, 14 Apr. 1961 SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

^" A poll among MBC students in the spring of 1966 revealed
that out of 604 students participating, 488 said they drank
alcoholic beverages; and 467 said they wanted the MBC require-
ment changed. Materials for Peaks of Otter Retreat, SRS Mss —
MBC Archives. In 1966 Virginia state law permitted the sale of
3.2 beer to individuals over eighteen years of age.

It should be pointed out that the college statement about
"in the eyes of the public" constituted a poor reason, in the views
of students of the 1960s and 1970s. According to the countercul-
ture ideals, one's behavior came from inner needs and desires and
to conform to "public opinion" as setting the standards of one's
behavior was hypocrisy. By no means all of the MBC students
accepted the configuration of "situation ethics," but the influence
of these ideas permeated college campuses and did affect deci-
sions.

See CC 8 Dec. 1966. The girls called it "alcoholic liberty."
This was only the beginning of the modification of this and other
social rules.

123 CC 10 Mar. 1967, 27 Oct. 1967, 17 Nov. 1967.

Handbook 1968 The Handbook warned that the college
was not responsible for "enforcing Virginia state laws concerning

325

To Live In Time Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

alcohol or drug consumption, nor could it help those who were
arrested for violating such policies." The whole issue of police on
campus lay in the near future.

^^'* Among the difficulties about the unsuitability of King
Auditorium for chapel was the frequent dropping of knitting
needles which made a ringing noise on the gymnasium floor and
rolled beyond the reach of their sometimes embarrassed owner.
CC 14 Mar. 1958, 1 Mar. 1963, 12 Apr. 1963, 9 Dec. 1965, 11 Feb.
1966, 21 Apr. 1966, 21 Apr. 1967.

^^^ Helen Miller ('35) recalled Dr. Jarman reprimanding her
when she was Campus Comments editor for having a graduation
edition appear on Sunday. That must never happen again, he
warned. Now, she observed, you always have a Sunday graduation
edition. CC 10 Jan. 1964.

126 Miscellanv 1963-64 Spring; CC 24 Feb. 1966

SRS, letter to 8 Sept. 1958 SRSMss—MBC Archives.

127 Address to MBC student body 19 Sept. 1959. SRS, letter to
Karen K. Huffman, 17 Jan. 1962. Church address, ca. 1963.
President's Report 12 Oct. 1967. SRS Mss— MBC Archives.

MBB 1968

128 CC 22 Feb. 1968, 17 Sept. 1968, SRS Mss— MBC Archives,
Minutes BT 18-19 Oct. 1968.

The Search Committee was composed of Willard L. Lem-
mon. Chairman, Bertie Deming, Alum., the Rev. John D. MacLeod,
Jr. (BT), Dr. Marvin Perry (BT), Dean Grafton, Ben Smith (fac-
ulty), Marjorie Chambers (faculty), Claire (Yum) Lewis (student),
Sue Stephens (student) and Sharon Ellis (student).

Since 1945, Mrs. Grafton had served as acting president
three or four times depending on how technical one is. In 1945, she
had directed the college for two years, after Dr. Jarman's illness
and before President Lewis had arrived; in 1953, she served for
one year, after Dr. Lewis resigned; and she had virtually been
president in 1965-66 when Dr. Spencer was on leave. In 1968, she
again filled the position until Dr. Kelly arrived.

On 19 Oct. 1968, the board of trustees voted a sincere and
eloquent Resolution Regarding the Resignation of President
Samuel Reid Spencer, Jr. It said in part:

As an outstanding educator he
emphasized that the quality of the
educational program depended upon the
high qualifications of faculty and students,

326

To Live In Time Bulldozers. Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

and on a demanding curriculum. Further-
more, he sought constantly to improve
these two areas.

For his vision and leadership in the
extensive building program, for his con-
stant drive toward the betterment of
faculty and faculty salaries; for the estab-
lishment of the international program;
for his untiring efforts toward the
strengthening of the financial structure
of the college; for his warm-hearted
friendliness toward every student, faculty
member and college employee; for his
development of effective participation of
the students in the best interests of the
college; for his interest and concern in
every detail of college life, and for his daily
example as a Christian gentleman, we
honor him.

For these eleven years of dedicated
service to the college, the Board of Trustees
is deeply grateful. Leaving us he carries
with him our love, respect, admiration and
good wishes as he assumes the position of
president of Davidson College.

327

To Live In Time

Bulldozers, Steam Shovels and Academic Excellence

William Watkins Kelly

328

SIX

NeAv Dimensions:

William Watkins Kelly

1969-1976

he board of trustees gathered for
its regular fall meeting at the Peaks of Otter Conference Center
18-19 October 1968. The 1968-69 session of the college had opened
quietly. The presidential selection committee, chaired by Willard
L. Lemmon, was unlike that small select inner group who had
chosen Dr. Spencer 11 years before. This time there was admin-
istration, faculty, alumnae, and student representation, as well as
trustees, and each shared in the laborious process of winnowing
the more than 100 applications that were received in response to
the widespread request for nominations. This "shared consulta-
tive" process was a reflection of how much and how rapidly
perceptions of college government had changed in the previous
decade. And it was a warning of the bitter conflicts to come among
students, faculty, administration and the public, not only at Mary
Baldwin College, but at almost every educational institution in
the country.

After the disastrous Democratic presidential nominating con-
vention in Chicago in the summer of 1968, student protesters
disrupted classes, occupied and burned university buildings,
intimidated boards of trustees, and appalled administrators and
alumni at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Duke, Michigan, Berkeley,
San Francisco, and elsewhere. The "causes" the students em-
braced were many and varied: they included the ending of the
Vietnam conflict; stopping the military draft; ending investments
in South Africa; halting federal money for military research in

329

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William. Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

university facilities; and demands for black studies, women lib-
eration agendas, pollution and environmental concerns. Con-
vinced that they could not "trust anybody over thirty," students
demanded an end to course and graduation requirements, the
abolition of all restrictive social regulations and a share in the
governance of their institutions. A small minority wanted to
"radicalize" all youth and destroy the "corrupt" political and social
system of the country . Other young people "dropped out," joined
communes, embraced (or made up) strange religions, made "love
not war," smoked "pot" and experimented with hallucinogens. In
the summer of 1969, 400,000 of them converged in the rain and
mud of Woodstock to participate in the symbolic "dawning" of the
Age of Aquarius.

The impact of all of this on middle America was profound.
Reflecting this concern, the Mary Baldwin Bulletin, Alumnae
Issue, May 1969 printed A Special Report, titled "Who's in Charge?"
and "Who's in Charge at Mary Baldwin?" in which the various
constituencies of a college or university were analyzed. In ad-
dition to trustees, administration, faculty, students, and alumni,
the "constituencies" included the "community" and the "American
people."^

A few conclusions from this lengthy report warrant attention.
Trustees were viewed by the discontented as the "Establishment"
and were the ultimate focus of all of the turmoil, but when the
institution was threatened by "earnest, primitive, single-minded
fanatics or calculating demagogues," trustees had to make deci-
sions to protect the institution. College presidents now had a
"service role"; they were caught "in the middle" between trustees,
faculty and student demands. College presidents must defend
"institutional integrity" but should expect the authority of the
administration to "erode" in the 1970s. No president, the report
warns, "can prevail indefinitely without at least the tacit support
of the faculty." But the faculty themselves were changing. They
"moved around" a lot more than they used to and no longer
perceived an "organic relationship" to their institution. They
wanted to participate in decision-making but resented the time it
took to do so. Many of them joined or led student protests. The
community, on the other hand, expected colleges and universities
to serve society, and changes in educational institutions were
perceived as threats to vested interests and were resented. Last-
ly, the American people had power because both the federal and
state governments had contributed billions of tax dollars to pub-

330

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

lie and private institutions since World War II and, in the end,
the people would fail to support those institutions which they
perceived as contradicting American values.

What, however, did all this have to do with Mary Baldwin
College, seemingly so remote, both physically and intellectually,
from this ferment and disorder? Essentially the 1968-69 session
was a hiatus, a holding action, a pause between the old and the
new. It was as if the college gathered itself together to absorb all
of the changes and challenges of the Spencer era and would thus
be able to present a cohesive community for the new president
when he or she should arrive. It was comfortable to have Martha
Grafton as acting president. She was a known quantity - an
"unflappable realist" who had announced shortly after Dr. Spen-
cer left that all the college groups would share in the decision-
making process. "The genius of our government," she wrote, "is
that the College is small and everyone knows everyone else.
Communication is easy and there is no reason... to outline in de-
tail where authority rests. No passing of authority from trustees,
to president, to faculty, to students will bring good governance
unless there is respect and good will in each line, no matter what
might be written down."

Because there was "respect and good will," the school year
passed peacefully. The college had the highest enrollment in its
history (713) and the largest annual budget ($2.5 million). Con-
struction of the nev/ science building was begun and the Christian
College Challenge Fund campaign got under way with much
better organization and effective planning than any previous
Synod campaign had done. The Founders' Day speaker. Dr.
Samuel D. Proctor, a native Virginian, an alumnus of Virginia
Union University and Dean for Special Projects at the University
of Wisconsin, spoke on "Education and Social Renewal." Later
in the year, a mass communication seminar, "The News As It Is or
Isn't" brought Marlene Sanders, Charles McDowell, Clark
Mollenhoff, James W. Dean and Richard Tobin to the campus.
They were well-received and attendance was good. There were
the usual University Center speakers, and the King Series con-
tinued. The 1968 election results were analyzed and discussed.
Dr. Spencer returned for the Honors Day Convocation, and the
spring alumnae seminars were so popular that they were re-
peated for the students at their request.- In April, 1969, a faculty/
student benefit ice cream eating contest was held and, to every-
one's surprise, Marguerite Hillhouse ate more vanilla ice cream

331

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

than anyone else.^

This was the first year for the "new curriculum" which had
been so carefully proposed in 1967. Students had participated in
the planning for the more relaxed requirements and the opportu-
nity for more concentrated advanced studies.^ They also had won
the right to schedule their own examinations. Almost everyone
had the privilege of unlimited cuts, and classes were no longer
held on Saturdays. Students sat on the faculty curriculum com-
mittee; they participated in the bookstore and food service advis-
ing groups. Students organized many fund-raising events for the
science building, and three young women were full-fledged mem-
bers of the presidential selection committee. In the spring of 1969,
the board of trustees invited the Student Government Association
to send non-voting representatives to the board committees on
educational policy, student life and building and grounds. At the
request of the SGA, the board of trustees had given reluctant
consent to changing the historic compulsory church and chapel
attendance rules. '^ Although seemingly "immune" from the dis-
turbances on college campuses elsewhere, it is apparent that some
behind our yellow brick walls were aware of the causes of student
discontent elsewhere and had taken steps to respond to the more
reasonable of them.

The school year culminated with a student-inspired and orga-
nized "Martha Grafton Day." Beginning at 6 a.m., the students
hung banners from the Library and decorated the hill to Hunt
with paper flowers and helium-filled balloons. There was a
corsage from the staff of Campus Comments and flowers from the
SGA in her office when Mrs. Grafton came to work, only to discover
that her crowded daily calendar had been filled by the students,
who planned to cancel their appointments so that she might have
the day to herself. That evening, Dr. and Mrs. Grafton were
honored at a candlelight dinner in Hunt Hall, where the following
resolution was presented:

Whereas, to the students of Mary Baldwin
College Martha S. Grafton has been a
source of wisdom, compassion, and strength,
and whereas amidst days of national
campus rebellion Mary Baldwin has
seen peaceful progi'ess because of her
insight and open-mindedness, and whereas
her unexcelled administrative abilities

332

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

are accompanied by personal qualities
that have inspired the lasting devotion
of every student, the Student Government
Association of Mary Baldwin College
hereby proclaims Martha S. Grafton
Day, May 20, 1969.

The faculty, in their turn, honored Dean Grafton by establish-
ing the Martha S. Grafton Academic Award to be given each year
to the class valedictorian.*^

The presidential selection committee was ready to present its
recommendation to the board of trustees at a special called
meeting on 14 January 1969. Their choice was William Watkins
Kelly, the 40-year old Director of the Honors College at Michigan
State University. He had been reared at Big Stone Gap, Virginia,
where his father had been the superintendent of Wise County
schools for 50 years. He was a graduate of VMI and Duke
University and had served for three years as a lieutenant in the
Air Force, teaching English at the newly opened Air Force Acad-
emy in Colorado. He had been at Michigan State since 1962, but
had had an academic administrative internship at Rutgers Uni-
versity during the 1964-1965 university session. He had contin-
ued to teach part-time, usually an honors course in American
Thought and Language, and had just recently been made Director
of the Honors Program which involved 1900 students and 90
academic departments. He was married to a HoUins graduate,
and he and Jane were the parents of four lively young boys. In
almost every way, it appeared to be a perfect match for the
college's expectations and hopes." The trustees accepted their
selection committee's recommendation, and, at a called convoca-
tion that afternoon, Dr. Kelly was introduced to the college
community. He received a standing ovation.

Dr. Kelly wac frequently at the college in the months that
followed. He spoke at a synod Christian College Campaign fund-
raiser dinner in March; attended the installation of the SGA
officers in April, met with some of the members of the VFIC, and
spoke to the alumnae at their homecoming on 30 May 1969. He
answered questions freely; at the synod meetings he gave a
detailed explanation of why he chose to come to Mary Baldwin

333

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

College. It was a challenge, he explained, to learn more about a
particular segment of higher education; he had been impressed
by the college community, and in particular by the selection com-
mittee, and by the beauty of the physical plant. He had likewise
been encouraged by the support the State of Virginia and the
church were giving to higher education and by the contributions
of the VFIC, which suggested business and industry concern.

Having graduated from a single-sex college, Dr. Kelly had no
difficulty in perceiving the viability of separate gender education,
and he was sympathetic to the expanding career opportunities for
women in the 1970s. And, he added, both he and Mrs. Kelly
wanted to come back to Virginia.

On other occasions, Dr. Kelly spoke of his concept of "shared
responsibility" for college governance. "We must," he said, "rely
on the collective wisdom of the entire academic community... the
faculty voice in college government is essential and central...
students have a proper and more meaningful role in the govern-
ing of their institution." And he pledged to give students leaders
his "cooperation and support." But, he concluded, a college
president must be an "active and responsible" leader.*^

It was agreed that Dr. Kelly's inauguration would be held on
Founders' Day, 4 October 1969, and a committee to plan the event
was organized with some of the persons who had been on the se-
lection committee agreeing to assist in these formal ceremonies.
It was a traditional inauguration with delegates from 56 colleges
and universities participating in the colorful academic procession
to Page Terrace. The board of trustees, which had just concluded
its fall meeting, was on hand as were the parents of the 146 seniors
who would be "invested" with their caps and gowns. The president
of the Danforth Foundation, Merrimom Cuninggim, delivered the
principal address, "Commiserations are Out of Order"; there was
a brief, enthusiastic response by Dr. Kelly, and the event was
concluded by luncheon in Hunt Hall.^

At his inauguration, Dr. Kelly announced that he had ap-
pointed a "President's Committee on the Challenges of the 70s."
The committee followed the now familiar pattern of "diverse"
membership; i.e., trustees, administrators, faculty, students and
alumnae, and was charged to study "all facets of our present
educational programs" and to suggest "specific goals for the
continued development of Mary Baldwin College over the next
decade." Chaired by Richard P. Gifford, a trustee from Lynchburg,
the 15 members worked diligently and conscientiously. In the

334

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

spring of 1971, the committee's work was concluded and, after
careful administrative study, the report was released to the
college community. ^°

"The style of a college must be appropriate to its purposes,"
declared the preface of the report. In the future, as in the past,
Mary Baldwin College must be characterized by openness, ser-
vice, trust and a search for truth. Its continuous Christian
character would be revealed through the quality and the tone of
the community life it sought to foster. But, the report warned,
there must be "no coercion": "a Christian commitment is mean-
ingful only when it is deeply personal and independently made."
The "ethos of academia needs to be a combination of intellectual
power, intellectual excitement and moral concern," the document
concluded.

There followed specific recommendations:

1. The college should employ a chaplain whose responsibil-
ity would be "intellectual stimulus" outside the class-
room, as well as developing more fully the sense of com-
munity within the college and between the college and
its neighbors.

2 . The president should institute regular discussions among
the college constituencies about the meaning of "liberal
higher education" and what constitutes excellence in
teaching and learning.

3. The college should continue its effort to achieve greater
heterogeneity; the report stated, that there was a "moral
imperative" for more black representation. In the selec-
tion of new personnel, "diversity of viewpoints should be
placed second only to the need for competence."

4. Mary Baldwin should, "for the time being," remain a
women's college.

5. The freshman year should be enriched with "innovative
seminars, lectures and discussions" and the advisor sys-
tem should be improved.

6. The college should consider its responsibilities toward
women as students and women's role in society through
conferences, workshops, lectures and counseling ses-
sions.

7. The college should employ a full-time career counselor.

8. There should be increased summer use of the campus-
i.e., workshops, special "short terms", and sessions for
superior high school students.

335

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

9. The college should begin planning a fine arts center.

10. Enrollment should be increased to 900+ (but not more
than 1000).

11. An Honors Program should be instituted.

12. The possibilities of a MA degree program should be con-
sidered.

13. The overseas study and consortium programs should be
expanded.

14. Student evaluation of the faculty should continue.

15. The college should serve the community by organizing
evening classes, volunteer programs and similar activi-
ties.^i

The members of the committee had not been asked to consider
the specific financial implications of their recommendations.
They were aware, of course, of the severe inflation of the early
70s, the drop in admissions applications and the burden of debt
that the college already bore. They were careful when they
developed their recommendations to note that almost all of them
had financial impact, and they made a tentative effort to set some
priorities as to when changes should be undertaken and which
should come first. The fact that the report was taken seriously and
that Dr. Kelly and his administration sought to implement most
of the recommendations quickly, added immeasurably to the
financial stresses of these years and to increasing faculty and
student frustration.

Not all the suggestions of the committee were universally
approved. An editorial in the Staunton News Leader criticized
the plea for "diversity of viewpoint, second only to... competence."
"Must the faculty and staff include communists, radicals, revolu-
tionaries. Black Muslims or Panthers, agnostics, atheists, unre-
served pacifist, or just plain anti-Americans?", the writer de-
manded. Response was immediate. "The social, political and
religious opinions of the faculty members are not the legitimate
concerns of the college," wrote one faculty member. Another
declared, "You have done a disservice to the college and the
community and to the relationship of mutual respect (and some-
times affection) that holds them together. "^^

Although basically a lack of communication (the editor said
the simple addition of the word "academic" in front of the word
"diversity" would have satisfied him as to the committee's inten-
tions), this little controversy was indicative of the growing dis-
cord and mistrust that continued to escalate during these trou-

336

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

bled years. During the time (16 months) that the president's
committee had taken to research and write their report, a great
deal had happened, both at Mary Baldwin and elsewhere in the
world, that had exacerbated tensions and heightened criticism of
the college both within and without.

Dr. Kelly's inauguration had been on 4 October 1969. Eleven
days later, the first of several national Vietnam Moratoriums was
proclaimed by the many groups and organizations who opposed
President Nixon's policies. Students closed down universities in
many parts of the countiy and announced that on 15 November

1969, a massive protest "March on Washington" would be held. At
Mary Baldwin, some students and faculty "marched" from Page
Terrace to the County Courthouse where a brief prayer service
was held. On 15 and 16 October, there were panel discussions,
student and faculty speeches, both from the college community
and neighboring institutions, and much activity. Classes contin-
ued to meet, there was no physical violence, but tempers were
short, student friendships severed and community apprehensions
heightened. The following month, a few students and faculty went
to Washington, D.C. to participate in those emotion-wracked
events. ^^

Several college conferences had been scheduled for the 1969-
70 session, and the Staunton community, already divided and
appalled by national and international events, was uneasy about
some of the topics and the viewpoints of the speakers. A program
in February entitled "The Ghetto-Why?" brought an impassioned
Shirley Chisholm to the campus; a March symposium on drug
usage; an April "Earth Day," and a student-alumnae "Conversa-
tion on Contemporary Christianity" all contributed to campus
divisions and community suspicions. It was with considerable
misgivings, that the invitation to former Secretary of State Dean
Rusk for 6 March 1970 was honored. The evening lecture was
billed as a "conversation," was well attended and completed
without incident, but the fact that the sponsors were concerned
about the secretary's safety and the possible physical threat to
King Auditorium shows how far public civility had eroded in two
or three brief years.

Alumnae Homecoming had been scheduled for 15-17 May

1970. The alumnae and several faculty had been invited to "make

337

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

the scene" and to attend a seminar with President Kelly titled
"Alumnae Ask?". On 30 April, President Nixon ordered an
"incursion" into Cambodia, and college campuses, including many
that had previously been unaffected, erupted with renewed vio-
lence. Five days later, four college students were killed by
National Guardsmen at Kent State in Ohio, and shortly thereaf-
ter two black students at Jackson State University in Mississippi
were shot, this time by state police. The Mary Baldwin students
reacted as did their peers, with shock and horror. Classes were
cut, a "peace march" was held, panel discussions were organized
and telephone lines were clogged as young people phoned each
other and worried parents telephoned their daughters. Tradition-
ally, early May was the busiest time of the academic year. Exams
would start in two weeks; there were term papers to write, class
projects to complete; graduation was set for 7 June. Many colleges
and universities throughout the country closed or were shut
down. Others lowered academic standards by allowing the substi-
tution of "action programs" for final examinations or accepting as
the final grade for a course the class record as of the first of May.
The colleges which Mary Baldwin most closely related to, the
University of Virginia and Washington & Lee, provided alternate
examination equivalencies, as did Hollins, Randolph-Macon
Woman's College, and Sweet Briar, but all remained open.

It had been an uneasy spring at Mary Baldwin; the "commu-
nity" of which the president's committee on the Challenges of the
70's was writing so approvingly had suffered severe strains. Many
students had fathers, brothers, friends or lovers in the military
and resented the accusations and rhetoric of those who opposed
U.S. policies toward Southeast Asia. There were faculty and staff
members with honorable military service and/or children of their
own in the armed forces, who were perceived by other colleagues
as part of an "establishment" they deplored. For the first time,
there were class tensions; seniors were critical of freshman
attitudes toward tradition and college regulations, and the ex-
pected freshman "deference" toward seniors was noticeably lack-
ing. Campus Comments editorials, perhaps hoping to arouse
student response, had been acrimonious and divisive; alumnae,
parents and even some private individuals often connected with
the business world had written to Campus Comments in bitter or
sarcastic protest. And now came this upheaval about Cambodia.

Few college presidents had to deal with the crises in the midst
of an alumnae homecoming, but Dr. Kelly had that difficult task.

338

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

The alumnae program proceeded according to schedule, even to
the entertainment at the Kelly's home before the traditional
banquet. If the host was a worried man, he did not show it unduly
and the following Monday, 18 May, after having read a prepared
statement to the students supporting their concerns. Dr. Kelly
asked the faculty, at a called meeting, to approve two options for
final examinations which, he declared, were within the limits set
by the college regulations. A student could take an "Incomplete"
and would be allowed to finish her course requirements and the
examinations by 19 September 1970, or she could change her
course registration from a grade to a Pass/Fail. Student requests
that they be allowed to negotiate with individual professors for
other alternatives were denied. Only one senior took advantage
of these choices. The remaining 156 graduated on schedule. ^^

Generally the college community approved President Kelly's
and Dean Grafton's handling of the spring crises. Fortunately,
the college soon closed for the summer and by the following
September there were other, more immediate concerns to occupy
faculty and students. ^^

Dr. Kelly faced many problems: some were of his own making;
others from external circumstances beyond his control; still others
a mixture of both. None was miore pervasive and had more seri-
ous consequences than the frequent turnover of administrative
appointments. When Dr. Kelly accepted the presidency of Mary
Baldwin College, he "inherited," as Dr. Spencer had done, a well-
trained, stable, loyal administrative staff. In fact, he inherited
the same staff Dr. Spencer had had: Dean Grafton, Dean Parker,
Dean Hillhouse, Mr. Spillman, Mrs. Lescure, Mrs. Davis, Miss
Carr, Dr. Pennell. But he was aware that some of these indivi-
duals would soon be retiring, and, much as he appreciated their
support during his first turbulent year, perhaps he looked forward
to a future in which a staff of his own choosing would be in place.
But nothing in his brief, troubled administration proved to be
more difficult.

Between 1969 and 1976 there were four academic deans, three
deans of students, two vice-presidents, four career planning and
placement officers, a succession of chaplains, increasing and
uncontrollable computer personnel. In the few areas where there
was personnel stability, expanding government reporting regula-

339

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

tions, an inflationary spiral at unprecedented proportions, an
energy crisis and lack of sufficient support staff made key officers
ineffective. Dr. Kelly himself was increasingly away from the
campus, as the necessity for meeting alumnae, synod and VFIC
patrons expanded and, after 1973, the growing demands of the
New Dimensions campaign absorbed his time. He was never able
to pull together an administrative team which worked well.
Accustomed to the triumvirate and their associates, and to expect-
ing the administration to be competent, the faculty and students
were bewildered and finally frustrated- and, of course, so was the
president.

What went wrong?

Early in Dr. Kelly's first year it was announced that three
senior administrators, Grafton, Hillhouse and Spillman, would
retire in June 1970. Search committees carefully chosen to reflect
college constituencies were quickly approved to seek appropriate
replacements.^*^ In two cases, appointments were made from
within the college itself; Alfred L.(Albie) Booth, who had been on
the mathematics faculty since 1965, became registrar, and F.
Freeman Jones, who had been appointed assistant business
manager in 1967, became the treasurer and business manager.
Both men were U.S. Naval Academy graduates, with many years
of military service, and had had several years experience at the
college. At a time of a new president it seemed wise, and
economically advantageous, to secure this continuity."

Replacing Martha Grafton was a different matter. The dean
selection committee faced a formidable task, partly because their
concept of the characteristics which they were seeking in a dean
were so colored by their experience with "Mrs.G." They finally
recommended the appointment of Elke Frank, a graduate of
Florida State University, Radcliffe College and Harvard, who had
been awarded her Ph.D. in Political Science in 1964. She had held
several teaching positions and was warmly received when she was
introduced to the college community on Honors Day, 13 February,
1970.^^ She would begin her deanship in July 1970.

The processes by which these appointments were made, and
particularly the tendency to appoint from "within" because of
increasing economic concerns, were continued throughout the
Kelly administration. Certainly, the concept of a broadly based
selection committee is laudable and is now customary. But the
"shared responsibility" idea can lead to an administrator (in this
case, the president) accepting a committee recommendation with-

340

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

out personally doing the work necessary to be sure that the
appointee being chosen will suit his own needs and governing
style.

Although there was some physical rearrangement of adminis-
trative office space in the summer of 1970, there was no major
restructuring of the administrative organization. The new ap-
pointees had no clear-cut lines of responsibilities delineated, nor
was there an effective mechanism in place for avoiding duplica-
tion and contradictions of effort. Only Freeman Jones had direct
experience in the position he was to hold. All of the three were
fortunate in that each of them had knowledgeable and loyal
support staffs, but, without strong leadership from Dr. Kelly, they
each tended to feel isolated and to act unilaterally.^^

Elke Frank's appointment proved not to be a happy one, either
for her or for Mary Baldwin. She knew no one at the college or in
the community and, although sincerely welcomed, she was unac-
customed to small colleges and small town mores. She resigned
as dean within a year of her appointment. Elizabeth Parker act-
ed as both academic dean and dean of students from October 1971
until January 1972, at which time Marjorie B. Chambers of the
Philosphy and Religion faculty ( 1962) became the academic dean.
Her selection was widely approved by both faculty and students;
her contributions (to be noted later) were many. It was a great
misfortune when, at the end of the 1974-75 session, her health
forced her resignation. It was a time of major financial crisis for
the college, and again Dr. Kelly turned to the faculty to find a dean.
He chose Dorothy Mulberry, the organizer and one of the directors
of the Academic Year in Madrid. She had come to Mary Baldwin
in 1958 and was knowledgeable about administration, conscien-
tious and hardworking. -°

Other changes continued apace. The dean of students, Eliza-
beth Parker, would soon complete 30 years at the college. No one
was surprised when, in January 1972, she, too, announced she
would retire at the end of the session. She had always had good
relationships with the students and had adapted to the rapid
changes of the previous decade with more grace and flexibility
than might have been expected; but the world of the college
students of the 70s was hard for her to accept. She was deeply
touched when, on her birthday, 20 October 1971, the students
proclaimed "EP" Day. She was honored at a luncheon, complete
with a birthday cake and many gifts from student organizations.-^

After Miss Parker's retirement, the office of the dean of

341

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

students was redefined (to make it more in keeping with student
customs) and the title was changed to "Director of Student Life."
The new director was Brooke Woods, who at the end of two years
( 1974) resigned to join her husband in Pennsylvania. The need for
continuity was great, the time was short, and Dr. Kelly was
fortunate in being able to persuade Ethel Smeak, of the English
faculty, to become the next dean of students. The old title was
resumed and the duties somewhat loosely redefined. Dr. Smeak
was both an alumna (class of '53) and a faculty member (since
1965), connections which Dr. Kelly hoped would smooth relation-
ships with those constituencies. The final years of the Kelly
presidency were difficult for everyone, and Dr. Smeak chose to
return to teaching in the fall of 1976.^^

Although there was greater stability in the office of the vice-
president, here, too, there was some lack of clarity as to function.
Craven E. Williams had come to the college in the last months
of the Spencer presidency, 1968, expecting to work with him.
However, he agreed to stay on during the interim year, 1968-69,
and was asked by Dr. Kelly to continue during his administration.
The vice president coordinated the work of the director of infor-
mation services (succesively Dolores Lescure, Sioux Miles, Janet
Ferguson), the office of alumnae affairs (Virginia Munce), and the
various combinations of career planning and placement tried by
the Kelly administration (Edward Soetje, Fran Schmid, Frank
Pancake). He was responsible for promoting and administrating
all gifts and grants, the annual fund, and bequests. Williams had
played a major role in the Synod Christian College Challenge
Fund Campaign and in general college-synod relationships. By
1972, when plans were begun for the New Dimensions campaign,
Williams obviously needed help and Roy K. Patteson, Jr., was
named director (later vice-president) of development. Craven
Williams resigned in late 1974, and Roy Patteson was the only
vice-president until the end of the Kelly administration.^^

None of these key administrative appointees really had the
time or the staff to become familiar with his/her duties, much less
be prepared to suggest substantive changes that would lead to a
greater coordination of effort. There were unfortunate personal-
ity clashes: the new director of the physical plant found it difficult
to work with the supervisor of interiors and furnishing, and she
with him; Mr. Jones, to whom they both reported was never able
to mediate the conflicts; the director of food service, under attack,
in her view, from all sides, found it increasingly difficult to serve

342

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

the "special" dinners for which she was famous, as both her bud-
get and her staff were cut. Some events, especially for students,
had to be catered, which, of course, put additional strains on
tempers and budgets. Divisions of responsibilities between the
offices of the academic dean and the dean of students, alumnae
affairs and information services, development and the career and
personal counseling center all added to the confusion and conflict.
Dr. Kelly was away from the campus almost as much as Dr.
Spencer had been, particularly after 1973, and the lack of admin-
istrative coherence was so obvious that the trustees in 1974
approved the appointment of a temporary executive assistant to
the president to undertake an administrative reorganization as
well as to direct the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
required Self-Study.^^

Mary Baldwin entered the computer world in September 1968
when Albie Booth persuaded the administration to approve the
leasing of three hours a day of computer time from a downtown
business. Originally planned to help the alumnae office organize
its records, there was also some student interest, and a course in
computer programming was added to the curriculum in 1969. By
1971, Computer Analysis was also beingtaught, and both Mr.Booth
and Dr. Robert Weiss of the mathematics faculty were convinced
that a strong liberal arts college should include more computer
courses. In 1970, the college purchased an IBM 1 130, and by 1972
the mysterious clicking machines and noisy printers had been
located on the ground floor of the Administration Building (dis-
placing the Alumnae Office) and had moved inexorably into the
life of the campus. The bulky machines required three rooms and
a hallway, were vulnerable to lightning and electrical outages,
and were hardly installed before they were out of date. By 1973,
it was necessary to upgrade the system with 16K memory, a 2314
type disc drive, a faster printer, and more storage space. A staff of
three-a director, a systems analyst-programmer and an operator
programmer— was necessary to run and maintain the system, and
it was here that the Kelly administration encountered more
conflict.

At first it had to do with the education of the college commu-
nity about this new equipment. As early as 1970, students were
complaining about computer identification numbers. "It is, "wrote

343

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

one young woman, "an insult to the basic premise of close com-
munity feelings... it has taken our freedom of choice of schedul-
ing..." Although every academic discipline was to be affected and
changed by computers, many liberal arts faculty, particularly
older ones, felt threatened and confused by this new information
tool. Office personnel had to be trained to submit their material
in a form dictated by the keyboard and had to learn to interpret
the reports which increasingly filled their "in" baskets. At a time
of rapid change in so many areas, the strain the new technology
imposed was a necessary but added burden.

It was not long, of course, before the system was indispens-
able. The alumnae and development offices, admissions, the
registrar, and, belatedly, the business office, all came to depend on
the ubiquitous machines. To help pay for the equipment, some
"outside" work was contracted; a HEW-sponsored five-year spinal
cord research project, and a data analysis of jail populations were
undertaken. The National Science Foundation-sponsored "Wo-
men in Science" project demanded computer time as well. And
by 1976 the number of student computer courses had increased to
eight (with some duplication), and the students had to have access
to the machines at night. Scheduling computer time proved to be
a divisive and emotional issue, which added to the misunder-
standings among administrative offices, and among faculty and
students. It was admittedly hard to anticipate that, in the short
space of six years, the computer could have become such a central
issue, but it was not until 1976 that a computer use committee was
created. Much distress could have been avoided if more careful
advanced planning had been done.

However, the greatest problem about the computer for the
Kelly administration was the cost. As early as 1970, Dr. Kelly was
warning his staff and the faculty that the college was facing a
deficit of current operations budget. The early computer leasing
arrangements had cost $25,000 a year. Although the initial
purchase in 1970 had been partially paid for by a $50,000 grant
from the National Science Foundation, each year seemed to
require updated equipment and more room. At a time when
faculty salaries were either only minimally increased, or not at
all, three additional well-paid technical personnel were required
in the computer center. As the debate over the college finances
deepened, the computer center became one of the focal points of
bitter criticism. ^^

344

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

The changes and challenges of President Kelly's six-year
administration came with such rapidity and such overlapping and
confusion that it is only from the modest distance of 15 years that
one can sort them out. When Dr. Kelly was elected the sixth
president of the college, the trustees suggested that some revision
of the college charter would be necessary shortly. The last major
revision had taken place in 1957 at Dr. Spencer's insistence that
the college comply with the Presbyterian Church's understand-
ing of church-relatedness. In the 1960s the statement of purpose
had been modified to specify that neither race nor religious belief
were to be regarded when the admission of otherwise qualified
students or the hiring of faculty were considered. By 1969, there
were strong reasons why the "non-sectarian" status of the college
should be further clarified. The state of Virginia was considering
offering financial assistance in the form of grants and loans to
students attending private colleges. Bill Kelly lobbied hard and
successfully for the passage of these bills. But, in order to qualify,
a student had to attend a "non-sectarian" college. The Mary
Baldwin trustees made several attempts to word a revised chart-
er paragraph which would still reflect the long Christian (Presby-
terian) association of the college but would be defined by the
Attorney General's Office as "non-sectarian". Several versions
were proposed but it was not until 1974 that the phrase, "under
auspices which reflect the rich and continuing Christian heritage
of the institution," was deemed acceptable. ^^ Thereafter, Mary
Baldwin students participated in the Tuition Assistance Grant
programs, which provided modest support toward the much
higher cost of private college tuition.

Changes in the charter, however, affected the college-church
relationship as well. Any agreements the college signed with the
synod might well affect its "non-sectarian" status. The "non-
sectarian" status, in turn, affected synod relationships. To com-
plicate matters further, the synod was changing. In 1973, the
Synod of Virginia became the Synod of the Virginias, and had
expanded to include parts of West Virginia and Maryland. In
addition to Mary Baldwin and Hampden-Sydney, Davis & Elkins
and King Colleges were now within the geographical bounds of the
new synod, and would, presumably share whatever financial
resources were contributed to the colleges in the future.

345

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

The Synod of the Virginias proceeded to appoint a "Task Force
on the Relation of Synod and Its Colleges," which in turn devel-
oped a "covenant agreement" statement. Each college adminis-
tration was asked to critique the "covenant agreement" and early
in 1975 Dr. Kelly did. There was some debate over descriptive
terms, Presbyterians being capable of great obtuseness, but the
principal source of disagreement arose from the synod's proposal
to reduce by 20% each year during a five-year period its already
modest annual contributions to its colleges. In place of these
unrestricted funds, a "Visiting Team," appointed by the synod
would meet annually with the college administration, and future
synod financial support would depend on the visiting team's
recommendation.^^

The original Task Force proposals were made in 1974. It was
not until ten years later (1984) that the final "Covenant agree-
ment" between the synod and Mary Baldwin College was signed.
The final document omits specific mention of a task force and
merely states that the synod pledged "to continue financial sup-
port for the college in the Synod's Operating Budget." ^^

The trustees did, nevertheless, wish sincerely to continue a
close relationship with the church. Most still considered the col-
lege as "church-related," and what had once been a legal require-
ment now became a voluntary undertaking. The Challenges of the
70s committee had placed great emphasis on a reevaluated role
for a chaplain and Dr. Kelly sought to fulfill this commitment, but
with indifferent success. After experimenting with a part-time
and then, for two years, with a full-time chaplain, financial
necessity and limited student interest resulted in Carl Edwards
and Jim McAllister, Religion and Philosophy faculty members,
assuming the necessary chaplain duties, on a part-time basis.

In April 1971 the Christian Association and the Religious Life
Committees joined forces. "The Christian Association is dead,"
reported Campus Comments, "but its spirit will be retained in the
Religious Life Committee. They will work closely with the chap-
lain and there will be less bureaucracy," it was reported. ^^

Many of the campus changes concerning religious life came at
the instigation of the students. Shortly after Dr. Kelly arrived, he
asked Dean Parker to request the president of the SGA to identify
the "proper student group" to be responsible for the blessing in the
dining hall and "to urge the student responsible to make a
meaningful and appropriate prayer." In 1974 Campus Comments
reported that "grace before meals was curtailed several years ago"

346

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

due to a request from a group of students who insisted that this
"infringed on their civil hberties as non-Christians." Grace had
been replaced by a "moment of silence," which was now a "giggling
chaos." Any effort at silent worship was thus ended and another
tradition slipped into the past.^°

The students had campaigned for several years before Dr.
Kelly arrived to alter the compulsory church and chapel atten-
dance rules. A Campus Comments editorial called chapel a
"crippler" - "Required chapel is a habit, not an experience." It
should be voluntary, not "dictated," the editorial continued. A
campus survey revealed that 195 students opposed compulsory
chapel, 56 supported it; 18 faculty opposed, 13 voted to continue
the practice. On 10 April 1969, the SGA voted to end compulsory
chapel and appealed to the trustees to listen, and the board shortly
thereafter agi'eed that "under the principle of Christian freedom"
compulsion would be ended. Chapel thereafter would be held once
a week, on Wednesday morning in First Presbyterian Church, and
the entire college community was "encouraged" to attend. The
Religious Life Committee tried hard to provide varied programs
and to meet student needs. A "house church" Thanksgiving
service was held in Hunt Lounge (which indicates the expected
number of attendees), Hanukkah was observed at the Temple,
students were invited to a "folk mass" at St. Francis Catholic
Church, contemporary liturgies and "love feasts," Quaker meet-
ings, were all tried. A Film Festival was held one year in lieu of
the traditional Religious Emphasis Week, but the 1970 Confer-
ence on the "Christian Life and the Institutional Church" was
termed "a real bust." "Nobody can get really excited about
discussing Christianity - What is there to say?" asked Campus
Comments. By 1975, chapel had been moved from Wednesday
mornings to Sunday evening at 5 p.m. and had been relocated to
Hunt Lounge. ^^

All of these events, coupled with the radical changes in the
student social rules and regulations, would have made it difficult
for any president during these troubled years. Dr. Kelly's files
have many letters from distressed parents, donors, and ministers.
It was not easy to answer them.

Dr. Kelly's relationships with his board of trustees provided
some of the stability that his administration staff did not. Charles

347

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

P. Lunsford and John P. Edmondson were the president and vice-
president respectively in 1969; Willard L. Lemmon, who had
chaired the search committee which had recruited Dr. Kelly,
became president in 1970 and John P. Edmondson in 1971.
Thereafter, the combination of Ralph Kittle and Richard B.
Gifford presided over the board until the summer of 1976. Through-
out the Kelly presidency, Edmund D. Campbell continued on as
General Counsel. During the Kelly years, the board of trustees
reflected the changes of the other college constituencies. It be-
came more open to information and suggestions, and its decisions
were reported in Campus Comments and by Dr. Kelly's annual
"State of the College" speech to the student convocations. In 1969,
the trustees had invited students to sit on appropriate board
committees, and their comments were considered seriously. The
trustees were a bit more reluctant in agreeing to faculty atten-
dance, but, by October 1971, non-voting but participating faculty
representatives were invited to the board committees; and one
faculty member at large was elected by his/her peers and was
invited to attend and to speak at the full board meetings. In 1972,
the trustees held an "open, informal meeting" in Hunt Lounge to
which any student and faculty who wished might come. That
particular format was not repeated, but increasing opportunities
for faculty and trustees to "meet and mingle" at receptions and
dinners were provided. ^^

In 1973, an Advisory Board of Visitors was created. A mem-
bership of 50 was proposed and the ABV was instructed to
interpret the college's goals and programs to the college constitu-
ents; to "counsel" the college administration and trustees; and to
help advance the college development program. Members were to
be drawn from those who had an interest in or concern about the
college and were to reflect wide geographic and occupational
areas. The ABV met annually at the college, sometimes at the
same time as the board of trustees, and it was hoped that they
would provide a "pool" from which future board members could be
drawn. The ABV identified "career planning" as a program of
special interest and helped support financially a course to be
taught to sophomores on that subject. Its members were also
interested in admissions and evaluated procedures and programs
of that office. Some of Dr. Kelly's strongest supporters were
members of the ABV and he had recruited many of them. The first
chairman was Betty Southard Murphy, a distinguished Washing-
ton attorney who specialized in labor relations and had been

348

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

associated with the NLRB. She was ably assisted by Charles
Collis, a vice president of Fairchild Industries and the father of
an alumna. He later became the second chairman. For several
years the ABV struggled to identify its duties and functions. It
came into being at a time of great stress for the Kelly adminis-
tration, and the initial intention of finding new supporters for the
college who were neither alumnae nor parents was slow in being
realized. Now almost 20 years old, the ABV has become a valued
partner and is more comfortable about its functions. '^^

In 1973, the trustees introduced still another addition: form-
er trustees who had rotated off the board were designated as
"Associate Trustees." They received all the information that the
regular trustees did, and were invited to attend board meetings.
They did not sit on committees and, of course, did not vote, but this
was yet another attempt to retain the interest and good will of old
friends of the college.

Although well intentioned and reflective of the president's
concept of "shared responsibility," there is no question that these
additional groups added to the paperwork and the expenses of the
administration. The time and effort involved in organizing the
agendas, in arranging transportation and housing, in providing
orientation sessions and campus tours, in preparing the trustees'
packets of information, in sending the advance mailings, and
planning the receptions and dinners, placed a great strain on
office personnel and administrative budgets. ^^

Most people liked Bill and Jane Kelly, their four boys and their
Old English sheep dog. They were an attractive family, cultured
and talented, and they soon made close friends in the community
as well as at the college. Bill Kelly had a good public presence, he
spoke effectively and clearly, and he was truly committed to an
"open" administration. But, there were some rough spots which
would not have been the focus of as much resentment as they were,
if finances had been less strained. The Kellys moved into the
president's home on Edgewood Road, but had requested funds for
remodeling and enlarging the residence so that more college
entertaining could be done there. The executive committee of the
trustees approved a specified amount on 30 January 1969, al-
though Mrs. Grafton warned them that there was no money
earmarked in the budget to pay for the upgrading. A large, two-

349

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

story wing was added to the building, the kitchen was expanded
and completely modernized, and other less expensive changes
were undertaken. The costs far exceeded the authorized amount,
and although the end result was a lovely, gracious home which,
true to their word, the Kellys used for many college receptions and
entertaining, there were those who questioned the necessity of
the project.

There was also a different management style, which some in
the college found hard to accommodate. Dr. Kelly disliked disap-
pointing people and he tended to say to them what they wanted
to hear, rather than being specific about decisions that had been
made. Thus it often appeared that he promised one thing and did
another. In truth, he found it hard to make disagreeable choices
- and postponed making them as long as possible. He was very
open to all of the college constituencies about some of the finan-
cial problems (and was generally much more "public" about
budget and enrollment figures than Dr. Spencer had been), but he
was always convinced that "next year" the budget would balance,
raises could be given, threatened programs could be rescued and
that there would be more students. When these things did not
happen, there was disillusionment and anger. ^^

In retrospect, it would appear that those at the college tried to
do too much, with too few resources and too little time. A simple
listing of "extra" campus activities during these six years gives
some indication of the amount of student, faculty, and adminis-
tration effort that was required to plan and promote them:

1970-71: Inauguration of President Kelly

Dedication of Pearce Science Center
Exchange Consortium begun
A major 3 day Conference on Women in Industry
A 2 day Seminar on "Military Challenge to

Democracy in Latin America"
The installation of Phi Beta Kappa, Lambda

Chapter
A major Fine Arts Festival.

1971-72: An SGA sponsored conference on "Student
Activism"
Seminar on China-U.S. Relations;
Business Men and Women in Residency
program

350

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

"Peace" March

"Mock" Democratic Convention

1972-73: Seminar on Women's Liberation Movement

A "Consciousness Expansion" ESP Conference

which included a "whirHng dervish"
Program on Human Sexuahty
Alex Haley spoke on Black Heritage

1973-74: Ellen Glasgow Centennial Conference (partly on
MBC campus, partly in Richmond).

Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows Program
begun.

New Dimensions Campaign announced

ABV begun.

Wenger Hall addition begun

Governor's School for the Gifted begins summer
residence program

1974-75: New Curriculum implemented

Professor Willie Lee Rose delivers the first

annual Carroll lecture
Alternative Series - Women of Achievement
United Black Association- sponsored State
Senator Douglas Wilder, who spoke on
"Implementation of Social Change"
Administrative Reorganization
SACS Self-Studv

1975-76: Bicentennial Campus events

Dr. Kelly announced his resignation in Septem-
ber-effective June 1976

A conference on America and the Arts

Air Force Band Concert

A series of American Women in Seven Perspec-
tives

Dedication of Wenger Hall in May

■'Mock" Democratic Convention

SGA sponsored 6 week Muscular Dystrophy
Benefit Drive with a 24 hour marathon
dance.

Installation of Laurel Circle ODK

First "Science Day" on campus (high school
seniors)

351

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

In addition, of course, there were the usual college traditional
events, such as Founders' (Senior and Freshman Parents) Day,
Apple Day, Junior Dads' Dance, college Christmas programs,
winter and spring dances, sophomore class show, meetings of the
board of trustees, ABV, alumnae council, student elections and
SGA installation, alumnae homecoming, Honors Convocation,
the King Series, University Center lectures, athletic interscholas-
tic and intramural events, including MALTA. Most of these
events were appropriate and were the kinds of activities a con-
cerned college should have been undertaking for its students. But
there were simply too many of them within a short space of time.
It is reasonable to suggest that the feelings and attitudes of the
faculty and staff, and even of the students, would not have been
so strained if some of these activities had been postponed. There
should have been more selective planning.

All of this went on against a background of chaotic national
and international events, most of which had psychological impact
on the campus. Warren E. Burger replaced Earl Warren as Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court; Apollo 1 1 landed and retrieved men
on the moon; the details of the My Lai massacres were made
public; the 26th amendment to the Constitution gave the vote to
18 year olds; Nixon and Kissinger went to China; and the SALT
treaty was signed. Nixon was elected to a second term and in
November 1972, Hanoi and North Vietnam were subjected to
renewed bombing attacks; the Watergate conspiracy took place;
and the trials of conspirators began. There was a "cease fire" in
Vietnam, but another Arab-Israeli war brought an oil embargo, a
severe and shocking gasoline shortage, inflation and economic
hardship. Roe vs. Wade was decided affirmatively. Vice President
Agnew resigned and Gerald Ford was appointed to replace him. In
1974, Richard Nixon, facing impeachment, resigned as presi-
dent; Gerald Ford became president of the United States; South
Vietnam fell to the Communists in 1975 and Americans settled
into the uneasy Bicentennial year of their nation's birth. That fall,
Jimmy Carter was elected President of the United States.

Many of Dr. Kelly's problems as president of Mary Baldwin
College stemmed from the financial difficulties of these troubled
years. Dr. Spencer had managed in spite of the major building
program to balance the operating budget each year, but Dr. Kelly

352

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

was able to do so only twice in his six-year presidency. By 1975,
the cumulative college operating budget deficit was close to
$500,000 and funds to pay current expenses were borrowed from
both internal resources ("quasi-endowment") and from external
lending agents. As funds from the New Dimensions campaign
began to appear, some of these also were used for ongoing needs. ^^

How had this happened so quickly? Even before Dr. Spencer's
resignation, Mr. Spillman had been warning that the college's
financial health was inexorably linked to enrollment and that
declining applications were a danger signal. Spillman had also
been opposed to the guaranteed fee program, which, in a time of
inflation, cost the college funds it could ill afford to lose. Dr. Kelly
and Mr. Jones were both aware of these dangers, and, early in the
Kelly administration, enrollment figures were carefully moni-
tored and the guaranteed fee program was phased out. But
neither expected the speed with which enrollments collapsed.
Between 1965 and 1972, the number of applicants for admission
declined by 56^^, from the record high of 1,024 to 448. Of the
applicants accepted by the admissions committee, about 50%
would eventually enroll; and of the enrollees, from 36-50% would
have left before they graduated. As the large classes of the late 60s
and early 70s passed through their four years and graduated,
their numbers were not replaced by the entering freshmen, so
total enrollment steadily declined. The suggestion of the Chal-
lenges of the 70s committee that enrollment be taken to 900
seemed empty and pretentious less than three years later. By the
1974-75 session , the number of boarding students had dropped to
581.3'

Were there explanations for this dramatic decline? Of course
there were, and many of the causes involved factors Mary Baldwin
was powerless to change. During the previous decade, enrollment
in state colleges and universities had increased rapidly and
several all male institutions, including the University of Virginia
became coeducational. A growing system of community colleges
had provided an inexpensive alternative to the traditional board-
ing college. The restless young of the turbulent 70s wanted to be
"where the action was"-i.e, urban environments and larger cam-
puses. With women's liberation philosophies blooming, coeduca-
tional institutions seemed at first thought more attractive to
young women. Population demography was no help either. The
total number of women of college age in the United States declined
during the 1970s, so the pool of possible registrants had shrunk.

353

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

This was a decade of economic hardships, higher inflation rates
than had been seen since the 1920s, energy crises, and a number
of out-of-state students preferred to stay closer to home. Add to
this the slowness (from the students' point of view) with which a
college seen as "church-related" changed restrictive social rules,
the yearly increase in tuition and fees, the frequent turnover in
administrative offices, the, in some cases, unpopular curriculum
changes, the decline in morale and the "privatization" that seemed
to pervade the campus, and it is a tribute to the college community
that retention held up as well as it did. There were even modest
increases in admissions applications by 1976. The worst crisis
came in 1974-75 after the Paris and Madrid programs had been
discontinued. Rumors both on and off campus quickly spread that
the college itself was closing, and, in fact, many women's colleges
had shut down during those unhappy years. '^^^ There is not much
that can be done about such rumors other than to continue plans
and programs and prove by longevity that the rumors are false.
Mary Baldwin was in no immediate danger of closing but some of
the above enrollment and budget trends had to be reversed,
quickly.

Although they recognized the difficulties their decisions im-
posed, the trustees had made the judgment that the recommenda-
tions of the Challenges of the 70s committee would be followed.
Mary Baldwin would remain a woman's liberal arts college and
would remain "church-related. " Having agreed on these two basic
premises, the trustees and the Kelly administration developed a
master plan for improving the college's economic viability. It was
a carefully thought out plan, probably the only one that could have
been envisioned, and its components have essentially formed the
blueprints for the college's decisions ever since.

It involved the following emphases: The admissions program
would be carefully evaluated and improved. The many factors
involved in a student's desire to transfer, usually at the end of her
sophomore year, would be studied and remedied. The business
office would focus on efficient use of limited resources and would
recommend ways to cut expenditures. And, most importantly,
new sources of revenue would be found, including a major increase
in the endowment, in order to assure the financial health of the
college.

There was, however, a hurdle if these ideas were to be imple-
mented. All of them, one way or another, cost money, in some
cases a good deal of money, in order to succeed. In addition, they

354

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969- 1976 j

would cost time and effort from trustees, administration, and
faculty, and the cooperation of the students, many of whom in the
early 70s were not in a cooperating mood. Such an effort required
that all of the college constituencies understood and would work
together. Inasmuch as these plans were at least partially achieved,
it was due to real sacrifices and dedication on the part of many
individuals who labored under less than perfect conditions.

Jack Blackburn had come to the college as director of admis-
sions in 1968, partly to help relieve the burden on Marguerite
Hillhouse, who could no longer sustain the duties of both registrar
and admissions. -^ He was well-trained, young and enthusiastic
and headed what was probably the happiest office in the admin-
istration in spite of the fact that he was the "point man" of the
financial crisis. The Self-Study said, "Communication within the
office is open and immediate. No staff member hesitates to ask
or give an opinion... Decision-making is thoroughly democratic...
Once a decision is reached, it is implemented quickly... "^° The
whole process of recruitment changed rapidly in the early 1970s.
In the 1960s there were many more applicants than could be
accepted, now the problem was to increase the visibility, attrac-
tiveness and challenges for the small number of young women
who wished to attend a single-sex, church-associated college.
Four admissions counselors traveled widely in areas from which
the college students had traditionally come and to new, "undevel-
oped" markets as well. Honoring the emphasis on diversity,
recruitment of black students and other ethnic minorities was
emphasized, as was the admission of a limited number of foreign
students. National Merit Examination Scholars were individu-
ally approached. The Student Search Service of the Educational
Testing Service was employed to provide lists of names of prospec-
tive applicants. In 197 1 and again in 1974 admission movies were
commissioned, and colorful admissions posters were widely dis-
tributed to churches and elsewhere. The catalogue was likewise
brightened and modernized, and smaller, less-technical pam-
phlets were widely distributed. Prospective students were invited
for weekend visits at the college. Alumnae chapters appointed
"alumnae aides" and entertained the high school young women
and parents of their areas at teas and receptions. After its
inception, the ABV likewise sought to advise admissions, using

355

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

the techniques of marketing and persuasion with which some of
their members were famihar. Some current students volunteered
to visit their former high schools while they were home on
vacation, or to telephone "prospectives"; students formed the
"campus guides" and escorted visitors up and down the hilly
campus. Eventually a "WATS" telephone line was made available
for further direct communication efforts. By the mid- 1970s these
efforts achieved some success. Applications began to show a
modest increase. ^^

The second component of the plan was to increase retention of
the students once they were enrolled. The Spencer administra-
tion had worked hard to reverse the traditional pattern of stu-
dents who would attend the college for two years and would then
transfer to major coeducational state universities, and had had
some success in so doing. But by 1974 the attrition rate was about
50%, and the college made a determined effort to reverse that
dismal statistic. The first step was to study the curriculum, to be
sure that what was being taught and how it was presented met
the needs and perceptions of young women. In keeping with the
greater "freedoms" in other areas, the revised curriculum empha-
sized choice and few, if any, specific requirements. This, in turn,
required a better and more extensive academic advising system.
Based on the premise that more and more young women would be
seeking careers in areas not previously open to them, opportuni-
ties for internships and "experiential" learning were provided.
Phrases like "designing your own major," "interdisciplinary stud-
ies," and "teaching assistantship" began to appear. Another new
schedule provided shorter and longer learning periods. "Compe-
tency" based evaluations and several grading options were added
to the program. The advantages that a single-sex college could
provide for young women were extolled. There was a concerted
effort to promote career counseling and placement programs.

In addition, students who were planning to transfer were
asked to participate in an "exit interview," and their answers as
to why they were leaving were evaluated to see what could be re-
medied. In many cases they indicated that their social life was
"unnatural" (due presumably to the lack of "parietals"), and the
dean of students and SGA officers led what was a revolutionary
change in student living conditions. Peer advising programs were
instituted, student opinions sought and listened to, and active
student participation in all facets of student life were encouraged.
Students attended trustees, ABV, alumnae, and faculty meetings,

356

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

and held voting seats on many faculty committees. They were on
the President's Review Board, the Center for Voluntary Action,
the Religious Life Committee. At a time of stringent budget
limitations, the Wenger Student Center was remodeled and
doubled in size. As in the case of admissions, all of this required
additional expenditures.^^

It is certainly accurate to say that the trustees were concerned
and shocked by the yearly deficits in the operating budgets. Such
figures indicated financial mismanagement, for which the trust-
ees were ultimately responsible, and they quickly set up tighter
controls on the budget process. A preliminary budget was to be
prepared, the process starting in December before the next ses-
sion. The budget was adjusted as enrollment figures were refined,
given tentative approval by the financial and executive commit-
tees in May, and final approval early in the fall when firm income
figures were available. Expenditures were to be checked quar-
terly (later monthly) to be sure that they remained within ap-
proved limits, and a thorough examination of physical plant
expenditures, of programs, and of social activities was ordered. ^^
Mr. Jones and his staff felt increasingly overwhelmed. Each year
new federal (and after the TAG program was instituted, state)
regulations made accounting and reporting procedures more
difficult. Pension plans and health insurance policies became
more complicated, student aid "packages" more convoluted and
harder to justify. The trustees wanted five-year projections; grant
applicants wanted complicated statistical analyses; the registrar
wanted facts and figures to feed the computer; the curriculum,
priority, and budget committees wanted program cost compari-
sons; and the Self- Study financial resources committee demanded
difficult analyses. In addition, the business office was ultimately
responsible for all purchasing and distribution of supplies and
equipment, for the maintenance of the physical plant and student
support services (food, dormitories, health, security, library pur-
chases, automobile control and parking), for payroll and benefits,
for negotiating short term loans, and for short term investments
to help income match expenditures. The finance committee of the
board of trustees had the responsibility for the management of the
endowment fund corpus, the living trusts, the bequests, but their
efforts had to be coordinated with Mr. Jones.

357

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

Efforts were made, by means of seminars and training pro-
grams, to improve the efficiency of the business office employees
and to incorporate computer techniques into their operation. To
give them more time to perform their duties without inter-
ruptions, Mr. Jones announced to other administrative offices
that he and his staff were not available for consultation or
assistance until ten o'clock in the morning or after three in the
afternoon. There was much resentment. A student bank had
existed on campus since the days of Mr. King, but in 1972 it was
closed and thereafter students had to maintain their personal
accounts in downtown banks. This, too, was resented.'*'*

There were dedicated and hard-working personnel in the
business office, some of whom had worked with Mr. Spillman in
the 1960s, but the complexities and contradictions of the 70s left
them frustrated and bewildered. As was the case with the
admissions office, Dr. Kelly reluctantly decided that additional
personnel were needed and the staff increased from 9 in 1968 to
15 in 1976. In addition, the trustees required, in 1974, that an
experienced accountant be appointed as comptroller. He would
have direct access to President Kelly and to the board, although
he would normally report through the business manager.

In spite of all this effort, each year the budget process became
more painful. Dr. Kelly rightly understood that a college to
continue to succeed must appear to be successful, and his public
pronouncements were upbeat and optimistic. He was also hopeful
in his dealings with the finance and executive committees of the
board. He assured them each fall that the budget would be
balanced, and when it became apparent that it would not be, there
always seemed to be a plausible explanation. It was not for two or
three years that the trustees as a whole became deeply concerned,
and then, of course, they too were caught in the quagmire of de-
clining enrollment, rising costs, and an inadequate endowment.

Part of the difficulty stemmed from the assumptions that went
into the budget projections. One was the conviction that at least
210 freshmen would be enrolled each year when, in fact, that
number was not reached after 1972. Another was the difficulty in
calculating full-time equivalent students. By the mid-70s there
were so many variables and options for student enrollment that
accuracy in FTE's, essential for estimating income, was often
sacrificed for "head count" figures, with disastrous consequences.'*'^
Another factor was the decline in endowment income (and in the
total value of the endowment) as the yields of stocks and bonds and

358

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

the synod's annual payments declined. The funds from VFIC
were also seriously curtailed, as businesses and corporations felt
the pinch of the recession. Also, their dissatisfaction with campus
demonstrations and violence was reflected in lower contributions.

There were appalling unexpected expenses. In 1972 the
Staunton Council informed the college that it planned henceforth
to collect a $30,000 annual service charge. There were anguished
appeals to the State of Virginia agencies and, in 1974, the city
charges were dropped to $5000, an improvement, but still a shock
when no such charges had been previously imposed.

In 1974-75 the Arab oil boycott brought long lines at gasoline
pumps and serious disruption in energy supplies throughout the
U.S. The crisis could hardly have occurred at a worse time for
Mary Baldwin College, since '74-75 and '75-'76 saw the height of
the financial crisis which the Kelly administration had not been
able to solve. In 1974 the Virginia State Corporation Commission
warned that gas supplies to major industrial, educational and
government sites might have to be curtailed. Although the college
heating system used gas (which was much the cheaper fuel) there
were alternate controls for the use of oil, and, fearing that gas
supplies would be rationed, Roger Palmer, the physical plant
supervisor, arranged to purchase and store 36,000 gallons of oil
during the summer of 1975. Early that fall, the college was
informed that its gas supplies would be cut by 84%. The reserved
oil would last for about 36 days and cost about double what gas
would have cost. Rigid heat conservation methods were prompt-
ly employed. A legal representative attended SCC hearings on
behalf of the college, warning the commission that the college
might have to close unless order #19180 was rescinded. The
administration considered extending the Christmas vacation in
order to conserve oil. Early in January 1976, however, Columbia
Gas obtained extra supplies of fuel and the immediate crisis end-
ed; but not the apprehensions for the future. ^"^

Other additional expenses were incurred in the student finan-
cial aid programs. As tuition and fees increased, so, too, did the
amount of student aid required. The overall percentage of stu-
dents receiving financial aid did not materially change during
these years, but the amount did; in 1969 the college committed
$147,256 of its own funds to student aid packages. By 1975, the
figure was $247,183.4"

The college was now legally required to participate in unem-
ployment compensation programs. Federal regulations required

359

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

refunds when students left before the end of the year that would
not have previously been granted. Other pronouncements man-
dated affirmative action programs, equal access plans, sex dis-
crimination studies, grievances procedures to be approved and
put in place. All of this took faculty and staff time and money.

To help compensate for declining enrollment, the trustees
reluctantly agreed to raise tuition and fees. At first Dr. Kelly
would have a "state of the college" convocation and attempt to
explain the reasons for the increase, but the general student
reaction was usually so unfavorable that by 1973 the notice was
merely incorporated in the catalogue and in the spring financial
statements sent to parents. Students were now charged fees for
permission to bring their automobile to the campus and paid
additional sums for single girl or off-campus housing. A gradua-
tion fee appeared. There was a near student revolt when, in 1976,
a $100 fee for academic overloads was proposed. ^^

The administration tried desperately to economize. By the
end of the Kelly administration, the college had withdrawn from
the King Series and University Center programs. College mem-
berships in professional organizations were cut; some positions
which were vacated by retirement or resignation were not filled;
funds for faculty research and attendance at professional meet-
ings all but disappeared; the library book budget was severely
restricted. On two occasions, in 1971-72 and again 1974-75, there
were no faculty, administration or staff raises. Increases during
the other years were selective and minimal and could not begin to
compensate for inflation. Naturally this had a major impact on the
college's comparative ratings with AAUP standards, with the
other institutions of the VFIC and with women's colleges with
which Mary Baldwin customarily compared herself. Morale on
campus was seriously affected and both faculty and students
demanded access to budget figures and priority decisions. It is
interesting to note that Campus Comments declared, "After
examining the budget and noting the lack of endowment, we have
come to the conclusion that the financial administration of the
college are (sic) doing a miraculous job. "(1972) The faculty were
not as sanguine. They formed a budget advisory committee with
at least one member elected by the local AAUP chapter, and with
student representation, as well. They met monthly with Mr.
Jones and demanded that that stressed administrator provide
them with "instructional cost analyses" of all educational pro-
grams. The administration "should," they declared, "seek their

360

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

advice," and the faculty representative to the trustees' meetings
regularly reported on faculty frustrations. In 1975, the budget
advisory committee was dissolved because a new priorities com-
mittee would absorb its functions, but it was never clearly defined
during the Kelly years how priorities were established and who
was responsible for the final decisions. ^^

Nothing that the Kelly administration did, however, to curtail
expenditures met with the bitter criticism that the decisions to
end the Paris and Madrid academic programs provoked. The Paris
program, established in 1968, had really hardly had time to get
firmly established before its director was told that it would be
discontinued at the end of the 1972-73 session. The Madrid pro-
gram had been instituted in 1962 and had achieved a solid
reputation and recognition. Both programs had been carefully
organized, with a major emphasis on language skills and cultur-
al immersion. Their faculties were made up of distinguished
scholars. The students and their families had been, for the most
part, glowing in appreciation. The progi'ams had been the cap-
stone of the Spencer international emphasis efforts. However, in
the uncertain environment of the 1970s, the number of Mary
Baldwin students who enrolled had declined; students from other
institutions had likewise diminished, and the college could no
longer afford the luxury of oversees faculty. The Madrid program
was reluctantly ended at the end of the 1974-75 session, after 13
largely successful years. Although Dr. Kelly had gone in person
to both Paris and later to Madrid to explain these painful deci-
sions, the students, many parents and some faculty refused to
understand and accept. It was an emotional, wrenching time on
both sides of the Atlantic and probably did more than any other
single factor to lower faculty and student morale. ^°

Although all these painful efforts to cut expenditures were
made sincerely, still, paradoxically, the college continued the
Spencer building program, bought and sold property, purchased
technical equipment and funded new positions.

Construction for the Jesse Cleveland Pearce Science Center
had begun in July 1968, a year before Dr. Kelly had come to the
college. The building was completed in April 1970 and was
dedicated on Founders' Day 3 October of that year in a ceremony
similar in form and style to that of the Grafton Library and Hunt
Hall. Hans Mark, Director of Ames Research Center, NASA,
delivered the address, "The Uses of Science." The cost of con-
struction, equipment and furnishings was $2,200,000, making it

361

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

the most expensive of the Spencer buildings, and the pecuHarities
of the financing added to Dr. Kelly's financial burdens. Neverthe-
less, after years of cramped, inadequate facilities, the science
faculty at last had a physical setting equal to the excellence of
their academic programs. ^^

Additional walkways and landscaping were now necessary, as
was the usual exterior painting of the older (and not so old)
buildings. For several years the college had leased the Wilson
apartments (on the corner of Market and Frederick street) for
student housing, but in 1971 the trustees bought the Woodrow
Terrace apartments for $55,000 and thereafter students were
housed there. Once the science classes had moved to Pearce, there
was a reorganization of the space in the Administration Building.
The business office was moved to the ground floor of Academic,
which on 17 April 1970 was dedicated as the James Spillman
Annex. The old Biology Building became, in 1972, the Alumnae
House, and a "Date House" was created out of the college-owned
building next to Blakely on Market Street. A parking lot had
already been constructed beside Blakely, but in 1972 an addi-
tional lot was necessary to accommodate increasing numbers of
student cars. Originally planned to cost $50,000 (which would be
paid for by the students' automobile registration fees), the final
bill was $125,000 due to rock and drainage problems. That same
year, an anonymous gift provided lights at the skyline tennis
courts. By 1975 the Guidance and Counseling Center was moved
back to Riddle, which was no longer needed as a dormitory, and
Edmondson, 212, and the Gooch House were all closed as the
needs of student housing decreased. ^^

The major building project of the Kelly years, however, was
the proposed addition to Wenger Hall. Consuelo Slaughter
Wenger, class of '19, and her husband Henry had long been good
friends of the college. They had contributed to the remodeling of
Bailey dormitory and in the 1950s had given funds for the student
activities center, which had later been named in Mrs. Wenger's
honor. In 1970, Wenger housed a small student "club" and snack
bar, the student post office. Miller Lounge, the McFarland Lan-
guage Laboratory and language faculty offices. There was need
for a greatly expanded student center, and the trustees agreed
that plans to expand Wenger would be approved, provided the
money was in hand before construction was begun. Plans called
for a student "rathskeller," offices for SGA and student publica-
tions, the transfer of the bookstore from Hunt, and expanded area

362

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

for student entertainment of their friends. The language faculty
would be moved elsewhere and the building would be devoted
solely to student needs.

There was some money already available; the Wengers had
been making contributions to be used toward expansion of the
building since the 1960s. A campaign to raise the anticipated cost
of $500,000 was begun in 1972. The college architects, Clark,
Nexsen, & Owen, who by now were thoroughly experienced with
the college's difficult terrain, projected a handsome addition with
patio space and the high-quality interiors that had character-
ized their other college buildings. Some generous gifts were made,
and in 1973 the trustees approved putting the project out for bids.
The results were disappointing; the only bid exceeded expected
revenues by $125,000. Modifications were made, and eventually
a contract for $580,000 was approved with work to begin in the
summer of 1975. The construction proceeded slowly; rock was, of
course, an "unexpected" complication, and materials were de-
layed; but by early 1976, the building was ready for occupancy.
The final cost was $725,000.

The expanded Wenger Hall was dedicated on 1 May 1976
during alumnae homecoming. The address was given by the
Honorable Andrew P. Miller, the Attorney General of Virginia,
who spoke on pluralism in education. Since it was the United
States Bicentennial year, the Wenger Student Center was desig-
nated the college's "bicentennial building." President Kelly pre-
sided at the alumnae luncheon, the glee club sang, Mrs. Wenger
and members of her family were in attendance. Miss Parker came
from Chattanooga for the ceremony and Patty Joe Montgomery
was awarded the Emily Smith Medallion. Although it rained, it
was a joyous occasion, which briefly masked the tense and serious
difficulties of the 1975-76 session.°^

The occupying of Wenger brought some other physical changes
to the campus. The bookstore had moved from its cramped
quarters in Hunt to the new building and Mrs. Moore retired. The
new manager was Helena ("Tidge") Roller, and the expanded
space made possible a wider selection of books, supplies and
mementos for student needs. The space in Hunt vacated by the
bookstore now became a large lecture room and a small chapel.
The language laboratory, which needed new equipment, was
transferred to the first floor of Grafton Library, where it unhap-
pily competed for space with the curriculum materials laboratory
of the Education department. Also on the first floor of Grafton

363

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly < 1969-1976)

were the audio-visual facilities and the Art Department. Al-
though a small amount of money was found for updating the
language equipment, the swift pace of technology had made the
entire facility obsolete. Nothing, however, could be done about it,
and the successive assaults on the Modern Language academic
offerings seriously weakened what had, at one time, been a strong
and flourishing department. ^^

Most of the expenditures for the physical plant during the
Kelly years were probably necessary. Maintenance and upkeep
simply had to be done and new standards of fire regulations and
security were mandatory. It would have been inconceivable to
delay the Pearce Science Center, which had in fact been approved
and begun before Dr. Kelly arrived. The addition to Wenger
perhaps might have been postponed, although the principal
donor, Mrs. Wenger, was anxious for it to proceed. What might
have been done differently, perhaps, is that cost overruns on these
projects might have been anticipated, based on past experiences,
and planned for. Undue reliance on synod funds should have been
avoided; history should have warned that projected synod receipts
seldom materialized.

It had been immediately apparent that, even if increased
enrollment, improved student retention, more economical expen-
ditures of resources had all succeeded, the college simply had to
have reliable sources of income beyond student tuition, alumnae
support, and government gifts and grants. The endowment had
to be dramatically increased so that income from investments
could be counted on each year to help pay operating costs and to
retire debts.

As early as January 1972, Dr. Kelly suggested to the executive
committee that a major capital funds campaign should be consid-
ered, and, in April, the trustees gave their consent. This was to be
the most carefully and professionally planned of all of the college's
efforts and involved an "internal case statement," a time- table of
events, five year financial projections and specific goals for spe-
cific objectives. As with each of the other three strategies to
improve the college's financial well-being, this also involved
initial outlays of money. Craven Williams would not be able to
devote sufficient time to the campaign on top of all of his other
duties, so a new Director (later VP) of Development was ap-

364

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

pointed. Roy K. Patteson, Jr., joined the college in 1972.°^ A
professional "fund-raising consultant" was likewise employed
and a name for the campaign was chosen. It would be called "New
Dimensions," and would be directed by a National Development
Council, which Bertie Doming was persuaded to chair. The effort
was carefully conceived and organized, and more than two years
of work had been done before the public announcement was made
in January 1974. The immediate goal (by August 1977) was to
secure $7 million. It was hoped that an additional $2.8 million
might be raised by 1980. There were disappointments as the
campaign progressed, but also some major triumphs. More than
$3 million had been promised before the general phase solicitation
began. The largest single gift in the college's history, up to that
moment, $1 million, was announced in earl}^ 1975. This kind of
commitment helped to reverse the impact of the rumors that the
college was closing at a time when such support was badly
needed. ^*^

Thus, by the mid-1970s, a determined effort had been made to
identify the factors which were causing such economic stress on
the college and to remedy them. All the college constituencies
agreed on the identifications. The process of remediation was
where there was prolonged debate. By the summer of 1975, some
trustees were privately very apprehensive about the college's
future.

In 1967 Dr. Spencer had appointed a faculty committee to
reevaluate the curriculum. After a year's study and consultation,
a new format had been approved and was instituted in the 1968-
69 session, the interim year between Dr. Spencer's and Dr. Kelly's
administrations. Designed to meet the "individual needs and in-
terests of " modern young women, the new plan allowed "flexi-
bility, choice, study in depth and independent work." The old
pattern of specific courses with very few freshman and sophomore
electives was replaced. There were now broadly defined "General
Education Requirements" which could be met in a variety of ways
over the four-year college program. A student could choose to
"major" in a traditional discipline, or, with the approval of her
advisor, work on interdisciplinary or independent studies. There
were other changes; instead of semester hours, one earned "cred-
its" and fewer courses were studied at one time. A pass/fail option

365

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

was available. In the eyes of many, this "new" curriculum seemed
revolutionary-even suspect. Still, as many students discovered,
some old limits and restrictions remained. Physical Eduction
classes were still required, as was a course in either Old or New
Testament. Seniors were still faced with a "general examination"
in their major fields and were required to take the Advanced Tests
of the Graduate Record Examination. Traditional letter grades
remained, and although class cuts were unlimited, attendance
was still required at the first and last meetings of each class as
well as two days preceding and following holidays. The calendar
was also a disappointment. First semester examinations contin-
ued to be held at the end of January and graduation took place in
early June. The "new" curriculum was barely begun before the
tinkering and altering started. A number of "piecemeal" changes
were voted on before 1972 when two faculty committees were
appointed to review, again, the curriculum as a whole.

In the meantime, some significant changes were made. With-
in three years, the calendar was adjusted so that first semester
examinations were given before Christmas. Commencement was
now held in mid-May; Physical Education requirements became
less rigorous; the Religion major was dropped, as was the required
course in Old or New Testament. By 1972, the "calendar days" cut
policy was abandoned, as was the provision that seniors take the
GRE in their major fields.

In an effort to broaden academic opportunities as well as to
provide some different learning environments, Mary Baldwin
College joined, in 1970, seven other colleges and universities in an
"Eight College Consortium." Any student, usually in the junior
year, might spend a semester or a year at any one of these other
partner schools and still be considered as enrolled at her or his
own institution. The program was modestly successful. Mary
Baldwin women tended to choose either men's or coeducational
colleges and thus had an opportunity to observe academic and
faculty similarities and differences. With some modifications the
consortium program has continued to the present. ^^

The commitment to breaking down the barriers among disci-
plines was reflected in the various efforts at providing "interde-
partmental" courses, especially, given the particular interest of
the president, in providing distinctive work for honor scholars.
For several years an "Honors Colloquium" titled "The Transfor-
mation of Value in the Twentieth Century" was team-taught.
Another course, designed particularly for sophomores, addressed

366

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Wat kins Kelly (1969-1976)

"The Twenty-First Century - A Forecast of the Human MiUeu."
Primarily designed for honor scholars, these courses were also
open to others, space permitting, and major efforts were exerted
to encourage students to see the interrelatedness of knowledge.
Since the financial problem of the college made it impossible to
give them released time, the faculty involved taught these courses
as overloads; consequently, the offerings were limited and enroll-
ments were never large. It was hoped that the participants would
provide "intellectual leadership for the campus without being
'elitist'," but on at least one occasion. Campus Comments editori-
alized that "students abuse the new curriculum and the faculty
are just as dull and uncreative as the students... Almost no one
takes Independent Study opportunities."^^

For several years there was a determined but largely unsuc-
cessful effort to institute an optional, three- week "mini-semester"
in May. The concept was that a variety of courses would be taught
by Mary Baldwin faculty both on and off the campus. A student
chose only one course of intensive study and would receive regular
college credit. In 1972 some 13 courses were offered, but the only
ones that had respectable enrollments were Marine Biology (in
North Carolina), Ornithology (taught in Michigan), Art (in New
York museums) and London theater. Only 35 students had
registered, and when, in 1973, a second attempt was made, even
lower enrollment brought the experiment to an end. "Our stu-
dents are not interested in staying on campus at the end of the
academic year," Dr. Kelly reported to the trustees. ^^

There were also efforts to utilize the long Christmas vacation
(second semester now started in mid-January) to provide
externships and "experiential learning" opportunities. The col-
lege made a serious effort to arouse student perceptions of the
new opportunities awaiting women, but the time limitations
made it difficult to arrange for more than a few days' externship,
and only a modest number of students responded to the opportu-
nities. Those who did found the experience valuable - and they set
a precedent for the future.

Still, there were some rewarding achievements in the early
years of the Kelly administration. In 1967, Dr. Spencer and Mrs.
Grafton had judged that the college might now be able to meet the
criteria for the establishment of a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
Every president since Dr. Jarman had aspired to this highest of
academic honors, but each, restrained by Martha Grafton's cau-
tion, had not wished to apply, only to be rejected. But, with the end

367

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watki?is Kelly (1969-1976)

of the Spencer building program in sight, with a doubled en-
rollment, a new library, adequate faculty salaries, and a strong
liberal arts curriculum. Dr. Spencer made the decision to send the
necessary petition. The only difficulty that could be seen was the
small endowment, but in 1967 that did not seem as large a
problem as it would later become.

The process of admission to Phi Beta Kappa takes three years.
It involves an on-campus visiting inspection committee and volu-
minous reports and forms to fill out. There were 14 Phi Beta
Kappa members on the faculty, and they formed the nucleus of the
petitioning group. There were several steps in the involved
process, and, long before the outcome was known, Dr. Spencer had
gone to Davidson, Dr. Kelly had been installed as president, and
Mrs. Grafton had retired. It was not until September 1970, that
the college was officially notified that its request had been ap-
proved. The final arrangements were made and, on 26 April 1971
in the Reigner Room of the Grafton Library, the Lambda Chapter
of Virginia of Phi Beta Kappa was officially installed by the
President of the United Chapters, Dr. Rosemary Park. Her
address was called "The Right to Excellence." Mary Baldwin was
the eleventh college in Virginia to receive a Phi Beta Kappa
chapter. "^^

On 1 March 1976 another signal honor occurred. The Laurel
Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa was installed. Mary Baldwin was
the first woman's college in the United States to be granted
privileges of membership in this distinguished college leadership
honorary, and it was a fitting addition to the celebration of the
United States' Bicentennial year.

There are other changes to note, small in themselves, but
debate-provoking at the time. In 1970, the Tate Demonstration
School, which was leasing space in the Potter Building of the First
Presbyterian Church, added a kindergarten program. "^^ The
summer program to Oxford was discontinued in 1970, due to low
enrollment, but revived in 1971 in a partnership with Davidson
College. This arrangement ended in 1981, but the Summer at
Oxford program continued. Students from the consortium col-
leges joined Mary Baldwin women in this unique summer study
opportunity. After a gi^eat deal of debate, the faculty agreed in
1972 to address their colleagues, on formal occasions, as Mr., Mrs. ,
or Ms., regardless of their advanced degrees. The perception of
the Committee on the Status of Women was that students (and
others) tended to address men faculty as "Dr." (whether or not

368

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

they were entitled to that status) and women faculty as "Mrs." or
"Miss." The experiment was only mildly successful. That same
year, after an equally impassioned debate, the faculty agreed to
dispense with bells announcing the beginning and ending of class
periods. The old system was worn out, classrooms were now
widely dispersed, there was no money for more sophisticated
equipment and, in spite of the prophesy of dire consequences, the
faculty proved capable of starting and stopping at appropriate
times without outside assistance.

The Grafton Library used the early years of the Kelly presi-
dency to grow into its new quarters. Although sharing space with
Art, Audio-Visual, Language and Curriculum Materials labora-
tories. Music, and Drama, the librarians were assured that they
had first priority as the Library's physical needs increased. They
concentrated on improving the collection, adding materials on
women's studies, black culture, and Biblical and religious sub-
jects. The elimination of outdated or inappropriate material
continued. The library staff regularly scheduled tours as part of
freshman orientation, offered a course in information resources,
taught student assistants reference skills, expanded bibliogra-
phical aids and sought means of evaluating their services. The
Library budget was cut by 13*^, and again in 1975-76 an even
more extensive cut was proposed. Library staff salaries were
"frozen" when other faculty salaries were, and, as elsewhere, the
staff felt that they needed more clerical help. It seemed difficult to
understand, therefore, when in 1973 a new Director of the Li-
brary, Philip C. Wei, was hired. Gertrude Davis, who had been at
the college for 18 years, was designated as an Associate Librarian
and Head of Technical Services. The only explanation given was
the desire to elevate the Director of the Library to the same status
as others designated as "directors," and to increase library ser-
vices as the intellectual center of the campus. The new arrange-
ment did not work well, and Mr. Wei resigned in June 1976.

To help compensate for the loss of funds, and also to make more
visible the library's services to the community, a Library Associ-
ates group was organized in 1972. Charter membership was 205,
and an Advisory Council headed by Mrs. Virginia Perry planned
some well-received programs. The library collection benefited by
their interest — and their dues.''-

The Challenges of the 70s committee had emphasized that the
college should consider "more closely" its responsibilities towards
its students "as women" and that it particularly explore the

369

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

possibility of career awareness in areas not traditionally associ-
ated with either women or liberal arts. In December 1970, a major
conference, "Women in Industry: New Perceptions from Govern-
ment, Industry, and Education," was held on the campus. En-
dorsed and planned by a trustee committee, chaired by Ralph W.
Kittle of International Paper, Inc. and the president's office, the
three-day meeting featured nationally recognized speakers and
four major corporate officers. The papers and seminar presenta-
tions were later published, and the consensus was that business
and government had a lot to learn about liberal arts and women,
and that liberal arts colleges needed to encourage their students
to prepare for and to seek positions in middle management when
they left school. ^^

There followed serious efforts at establishing a Career Plan-
ning and Counseling Center on campus. In 1971-72, Edward A.
Soetje joined the staff of Vice President Williams' office, but
financial considerations and other factors led to the conclusion
that his position could no longer be funded. From 1972 until the
almost-end of Dr. Kelly's presidency, Fran Dudley Schmid, act-
ing as the Administrative Assistant to the Vice President, tried
valiantly to develop an appropriate Career Planning Center and
to encourage recruiters to visit the campus. Although Fran Schmid
had been at the college as a student and employee since 1940, this
was a new area of college service, and she taught herself as she
sought to help the students. Her office arranged "externships" for
the students who were interested, and she began to build a library
of career planning materials. The major curriculum revision of
1974-75 put additional pressure on this office, and in 1975 Frank
R. Pancake, on partially released time from Political Science, was
named Director of Career Planning and Placement. He and Fran
reported to Roy K. Patteson, who had become vice president in
1975.

This program was further handicapped by the undefined
relationship that existed between it and the Career and Personal
Guidance Center headed by Dr. Lillian Pennell. It will be recalled
that this center, sponsored by the Synod of Virginia, had been
associated with the college since 1955. In the 1960's, as enroll-
ment had doubled, the Center was moved from Riddle, which was
needed as a dormitory, to a house which the college rented on
Coalter Street, not far from Spencer dormitory. Here it was out
of the mainstream of campus life, and few Mary Baldwin stud-
ents took advantage of its services. One student remarked that

370

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

she would have gone if it had not been for the "stigma" attached
to it. Presumably, she was reflecting a prevalent attitude, that
only those academically or emotionally in difficulty needed coun-
seling-and besides it was church funded!

In the 1970s the ABV and Dean Smeak worked hard to set up
a program to make students more aware of setting life goals and
of the many opportunities awaiting them. Dr. Pennell and her
staff were incorporated in a plan designed to affect students
during their four years of college. During orientation and in a
series of conferences held thereafter, freshmen would take a
battery of aptitude and interest tests designed to show them their
strengths, weaknesses, and vocational bents. This information
would assist their faculty advisors as they helped the freshmen
plan a four year program. Sophomores would take a course in
Personal and Career Development, funded by the ABV in 1975-76
and taught by a member of Dr. Pennell's staff During her junior
year, a Mary Baldwin student was encouraged to try externships
and experiential learning opportunities, and her senior year was
to be devoted to completing her portfolio, meeting recruiters and
learning about employment opportunities. It was a carefully
thought out program, and, as is true with most new ventures, it
needed time to become known and accepted. It also needed more
professional staffing.''^

Two more aspects of the curriculum need to be recalled. In
September 1972 the college began a ten-week evening program of
"enrichment" and academic credit courses for adults. Taught by
the college faculty and various adjuncts, the program was ordered
to be self-supporting. The original enrollment was 110, 11 of
whom were regular college students who paid no additional fee.
Spring enrollment was not as successful, and in succeeding years
the evening courses were offered only in the fall. Eventually
college student participation had to be limited, since it was
generally perceived that the evening courses were "easier" and
students opted for this possibility. Called "Continuing Educa-
tion," some kind of community programs have been sponsored by
Mary Baldwin College for the last 20 years. ^°

Pursuant to the 70s Committee report, the college also sought
to develop summer programs. The luxury of the three-month
summer vacation, when all the maintenance, painting and repair-
ing could be done, came to an end. One of the first such activities
was a summer Tennis America Camp. This was a franchise camp,
associated with Billie Jean and Larry King. The campers would

371

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

use the college facilities, and it was anticipated that there would
be a modest profit for the college. A three-year contract was signed
in 1973, but the enrollment remained low and the college summer
tennis club, available to townspeople and the college faculty,
resented sharing the available courts. The second year saw even
lower enrollment, and Tennis America was declared bankrupt
that fall. The college was owed a considerable sum and eventually
recovered at least part of it, but no profit from this venture was
realized. ^^

Much more successful was the Governor's School for the Gifted
program, which Dr. Kelly, with his interest and experience in
honors programs, had done a great deal to bring about. The State
of Virginia was persuaded to fund, each year, beginning in 1972,
three summer programs for talented high school students, to be
located at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Mary Washington
College and Mary Baldwin. Because of her modern science facil-
ities, and because of Dr. Kelly's role in securing the legislation,
Mary Baldwin College was chosen as the site of the program
focusing on science and technology. For the remainder of Dr.
Kelly's presidency. Dr. Ben Smith organized and directed the
Staunton Governor's School. Not only did it add to the college's
prestige to be chosen as one of these locations, it was hoped that
the young women attending would become interested in returning
as Mary Baldwin students. Some did.*^"

The Spencer curriculum had been in existence for less than
four years, when there was serious consideration given to another
major curriculum study. In part, this came from the President's
Committee's suggestion, but more from faculty perception that
the curriculum as it stood was a compromise and did not really
speak to the needs of the young women they were trying to serve.
The Academic Dean, Marjorie Chambers, had read widely in
educational philosophy and methodology and was fully commit-
ted to helping the college's young women become aware of their
own capabilities and in providing them with the opportunity to
prepare to take advantage of the new options which were emerg-
ing. A thorough-going intellectual herself, the dean envisioned a
whole new college environment for questioning, thinking, learn-
ing and experiencing without lockstep procedures and boring
repetition of materials already mastered. Delivering the Honors
Convocation address 25 January 1973, Dean Chambers said that
we must eliminate "societal stereotypes of what women should
be." Women must "gain" the courage to use their intelligence...

372

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

"this college is a place devoted consciously to helping women gain
the courage and self confidence to fight against inner and outer
barriers." The following October, Dr. M. Elizabeth Tidball spoke
at Founders' Day and suggested that graduates of women's
colleges succeeded in non-traditional careers better than women
gi'aduates of coeducational institutions. "A woman's college," she
said, "is a good place to be."

The faculty appointed an ad hoc Committee on the Improve-
ment and Evaluation of Teaching (CIET) and expanded the
membership of the Educational Policy Committee (EPC). They
ordered an exhaustive study of the 1968 curriculum. Both com-
mittees had student members. Throughout the 1972-73 session
and during the summer of 1973, the two committees labored.
They imposed, not only on themselves, but on all the faculty and
many of the staff, extraordinary demands in terms of question-
naires, forms, meetings, discussions, evaluations, and workshops.
All academic classes were cancelled on 5 April 1973 so that an all-
day seminar on alternative teaching methods and modes of
learning could be held. No one could question the commitment
and the energy of these committee members, but they were
sometimes hard to live with. In September 1973, the committees
were ready to present their proposal, "A New Educational Pattern
for Mary Baldwin College," to the entire faculty. The complicated
plan was discussed in the regular September and October faculty
meetings, written versions were distributed, and, at a called
meeting 22 October 1973, the proposal was put to a vote. Six
members of the faculty were absent, as were, of course, those who
were involved in the overseas programs. There have been few
faculty meetings at Mary Baldwin College as prolonged and
divisive as this one. There first had to be a decision on who was
entitled to vote, and then whether absentee ballots were to be
allowed, and whether the vote would be by secret ballot. The
faculty next had to decide whether the proposal should be voted on
as a whole or broken down into its component parts and voted on
separately. The two committees were adamant that the "package"
had to be accepted in toto, that all the parts were necessary or the
program would be severely handicapped. Eventually all these
issues were settled and the ballots were counted. The decision was
made to accept the "New Educational Pattern," but the vote was
uncomfortably close and the objections many faculty and students
had were long-lasting. It took several years and some modifica-
tion before the program could fully reach its potential, and,

373

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

although parts of it remain 20 years later, experience showed that
some of the idealistic expectations were not grounded in reality.
However, it should be remembered that the 1970s was an ideal-
istic decade.

The essentials of the new program can be briefly described:
There would be five divisions, instead of academic departments,
each headed by a coordinator. Two of the "divisions" were con-
cerned with "Professional Training and Experiential Learning"
and "Interdisciplinary Studies." The divisional structure, it was
hoped, would encourage collegiality and would permit students to
see the interrelatedness of traditional subjects. Students would
"design" their own programs, assisted by knowledgeable and
sympathetic faculty advisors and by a competent and capable
career and advising center. There were no specific distribution or
graduation requirements, since the advisor would, presumably,
see that each student during her college years developed a well-
rounded program and a coherent "concentration of studies." The
calendar was divided into five terms, two of six-weeks duration to
be completed before Christmas, a four-week January term, and
two more six-week terms in the spring, thus allowing the possibil-
ity of different time learning frames. Students were to choose not
only different-length courses, but were to seek different learning
formats, i.e., lectures, discussion, self-paced study, laboratory
experience, and seminars. The January term was designed to
encourage externships or to provide the opportunity for a concen-
trated examination of one subject. Grading was to be based on
"competency" as described in the course description.

In addition, a pilot program for freshman studies would be
initiated, although the numbers of faculty needed to carry out
the concept (four, plus visiting lecturers for 55 students) imposed
a severe strain on the diminishing faculty. Also planned was a
renewed, more comprehensive system of student evaluation of
the faculty and of individual courses.

The most serious objections to the new proposal came from the
Science faculty, for whom it imposed special difficulties, and from
some of the language faculty, the Fine Arts and from Physical
Education. Their fears of severe impact on their enrollments were
not totally borne out over the next few years, but there is no
question that the new curriculum imposed additional teaching
and advising responsibilities on an already over-stressed fac-
ulty.6«

In spite of all this, the "New Educational Pattern" was in-

374

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

stalled for the session 1974-75 - hardly a propitious moment. In
spite of the timing, the college community adapted and some even
found themselves challenged and excited. Because insufficient
funding, staffing, and time were apparent difficulties, the faculty
proceeded to establish a priorities committee to keep, as they
expressed it, a "close watch over educational programs and bud-
get matters." That same year, the required 10-year SACS Self-
Studv had to be undertaken. Again, the burden on faculty, staff,
and to a lesser degree, trustees and students, was great; but it did
provide the opportunity for an objective review of the college's
situation. The "Recommendations and Conclusions" of the Self-
Study were to have unexpected consequences.*^^

A word much heard in the 1970s was "relevant." Faculty, no
more immune than other human beings to current fads and
fancies, sought "relevancy" in their course offerings. They devel-
oped new courses and included current materials in older offer-
ings. Not all the new courses introduced in these years survived,
but many of them did. Examples include: The History of Black
Americans; War and Social Change; Ibsen and Strindberg; Sci-
ence and Religion; England and the Chesapeake World; Jews in
the 20th Centuiy; and Sociology of Women. Others were: Death
and Dying; Women in Society; Accounting; Linguistics; Biochem-
istry; The Letters of Paul; Social Biology; Musicology; Social
Protest in America; American Architecture; Anthropology; His-
tory of Jazz; The Role of Women in Hispanic-American Litera-
ture; and by 1976, when an Economics/Business Major had been
introduced, courses in Business Law, Principals of Marketing,
and Personnel Management had been approved. In 1976, an
ROTC program (working with established programs on other
campuses) had been accepted and the expansion of teacher certi-
fication programs into Special Education categories had begun.
Two special programs were of considerable interest, one funded
by the National Science Foundation and coordinated with Hollins,
Randolph-Macon Woman's College, and Sweet Briar titled "In-
creasing Women in Science through Reshaping Role Perception,"
was directed by Psychology professor Donald D. Thompson. This
experiment coordinated lectures, seminars, films, field trips and
internships for young women at the participating colleges with
the expectation that more of them would elect a scientific career
as their perceptions altered. The other was a grant which enabled
a Mary Baldwin College Mathematics instructor and three stu-
dents to work in applied mathematics at NASA's Langley base

375

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

during the January term or in the summer.

In 1974, another dimension was added to the college's intellec-
tual environment. The Carroll Lectures, the first endowed lec-
tureship in the college's history was established by Jane Frances
Smith (class of 37) honoringher history professor, Dr. Mary Swan
Carroll. These annual programs brought distinguished his-
torians and archivists to the campus for a series of presentations
and for classroom discussions with students and faculty. The first
Carroll lecture was presented 24 September 1974 by Willie Lee
Rose, who spoke on "The Domestication of Domestic Slavery" and
"Childhood in Bondage." Subsequent years saw equally stimulat-
ing and provocative topics.

It is perhaps ironic that the Special Report titled "Who's in
Charge?" had noted that no president of a college or university
"can prevail indefinitely without at least the tacit support of the
faculty."^° Dr. Kelly had made a promise to the MBC faculty, early
in his presidency, that he would include them and all other of the
college's constituencies in his decision-making process. He tried
sincerely to do so. But of all of the various groups at the college,
it was the faculty that caused him the most trouble.

In 1969-70, the faculty numbered 61. Enrollments declined
sharply and six years later, in 1975-76, there were only 52 full-
time equivalent faculty employed. In the intervening years, six of
the older professors retired and often, because of demographics,
were not replaced. Others, discouraged by the financial crises, left
when they could. Bill Kelly had appointed about half of those who
remained, and it might have been expected that this would
promote a special relationship; but in most cases it did not.

It was a curious faculty. Of the 40 men and women who came
to Mary Baldwin between 1969 and 1976, only eight remained 20
years later. It was a relatively young group, both in years and in
experience at the college. ^^ They were well-qualified, with about
two-thirds of them holding Ph.D's. About half were women, who
were often paid less for comparable work than their male counter-
parts. The 1970s was a time of limited academic opportunities for
the flood of bright young graduate students who were completing
their work at distinguished universities, only to discover that they
were unable to find teaching positions. Particularly vulnerable
were liberal arts graduates, and many were forced to accept

376

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

positions in institutions for which they felt themselves to be over-
qualified. The effect of this on their attitudes toward the colleges
which employed them was sometimes unfortunate. Salaries were
low, not only at Mary Baldwin, but throughout the country.
Double digit inflation eroded their earnings (most had no sav-
ings), and many colleges could not afford cost-of-living increases.
In the case of Mary Baldwin, as has been seen, there were two
years during the Kelly presidency when there were no increases
in salaries at all, and this added to faculty frustrations and
economic hardships. There was little faculty mobility during
these years. If one had a position, one kept it if he/she could,
because the chances of finding another were so small. If one had
tenure, that was almost a guarantee that one would stay where
he/she was for the rest of his/her professional life, whether or not
one was satisfied with the position. There was nowhere else to go.
Many institutions, particularly smaller ones, were in danger of
becoming "tenured in," but efforts at preventing this only added
to insecurities and hard feelings.

Mary Baldwin's new curriculum sought to focus on areas of
expanded opportunities for women such as Business and Econom-
ics, Computer Training, Biology, and Special Education, which
meant that faculty competent in those areas needed to be hired;
but what did you do with your present faculty in areas such as
languages. Physical Education, Religion, Philosophy, and Music,
where enrollments were declining? Some faculty sought to de-
velop new skills, or to construct new courses in areas of perceived
needs; but there were little or no funds to support such profes-
sional reeducation, and not many of the "older" faculty could make
these transitions. All of these factors shaped faculty perceptions
of themselves and of the institutions which employed them. Many
of the younger ones brought with them the ideas and concepts of
their peers from the 1960s. There was a suspicion of authority, a
mistrust of administrators and trustees, an "adversarial" style of
confrontation, a nagging sense of injustice, an impatience with
tradition, courtesy and good manners. All of this did not make for
a happy faculty-or tranquil faculty meetings. On the other hand,
these were very bright, hard-working, conscientious professionals
who wanted to teach, for the most part enjoyed their students, and
wanted to change the academic program to meet the concerns of
the 70s. They were agreeable to student evaluations of their
courses and methodologies, although few of them carried ideal-
ism to the point of believing that anyone other than themselves

377

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

should see the evaluations. Many of them sympathized with
student efforts to modify social regulations and frequently shared
student perceptions of social and political concerns. Physically,
they differed from previous faculty, as well. As student dress
codes vanished, so, too, did faculty conventional dress. Few of the
younger male faculty wore jackets and ties to class, and young
women faculty wore the same blue jeans, or peasant skirts, loose
shirts and sandals as their students. This was an era of much
preoccupation with hair. The students wore theirs long and
straight, usually falling onto their faces and obstructing their
vision. Men's hair was also noticeably longer, and, in October
1969, Campus Comments remarked that seven faculty "sport
hairy facial additions." When one of these individuals was asked
why he grew a beard, he answered, "You don't usually ask a tree
why it grows leaves. "^^

The faculty worked hard. The Self-Study estimated conserva-
tively that most of them spent between 53 and 55 hours weekly on
their professional duties. '^^ They were over-organized. There were
eight standing faculty committees, some of which required much
time and effort. In addition, two ad hoc committees, the commit-
tee on improvement and excellence in teaching and the committee
on the status of women, were extremely time- consuming. There
were 14 other "college" committees, all requiring some faculty
representation as well as faculty presence at trustees' and ABV
meetings, which were expected. They were, of course, expected to
attend college functions and to support student athletic, artistic
and social endeavors. ^^

The new curriculum, because of its divisional structure, had
led to a reorganization of the faculty, but it seemed to many that
the divisions simply added an additional layer of bureaucracy,
rather than lessening collective faculty activity.

Because of the financial stresses and because many members
of the faculty considered that economic measures which affected
them had been decided without their knowledge, they insisted on
sharing in the "governance" of the college. Much of their commit-
tee work on priorities, faculty tenure and status, budget, and
status of women came directly from their perception that the
administration was not dealing fairly or honestly with them.
They understood the reasons why there were financial difficult-
ies, but they disagreed with the distribution of the limited re-
sources. As the total number of faculty decreased, they were fear-
ful that further cuts would imperil academic standards, and they

378

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

insisted that the new curriculum, to be properly implemented,
required more, not fewer, faculty numbers. In addition, they
bitterly resented what they perceived to be unnecessary staffing
in administrative offices and the increase in administrative bud-
gets at the expense of the faculty. "°

The presence of the AAUP was more prominent on the campus
during the Kelly years than it had ever been before. The local
chapter was active in demanding that AAUP guidelines for
salaries and fringe benefits, academic freedom, status and tenure
be accepted by the administration. A gi-eatly enlarged and
detailed Faculty Handbook was published, after being reviewed
and endorsed by the national AAUP, and some administrators
and trustees felt the erosion of their previous authority and
resented it.

The newly appointed Committee on the Status of Women
(1974), having studied a scattergram of faculty salaries, reached
the conclusion that there were "male superstars" and "female
cinderellas" on the college faculty. Twenty women were paid less
than the median salary ($12,565), but only nine men were.
Although the highest salary was $17,850, only three women
earned more than $15,000. This was not, the committee decided,
the result of intentional sexual bias; it reflected "social expecta-
tions" and "market place" realities. But immediate positive action
should be taken. ^^ The administration responded by asking,
"How?."

Attendance at faculty meetings was poor all through the Kelly
era, but absences of 17 or 18 were not unusual during the crises
years of 1974 and 1975. People were tired and discouraged. The
Self- Study concluded the section on the faculty with the following
evaluation:

With respect to new measures of faculty
participation in institutional governance, we
think that the faculty, at this point in time,
is already carrying too heavy a responsibility
in this area. We recommend, therefore, that
the areas of faculty concern and administrative
concern be more clearly defined than they now
are, that the faculty attend only to those matters
which fall under its purview, and that the com-
mittee structure of the college be simplified
as much as possible. We respectfully suggest

379

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

that entirely too much faculty time and energy
have been spent in recent years on internal
governance and changes in the organization
of the college. Teaching should be the first
priority for our faculty, and the priority should
be restored and sustained.

It was a conclusion with which many could agree. "^

The alumnae network had been firmly established during the
Spencer years, and the "partnership" concept with the college had
been well reinforced. Virginia Munce had been the Director of
Alumnae Activities since 1963. By 1969, when President Kelly
arrived, she had established a well-organized office, an active and
dedicated Board of Directors for the Alumnae Association, and a
popular calendar of annual events. In spite of the Spencer and
then Kelly special fund-raising campaigns, the alumnae "annual
fund" grew, both in numbers of participants and amounts raised.
There was an excellent Mary Baldwin Bulletin which twice a year
was devoted to college news and alumnae activities, and a vigor-
ous chapter visitation program had kept the far-flung local chap-
ters active and stimulated. The alumnae liked Dr. Kelly and his
family. He met them easily and was comfortable in their homes
and visiting the local chapters. Some alumnae, of course, were
now members of the board of trustees, the advisory board of
Visitors, and the National Committee for the New Dimensions
campaign, so they were fully aware of the deepening financial
crises, and they made extra efforts to support the college and to
identify areas where they might be helpful.

Always mindful that the present students were tomorrow's
alumnae, the association regularly sponsored a "senior banquet,"
usually in the fall, to introduce the students to the functions and
responsibilities of alumnae work. They established a Student
Relations Committee in 1971 and created a modest fund to help
pay the expenses of student leaders who wished to attend state
and regional leadership conferences. Some alumnae responded to
requests that they address the various career seminars that were
organized during these years to acquaint the students with
professional options; and their "continuing education" March
seminars, held in Hunt Hall, were popular, not only with local

380

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

graduates and the community, but with students as well. The
alumnae sponsored the last Honor Society Breakfast (15 May
1970), and a dinner for Elizabeth Parker, Ruth McNeil and Lillian
Rudeseal when they retired (24 April 1972).

They did some things for themselves as well. When Biology
vacated the building on New and Frederick, the alumnae asked
President Kelly to allow them to return to what had been, in the
1930s, the Alumnae Club House. They shared the space with the
Career Planning and Placement Center but were delighted to
return to more private quarters. They established, in 1970, a new
category of alumnae membership - "honorary, non-voting" - and
elected Martha Grafton and Mildred Taylor as the first two
honorary members. That same year, they began the custom of an
Alumnae Worship Service during Homecoming. Initiated by
James McAllister, Herbert Turner, and Thomas Grafton, this
quickly became a beloved tradition and has continued to the
present.

The class notes, so laborious to collect, edit and print, but
beloved by alumnae as a way of keeping in touch with friends and
classmates, had been dropped from the Bulletin in 1969 as not
befitting the dignity of an expanded and professionalized journal;
but in May 1975, the custom of class notes was renewed by,
apparently, popular demand and has been continued.

By 1972, Virginia Munce had begun tentative plans to offer
travel tours with special rates for Mary Baldwin alumnae and
friends. These were successful for many years, and the concept
has now merged with the Continuing Education programs of the
present college.

In 1975, seeking a fund-raising activity, the alumnae decided
to print a cookbook, including favorite faculty, administration,
and alumnae recipes. Called From Ham to Jam, the first edition
was published in September 1977 and was very popular. It
included some of "B.C.'s" recipes and, of course, Miss Fannie's
brownies.

Individual chapters undertook special projects and some made
very generous gifts to the Pearce Science Center, and later
Wenger Hall. Alumnae role in the admissions process has already
been referred to, but their continued efforts in this area were
invaluable.

They were not without questions. In 1973-74, Dr. Kelly made
over 50 visits to various alumnae chapters, and they peppered him
with queries about the lack of student social regulations ("pari-

381

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

etals" were very hard for many of them to accept), what kind of
rehgious Ufe activities were now held, and when an extended
career counsehng center might be expected. Dr. Kelly found it as
hard to explain to the alumnae as it was to everyone else why the
Madrid and Paris programs had ended, but throughout the
difficult years, the alumnae remained, for the most part, commit-
ted and loyal."*

Of all of the changes on campus between 1969-76, the most
visible, and often the most controversial, were those pertaining to
students: their appearance, their social life, their attitudes and
beliefs, their academic orientation and life goals. It is not difficult
to deeply empathize with these young women and the mixed
signals they received. Mostly from middle-class, conventional
families, accustomed to fairly specific limitations on their behav-
ior, they arrived on a campus which, in the short space of four
years, went from the in loco parentis attitudes familiar to their
parents, to an environment that had few, if any, specific prohibi-
tions and largely ignored guidelines. They were young (most of
them 18-22), idealistic, anxious to bring credit to themselves and
their families, but equally anxious to be "inner-directing" adults
in a bewildering world. Assaulted by the music, the clothing, the
life styles, the values of the counter-culture, prodded by professors
and peers to question, experiment, and test for themselves,
rebellious-as only young women who first leave home can be—
unsure and insecure, they stood between two very different
historical eras and were pulled in many directions. In the "shared
governance" and more open community of the college, they were
aware, of course, of the problems facing the administration and
faculty. Many were indifferent, taken up with their own concerns
and heartbreaks; others were anxious, and a few— mostly those
serving on various boards and committees—took on the additional
burden of trying to solve the college's predicament. They were the
first generation of students to experience the freedoms of the new
academic curriculum, the first young women who could vote at the
age of 18, the first to decide for themselves where, when, and how
much alcohol to drink, the first to visit, unaccompanied, college
men's apartments, the first to invite young men to their own
dormitory rooms, the first to know those who openly experimented
with drugs and sex, the first to have the right to a legal abortion,

382

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

the first to be made to feel guilty because of who and what they
were. These young women would not look back on their college
days as tranquil pools of friendship and community, a privileged
four-year transition between childhood and adulthood. Without
fully realizing it, they were pioneers, and pioneers live risky,
stressful, anxious but sometimes exhilarating lives.

In 1968, when Dr. Spencer left, the 25 mile rule was still in
effect, "approved housing" for overnight, except for seniors, was
mandatory, no alcohol was allowed at college sponsored events or
anywhere on campus, chapels and/or convocations were held
three times a week, and students were required to report their
own unexcused absences. Only seniors could have automobiles.
Shorts and slacks could not be worn in public, and student dates
were to be appropriately dressed. Beds were to be made by mid-
morning. There were adult resident counselors in the major
dormitories, and meals, except for breakfast, were still served
family style.

Eight years later, all these and other regulations had been
reversed. Other than the request that "attire be neat and in good
taste," no dress requirements for either men or women existed.
Beer was available at college social events and was sold in the
Rathskeller in Wenger Hall. All students were allowed to bring
automobiles to campus. There was active campaigning for SGA
offices, complete with posters, slogans, speeches and sponsors.
There were detailed statements of the rights of students accused
of violating the Honor System, and a Review Board was estab-
lished with carefully (and legally) drawn procedures for appeal
from an Honor Court decision. Refrigerators and TV sets ap-
peared in student rooms. An elaborate "private" sign-out system
was devised. Students as well as faculty academic advisors as-
sisted in course selection, and peer advisors appeared in place of
adults in the dormitories. The cherished "parietals" were gradu-
ally granted. The Federal Family Education Rights and Privacy
Acts (the so-called Buckley Amendment) was endorsed, and the
Catalogue became a kind of legal contract between a student and
the college administration. After the student bank closed, student
accounts were often deposited in local banks or in home institu-
tions, and for the first time the problem of checks returned for
"insufficient funds" was persistent and visible. The SGA devised
a "cold check" committee to try to solve the embarrassing problem.
Dormitories and rooms within dormitories were now kept locked.
Campus security, both for possessions and persons, was an ongo-

383

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

ing concern. The old statement about secret marriages and
dismissal because a student was "out of sympathy" with college
standards was quietly withdrawn. In its place a Code of Conduct
declared:

Code of Conduct
Mary Baldwin College is a community of
scholars in which there is an atmosphere of
learning as well as a sense of community.
The College prides itself upon the principles
of academic integrity, self-respect, and indi-
vidual responsibility.

A student who enrolls in the College
assumes an obligation to conduct herself in
a manner compatible with these principles, and
to see that her guests observe them at all times.

I. The College will not tolerate abusive
language or indecent conduct which would be
offensive to the campus community.

II. No student shall knowingly injure,
threaten, or degrade a member of the College
community.

III. No student shall intentionally or malici-
ously damage or destroy property in the care of
or belonging to the College, or to a member of
the College community, or to a campus visitor.

IV. No student shall fail to comply with
directions by members of the faculty, admin-
istration, staff, or elected student officers of
the College when said officials are acting in
performance of their duties.

V. No student shall fail to comply with any
disciplinary conditions imposed upon her by a
judiciary body.

VI. All students and their guests must show
consideration for the residents of Staunton,
especially our close neighbors, and behave in

a manner compatible with the standard of
the larger community. ^^

Probably no issue was more controversial than the privilege
which the students labeled "parietal." In colleges and universities

384

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

across the country in the early 70s, the concept that a student's
dormitory room was the equivalent of an adult apartment or hotel
room was embraced by a rebellious student generation. At 18,
they declared, they were old enough to vote, to be drafted, to drive
a car, to (within limits) drink alcohol, to smoke, to marry or to live
together as they chose. The intense desire to set their own
standards (a kind of "privatization" which rejected externally
imposed limits on personal conduct, be they religious or secular),
led to the demand that college students be able to entertain whom
they chose and when they desired in their own housing. The
problems this created, particularly for women's colleges, which
traditionally had two-or even three-girl rooms and communal
bathrooms, were obvious, but one by one the women's colleges
yielded. Mary Baldwin was among the last to seek a solution
which could accommodate majority student demands, community
disapproval, trustees' apprehensions and parents' almost univer-
sal opposition.

The whole debate, which lasted for more than three years,
culminated in a difficult 1972-73 session. That spring, the student
senate was working on a parietal proposal and Dr. Kelly was
deeply concerned. He feared the effects on his cherished New
Dimensions Campaign, as well as the college's relationship with
the synod. On 2 March 1972, he sent a letter to the parents of all
the students, warning them that major changes in social regula-
tions were being debated, and asking for their opinions. "Too
many of the girls' schools," he wrote, "are giving in much too
quickly." He would not, he explained, be guided by majority
opinion; the rights of each student to "privacy, quiet and security"
would "be protected." And, in a follow-up letter on 9 March 1972,
he declared, "Parietals are not being approved." Easter vacation
that year was 22 March - 5 April, and without administrative
knowledge, the SGA sent its own letter to parents, explaining that
Sweet Briar, Hollins, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Mary
Washington, and even Agnes Scott now permitted some kind of
male visitation in dormitory rooms.

As might be expected, a flood of protests from irate and
distressed parents poured into the president's office. Some threat-
ened to withdraw their daughters if the school changed its regu-
lations. Most, caught between their daughter's desires and their
own apprehensions, insisted that they trusted their own children,
but feared for the security and privacy of roommates and other
young women without visitors. The spring passed with continued

385

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

debates, and with administration efforts to provide more lounges,
parlors, and areas for dates to informally enjoy each others'
company. The back gallery of Administration would be open on
weekends for ping pong, billiards, and conversation. A "date
house" next to Blakely was set up so that young men could have
inexpensive lodgings when they attended events at the college. As
the new student center was being discussed, administrative pleas
for "patience" and assurances that there would be areas for
student entertainment, fell on deaf ears. "The College," wrote a
young woman in Campus Comments, has "restrictive, unhealthy
and unrealistic living conditions... it borders on repression."

When the college opened in September 1972, an "open dorm
experiment" was permitted on the weekends of 22 September and
6 October. All went well, and on 1 December 1972, the Review
Board approved the SGA Senate legislation permitting male
visitation on weekends, with the pointed reminder that students
were responsible for the behavior of their guests. The new policy
was to go into effect on 1 January 1973 and the camel's nose was
indeed in the tent. By 1976, parietals were allowed every day in
the week. Each dormitory voted on its own choice of day and hour
options. At least one trustee resigned as a result of the decision.
Membership on the ABV was harder to recruit, churches and
corporations cut their contributions, and the college's reputation
in the Staunton community came under severe attack.^°

The college's relationship with its community neighbors be-
came increasingly tense. Not only did students' automobiles fill
on-street parking spaces, but their middle-of-the-week and week-
end parties were loud, noisy, characterized by "public drinking,
disorderly conduct, abusive language, speeding vehicles, public
urination" and destruction of telephone poles, fire alarms, and
damage to the inadequate men's rooms. In late 1974, Dr. Kelly
suspended parietals for two weeks and barred men from the
Chute for a month because of flagrant misconduct. Students were
outraged. Posters appeared declaring "no ultimatum without
warning" and an editorial proclaimed that this was an "intense
exhibition of a most reactionary form of paternalism." "Most
institutions," they declared, "have 24 hour parietals... the admin-
istration has disregarded and violated the inherent human need
for privacy. "*^^

A question-answer column in Campus Comments in 1973-74
was labeled "Carousel" became "many students feel that it is
impossible to obtain a straight answer from the Mary Baldwin

386

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

administration." As late as February 1976, Campus Comments
was complaining that "stringent rules, security guards and inter-
ference from the local police," scared miales away.

The spring of 1974 saw a new campus diversion. Campus
Comments printed pictures of Mary Baldwin "streakers," usually
running at night, with dark glasses and strategically held towels.
Most wore some kind of underwear, and one young woman, when
interviewed, said she did it to have "something to tell my grand-
children." It was not long before the few remaining cadets at
Staunton Military Academy were joining these moonlight activi-
ties - and then, inevitably spectators from town arrived. Con-
cerned about security. Craven Williams appealed to the students
to stop - and sensibly they did.^^

One reads the Campus Comments of these years with the
recognition that social revolutions are, like all revolutions, pain-
ful. It was painful for the participants, and for those who loved
them as well. It would take some years before the campus would
zig-zagback to a saner, more balanced social situation, but, as will
be seen, it eventually did. And, there is another side to the campus
story - even in the 70s.

Mary Baldwin students did feel strongly an obligation to their
college community. In 1970, a Voluntary Action Center was
organized in Staunton. Funded by a federal Title I gi'ant and
located at Hill Top Dormitory, it was the only such center on a
college campus in the country. It sought to make the myriad
volunteer groups in Staunton more effective. Under its broad
umbrella were such organizations as Big Brother/Big Sister,
tutorial services for public school children, blood donors, and
assistance for VSDB. About 200 students, in the course of a year,
signed up to join other community volunteers in providing help for
those less fortunate. Federal funding was not renewed in 1973
and the office was forced to close, but volunteer efforts continued,
culminating in a six-week campaign to raise money for research
into the causes and a possible cure for muscular dystrophy. The
SGA president, Bonnie Tuggle, saw this project as a way of
bringing the campus together in a difficult year, and it did help.^^

In addition, the SGA undertook to organize and administer
the student evaluations of the academic progi'am required by the
new curriculum; they worked hard to restructure the student
government and to make effective and fair the Honor Court. Dean
Smeak proposed in 1975-76 a student Resident Advisor Program,
which was implemented the following year and is now indispens-

387

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

able. These upperclassmen were trained to deal with the physical,
psychological and emotional problems of their fellow students and
were often more effective than administrative persons would have
been.^'^

The "diversity" of which the President's Committee had spo-
ken was a bit more apparent by 1976. Although still a very small
percentage of the student body, black women became more visible
members of the student body. By 1974, they organized the United
Black Association (WANAWAKI) and sponsored informal dances
in the Chute, an annual Black Culture Week, brought speakers to
the campus, movies, art and music seminars. "All races are wel-
come," said the president of the group. "We seek to promote unity
among students." Because some racial tensions did exist, a
Human Relations Committee, with faculty and student represen-
tation was formed, and a psychological counselor was employed to
meet with students on a regular basis and to assist with racial
relatedness.^^

The athletic program at the college was vigorous and visible.
It was not until the curriculum change of 1974 that all require-
ments about Physical Education were dropped, after which stu-
dent enrollment plummeted for several years. Until then, all
students were still required to take a freshman course in Health
Education, to pass a swimming survival test and to participate in
both team and individual sports. Intercollegiate competition
continued in swimming, horseback riding, golf, fencing, and
tennis. As local facilities became available, karate, skiing, and ice
skating were added to the activities eligible for P.E. credit. Mary
Baldwin had a small but well-coached and enthusiastic basketball
team (called after 1974 the "Squirrels"), and the MALTA spring
tournament (tennis), increasing in size and reputation, continued
on the Mary Baldwin campus. Mary Jane Donnalley had resigned
in 1970, but Lois Blackburn coached winning teams, which
practiced daily, travelled 1300 miles a year to dual matches, and
another 400 miles to tournaments. By 1976, Title IX of the
Educational Amendment Act requiring that athletic scholarships
must be offered to women as well as men at colleges and univer-
sities, posed a major threat to Mary Baldwin's dominance in
women's tennis. Mary Baldwin offered no athletic scholarships,
and its ability to attract strong tennis players had in the past come
from distinguished coaches and exposure in prestige tourna-
ments. It was feared, now that attractive scholarships were
available elsewhere, Mary Baldwin would no longer be able to

388

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976}

attract competitive players. ^^

The college publications were, of course, affected by the finan-
cial exigencies and the revolution in student expectations. It had
never been easy to find students willing and able to devote the
time and effort good publications require, and the decade of the
70s saw student interest decline. Still, all three publications
continued. The Bluestocking experimented with color and photo-
graphic techniques and an increase in the informal snapshot
sections. The difficulty of persuading students to appear for
organization pictures became apparent by 1976, but it was still a
distinguished publication. The Miscellany became an annual
offering, was shorter, included many examples of student art
work as well as prose and poetry. Some of the male day students
contributed to the Miscellany and there were excellent contribu-
tions from both the Paris and Madrid progi^ams. Campus Com-
ments continued to win All American ratings until 1974 when it
faced a real crises. Dolores Lescure had resigned, and no one could
be found who was willing to be either the editor or the sponsor.
There were no issues between 9 December 1974 and 4 March 1975,
at which time Robert Youth of the Psychology Department had
been persuaded to assist the group of young women who acted as
collective editors. Campus Comments resumed publication but
only appeared every three weeks, instead of the usual bi-monthly
pattern. Unfortunately, in January 1976, Dr. Youth felt he could
no longer continue in this extra-curricular role. In the light of this
emergency, Dolores Lescure agreed to return to assist, and the
college newspaper continued. These events are symptomatic of
the malaise that befell student publications in many colleges
during these years. It would be a long time before some of them
recovered. Some never did.^"

There were further changes in the format and procedure for
commencement in the Kelly years. Some of the graduations were
downright exciting. In 1971, the exercises were held out of doors
(as they have continued to be unless inclement weather forces the
ceremonies into alternative locations). It had been a beautiful
early summer day and Dr. Kelly was presenting some concluding
remarks, when an ominous black cloud appeared behind Hunt
Hall. It grew bigger and more threatening with surprising
rapidity. Dr. Kelly hurried his remarks, parents and visitors

389

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

gathered up their possessions, the faculty stirred uneasily, the
students, clutching their diplomas, were clearly ready to leave,
but the final words of farewell just had to be pronounced. Unfor-
tunately, the rain did not wait, and, without a benediction or a
recessional, the occasion abruptly ended as everyone sought
shelter from the violent storm which uprooted trees, downed
power lines and flooded storm sewers.

The following year saw another unexpected crisis. Bacca-
laureate was to be held at the First Presbyterian Church, across
the street from the college's Administration Building. The church
was crowded with parents and friends, the college marshal, Ruth
Mc Neil, had faculty and students properly lined up and ready to
process, when word came that a telephoned bomb threat had been
received. The church was hastily cleared, the faculty and stu-
dents' lines reversed themselves, and everyone marched up the
hill to King auditorium, where both the baccalaureate and later
graduation ceremonies were held. The church, of course, was
searched, but no bomb was found. This forced the college to
consider evacuation procedures and a possible ticket system for
future events, since King auditorium was no longer large enough
to hold all who wished to attend.

Two years later, seven faculty members objected to being
required to attend baccalaureate as, they said, "it violates our
rights and conflicts with our deeply held beliefs." Dr. Kelly
suggested that they might be excused, but pointed out that
students were expected to attend. This particular dilemma was
resolved two years later, when, in 1976, the baccalaureate and
commencement ceremonies were combined into one event, held on
the college campus beginning at 10:30 a.m. . Thus, what had been,
in the 1930s, a four-day graduation program has now become a
combined alumnae homecoming, senior dinner/dance and bacca-
laureate/commencement short weekend.

One more change was approved. The college charter had
always given the trustees the right of approving honorary de-
grees, but they had never done so. In the spring of 1976, in
grateful recognition of her devoted services and many years of
support and encouragement to the college, the faculty voted and
the administration and trustees approved the granting of an
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Bertie Murphy Deming.
Thus, another "new dimension" was added to the college's tradi-
tions.^^

390

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

On a Monday afternoon, 29 September 1975, President Kelly
called a general college convocation for 5:00 p.m. . The "mixer" of
the week before had been noisy and disruptive and students were
concerned that the president intended to restrict parietals again. ^^
Instead, Dr. Kelly announced that he had tendered his resigna-
tion as president of the college and would be taking a leave of
absence after 1 January 1976. Dr. Kelly explained that the "time
seemed right to offer the college the opportunity for new leader-
ship." He later elaborated. Several trustees had reacted to parts
of the Self-Study report unfavorably and Dr. Kelly perceived a
"philosophical gap" between his concerns and theirs. The ex-
ecutive committee of the board had been made aware of his plans,
and he indicated that when the full board met in November 1975,
he would recommend that his executive assistant, Patricia H.
Menk, be named acting president until a new leader for the college
could be found.

It is certainly true that the Self-Study, particularly its conclu-
sion, had been critical of the lack of "communication" among the
college constituencies.

Somewhere during the troubled years of
the late 1960s and early '70s, we seemed
to stop talking to and listening to each
other...; student frustration with faculty
and administration and with each other;
faculty apprehension and suspicion,
resulting in a burgeoning bureaucracy of
intricate committees to share "governance"
and decision-making; an administration
stretched thin - apparently unappreciated
and misunderstood; a board of trustees
sometimes bewildered by the rapid pace
of change and challenges. ^°

But there was more than that. In the spring of 1975, the
faculty representative to the trustees had delivered an emotional
and damaging report. Morale was low, he declared, because there
were too few tangible rewards for quality teaching; the decline in
the language and other overseas programs had weakened the
excellence of the curriculum; science was understaffed; more mi-

391

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

norities needed to be recruited; faculty were inappropriately
released. The board, he continued, should be "downright ap-
palled" at the low morale and the feelings of insecurity. "The
faculty are convinced that the college demise is imminent." He
concluded, "Some faculty have expressed a lack of confidence in
our current leadership." He proposed that the trustees meet with
the entire faculty in the fall of 1975, and tentative plans to do so
were made by the executive committee. ^^

During the summer, it became apparent that the 1975-76
budget could not be balanced and within two or more years the
college's operating deficits might approach $1 million. Further-
more, there had been some difficult personnel problems in the
recent past which were only settled after a great deal of bitterness,
and this further eroded the trustees' confidence. The continual
upheaval about the students' social regulations, religious prac-
tices, and life-styles was incomprehensible to some of the trustees,
the advisory board and many alumnae. In spite of optimistic
announcements, the New Dimensions Campaign was not going
well. Dr. Kelly and Dr. Patteson had spent many weary days
travelling the state, but the Virginia part of the campaign failed
to meet its goals, and these results were known during the
summer of 1975. In addition, the turnover at the top administra-
tive levels appeared to be continuing. Craven Williams had left on
1 January 1975, Marjorie Chambers' resignation would become
effective 30 June 1975, and Ethel Smeak had been Dean of
Students for only one year. That summer (1975), J. Michael
Herndon had joined the business office as comptroller (at board
insistence) and Patricia Menk was appointed the (temporary)
executive assistant to the president, again at board direction and
largely because of the implications of the Self-Study report.

The executive committee met in August 1975 and postponed
its planned meeting with the faculty until the situation at the
college could be clarified. By early September, it was apparent
that there was considerable board support for a change in leader-
ship, but the major question was one of timing. The 1975-76
college session had begun. In the spring of 1975, President Kelly
had asked Patricia Menk to develop a plan of administrative
reorganization and to assemble a Handbook reflecting these
changes, and the new structure had been put in place in Septem-
ber. There was an acting academic dean, Dorothy Mulberry, and
a search committee to seek a permanent dean had been appointed.
The visiting team from SACS was due to make its three-day visit

392

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

to the campus in October. The senior senator from Virginia, Harry
F. Byrd, Jr., had accepted the invitation to be the Founders' Day
speaker and the college was to be officially designated as a
"Bicentennial College." But, when President Kelly met for an
unscheduled discussion with the executive committee on 29 Sep-
tember 1975, he ended the meeting by indicating he would resign.
A week later, as has been seen, his decision was announced to the
college community and the transfer of authority to the acting
president took place on 8 November 1975, after the fall meeting of
the board of trustees approved the changes.

Although the process was far more open and public than on the
occasion of Mr. McKenzie's resignation, it was still fraught with
tension and misunderstanding. The regular fall meeting of the
board of trustees was held at the college 7-8 November 1975. It
had been planned that the ABV would meet at the same time, and
with this seemingly abrupt transfer of authority, endless explana-
tions had to be made and decisions for the future taken. A faculty
panel had been planned as part of the ABV program, and they
hastily changed their topics to "The Future of Mary Baldwin
College" and "What should we look for in a New President?"

Meanwhile, President Kelly met with the trustees. He told
them that he truly believed that a college president "can make a
difference" and he believed that he had contributed greatly to
Mary Baldwin. He listed the positive aspects of his administra-
tion, and it was clear that he felt a small but vocal minority among
the faculty and some trustees had led the opposition to him. His
disappointments came with his inability to alter enrollment
figures or to balance the operating budget, but he felt, with more
support from the trustees, he could have continued as an effective
president. As it was, it would be best for him to leave, and the
trustees concurred. The usual resolutions of appreciation were
prepared and a presidential search committee, chaired by Ken-
neth Randall, was appointed with instructions to find a suitable
candidate by 1 July 1976.^^

It was a curious year. Dr. Kelly continued his regular duties
until 8 November 1975. He presided at Founders' Day and greet-
ed parents and college guests. He met with alumnae gi'oups in
New York in October, and honored other appointments he had
made in connection with the New Dimensions Campaign. He was
present at the dedication of Wenger Hall in early May. The Day
Students established a scholarship in his name, and a Campus
Comments editorial noted his "great accomplishments, unprec-

393

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

edented difficulties... our appreciation, profound admiration and
personal affection. . . are extended to both president and Mrs. Kelly
for their services for the college." The sophomores dedicated their
annual show to Bill and Jane Kelly and the seniors requested that
Dr. Kelly sign and hand them their diplomas at graduation, and
he did so.^^

But, after 8 November, he was seldom on campus and the day-
to-day tasks necessary to keep the college running devolved on the
acting president and her staff. There were some rough spots;
probably the most serious, to that time, racial conflict occurred in
one of the dormitories in late October, and the after-math had to
be dealt with. In February, Dean Smeak indicated that she
wished to return to full-time teaching, and committees to find her
replacement and also to secure a full-time chaplain had to be
activated. In an effort to provide the students with better facilities
for large group social activities, Dean Smeak arranged to rent
facilities about 17 miles from the campus where dances could be
held. In many ways this was unsatisfactory, but it was better than
continuing to offend the college neighbors. An increased effort to
provide on-campus weekend activities was mildly successful. The
board of trustees accepted the fact that there would be further
deficit budgets and agreed in spite of the financial problems to give
the faculty and staff a 7% raise in 1976-77. Faculty morale
improved; applications for admission increased; the new comp-
troller helped smooth some of the difficulties in the business office.
The student government leaders that year were committed to the
college's survival and worked very hard to improve communica-
tions and to cooperate with the administration. The trustees,
having risked a president's sabbatical after the school year had
begun, were active, concerned, and very helpful. And on the
surface, at least, the college calendar proceeded as planned.^^

The New Dimensions program slowed but did not cease.
Regional programs were planned and the public announcement of
the Deming gift ($1 million) was a significant morale booster. The
faculty approved an Economics/Business major and the courses
necessary to support it. It was also agreed that, beginning in
September 1976, luncheon in Hunt Dining Hall would be served
buffet style, and classes would be scheduled throughout the day.
Each student would have to plan her schedule in such a fashion
that she had time to eat, but the additional hours would ease some
scheduling problems and give more flexibility to the program. By
the April 1976 trustees meeting, several other actions had been

394

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

taken which helped to heal the dissensions of the previous years.
The board formally approved the statement on academic freedom
and on the principles of tenure which had been appended to the
faculty handbook; the entire handbook itself was now to be
considered part of each faculty person's contract and spelled out
the mutual obligations of the faculty and administration in order
that misunderstandings might, in the future, be avoided. An
administrative handbook was also approved. Several new trust-
ees, including, at faculty request, women who were not alumnae
and an "educator," were elected. Additional personnel support for
the dean of students' office was approved, and a special trustee
committee was appointed to consider the immediate and future
physical needs of the college. Major efforts were made, with some
success, to provide opportunities for board-faculty interaction,
and the administration and trustees were gratified to hear from
the faculty representative that "We have come a long way during
the past year ...we have... made a beginning in recovering the
sense of confidence which the faculty had ten years ago." A
physical plant employees' recognition day had been instituted,
and earlier efforts at improving community and synod relation-
ships were reinforced. ^'^

Still, everyone was aware that this was an interim period, and,
as the months went by, the efforts of the presidential selection
committee were looked upon with anticipation - and perhaps
unrealistic expectations. It was a large committee, numbering 14
in all, and it developed a thorough procedure for screening
evaluations and interviewing the more than 100 applicants who
were eventually identified. Four finalists were openly invited to
the campus in April 1976, where they met staff, faculty and
students at teas and receptions. Simultaneously, two other
search committees were also hosting prospective candidates.
That spring the unwary adult visitor (perhaps a parent or text-
book salesman) might be accosted by a curious student asking,
"Which are you - a president, a dean, or a chaplain?" Although
reluctant to make such important appointments without the
input of the new president, the calendar dictated to the acting
president otherwise and decisions about both the dean of students
and the chaplain had been made before 4 June 1976. On that date,
the board of trustees, at a called meeting in Washington D.C.,
elected Virginia L. Lester as the seventh president of Mary
Baldwin College.^*^

395

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

Notes

^ MBB, May 1969. Much of the information came from the
American Alumni Council's Editorial Projects for Education re-
port. So important did these problems seem that the entire Bul-
letin, except for one short feature and the usual class notes, was
devoted to various aspects of college governance.

2 The faculty who presented programs for the Alumnae Semi-
nar in the spring of 1968 were Barbara Ely, Frank Southerington,
John Mehner and Carl Edwards.

^ Admission was charged to this ice cream eating contest and
the proceeds went to benefit the Retarded Children's Training
Center in Staunton. CC 25 April 1969.

' See pp. 241-242.

^ Compulsory attendance at Sunday church and weekday
chapel service had been instituted by Rufus Bailey and reinforced
by Mary Julia Baldwin.

When the trustees agreed to end this historic policy, they also
considered the broader implications of a "church-related college."
Shortly, there would be more practical reasons to consider a
charter change, but even before the Virginia Tuition Assistance
Grant program came into being, the trustees were facing the fact
that religious requirements for faculty and administrative ap-
pointments and tenure were increasingly impractical. However,
when they agreed to change the church-chapel regulation, they
added that the college expected students to continue to attend
Sunday services and to support the once-a-week chapel program.
But they indicated that failure to do so was no longer an "honor"
offense. Thereafter student attendance at religious services
declined steadily. Students viewed the "victory" as a sign that
their increased freedom in the matter of academic and religious
matters should be matched by increased freedoms in social rules.

^ CC 20 May 1969: So unusual was the honoring of a dean by
students in the turbulent 1968-72 era that the story of "Martha
Grafton Day" was reported in the national press and was widely
disseminated. Between 1969 and 1990, Martha Grafton took
great pleasure in presenting the Grafton Award in person at each
graduation. After the brief space of four/five years, there were no
students who remembered her, and of course, as time passed,
increasing numbers of the faculty and staff did not know her,
either; but everyone always looked forward to her "remarks,"
which were funny and wise and without pretense. They were the

396

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

highlight of many graduation ceremonies.

' Both the Kellys were attractive, cultured people, who enter-
tained with taste and care and were comfortable with public ap-
pearances. Jane Kelly's maiden surname was also Kelly, and as
was the case with Bill, she had friends and relatives near Staun-
ton which helped ease the transition from East Lansing,

^ Kelly Mss: College archives.

^ Bill Kelly had received a Danforth Fellowship for graduate
study (at Duke) 1953-57, had served as a member of the national
reading committee for Danforth Fellowships and had been a
participant in the Fellowship Advisory Council for the Danforth
Foundation. Dr. Cuninggim was a close personal friend. In his
remarks, Dr. Cuninggim declared, "Students are obstreperous,
faculty non-supportive, trustees ill-informed, townspeople, alumni
and others suspicious ." He was speaking in general terms. But
there was a good deal of prophecy in his words. Dr. Kelly on the
other hand, was almost boyishly enthusiastic; his pleasure in
being made president was evident. He entitled his brief remarks
"Let Us Be On with Our Work" and declared, "Our students are
more reasonable, more patient, have more respect for authority
and more understanding of history . . . than do many of their peers. "
Dr. Kelly was not as perceptive as his mentor had been.

In 1970, Founders' Day had was preempted by the dedica-
tion of Pearce Science Building, and some seniors noted that for
two years "their" day had been taken over. "Where are our attend-
ants?" they asked. Our parents were "ignored" because other,
more "important" guests were honored, they declared. Other
colleges (Hollins and Sweet Briar) had more "entertainment" for
their students' parents.

On both 1969 and 1970 Founders' Days (and thereafter) the
"Mary Baldwin Hymn" had been quietly substituted for "Thou
Wast Born of Dreams," the traditional Alma Mater. Some older
alumnae noted the substitution and were not pleased.

This was, of course, the era when nothing that a college
administration did was considered right. The chances are excel-
lent that the students themselves would have shortly done away
with white gowned attendants and the older college song - but
since it was not at their suggestion that these actions were taken,
some felt a grievance. In point of fact, the senior attendants had
been discontinued in the Spencer era, long before Dr. Kelly had
arrived on the campus. MBB December 1969: Kelly Mss: College
archives.

397

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

^° The President's Committee on the Challenge of the 70s was
composed of the following:

Richard P. Gifford, Chairman (trustee since 1968)

Herbert B. Barks, Jr. (trustee since 1968)

Lila Caldwell, (student) Class of 71

Lloyd Cather, (student) Class of '71

Bertie Murphy Doming, (trustee and alumna) Class of '46

Carl W. Edwards, (faculty since 1968)

Mary Lewis Hix, (alumna) Class of '65

Ralph Wade Kittle, (trustee since 1968)

James D. Lett, (faculty since 1964)

Dorothy Mulberry, (faculty since 1958)

Gordon Page, (faculty since 1949)

Martha Godwin Saunders, (alumna, Class of '48)

Charles J. Stanley, (faculty since '65)

Ellen Vopicka, (faculty since 1968)

Craven E. Williams, (admin, since 1968)
Considering the implication and far-reaching consequences
of some of this committee's recommendations, it is interesting to
note that three of the four trustees had been on the board for a year
or less. Three of the faculty had come to MBC in 1968 and two
others in the mid-60s; and Craven Williams, the vice president for
development had been with the college for only one year. Of the
fifteen members of the committee, only four had had more than six
years' experience with the college community.

11 MBB 4 June 1971; CC 6 May 1971; 20 May 1971

The careful references to a "Christian Campus" reveal the
revaluation of a church college/synod relationship which occupied
most of the decade of the 70s. It also reflects the contemporary
concept that there should be no requirements, particularly in re-
ference to religious beliefs or moral principles.

12 CC 16 Sept. 1971. The fact that most Mary Baldwin faculty
members probably agreed with the statement about "religious
opinions" illustrates how quickly the administration's percep-
tions about faculty church membership had changed since the
mid-1960s. Dr. Spencer had noted then that it was increasingly
difficult to find faculty and staff with a "Christian orientation,"
and by the early '70s the college, in fact, had moved far away from
the 1957 charter provisions concerning church membership.

However, one of the many reasons some later criticized Dr.
Kelly was the fact that he and his family were Episcopalian. When
this was made known to the presidential search committee, they

398

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

agreed that, since the college charter still specified that the
president of the college had to be an active Presbyterian, they
could not consider William Kelly further. At some point, a con-
versation was held about this with Dr. Kelly, who agreed that if
he were chosen as the college's president, he would become a
Presbyterian. The committee thereupon reconsidered and recom-
mended his appointment to the trustees, whose minutes record
Dr. Kelly's agreement. Minutes BT: 14 Jan., 1969. At some
meeting, however, the Chairman of the Presidential Search Com-
mittee, trustee Willard L. Lemmon, indicated that perhaps that
particular charter provision should be "looked at." It is hard not
to draw the conclusion that Dr. Kelly was unofficially informed
that, within a short time, it would be all right for him to remain
Episcopalian. In any case, he and his family attended Episcopal
services from the time they moved to Staunton and on 21 April
1972, Dr. Kelly informed the trustees that, after "due consider-
ation," he and his family had renewed "their long standing ties"
with the Episcopal church and had joined Trinity.

MinutesBT: 21 April 1972. It should be noted that Dr. Kelly
made a conscientious effort to learn about the Presbyterian
Church organization; he attended synod meetings and fund-
raisers, and pledged that the college's "historic ties" to the Staunton
First Presbyterian Church "would be retained."

In 1968, when Dr. Spencer retired, the Dean of the College,
the Dean of Students, the Dean of Admissions, and the Business
Manager/Treasurer had all been Presbjderian. However, by June
1976, when Dr. Kelly left, only two senior administrators were
active Presb3d:erians, a fact that had not gone unnoticed in church
and alumnae circles.

^^ As was true on most college campuses, these panels were
organized by the students themselves. At Mary Baldwin, some
sympathetic faculty, including the new chaplain, Richard
Beauchamp, who had been hired to stimulate "extra-curricular
educational experiences," lent support to student efforts. The
Christian Association, Rufus' Trunk (a student debating group),
and other organized groups provided encouragement and perhaps
some funds from their own budgets. President Kelly wisely per-
mitted the use of campus facilities without quibbling over sched-
ules and fees, and most of the college community was grateful that
actual direct confrontation had been avoided. There were some
unpleasant episodes. Some of the "visitors" did not meet the col-
lege requirement about proper "dress" in Hunt Dining Hall. When

399

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

asked to put on shoes and shirts there was some resentment
expressed then and later in Campus Comments. Again, wisely, no
big point was made. When the march to the courthouse was being
organized, students were advised to dress conservatively (to avoid
further antagonizing the Staunton community) and most of them
did. The first "march," Oct. 1969, was met with curiosity, some
community support, ignorant amazement and contemptuous
amusement. On several subsequent occasions when other
"marches" were organized, the public perceptions were less friend-
ly, and observers were often vocally hostile. The press coverage
was characterized by neither understanding nor generosity. Some
in the Staunton community resented the "marches" and the
political orientation they expressed so much that they organized
a "Happy Birthday USA" parade and festival to be held on July 4.
This became an annual event co-sponsored by the city and the
Statler Brothers country music singers.

'' Minutes: 18 May 1970. In Sept. 1969, there had been 158
prospective graduates, but one student had taken only a partial
load, due to her marriage, and had postponed her graduation until
June, 1971. Thus the statement in the text is accurate. The initial
proposals came from the students themselves and had been sent
to President Kelly with the request he submit them to the faculty.
He reminded them that, although all constituencies of the college
would always listen to student requests, the faculty alone had the
authority to set academic standards.

Since the P/F option applied only to courses that did not
count toward the major, this second option limited the number of
students to whom it could apply.

The faculty debate on the proposals lasted four hours and
was essentially a compromise between some very different view-
points. The students failed to secure all they asked for; i.e., the
option to "negotiate" with individual professors. But they ac-
cepted the faculty offer. Very few underclassmen exercised either
option and the numbers were never publicized. In addition to Dr.
Kelly, both deans (Grafton and Parker) played major but quiet
roles in working out the compromise.

^^ In contrast to the violence and upheavals elsewhere, Mary
Baldwin escaped this crisis relatively unscathed. There is almost
no mention in the board minutes, the Mary Baldwin Bulletin, or
the fall Campus Comments about these events.

'^ CC 26 Sept. 1969

^^ CC 1 1 Dec. 1969 In a certain sense, Dr. Spencer "preselected"

400

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

the Jones appointment. It was he who had moved Freeman Jones
into the business office as Mr. Spillman's assistant. The economic
"advantage" in employing from within the college resulted from
the fact the outside" appointees could generally command sala-
ries as good as if not better than the officials they replaced.
"Inside" appointees might be started at a lower level, based on
their lack of "experience." Actually, Dr. Kelly pointed out the
advantages of the Booth/Jones appointments because each would
have half a year to "consult" with their predecessors.
18 CC: 19 Feb, 1970 MBB June 1970

1^ This analysis is supported by the conclusions of the Self
Studv done for SACS in 1975.

Mr. Booth had the efficient service of Bettie Beard, who had
worked with Miss Hillhouse since 1967 and who remained in the
registrar's office until June 1991. Mr. Jones had the assistance of
M. Scott Nininger, whom Dr. Spencer had chosen to help Mr.
Spillman in 1966. Also, Marian H. Smith and Rebecca Dick both
proved to be invaluable. Elke Frank's secretary was Carolyn
Meeks; Kitty Burnley had experience in the dean of students'
office; Jane Wilhelm continued as administrative assistant to the
president; Betty Barr remained in the alumnae office; Ellen Holtz
and Ann Shenk gave continuity to admissions, whose Director,
John A. Blackburn, had been with the college for only one year
before Dr. Kelly came.
20 CC 7 Oct 1971

The Academic Deans were:

Martha Grafton, resigned 1970
Elke Frank, Aug. 1970-1971
EHzabeth Parker, Oct. 1971-Jan 1972 (Acting)
Marjorie B. Chambers, Jan. 1972 - June 1975
Dorothy Mulberry - Acting Dean, September 1975

Dean - Jan 1976 - Junel980
Dorothy Mulberry was one of the two directors of the Madrid
program. It was she who had suggested the idea to Dr. Spencer,
had hired most of the faculty, planned the curriculum and had
been in Madrid from 1962 to 1965. She had then "rotated" back
to Mary Baldwin, had returned to Madrid from 1967-69 after
which family considerations had intervened, and she had spent
most of the 1970s in Staunton. She had had, however, the un-
happy task of concluding the final year of the Madrid program in
1974-75, and was thus able to assume the responsibilities of the
academic dean in the summer of 1975.

401

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

21 CCS Nov. 1971; 28 Jan 1972. Writing in the Mary Baldwin
Bulletin, Dr. Spencer said of Elizabeth Parker:

I associate Elizabeth Parker not so much
with rules as with standards. There is
a difference: rules are enforced, usually
by external pressure; standards are upheld,
most effectively, by personal example... Miss
Parker has consistently exemplified, in the
life of this college, standards of character and
integrity and decency... She has a sort of built-
in sense of propriety, an intuitive feeling for
good taste, and a considerate thoughtfulness
which add civility and grace to a somewhat
graceless era.
MBB, May 1971

22 The Deans of Students were:

Elizabeth Parker, 1945-1972
Brooke Woods, 1972-1974
Ethel Smeak, 1974-1976

23 These few pages give only a hint of the frequent administra-
tive personnel changes. In addition, in 1974 Philip Wei was
appointed Director of the Library. Mrs. Davis was retitled
Director of Technical Services. Mr. Wei left in 1976. Scott
Nininger left the business office in 1975, and Michael Herndon
was appointed Comptroller (by order of the board of trustees) in
1975. Dolores Lescure, who had been at the college since 1957 and
who had done so much to ensure excellence in college publications,
resigned in 1974 and was followed in the information service office
by Sioux Miles (for less than a year) and then by Janet Ferguson.
Marion Moore resigned from the bookstore in 1976.

2^ Roger D. Palmer was appointed Physical Plant Administra-
tor in July 1971. Mr. Jones, who had held that position since 1965,
had had generally good rapport with those who were responsible
in the plant engineering, buildings, grounds, safety and security
of the expanded campus. Many of the men holding these positions
had been with the college for years; some, like Richard Crone,
were second generation employees and had worked with Mr.
Spillman before 1965. Former faculty, staff, and alumnae will
remember Tommy Campbell, Bruce Frenger and Edward C.
Dietz, as well as Clementine MacDiarmid. The latter had been

402

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

at the college since 1960, first as receptionist and secretary in
several offices, and then, increasingly, in assisting in the furnishing,
interiors and upkeep of the new buildings of the Spencer years.
She had worked with the president and the dean of students'
office, and increasingly, of course, with physical plant. She had
exquisite taste and expertise in interior decorating and antiques
and she and President Spencer had worked well together. She
found his successor hard to deal with, and the changing student
life-styles were equally difficult for her to accept.

Mr. Palmer (a former Air Force Sergeant) and the succession
of security and safety officers under him had military or police
backgi'ound. In the campus milieu of the 1970's, such a back-
ground, as well as their evident disapproval of some students'
social activities, made them unpopular and viewed with suspi-
cion.

"B.C." Carr, whose tenure in the food service area had begun
in 1943, found these years difficult as well. The assistant director
of food services, Kathryn Robertson, had joined her staff in 1965
and both wom^en developed to the fullest the capacities of Hunt
Dining Hall. In the 1970's the family style lunch and dinner were
under student attack; the administration wanted innumerable
"banquets"; the social committee wanted to use the facilities for
formal dances; and the faculty often demanded special treatment
for the innumerable guests who were present for conferences and
seminars. Inflation eroded "B.C.'s" budget and long-time loyal
kitchen staff needed higher wages and summer work, neither of
which she could provide. For "B.C.," it too, was a frustrating era.
^5 Minutes EC: 28 Jan 1970; CC 20 Oct 1970; MBB. March 1976

The initial purchase, in 1970, of the IBM 1130 cost $35,000
and was paid for by a five-year loan. By 1973, $83,000 more was
necessary, $50,000 of which came from the NSF grant secured on
Albie Booth's initiative. Additional funds were expended in 1976.
Of course there were yearly maintenance and upkeep, disc storage
and paper - lots of paper. The early computers were massive
machines and required whole rooms to set them up. Today the
whole operation of the 1970's could be contained in a "lap-top"
machine. The computer personnel did not consider themselves
"well paid," but with their special skills they could command
wages which to Ph.D. faculty seemed excessive. The problem was
compounded by some difficult personalities who were not above
threatening to resign and to leave the system "down" because "no
one but me knows what I have put in and how to retrieve it. " Much

403

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

of this could have been avoided by more careful over sight. There
was simply no one in charge. It should be noted that this problem
was not peculiar to Mary Baldwin College and the Kelly adminis-
tration. It is probably safe to say that most college and university
faculties still view computer centers with suspicion. Nor has the
problem at Mary Baldwin been totally solved even after 15 years.
Whenever there are"tight" budgets, and in the educational world
there always are, how much the computer center gets from limited
resources is always contested.

2^ The phrase about faculty not being chosen on the basis of
"race or creed" applied also to the president, since he/she is always
considered a member of the faculty. It was for this reason that the
trustees approved Dr. Kelly's remaining Episcopalian.

2^ The Mary Baldwin trustees objected strongly to these
proposals. Not only did they feel that, after 133 3^ears, Mary
Baldwin College should not have to "justify" or confirm its church-
related status, but they much resented the concept that the synod
would drop unrestricted financial support of its colleges and base
future support on a visiting team's recommendations. Although
synod contributions were minimal (in 1974, it was $23,000 or .7%
of the total college budget), Dr. Kelly pointed out that the "net
effect of the removal of this synod support would be the equivalent
of the removal of $500,000 from the college's endowment." "Why
should we have to stand in line and ask for what we already have
a demonstrated need to receive?" he asked. The proposal also
threatened the "non sectarian" status of the college and was
eventually modified.

2^ "A Covenant Agreement Between Mary Baldwin College
and the Synod of the Virginias," 2 Oct 1984-College Archives

^^ The merger ended the long association with the YWCA
which had begun in 1894. The YWCA had become the Christian
Association in 1958 and although all students had technically
been considered members, the active supporters probably had not
included more than 50. The Religious Life Committee was in
charge of planning all religious activities on the campus-i.e. the
weekly chapel programs, Special Christmas and Easter obser-
vances, and support to various volunteer community activities. It
had both student and faculty membership, was advised by the
chaplain, and usually involved about 35 members.

30 Minutes: SM 18 Nov 1969; CC 26 Nov 1974

31 Minutes: SM 18 Nov 1969; CC 26 Nov 1974 CC 6 Mar.
1968; 21 Nov 1969; 2 Oct 1970, 8 Oct 1970, 29 April 1971; 20 May

404

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

1971 Minutes BT. 18-19 April 1969

•^^ Dr. Kelly never built the close accord with his trustees that
Dr. Spencer had had. He lacked Dr. Spencer's acquaintance with
the Presbyterian community, and the businessmen he chose were
critical of his seeming lack of financial management skills.

Other members of the board of trustees who helped make
some of the very difficult decisions of those days were Justice
George M. Cochran, W.W. Sproul, R.R. Smith, H. Hiter Harris,
Jr . , Andrew J. Brent, Bertie Deming, Patty Joe Montgomery, Paul
O. Hirschbiel, Marvin B. Perry, Jr., Ann Lambert, Anna Kate
Hipp, Justice Albertis S. Harrison, Jr., Kenneth A. Randall, and
Julia B. Grant. The Rev. John W. Cowan continued the tradition
that the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church be a trustee. The
complete list of trustees for 1969-1976 maybe found in the college
Catalogues.

Although the trustees enjoyed meeting with the students
and were generally impressed with their seriousness and capa-
bilities, the meetings with the faculty were not always so pleasant.
Increasingly, the faculty representatives used these opportuni-
ties to express their dissatisfaction with their compensation and
working conditions. Although courtesy and good manners were
observed, some of the comments were blunt and embarrassing
and came very close to violating the appropriate "chain of com-
mand" from the trustees to the president.

^•^ Increasingly, the ABV became the special responsibility of
the Vice President for Development. Roy K. Patteson, Jr., who
had come to the college in 1972, played a major role in the
recruitment and sustaining of the visitors. He deserves much
credit for guiding it through these early years.

^^ The receptions were usually held at the president's home,
sometimes catered but often served by the college food service
personnel. The dinners were held in Hunt and were reflective of
the gracious traditions of the past.

It should be noted that although the bylaws of the college
charter provided the trustees' expenses incurred in attending
board meetings would be paid by the college, many of the trustees
paid their own expenses - as a contribution to the college. It was
not so much the money that these meetings cost (although that
became increasingly important) but the time and effort required
in offices where there were, at most, two secretaries and often only
one.

^^ The Kellys regularly entertained student classes; they

405

To Live In Time New Dimensiona: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

invited faculty and administration as well as the various boards,
alumnae groups, visiting parents, and individuals from church
and community groups to which they belonged. It was a different
style of community presence than that of the Spencers, and was
perhaps more lavish than the college was used to. Two examples
of many that might be given of what was interpreted as dissem-
bling include the following: On 5 March 1973, Dr. Kelly told the
faculty and students, "The Madrid program is in no danger of
termination." On 4 March 1975, he announced that the program
was being discontinued due to "insufficient applications." Min-
utes: 5 Mar 1973, 4 March 1975. A similar contradiction surfaced
over the parietal issue. In March 1972, in a letter to parents Dr.
Kelly had said, "Parietals are not being approved." By Dec. 1972,
nine months later, he had agreed that weekend visitation "rights"
would be instituted. Almost all the statements about enrollments
and finances made, particularly after 1974, proved to be inaccu-
rate within a very short space of time.

^'^ The statistics in this section are largely taken from the SACS
Self-Studv, September 1975 and from the records of the Finance
Committee of the board. One of the problems in projecting the
future income expectations was the difficulty in arriving at
accurate full time equivalent (FTE) student numbers. It should be
noted that one of the items in the New Dimension Campaign was
for "Current Use Funds," so, when some of these funds were used
to cover deficit budgets, it was with the approval of the New
Dimensions campaign committee and the board.

3^ Self-Studv, 1976; Internal Case Statement (for New Dimen-
sions Campaign), April 1973.

^^ A number of others became coeducational, particularly in
the Northeast. In 1989, the Women's College Coaliton reported
that there had been 300 women's colleges in the United States in
1960; by 1989, there were only 95.

39 John A. Blackburn was a graduate of Western Maryland
College and Indiana University (MS. 1968). He had served as an
officer in the U.S. Army in Germany for 2 1/2 years, was married
and had an attractive family. He and his wife Betty fit easily into
the college and the community and were much respected. In the
late 1980's Mr. Blackburn's daughter Heidi became for a while an
admissions counselor for the college.

40 Self- Studv September 1975

4^ Staff salaries in admissions increased from a total of $38,99 1
in 1969 to $57,710 in 1973; the number of people employed

406

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

doubled (from five to ten). There were comparable increases in
the funds expended for print and non-print material and for on-
campus entertainment for "prospectives." In 1975, the Self Study
evaluation suggested that enrolling ten new students would
justify up to $40,000 in additional expenditures in the recruiting
area (a somewhat suspect assumption), but it was still hard to
spend additional funds at a time of budget deficits.

Actually, the full-time equivalent student numbers for the
Kelly years are as follows:

1969 - 700*

1970 - 656

1971 - 698

1972 - 673

1973 - 635

1974 - 621

1975 - 547

1976 - 568

* The 1969-70 number is probably not an accurate FTE #.
It would not be until 1979 that the enrollment would equal
that of Dr. Spencer's last year.

^" There has been no attempt to estimate the additional ex-
penditures many of these progi'ams required. Two generous
grants from the Mellon Foundation were awarded during these
years. One, in 1972 for $150,000 was for the purpose of increasing
faculty salaries; the second, $75,000 secured by Dean Chambers
in 1974 was to implement and support the new curriculum.

^^ One item among many that might be selected from the
expenditures of these years, as an unanticipated increase, is that
of campus security. At least partly due to changing student life-
styles, as well as more volatile community behavior, the numbers
of campus security men and the expenses for them more than
doubled between 1969-70 and 1975-76.

^^ It was only with great difficulty that the management of the
campus bookstore agreed to cash student personal checks (for less
than $20). In 1974-75 the bookstore received $1160 in bad checks.
CC 5 September 1375.

^^ Enrollment classification included boarding, day, part-time,
those off-campus in Madrid, Paris, and other foreign study pro-
grams. There were also students attending consortium colleges
and thus away from their home campus; others who were complet-
ing graduation requirements in December of their senior year;
those who left for various reasons before the academic year was

407

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

completed, and the adult students who carried only partial loads.
Transfer students were, of course, welcomed and strangely their
number increased during the Kelly years, but they did not repre-
sent income for four years as a regular student did. When there
were years of high attrition (1973-74, 1974-75), this, too, affected
financial projections. Community adults who attended evening
"continuing education" classes increased the head count but
hardly contributed to FTE figures - in fact they often cost the
college money since their modest fees only paid for the stipends of
their teachers.

'^'^ Mr. Palmer's recommendation included: keeping Adminis-
tration and Academic buildings' temperatures at 68 degrees with
a cutback at night; dormitories were to be kept at 65 degrees
during the day but raised to 70 at night; all "outside activities"
were to be held in the library (which would be kept at 68 degrees);
piano practice in the music building be curtailed at night. Storm
windows for the older buildings were to be installed and various
other conservation methods - none of them popular - were sug-
gested. The following year a computer-monitored energy use
system was installed to regulate the erratic and uncertain heat on
campus. Kelly Mss: MBC Archives

^^ The whole situation was really a Hobson's choice. Cut stu-
dent aid and enrollment numbers would drop; keep financial aid
proportionate to tuition and fee expenses and the college went
deeper into debt. "Internal Case Statement," April 1973. Kelly
Mss: MBC Archives

48 Minutes: Staff, 12 January 1976

Tuition and fees were $3100 for boarding students in 1969;
they were $4750 in 1976. Day student fees had been adjusted as
well. The automobile registration fee was raised from $5 to $25
annually and the money was used to pay for paving the Bickle
parking lot. Students were not allowed to park on unmetered city
streets adjacent to the campus, but of course they did, to the upset
of the college neighbors. The "overload fee" provoked this com-
ment from Campus Comments: "The reason the business office
gets away with things like this is because we let them." CC 23
April 1976

49 CC 12 December 1972

Minutes. Faculty 6 March 1972; 6 Nov. 1972; 7 October 1974,
10 April 1975.

Actually, within the usually accepted college administration
"chain of command," only the president, the academic dean and

408

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

the business manager/treasurer should directly communicate
with the full board. The faculty mood in the 1970s, however, did
not trust traditional channels and the board, perhaps unwisely,
temporarily permitted this lapse in procedure.

^" Because of special circumstances, the overseas directors of
both progi^ams had not rotated back to the campus as often as had
been intended. They had lost touch with what was actually
happening at the college. They did not know Dr. Kelly well, and
they did not trust him. Both were upset when the new curriculum
was adopted, feeling that its "open" provisions slighted foreign
languages and had cut the off campus enrollments. The tensions
for both faculty and students that the ending of these programs
caused compounded the administration's problems after 1973.

°^ Jesse Cleveland Pearce had been a distinguished and be-
loved physician in Graniteville, S.C, who had served in both World
Wars. His wife, Margert Eldridge Henderson, a native of Staunton,
attended Mary Baldwin Seminary 1903-1908 and taught math-
ematics at Graniteville High School for 30 years. Her gift was in
the form of a life trust. The lecture/recital auditorium was named
in honor of James D. Francis, President and Chairman of the
Board of Island Creek Coal Company and the husband of Permele
Crawford Elliott, class of 1910. He had been a trustee of the
college from 1935 to 1950, and served as chairman of the board
1940-44. The fourth floor of the building was designated the John
Baker Baffin Department of Chemistry, in tribute to his more
than 37 years of service to Mary Baldwin and his persistence in
helping to fund an appropriate science center for the college.

The Christian College Challenge Fund was the last major
campaign undertaken by the Synod of Virginia in support of its
colleges. Work on the proposal had begun in 1967. There were the
usual difficulties in deciding how the funds would be divided
between Mary Baldwin and Hampden-Sydney. In addition, many
donations took the form of "life trusts," or bequests, the proceeds
from which could not be immediately realized. The goal had been
$2 million, half to go to each college. By 1974 when the campaign
was declared at an end, total receipts were $1, 164,160, from which
campaign expenses, carrying costs, unmet pledges, had to be
deducted. By 1974, Mary Baldwin had received $492,681, of
which only about half was immediately spendable. Since expecta-
tions had been for much more, this imposed considerable strain on
both the operations and the capital funds budgets and com-
pounded Dr. Kelly's financial difficulties.

409

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

"Summary of Distribution, Christian College Challenge
Fund, 22 April 1991" College Archives; Auditors reports, 1969-
1974. Lybrand, Ross Bros & Montgomery. College Archives;
Program, Dedication of the Pearce Science Center 3 Octber 1970
College Archives.

°2 When the business office moved, so did the registrar, down
to the first floor of Administration, near the computers. The deans
had been moved to the third floor and admissions was now on the
second floor, sharing space with the presidents' office. It is inter-
esting to note that when the alumnae office returned to the corner
of New and Frederick, it went back to the site of the beloved
alumnae "club" of the 1930s. There is also a note in the staff
meeting minutes that henceforth (1970) the college would be
using "standard factory paint colors"; that paint would no longer
be "custom mixed" - which might explain why some of the build-
ings, notably Wenger, did not exactly match. (Minutes staff; 7 Dec.
1970). In 1968, Campus Comments provided an explanation as to
why MBC's buildings are painted yellow: "Thats' the color passion's
ardor is when it glows!" (This, of course, refers to a line in the old
Alma Mater, "Thou Wast Born of Dreams," which to the students
of the 1970s appeared sentimental and embarrassing). CC 26
September 1968.

In addition, Fannie Strauss's home on New Street, which
had been willed to the college, was sold in 1976 for $28,000, and
the remaining "farm acreage" near King's Daughters' Hospital
was sold for the construction of a "regional post office" and a social
security building. The latter transaction was viewed with consid-
erable dismay by some of the home owners in the neighborhood,
who did not want a post office built near their homes. It was ironic,
that coincident with the public annoucement of the sale, a letter
from the college had gone to many of these same property owners-
-who had been good friends of the college-asking for gifts and
financial support. College Archives.

Other necessary campus maintenance expenses duringthese
years included new wiring and electrical point systems, an intra-
campus telephone system, new emergency alarms, and fire lock
alarms, door systems, and expensive automated office equipment,
in addition to the computer expenses.

^^ When the expansion of Wenger was first being considered
(1972), Dr. Kelly was struggling to deal with the "parietals" issue
and persuaded himself that an expanded student center would
provide the necessary facilities for student entertainment of

410

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

young men. He was, of course, bitterly disappointed. The
students wanted "private," not "public," space.

Major gifts toward Wenger construction came from the
Murphy Oil Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation,
and a variety of corporations. Patty Joe Montgomery donated
funds toward the Mary E. Lakenan Terrace (outside the club area)
and the SGA area was designated the "Anne Elizabeth Parker
Suite."

The modification necessary to reduce the costs included
eliminating an elevator and air conditioning and not strengthen-
ing the foundation sufficiantly so that a fourth floor might, in the
future, be added to the original building. Generous as the many
gifts were, they were not sufficient to pay for the building, and the
costs were folded into the New Dimensions Campaign. MBB 7 Dec
1972; 1 May 1976

^^ Endless faculty, library, and physical plant committees,
tried in vain to solve the space allocation on the first floor of the
library. Here, too, personalities were involved, as the relatively
new Director of the Library grappled with volatile and verbal Art
faculty and the determined Education professors. The problems
were not finally solved for many years and then only after Art,
Education, and Languages had moved out, leaving expanded
Audio-Visual and Communications departments the temporary
victors. Eventually (and before too much longer), the library itself
will need that space.

°^ Roy K. Patteson, Jr., joined the college in October 1972 as
Director of Development. He held degrees from the University of
Richmond, University Theological Seminary (M. Div), Duke (Th.M
and Ph.D.) and had had four years of Presb3d:erian pastorate
ministry. He had taught at Peace College in N.C., served as
academic dean of Davidson Community College in Lexington,
N.C., and as president of Southern Seminary Junior College in
Buena Vista, Va. His younger son, David, became a day student
at Mary Baldwin. In Nov. 1974, he was named Vice President of
Development. He was largely responsible for organizing the
Parents' Council, the ABV, and for working with the New Dimen-
sions Campaign. He resigned on 25 August 1977 to become the
president of King College in Bristol, Va. CC 2 Nov 1972; 15 Nov.
1974

•5^ The New Dimensions Campaign hoped to obtain endowment
funds for the following objectives:

411

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

Academic Chairs and Faculty Development- $3, 125,000
Development and Enrichment of Academic

Programs- $625,000

Support for the Library- $750,000

Scholarships and Student Aid- $1,000,000

General Purpose- $1,000,000

Renovating and Expanding Wenger Hall- $600,000

Current Use- $500,000

The $1 million gift was from the Doming, Murphy, Keller,
Tattersall and Nolan families of Louisiana and Arkansas.

Dr. Kelly's resignation as president of MBC had been offi-
cially announced in Nov. 1975; he was on leave until June 1976.
It came just as the New Dimensions campaign was preparing for
major fund-raising activities in 38 major cities and obviously had
immediate impact on current plans. There were two conse-
quences to this unfortunate timing of events. Essentially, the
New Dimensions Campaign used 1975-76 to regroup and to
strengthen the major gifts division. As soon as a new president
was named, active solicitation would recommence. The second
result was, as will be seen, an alarming increase in the operating
budget deficit. Not only were the receipts of the New Dimensions
Campaign expected to carry the expenses of the campaign staff,
but they now, of necessity, had to be used on other, more immedi-
ate purposes (with the consent of the donor). The end result was
the long term impact of the New Dimensions Campaign in in-
creasing the endowment was much less than it might otherwise
have been.

Eventually the "New Dimensions" campaign closed in 1980,
with the announcement that a total of $10,004,448 had been
raised. How this was done and how the money was used is part
of the story of the Lester administration. George MCune, "History
of Fund Raising Campaigns" MBC Archives Mss Internal Case
Statement - MBC Archives MBB Dec 1975
"Catalogue; 1968-69; 1971-72, 1991-92

The eight college consortium was composed of Davidson,
Hampden-Sydney, Hollins, Mary Baldwin, Randolph-Macon,
Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Sweet Briar, and Washington
& Lee University. Today, it is a seven college consortium, Davidson
having withdrawn from the program. Students from other col-
leges have come to Mary Baldwin for work in Special Education,
in English, in Business and Communications. Mary Baldwin

412

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

students had opportunities for work in Physics, Sociology and
other areas. Differences in school calendars, curriculum organi-
zations and gi^ading systems have limited the opportunities this
program provides, but they are not insurmountable and the fact
that it has endured for more than 20 years attests to its value.

•58 CC 15 May 1969
Minutes Faculty 8 Feb 1971; 4 Feb 1974
Student resistance to these and similar courses stem from
the conventional "wisdom" that they will not "transfer" (if one
should elect to go to another college later on) or that they won't
look "good" on the transcript if one applies for graduate school.

°^ Minutes BT 13 April 1973. The off-campus courses contin-
ued and many are still taught.

^^^ Dr. Charles J. Stanley of the History faculty undertook all
of the work involved in applying for a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
He likewise made all the arrangements for the visiting committee
and for the installation ceremony.

On 17 May 1970, at alumnae homecoming and in the midst
of the Kent State crisis, the Mary Baldwin Honor Society held its
final meeting. A total of 278 Mary Baldwin students had become
members of this society since its inception in 1932. They repre-
sented no more than 107c of each gi'aduating class, except when,
in 1942, Dr. Jarman had requested that all graduates of the
University Course of the Seminary be elected. Mss: College
Archives

^^ The Tate school had to move because the construction of the
Pearce Science Building had necessitated the removal of the
house it was using next to Bailey. The school continued, without
Miss Weill, who resigned in 1969 in part because she felt that the
new facilities did not meet her high professional standards. The
demonstration school finally closed in 1983 after the public school
program mandated kindergarten and some preschool progi^ams,
allowing Mary Baldwin College students to meet their Education
requirements elsewhere.

^'^ A continuing problem, as it is in most colleges and univer-
sities, is the proper relationship of the professional librarians to
the faculty. Do they have faculty rank? Who has it? May they vote
at faculty meetings? The latter was a sensitive issue, as the close
vote on the new curriculum was considered, by opponents, to have
been "swung" by non-faculty votes. Self-Study Sept. 1975

^'^ Dr. Kelly persuaded Sallie Barre, alumna '68 to return to the
campus to plan and publish the conference. She had previously

413

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkms Kelly (1969-1976)

edited Campus Comments and had worked in the Information
Service. The corporations who funded the program were Ameri-
can Can, AT&T, GE and International Paper, Inc. Among the
speakers were Congresswoman Margaret M. Heckler, Elizabeth
Duncan Koontz, Director of the Woman's Bureau of the Depart-
ment of Labor, and Dr. Luther Holcomb, Vice Chairman of the
EEOC. The conference was reported in the state and some of the
national press and led to the college seriously considering changes
in the curriculum which would provide understanding and skills
leading to business careers.

One conclusion about this and subsequent conferences is
that its length and complexity reflects Dr. Kelly's experiences at
a large state campus. Conferences previously held at the college
had been organized by faculty or faculty-student groups, had
rarely been subsidized and had been much less elaborate. It was
difficult for Dr. Kelly to appreciate how much time and effort such
conferences involved when there were no support systems to do
the work. Miss Carr found the entertainment that accompanied
them burdensome.

^^ The relationship between the two counseling centers and
between them and the consulting psychiatrist was never satis-
factorily worked out. Dr. Ashton Trice acted as a liaison between
the college and the Counseling Center, and, of course, the Psychol-
ogy Department had worked closely with Dr. Pennell since the
early 1950s. In 1975, since Riddle was no longer needed as a
dormitory. Dr. Pennell's group moved back there. They would now
be physically closer to the college Career Center, which was in the
Alumnae House building - but there were still some complicated
relationships to work out. Kelly MSS; College Archives

65 Minutes BT 22 Feb. 1971; CC 19 Sept. 1972;
Dr. Frank Pancake became the Director of Continuing Edu-
cation during these early years.

^^ Kelly Mss: College Archives

6^ Ben Smith was professor of English. His responsibilities for
the Governor's School involved living arrangements, hiring fac-
ulty and counselors, planning extra-curricular activities and
weekend recreation. He was, in effect, the dean of the summer
school. The Governor's School for the Gifted remained on the
Mary Baldwin campus until 1983. As the years went on, there
was increasing criticism of using a private college's facilities when
there were many state institutions anxious to have the program.
Since the Governor's School was funded by tax dollars, there was

414

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

some validity in the complaint. Thereafter, all the Governor's
Schools have been held at public facilities. The program, at this
date, is still in existence. It should be noted that Dr. Smith and
other Mary Baldwin faculty associated with the program were
scrupulously careful not to use the Governor's school as a recruit-
ing device for the college, feeling that it was not morally right to
do so. The few students who later matriculated at the college did
so as a result of their own observations and decisions.

68 On 7 December 1973, Elizabeth Tidball, Professor of Physi-
ology at George Washington University Medical Center, returned
to direct the all-day workshop on "Teaching: Two Sides to the
Coin," She was a persuasive and convincing speaker and some
faculty felt more comfortable with what they were proposing to do
after working with her. "Women's colleges," Dr. Tidball insisted,
"produce women achievers." CC 25 Jan. 1973; MBB Dec. 1973.

The January short term was changed to a May short term
in 1978.

The grading system envisioned the traditional A, B, C (but
noD),NC (no credit) and ET (extended time). The NC was to
avoid labeling an unsatisfactory effort a "failure." The ET was
designed to allow a student who had not reached "competency" to
negotiate a contract with her professor to continue to work after
the course was concluded so that she might reach a competency
level. No feature of the new program was more bitterly resented
by the students than this. They perceived it as being inherently
unfair. They also resented the omission of the "D" grade which
allowed credit hours but not quality points. Within two years the
ET was abandoned and the "D" restored.

The final vote was 32 for the new proposal, 28 against. Six
faculty members were absent and they were not allowed to cast
absentee ballots. It is easy to see why some felt the vote should be
contested. There was some student protest as well, not only about
content, but over the fact that they were not consulted before the
vote was taken. "We should share in this important decision," CC
declared (15 Nov. 1973). When the MBB Dec. 1973 printed an
enthusiastic presentation of the new proposal, CC said that the
alumnae were not being told the whole truth. "Students did not
back this wholeheartedly." The "obvious factions" were not
reported. They were told, the students said, that one "shouldn't
hang out dirty wash for the neighbors to see," but CC responded
that it was not a matter of PR but of "misrepresentation of factu-
al information." CC 28 Feb 1974. As late as 2 Dec. 1975 a faculty

415

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly 11969-1976)

member found it necessary to tell his colleagues that some of their
number were "downgrading" the new curriculum to students and
advising them to transfer. He asked that a statement on the ethics
of advising be included in the Faculty Handbook. Minutes Fac. 2
Dec. 1975.

It is very hard to reinvent the wheel, and curriculum
committees who valiantly try to change totally the way under-
graduate colleges organize their academic life have great prob-
lems. All of the faculty and most of the students know no other
pattern than the familiar semester hours, quality points and
traditional disciplines. They are uncomfortable in different situ-
ations and no matter how the labels change, they tend to persist
in the same old frames of reference. If only one or two colleges
change, the other institutions throw roadblocks up about trans-
ferability and credits. Parents question and are concerned;
foundations mutter about "watering down academic standards";
graduate and professional schools are skeptical. With two radical
curriculum changes in six years' time and with her known finan-
cial fragility, Mary Baldwin College put itself at serious risk of
losing academic respectability. As Dean Mulberry remarked,
after returning from a University Center meeting, "They all think
we have thrown all requirements out the window." Elaborate
explanations in catalogues did little to ease these perceptions. It
is a measure of the uncertainty and the tension on the campus
that, when the Self Studv was announced, rumors among the
students reported that Mary Baldwin was in danger of losing its
accreditation. No student present in 1974 knew about SACS
regulations, and only immediate explanations from the adminis-
tration prevented a student panic. It was a very difficult time for
all concerned. CC 19 Feb. 1974

69 Self Studv. 1975

™ MBB, May 1969

"^ The eight faculty members who stayed until retirement or
until 1992 and beyond were Lois Blackburn Bryan, Frank Pan-
cake, Elizabeth Mauger Hairfield, Virginia Royster Francisco,
David Cary, Dudley Buck Luck, William W. Little and George
McCune. Those who retired between 1968-1976 included Marshall
Brice, Mildred Taylor, Mary Humphreys, Julia Weill, Lee Bridges,
Thomas Grafton, Ruth McNeil, Lillian Rudeseal, Carl Broman
and Vega Lytton. By 1975-76, only six members of the faculty had
been appointed by anyone other than Dr. Spencer or Dr. Kelly.
They were Fletcher Collins, Gertrude Davis, James McAllister,

416

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly 11969-1976)

Patricia Menk, Gordon Page and O. Ashton Trice, Jr. Although
the point is made in the text that faculty mobility was low, 16 Kelly
appointees left before he did. In some cases their contracts, for
various reasons, were not renewed; but more frequently, it was a
matter of seeking employment elsewhere, often completely out-
side the teaching profession. Faculty instability during the Kelly
era rivaled administrative instability and reflected the malaise of
these unhappy years. It should be recorded, however, that many
of the Kelly appointees were superb teachers, skilled researchers
and humane individuals. Some alumnae will remember with
affection and respect Jane O. Sawyer, Karl Seitz, Kurt Kehr, John
Campbell, Charlotte Hogsett, Dawn Fisher, Linda Geoghegan,
Frank Wilber, John Wagner, Norma Corbin, Sigi'id Novack,
Elizabeth Hammer, James Hainer, Lynne Baker, Elizabeth
Conant, Ruth Solie, Kenneth Dillon, Michael Campbell, J. R. Rea,
Bonnie Gordon, Judy Kennedy, Jean Mather, and John Knudson.
In addition, several other appointees of the "interim year," 1968-
1969, played major roles during the Kelly years. They included
Maiy Echols, Carl Edwards, Joanne Ferriot, Frank Southerington,
Ellen Vopicka and Robert Weiss. Some stayed until retirement,
others were here for only a few years. Under other circumstances,
they might have stayed longer and added immeasurably to the
academic excellence of the college faculty. This list is, of course,
not complete. See Catalogues 1968-1976 for the names of all of
those who served on the faculty and administration in the Kelly
years.

^2 CC 9 Oct. 1969. The seven were John Mehner, Ben Smith,
Jim McAllister, Robert Weiss, Carl Edwards, Duane Myers and
John Stanley. Beards have continued to come and go. There are
several on the campus at this writing.

'^ The work load breakdown included: lecture preparation
time, academic advising, tutorial work, student conferences, labo-
ratory preparation time, committee work, instruction contact
hours (9-12), preparing and grading tests, papers and examina-
tions, organizing academically related events and staff work with
colleagues. Self Study 1975

'^ After the reorganization in 1974, the faculty committees
included: admissions, curriculum, educational policv, extra-cur-
ricular education, library advisory board, faculty status, promo-
tion and tenure, priorities, budget, honor scholars and physical
plant. (Those underlined were very active committees). In ad-
dition, faculty sat on trustee committees, and served/advised the

417

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

student senate, the board of appeals, the honor council, the cold
check committee, bookstore, infirmary, food, religious life, fine
arts and freshman orientation committees.

This problem has continued to plague college administra-
tions at Mary Baldwin and elsewhere. CC 11 Feb. 1974; 8 Octo-
ber 1974

'•^ It is interesting to note that once the faculty committees
working on the Self Study analyzed the needs of the administra-
tive offices, they reluctantly agreed more staffing was necessary.
They still criticized the appearance that the administration con-
sidered itself more important than the faculty or the academic
program. Self Study 1975.

^6 Minutes. Fac 5 March 1973.

'' Self Study. 1975.

'^^ Subsequent honorary members of the Alumnae Association
include Marjorie B. Chambers and Patricia Menk. MBB 7 Dec.
1971.

CC 15 May 1970; 29 October 1970; 14 Jan.1971, 15 October
1971, 24 April 1972, 9 Noy. 1972; 30 Noy. 1973.
Minutes Staff, 21 Feb. 1972.
MBB 7 Dec. 1971; July 1973; Sept. 1977.

^9 Student Handbook. 1968-76; particularly 1976 pg 12. Stu-
dents objected to "signing out" because they considered where and
when they went and with whom their own affair. A system was
deyised whereby a student would leave such information in a
sealed envelope, to be opened by the house president in case an
emergency required locating the young woman.

80 "Parietal" - "of or relating to life within college walls..."
Webster's Dictionery. The "date house" was a building where
young men could spend the night for $2.00. There were 8-10 cots
and sometimes sleeping bags were used. No woman was allowed
to enter.

It will be remembered that Elizabeth Parker retired in
June, 1972. Brooke Woods, who succeeded her as Director of
Student Life, was much more in sympathy with student demands
than Elizabeth Parker had been. Bill Kelly's reversal of his 9
March 1972 letter in the fall of 1973 led opponents of parietals to
feel betrayed, but it is hard to see how some kind of visitation
policy could have been delayed longer. So much hinged on student
enrollment that anything that threatened retention and admis-
sions had to be seriously considered. The question remains as to
the wisdom of this particular piecemeal solution. Kelly Mss;

418

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

College Archives: Handbook. 1973-74; 1976-77;CC 17 April, 1972;
12 Dec. 1972.

^^ An intermittant "state of war" existed between the college
students and Sycamore Street's private residents for several
years. Residents threatened law suits, police patrols were in-
creased, the SGA wrote apologies, Craven Williams appealed for
good taste and community responsibility. Nothing seemed to
help. The combination of loud music, beer, illicit "coolers," too
many bodies in too small a space, simply was untenable. In
desperation, the college sought off-campus facilities for major
social events (which it could ill afford) and restricted the numbers
allowed in the Chute at any one time (a restriction which was
deeply resented). It was not until the 1976 purchase of Staunton
Military Academy that the social activities of the students could
be held without a major assault on the neighbors' sensibilities.
Parietals were reinstated the following September with stringent
judiciary penalties and more security guards. CC 30 April, 1974.

82 CC 11 Oct. 1973; 10 April, 1974; 30 April, 1974; 18 Feb. 1976.
There were also "panty raids" from the gentlemen of VMI and W.
& L . The women's efforts to retaliate led to severe complications
in the next administration.

83 MBB 3 May 1972; May, 1975. The fund-raising effort
involved a "wet tee shirt" contest and a 24-hour dance marathon,
and it did revive the student feelings of unity and community
spirit which had characterized the previous student campaigns to
help the library and science center's building programs. A total of
$7,704 was raised by the student projects for muscular dystrophy
research. CC: 10 March 1976.

8^ Minutes: BT 7 Nov. 1975.

85 CC: 8 Oct. 1974; 29 Sept, 1975; 2 Feb 1976 Minutes: Staff,
2 Feb. 1976; 5 March 1976.

8^ Linda Geoghegan , Assistant Dean of Students, coached the
basketball team; Lois Blackburn, tennis. Among the outstanding
tennis players of these years were Crissy Gonzalez and Heidi
Goeltz. MBB, March, 1976; CC 23 April 1970; 30 April 1970; 27
Sept. 1973; 10 ApA\ 1974; 28 April 1976

8^ All of these publications experimented with fluorescent
colors, two-volume editions and dramatic changes in format. The
tone of Campus Comments has already been commented on, but
it became one of the last remaining methods of communication
with the entire college community at any one time. Student
attendance at SGA convocations was always sparse. When Dr.

419

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

Youth resigned as an advisor of Campus Comments his bitterness
was apparent. "It is time," he wrote, "for someone with a more
viable future at this college than myself to undertake this long
term responsibility." CC22 Jan. 1976. Mrs. Lescure remained as
the advisor until May 1978.

The 1970 Bluestocking was printed totally in black and
white in two paper covered volumes held together in a slip cover.
That experiment was not repeated, but subsequent issues were
occasionally not completed until the summer following gradua-
tion. They then had to be mailed, at considerable expense. In
1975, the Bluestocking was not ready until October of the follow-
ing year.

As the student publications struggled, the college Catalogue
became brighter, fuller, replete with pictures and extended course
descriptions required by the new curriculum. Since it was now a
contract ("we will make it possible for you to receive a B.A, degree
under the following conditions"), the work involved in putting it
together was protracted and expensive. At the same time, the long
lists of student names and addresses vanished, due to the newly
defined rights of privacy. The Catalogue, too, experimented with
a two volume format (1974-75), but that also was not repeated.
See the issues of these publications, 1969-1976.

^^ Honorary degrees have been awarded to the following:

1976 - Bertie Deming

1982 - Rosemarie Sena

1989 - Martha S. Grafton

Margaret Hunt Hill
Caroline Hunt

1990 - Andrew J. Brent

Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell
Margaret McNeese

1991 - Francis J. Collins

Caroline Murphy Keller

1992 - Elizabeth K. Doenges

Anna Kate Hipp
Samuel Reid Spencer, Jr.
Minutes: Staff, 29 March 1976; Kelly Mss ; College Archives;
Minutes; Fac. above dates.

^^ Because of the disruption and bad manners of a few students
and their guests, the fall session of 1975-76 started off unpleas-
antly. Fifteen young men were arrested for destroying property,
driving recklessly, being drunk or urinating in public, and the

420

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

residents of Sycamore Street were justifiably outraged. The Cam-
pus Comments editorial suggested some remedies for the situa-
tion including the warning that the police intended to "get tough"
in 1975-76, but almost everyone was surprised and shocked when
President Kelly's convocation was called about a different matter
entirely. CC 29 Sept. 1975

90 Self-Study 1975

91 Minutes BT; 18 April 1975

92 Dr. Kelly enumerated his contributions to the college as the
following:

1. Completion of the Pearce Science Center
and Wenger Hall.

2. Installation, Lambda Chapter, Phi Beta Kappa and
the establishment of the Laurel Chapter of ODK.

3. Establishment of the Advisory Board of Visitors.

4. Major curriculum revision.

5. Career awareness for women-reaffirmation as a
woman's college.

6. Evening classes for adults.

7. Organization of the Library Associates.

8. The Governor's School for the Gifted at Mary Baldwin

9. Major conferences on Women in Industry, 1970 and
Ellen Glasgow Centennial, 1973.

10. New Dimensions Campaign begun. $3.2 miUion
pledged toward $7.6 million goal.

11. Over $1 million in major foundation awards, includ-
ing the Mellon Foundation Awards and $300,000
from the William R. Kenan, Jr., Charitable Trust.

12. Successful completion of the SACS Self Studv.

13. The estabhshment of the eight College Consortium,
the MBC-Davidson College joint program in Oxford.

14. Reorganization of the SGA.

15. Membership in the Southern University Confer-
ence.

16. Reorganization of the administrative staff- con-
cept of "shared responsibility."

17. Cultivated alumnae and parents - over 70 meetings.

18. Revision of MBC charter and bylaws.

19. Prom.oted the TAG progi^am.

20. Member of the Governor's Commission on the
Status of Women.

In addition, Dr. Kelly noted that he and Mrs. Kelly had been

421

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

active community members: they were members of Trinity Church,
he was a director of WVPT and of a bank; the incoming president
of the Chamber of Commerce, and a trustee of the Woodrow
Wilson Birthplace Foundation. Mrs. Kelly was a member of the
King's Daughters' Board of Corporators.

Dr. Kelly announced in January, 1976, that he would be-
come the president of Transylvania College, Lexington, Ken-
tucky, in the summer of that year.

Minutes: EX: 1 Oct. 1975; Minutes. BT 7-8 Nov. 1975;
MBB, Dec. 1975 Article reprinted from Staunton News Leader bv
Chester Goolrich, "Years of Vision-Times of Change" CC 22 Jan.
1976

93 Reported in Minutes: Staff, 7 Nov. 1975; CC 29 Sept 1975:
MBB Dec. 1975

9^ Minutes Ex. 1 Oct. 1975; 15 Dec. 1975; 19 Feb. 1976. Local
trustees were especially helpful and were frequently at the college
during this transition year. In particular, W. W. Sproul and
Justice George Cochran were of immeasurable assistance to the
acting president. It should also be noted that the senior adminis-
trative staff were as cooperative and supportive as possible. They,
of course, had major personal concerns about their own, as well as
the college's future, but they worked loyally and very hard to keep
the college viable. They included Dorothy Mulberry, Ethel Smeak,
Roy Patteson, Jack Blackburn, Albie Booth, and Freeman Jones.
Virginia Munce (Alumnae), "B.C." Carr (Food Service), Michael
Herndon (Comptroller), Janet Ferguson (Information Services),
Carl Edwards (Chaplain), Frank Pancake (Career Planning/
Placement) — all were supportive. Jane Wilhelm (Administrative
Assistant to the President), Carolyn Meeks (Executive Secretary
to the Dean), Sara Talbott (Faculty Secretary) provided the
support services without which the daily operations of the college
and the various "search" committees could not have functioned.

95 Minutes: BT 23-24 April, 1976

96 Minutes: Fac. 29 March, 1976; MBB Sept., 1976 The idea
of inviting presidential nominees to the campus and identifying
them as such was a decided break with former practices. It was
still another example of the democratic and open procedures for
decision-making which this decade demanded. It was both costly
and time-consuming. The expenses of these search committees
including as they did long distance telephone bills, air fares and
entertainment, in adddition to the paperwork involved, meant
that search committee budgets might be in the thousands of

422

To Live In Time New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

dollars. Faculty, students and support staffs assumed these
duties on top of their regular commitments, and their willingness
to undertake such problematical responsibilities is a measure of
their support for their college.

423

To Live In Time

New Dimensions: William Watkins Kelly (1969-1976)

jr *

Virginia Laudano Lester

SEVEN

The Turnaround College

Virginia L. Lester

1976-1985

n many ways Virginia Lester was an
unorthodox choice as a chief executive for Mary Baldwin College.
Although she was the first woman to be elected president, the fact
that she was a woman was not in itself seen as particularly
unusual. The seminary had been directed by a strong woman,
Mary Julia Baldwin, for most of its nineteenth-century history
and had continued to be effectively led by subsequent female
"principals" until the 1930s. After that, as has been seen, Martha
Grafton had served as dean and on several occasions as acting
president, until her retirement in 1970. Thus the college commu-
nity was accustomed to female leadership and was quite prepared
to welcome a "lady president." But, in other ways, Virginia Lester
was very different from any of the college's previous leaders.

She was a pleasant-looking woman, slight and trim, with an
abundance of energy and a restless ambition. She was 45 years
old, a native of Philadelphia, a Quaker, the divorced mother of two
teenaged daughters. She was a graduate of Pennsylvania State
and Temple and had taught elementary school in Philadelphia
until marriage and children persuaded her to remain at home. By
the mid-1960s, tiring of volunteer projects, she decided that she
wanted to be "paid for my time," and for five years she worked in
the administration of Skidmore College as the Director of Educa-
tional Research and as Assistant to the President. At the same
time, she was completing her Ph.D. requirements by means of an

425

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

innovative and unusual program at Union Graduate School, the
Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities, in Yellow
Springs, Ohio. In 1973, she joined the administration of Empire
State College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as an associate dean. In
addition, she had been a visiting faculty fellow at Harvard Gradu-
ate School of Education. In May 1976, she had been named acting
dean of the State-Wide Division of Empire State College. The next
month, June 1976, she accepted the invitation to become Mary
Baldwin College's president. She thus had had ten years' experi-
ence in college administration, personnel and program develop-
ment, finances and budget control, and to the concerned Mary
Baldwin trustees her strengths appeared to provide what they
sought.

Her inauguration, 23 April 1977, coincided with a fine arts
festival and an alumnae homecoming and was, as she described it,
"a very personal family affair." Although there was the usual
academic procession attended by six presidents and other del-
egates from Virginia and Presbyterian-related colleges and the
usual "charge" delivered by Andrew J. Brent, the chairman of the
Mary Baldwin College Board of Trustees, there was no principal
speaker. Rather, Dr. Lester invited four of her "mentors" to
attend the ceremonies, each to speak briefly about his experiences
with her. To those who listened closely, there were clear signals of
the kind of college president Virginia Lester would be: "She will
meet the challenges and opportunities... because she has been
purposeful in the search to fulfill her own role..."; "...to enable
Mary Baldwin to play... a role in the future... through the creative
redefining of institutional mandate and mission will require
tireless and innovative leadership..."; "...an individual with ...the
intelligence, the curiosity, the motivation..." to carry out the
college's mission. One speaker quoted a poem which said in part,
"There deep in the marble is the lion...
There deep in the flesh and bones is the spirit..."
and another warned, "...President Lester will make it her per-
sonal mission to encourage the lion lurking within Mary Baldwin
to emerge."^ In her own address. Dr. Lester made plain her goal
orientation and her desire to expand the opportunities for women
to make significant choices for their own lives. "College must be
understood as a special time and place, equipped and staffed to
encourage and help (women) to better engage in life. The college
experience is a time to question, seek and discover; a time to test,
to risk, to experience... Today, I, as a woman, dedicate this period

426

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

of my life to helping women at Mary Baldwin College explore their
own potential and risk all they are capable of being. The promise
is that the pain will be as acute as the joy... "^

The "pain" had already been experienced by the April 1977
inauguration, and the Lester "honeymoon" with the college fac-
ulty and administration had been brief. Part of the problem was
that expectations had been so high. It was so simple to suggest
that "once we have a new, competent president everything will
be all right" that many permitted themselves to believe it was so.
But thoughtful board and faculty members knew there were
serious problems that could not be quickly solved.

After early November 1975, when Dr. Kelly had essentially
removed himself from the campus, the acting president had
concentrated on providing as normal as possible a school year.
Although the operating budget was seriously deficit, she per-
suaded the trustees, in the interest of morale, to authorize a 7%
increase in salaries and wages for 1976-77. That spring, enroll-
ment applications increased slightly and the completion of Wenger
Hall seemed to signal that the college was not closing. In her last
report to the trustees, the acting president listed some priorities
for the future as she saw it, although she acknowledged that how
they might be achieved was not at all clear. The operating budget
should be balanced, she v/rote, and the debt accumulated since
1970 should be retired. The use of the campus during the summer
should be expanded and should be revenue-producing. The
Covenant Agreement with the synod should be concluded. New
sophisticated energy management systems and office accounting
equipment was needed and the entire operations of the business
office needed to be further reviewed and strengthened. Perhaps
the most unorthodox recommendation, in view of the college
financial crisis, was that the college should purchase the holdings
of Staunton Military Academy, which was rumored to be heading
for bankruptcy court.

The property which was adjacent to Mary Baldwin College
consisted of almost 35.5 acres, 14 buildings in various stages of
neglect and disrepair, playing fields and other sports facilities.
With the wave of anti-military feelings of the 1970s, military
academies all over the country had faced declining enrollments
and public hostility. Many had closed their doors forever. Origi-
nally located in Charles Town, West Virginia, William H. Kable
had moved his academy to Staunton in 1884 and two years later
added a military component to his curriculum and changed the

427

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester < 1976-1985)

school's name to Staunton Military Academy. The school had
flourished and had been one of the most respected private military
academies in the country. Over the years, the relationship be-
tween the academy and the seminary had remained close. They
sometimes shared faculty, particularly during World War I, when
Col. Kable instructed seminary students in wartime drills and
emergency procedures. As social regulations modified, the cadets
were entertained at teas and soirees at the seminary, and in the
1930s academy football games were attended by Mary Baldwin
students. Thomas H. Russell, for many years the headmaster and
then the superintendent (1920-39), had been a Mary Baldwin
trustee, and after his death his widow, Margarett Kable Russell,
became the first woman - an alumna - to be elected to the college's
board of trustees. In 1973, SMA had been sold to Layne E. Leof-
fler who struggled to keep it open. By 1975, it was obvious that he
had failed. However, the SMA alumni were extremely active and
loyal. All kinds of plans were proposed to "save" the school, but
none materialized and early in the spring of 1976, it was general
knowledge that a forced sale would soon take place.

If Mary Baldwin College could acquire the property, it would
solve many immediate physical needs, such as a place for student
social events which would not impose on the college's neighbors;
hockey and soccer fields; more tennis courts; space for adminis-
trative offices; and an additional dormitory. The needs of the Fine
Arts, now located in various areas around the campus, could be
met. The unduly elegant president's home on Edgewood Road
could be sold and the college chief executive could return to live in
the former superintendent's house on the expanded college cam-
pus. Most of all, the purchase would put an end to the rumors that
the college was closing; it would demonstrate the determination
of the college leadership to grow and prosper.^

Dr. Lester, once she had been officially designated as the
seventh president of the college, was of course apprised of the SMA
developments as well as the details of the college's financial
predicaments, and she concurred on 4 June 1976 that the oppor-
tunity for purchase should be explored further. This was not a
decision that could be debated endlessly, since the bankruptcy
court planned final hearings by December 1976. It was known
that there were two or three other prospective purchasers, and
during the early summer the trustees asked Roy Patteson and
trustee W.W. Sproul to explore funding possibilities among alum-
nae and friends of the college. Trustees and architects evaluated

428

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

the condition and usefulness of the buildings; that fall, the faculty
were consulted and gave reluctant assent; and on 4 November
1976, Mary Baldwin purchased the SMA property for $1,120,000.
Immediately thereafter, the college sold 8.38 acres of its purchase
to the Staunton YMCA, which was seeking a building site for its
expanded operations.^

Among the college constituencies, the agreement had been
that the SMA purchase would be funded separately from the
ongoing New Dimensions campaign and that none of the neces-
sary funds would be borrowed. An additional $500,000 would be
needed to ensure maintenance, remodeling and security for at
least three years, after which the costs of the "North Campus"
would be "folded into" the regular college budget. The whole
purchase was paid for by gifts from alumnae, friends, trustees and
parents. The students undertook to raise $5000 to help pay for the
renovation of the Mess Hall into an area suitable for dances and
other social activities, and consultants were brought in to recom-
mend which buildings should be demolished and which should be
remodeled for college use. A "single campus" concept was em-
braced. President Lester's inaugural ball was held in April 1977
in the new student social center (the Mess Hall) and she moved
into the former superintendent's home in the early summer of
1977.'^

Everyone acknowledged that the integration of the campuses
would be a long process and should follow carefully thought out
plans. The faithful firm of Clark, Nexsen & Owen had already
been consulted before the SMA purchase was made and they con-
tinued to suggest possible scenarios for future development. Ad-
ditional suggestions were made for "adaptive reuse" by a Ford
Foundation consultant and others.^ Many ideas were presented
to various trustee committees, at which there were sometimes
student representatives. One such student then discussed some
of these proposals with a Campus Comments reporter, who
promptly wrote a story about them. This immediately earned a
rebuke from the college president who declared the story "prema-
ture." Some of these proposals, such as removing most of the SMA
buildings and even Rose Terrace and Hill Top and essentially
building a "new campus" were publicized in this fashion. The
reaction was swift and vociferous. The SMA alumni, who clung to
the hope that somehow they might reacquire the property, were
outraged at the proposal to remove their revered barracks; the
Historic Staunton Foundation objected to the destruction of his-

429

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

torically significant structures; the college alumnae rose to the
defense of Miss Baldwin's Hill Top and the venerable Rose
Terrace.

Inevitably, the integration of the upper campus proceeded
slowly. The physical plant offices and shops moved there first,
followed, in the fall of 1977, by the business office. In the spring
and summer of 1978, Tullidge Hall was refurbished, used briefly
as a conference center and then, in the fall of 1978, as a dormitory.
In 1979, Kable Hall was remodeled into suites for upperclass
women. That year, South Barracks was razed, parking lots were
built, and in 1983 the old SMA Memorial Gymnasium became the
Deming Fine Arts Center. Other buildings in the complex were
rented to faculty and staff."

With considerable courage. Dr. Lester had called the opportu-
nity to purchase SMA a "dream come true," fully recognizing that
its purchase and integration into the college's life would add
immeasurably to her immediate problems. At her first meeting
with the faculty (5 Oct. 1976), she warned them that the following
two years were "crucial" to the future of the college. She declared
that hers would be an "open administration" as Dr. Kelly had said
his would be, but that there were clear lines of responsibilities,
communication and response which must be respected. She asked
that everyone accept her goals and work toward them. She
proposed that 40 new students (above the present enrollment) be
added each year and that admissions procedures and publications
be reorganized following the recommendations of the consultants
she proposed to bring to the campus. She made her first tentative
suggestion about an "adult degree program" which would fit the
educational, financial needs and the lifestyles of self-motivated
adults. She asked faculty to prepare grant proposals and submit
them to agencies and foundations. She declared that the New
Dimensions campaign was being reactivated and would be vigor-
ously pursued, and an efficient management and cost control
system would immediately be put in place. Stringent economy
measures must be enforced. Pursuant to the latter proposal,
which initially sounded most positive to faculty who had been
frustrated by the lack of decision-making of the recent past, was
the announcement that all faculty and staff would now have to pay
for lunch in Hunt Hall, as would all students' guests, even parents.
Students who wished to carry more course units than the four
which constituted a normal schedule would have to pay an over-
load fee.

430

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

Dr. Lester did not propose to ask for sacrifices that she herself
was not wilHng to share. She too would buy her own lunch, would
not hire an executive assistant, although both the trustees and the
former acting president thought she would need one, and would
agree to the sale of the Edgewood Road house (into which she had
just moved). She set a personal goal of balancing the college
operating budget by 1980.

Although impressed with Dr. Lester's "enthusiasm, her lead-
ership, her unrelenting energy and her commitment to Mary
Baldwin College," the faculty were not hesitant in voicing the
concerns many still felt. They wanted wider contact with the
trustees, an end to proliferating committees, and a remedy to the
perceived inequalities of faculty pay. They were apprehensive
about the college's "image," the social life of the students, the
purchase of SMA, the college's financial status and the endow-
ment. They voiced their criticism of the infirmary staff, of the
business office, of the supervisor of buildings and gi'ounds, and
the food service. And when, in April 1977, the president reported
that the consultants suggested that majors in Business Manage-
ment, Communications, Health Services, Special Education and
Social and Psychological Services should be added to the curricu-
lum, but that no additions to the total faculty numbers could be,
at least for a time, permitted, the first of what would be many
acrimonious debates ensued. **

That spring (1977), the president reminded the faculty that
she had been presented with a $400,000 deficit operating budget
for the year, due in part to the 7% salary raise which had been
authorized by the trustees in 1976, although there had not been
current funds to cover it. In addition there had been unplanned-
for student attrition, a severe winter and escalating fuel costs,
unexpected boiler repairs, an unwelcome rise in health insurance
premiums, and an unmentioned $23,500 fee for student advising
through the contracted services of the Guidance and Career
Planning Center that had added to her fiscal problems. In spite
of that, she had been able to cut $47,000 from the 1976-77 budget.
However, she announced that, to further control expenditures,
faculty and staff salary contracts would show no pay increases for
the 1977-78 year. In the fall, when enrollment figures were final,
a modest increase might be possible and would be given at that
time. The inflation rate for 1977 was almost 7% and was increas-
ing each month. The sacrifices that everyone would have to make
to achieve financial control were very real.

431

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

There was no item in the college budget that Dr. Lester did not
scrutinize. If community groups wished to use college facilities,
they must now pay the energy and service costs. College member-
ships in professional organizations were cut ruthlessly. When a
computer center employee threatened to resign, Lester promptly
accepted his resignation and did not replace him. Contracts for
food and goods which had routinely been awarded to local firms
were now put out for bids, much to the distress of Staunton and
Augusta County businesses who had enjoyed generations of
college patronage. No outside catering would now be permitted,
long distance telephoning was cut to a minimum, energy use
carefully controlled, zero-based budgeting was instituted. "I nick-
eled and dimed people to death," she later confessed, but Lester
brought the former anarchistic budget practices under control. By
1979, a year ahead of her personal goal, she was able to report to
the trustees that the operating budget for the year 1978-79 had
been balanced and that she anticipated a modest surplus for 1979-
80.9

Virginia Lester's great strengths lay in her fund-raising abil-
ities, her skills in financial management and budget control, and
in her determination to meet the challenge of budget deficits,
inadequate endowment, and declining enrollments. At first it
seemed to be mostly a matter of her own personal commitment -
"Ginny, you can do it," as she once described her own mental
processes in an interview for the Mary Baldwin Magazine. But, as
so often happens at this college, she was seduced by the beauty of
the campus and the seasons; she responded to a way of life and a
set of values and attitudes that were different from any to which
she had been accustomed, and in time her determination reflected
her love for the college as well as her own personal agenda. She
had great difficulty expressing such feelings. "I can't talk about
how I feel about the institution...! never could break through the
image of the college president to let people see my vulnerable self. "
She said she couldn't "exercise my sense of humor... so much was
always riding on the next round. "^"^

The financial record of her nine-year administration is truly
remarkable. Between 1976-1985, the college's operating budget
went from $3,225,605 to $9,537,020. Her annual budgets were
balanced except for the first two years of her administration, when

432

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

she had had to deal with a $449,000 deficit from the previous
administration. Her final operating budget (1984-85) showed a
$239,128 surplus. The endowment had grown from $2.9 million
to $10 million, a 245% increase in market value. All monies
borrowed from the endowment had been returned and the college
had paid no temporary debt service interest since 1976. Annual
giving had doubled from $303,626 in 1977 to $659,547 and the real
estate holdings had increased from 16.5 acres to 45 acres. Almost
$3 million additional had been raised and spent on improvements
to the physical plant (including the President's Home, Kable
Dormitory, Doming Fine Arts Center, Sena Center, Tullidge and
a new Alumnae House). New parking lots had been constructed,
extensive remodeling on the first floor of Grafton had taken place,
and major fire protection and electrical updating of all existing
buildings had been accomplished.

The New Dimensions campaign, begun in 1975 with a project-
ed goal of raising $7.6 million by 1977, was reactivated, reorgan-
ized, extended to 1980, and a new goal set at $10 million which
would include SMA expenses. On 7 February 1980, the largest gift
in the history of the college was announced. Two million dollars
was contributed by an anonymous donor. The first million was to
be presented in cash on 31 March 1980; the second million would
be forthcoming only if matched by an equal amount to be raised by
the board of trustees by June 30 1980 - a four-month deadline. The
challenge was met successfully, and the New Dimensions cam-
paign ended in triumph on 31 October 1980 with a total amount
of gifts and pledges equaling $10,004,448.^^

Once the New Dimensions campaign was concluded, a very
limited capital campaign, primarily to support the remodeling of
the Deming Fine Arts Center, was undertaken. Between October,
1981 and December 1982, $1,273,000 was raised, with the board
of trustees undertaking a personal commitment of $300,000
toward the total amount. Once again the Kresge Foundation
provided funds for a "challenge grant" which, as had been the case
with Wenger Hall, was successfully met.

Great efforts were expended during these years to increase the
number of alumnae who contributed regularly to the annual fund
and to increase the total amount contributed. In April 1978, a
$50,000 "challenge fund" was established by two alumnae to
encourage additional annual giving, and renewed efforts were
made to strengthen the number of deferred gifts and bequests
which the college might expect to receive over the years.

433

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

Also of note was Dr. Lester's success in attracting major gifts
and grants from foundations and corporations. Her relationship
with the VFIC was cordial and she regularly devoted two weeks
or more to its fund-raising activities. The college's share of the
proceeds increased as enrollments improved. ^^ Among others,
International Paper and Shell Corporations , the Jessie B all duPont,
the Pew, the Cabell and the Morgan Foundations, and the Na-
tional Endowment for the Arts, for the Humanities, and the
National Science Foundation all made significant contributions
toward the college's curricular and physical needs. Federal grants
supported an Upward Bound program, the purchase of classroom
computers and the ADP program. The Foundation for the Im-
provement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) awarded fund-
ing for a two- year program to improve teaching and learning
skills for "diverse adults." Dr. Lester even got the college auditors
to provide a generous consultant's fee to help her study the
financial management problems of the college.

Duringher nine-year tenure, a total of $ 15,539,629 in gifts and
grants was generated by Dr. Lester and the development office. ^^
How did she manage this?

Dr. Lester had a very supportive board of trustees and ad-
visory board of visitors. She was comfortable with financial and
corporate leaders and they with her, and she was able to secure
some of them as board members. The trustees had risked a great
deal when they hired Virginia Lester and they were determined
she would succeed. Under her leadership, they played a far more
active role in college governance, fund raising and student recruit-
ment than they ever had . They backed her all the way, even when
serious campus controversies arose; they paid her generously and
gave her extended two-and three-year contracts. In 1982, they
offered her a five-year commitment. ^^

The alumnae responded to her leadership with enthusiasm
and genuine affection. She was optimistic but realistic, a good
businesswoman, which many alumnae were also, and she had
"saved" their college. She gave them meaningful work to do - i.e.,
admissions aides and volunteer projects. Fifteen new chapters
were established during her presidency and she visited them all.
They were grateful and responded with time, energy and financial
support.

Dr. Lester had a wide acquaintance among foundation and
government agency bureaucrats. She personally worked long and
hard on grant proposals and insisted that her staff and faculty do

434

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

the same. She did her homework and the necessary follow-ups
and obtained funds for many programs which could not have been
supported otherwise. Since the college's finances were in order
and demonstrably well-managed, she had less difficulty in per-
suading foundations to invest in Mary Baldwin's future.

During these years and again as a result of Dr. Lester's energy
and initiative, the college achieved national recognition. Al-
though she had cut college memberships in her economy drive, she
joined carefully selected associations and boards designed to
secure the college visibility. She was elected to the Conference
Board, served on the board of the National Urban League, the
Association of Governing Boards Of Universities and Colleges,
the Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges (CASC), the
Women's College Coalition and the Governor's Committee to
Study the Future of Virginia. She was even elected to the
President's Commission of the National Collegiate Athletic Asso-
ciation. There were articles in some prestigious newspapers and
magazines, such as the Washington Post and U.S. News and
World Report, which listed the college as among the top women's
colleges in the South.

The college continued, however, to have to rely heavily on tui-
tion; between 60-65% of its annual income came from its students.
Tuition and fees increased each year, never quite keeping pace
with inflation but difficult for many to accept. The traditional
student in 1976 paid a comprehensive fee of $4770; day students,
$3170. Nine years later, fees of $10,500 and $6000 were im-
posed. ^^ Dr. Lester's goal of adding at least 40 "new" students each
year was never quite reached in spite of consultants who reorga-
nized the admissions process, instituted phonathons, new for-
mats for publications ("I wanted [our publications] to convey
energy and action, not the little southern lady thing"), and
increased financial commitment for recruiting. ^^ Demographics
were against her: there were fewer 18-22 year olds in the total
population and particularly in the southern states, from which the
majority of the students came; of those, smaller numbers were
attending four-year colleges and among them, fewer still (less
than 2%) were interested in a woman's church-related college.
Her consultants told Dr. Lester that those young women who were
attracted to colleges like Mary Baldwin wanted to major in career-
oriented subjects and she pressured the faculty, as has been seen,
to add some of them to the curriculum. Increasing attention was
paid to attrition, and there was much updating of the advising

435

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

system and of the peer counselors system in the dormitories, as
well as expanded career, placement and "life planning" services.

But it was soon obvious that more was needed, so Dr. Lester
proposed to alter the basic mission of the college. Not only would
traditional college-age women be offered a progi^am focused on
thoughtful life choices and the skills to succeed in them, but adult
women of any age might be served by a program which would not
require residency and attendance at campus classes in order to
earn a college degi^ee. Called the Adult Degree Progi'am, it was
instituted in the fall of 1977 and provided an "individualized"
degi^ee program using the contract method of instruction. The
president's enthusiasm for this concept was based on her own
experiences with graduate work and her later duties at Empire
State College. She was fully committed to the concept of self-
directed learning for highly motivated individuals and she per-
suaded the reluctant traditional faculty to agree. Dudley Luck,
who had been at the college since 1972 in the Education faculty
and who was widely respected, agreed to become the director of
the new progi^am. She had the energy and imagination to embrace
the unorthodox proposal and to study the few models that cur-
rently existed. Once assured that the program would be self-
supporting and that they could but were not required to partici-
pate, the faculty, with considerable skepticism, agreed. The effort
began in the fall of 1977 with eight women enrolled. Its success
was phenomenal. By the time Dr. Lester resigned in 1985, there
were 225 women (and a few men) currently enrolled, and 303
individuals had already obtained their B.A. degree from Mary
Baldwin College. Satellite offices had opened in Richmond and
Roanoke, and SACS had not only approved the offering but
had declared it to be a model for others who were interested in
similar ventures.^'

Late in her administration. Dr. Lester proposed yet another
program, PEG (Progi^am for Exceptionally Gifted). This would
address the needs of younger girls whose intellectual abilities
made it hard for them to adjust to secondary educational institu-
tions. The concept included a curriculum that would provide
special studies in a setting appropriate for their chronological age,
carefully graduated steps in integrating them into the college
community, and a B.A. degree in a five-year period. The concept
was Dr. Lester's, but the first class did not matriculate until after
she had resigned. It was the responsibility of the Tyson adminis-
tration to bring the concept to life.^'^

436

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

Thus, Dr. Lester proposed to broaden the "pool" of prospective
college applicants to include young teenaged girls, "traditional"
18-22-year-old women, and adults over 25-years old as a way of
expanding the college's mission and securing its economic sur-
vival.

President Lester's annual reports to the trustees were upbeat
and enthusiastic but honest about problems and difficulties. She
could be devastatingly frank and her remarks were often blunt.
Later in her administration, when she was reported to be hard and
cold, she answered:

What I'm not is tough and aggressive, but
I'm different. What I am is hard driving-
intense, energetic. And I am willing to make
hard decisions.... You can feel the tension
when I want something to happen. If I am
really impatient, I jump in and I don't let
anybody ride interference for me. I just have
to take over and do it. That's probably my
greatest weakness. I also think it is my
greatest strength. ^^

Dr. Lester and many trustees felt that a good deal of Dr. Kelly's
difficulties had stemmed from major weaknesses in his adminis-
trative staff, and Virginia Lester indicated that an early priority
for her was to put together an effective, competent and loyal senior
staff. She embraced the then popular "management by objective"
method. Each official was ordered to set yearly goals and to make
monthly reports to the president on the progress toward them.
She correctly observed that the administrative handbook pre-
pared for Dr. Kelly in 1974-75 had been descriptive only and had
done little to bring rationality and consistency to administrative
offices. She reported to the trustees that that had been remedied;
hiring and firing practices were now "regularized" (her word); and
that she had eliminated "exceptionalism" and preferential treat-
ment. The old relaxed autonomous ways for the college adminis-
trative offices passed into oblivion. By 1984, an administrative
handbook clearly defining responsibilities and lines of communi-
cation had been produced.

437

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

But Dr. Lester found it hard to reverse the pattern of admin-
istrative instabhhty that she had inherited from the Kelly years.
During her nine-year presidency, there were four academic deans,
five vice-presidents for development, five physical plant directors,
three chaplains, four directors of alumnae activities and five
publications directors. ^° No major Kelly administrative appoin-
tee remained by 1985 when Dr. Lester resigned. The first to leave
was Freeman Jones, business manager and treasurer, who told
Campus Comments that he had been at the college for 12 years
during which time he had never had a vacation. "Now that we
have a full-time president, it is time for me to make a change." He
resigned at the end of the 1976-77 session, as did Roy Patteson in
development, who left to become president of King College. Jack
Blackburn, in admissions, accepted the consultants Dr. Lester
insisted on with good grace and sought to incorporate their sug-
gestions in his program, but by the late 70s the enrollment
numbers were again discouraging and in 1980 he, too, tendered
his resignation. Virginia Munce, who had been the director of
alumnae activities since 1963, found it difficult to embrace the
changed format of the Mary Baldwin Magazine and the total
reorganization of alumnae affairs which the president demanded.
She shifted briefly to public relations in 1979 and shortly thereaf-
ter left. Some leave-takings were public and bitter. After almost
40 years at the college, "B.C." Carr, director of food services,
resigned on 28 March 1980 because, she said, the president
"showed a total lack of respect for me as a person and the kind of
job I have done for 39-3/4 years." As has been seen, the food service
had come in for its full share of student and administrative
criticism over the years, but "B.C." had become almost a college
tradition and Campus Comments gave full publicity to that
unhappy event. The editorial says that Miss Carr "embodies the
spirit of intimate fellowship. "^^

Dr. Lester had delayed appointing an executive assistant for
her office, partly because of finances and perhaps mostly because
she found it hard to delegate her authority. However, she accepted
an "administrative intern" for the 1978-79 session. The young
woman, Ronnie Fleet, had worked with Virginia Lester previously
and the year seemed to go smoothly. After Fleet left, there was an
appointee who remained only a month and it was not until 1981
that another graduate school intern, Kenneth Armstrong, joined
Lester's office. This relationship worked well (from the president's
point of view) and Armstrong remained throughout the rest of her

438

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

administration. In 1984, he was named director of development
and public relations.

In spite of the above difficulties, there were some excellent
administrative appointments made during the Lester years, many
of whom are still at the college. Dr. Lester respected and worked
well with two of her deans of students, Maiy Louise Kiley (1976-
79) and Mona Olds ( 1980-83). Their resignations were the result
of their own personal needs and ambitions, not the president's
wishes. On 15 May 1977, Dr. Dane J. Cox was named business
manager and treasurer of Mary Baldwin College. He brought a
thorough understanding of college finances, the capacity to ad-
mire the driving personality of the president and the ability to
work with her and with her successor. That same year, following
Gertrude Davis' resignation because of health considerations,
William C. Pollard was appointed the college librarian. He
brought many years of experience, organizational skills, unfailing
courtesy, patience and sensitivity to that position. He retired in
June 1992. After Jack Blackburn left, Dr. Lester promoted a
college alumna, who had been made the assistant admissions
director shortly before, to the position of director of admissions.
Clair Carter Bell '76 handled that difficult assignment well until
after Dr. Lester had left. Donald W. Wells assumed responsibility
for Continuing Education/Summer Programs in 1981. Under his
leadership the summer campus was crowded to capacity, the
numbers often exceeding the winter enrollment, as the Governor's
School, Virginia Music Camp, sports clinics, Elderhostels, Young
Women in Science, writers in residence, a Japanese Total Cul-
tural Immersion program, Doshisha Women's College students,
among many others, used the college facilities during June, July
and August.

There were other appointees whose strengths and talents
have continued to be assets. John S. Kelly became the supervisor
of security in 1978. "He is a welcome addition," wrote Campus
Comments. "He has become recognizable to the student body, a
fact which separates him from numerous other administrators."
James J. Harrington was appointed the director of the adult
degi^ee progi^am in 1983; Lewis D. Askegaard, registrar and
director of institutional research, that same year; and Jane
Caplen, director of health services in 1977.^^

Although Dr. Lester required regular reports from her staff
members, kept tight budget controls, and established general
policy, she tended to leave it up to her senior staff as to how they

439

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

accomplished their objectives. She was off the campus a great
deal, as were her vice presidents, and she expected that assigned
duties would be carried out without her supervision. She did
expect complete reports, ready on her desk when she returned,
and wrote abrupt, even sarcastic notes when her expectations
were not met. She also took care to write appreciative memos,
giving praise for work performed well. She was, as she freely
admitted, a perfectionist and expected those about her to be, also.
Perhaps one reason for the frequent staff turnovers was this ex-
pectation of over-achievement. Those who did not meet her stan-
dards were asked to leave. By 1982, both students and faculty
were noting this bewildering lack of continuity and debating the
merits of the president's decisions. ^'^

Closely tied to the problems of college finance and admini-
stration was Mary Baldwin's relationship to the Synod of the
Virginias. Efforts at redefining the Covenant Agreement occu-
pied considerable time in the early years of Lester's presidency.
And problems arose almost immediately.

The question of the proper relationship of the Presbyterian
Career and Personal Guidance Center and its director, Lillian
Pennell, to the college did not long escape Dr. Lester's scrutiny. It
will be recalled that the Center was located at Mary Baldwin (at
the college's invitation) in 1955. At first housed in Riddle, the
Center had been moved early in the Spencer years (1959) to a
house on Coalter Street rented by the college for that purpose. The
location was not as central to college activities as the old New
Street location had been and was physically more difficult for
Lillian Pennell, confined as she was to a wheel chair, but she had
acquiesced in the move. During the 16 years of her residency on
Coalter Street, she had learned to drive a specially equipped van,
had acquired a Ph.D., and had sought to assist in every way she
could the college's increasing concern for career and placement
services for its students. O. Ashton Trice, the senior Psychology
faculty member, had long acted as liaison between the Center and
the college, and Psychology majors frequently arranged externships
and independent studies there. Since the Center was supported
by the Presbyterian church, other persons outside the college
constituencies also used its resources, and although never over-
whelmingly integral to the college's operations, the relationship

440

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

had been pleasant and non-threatening. As the push for more
career-oriented courses and placement services expanded during
the Kelly years, some questions about the respective duties of the
Frank Pancake/Fran Schmid placement operations and Lillian
Pennell's services emerged. By late 1974, facing declining enroll-
ments and financial strains, Dr. Kelly proposed to Dr. Pennell
that she move back to Riddle (no longer needed for student
housing) and that the college would continue to contract with her
for her services. The move was made in the spring of 1975. The
dean of students, Ethel Sm.eak, seeking to counteract attrition
and to meet the advisory board of visitors' demands for student
career goal-setting, proposed in 1975 that the Center test and
counsel all entering freshmen, and the administration agreed to
a $2-3000 fee for these services. Dr. Lester felt these fees were ex-
cessive, especially since freshman response was disappointing, as
was the attendance at "Career Fairs" that Lillian Pennell orga-
nized. Dr. Lester needed space for the new ADP personnel, as well
as more room for other administrative offices. The entire first
floor of the Administration Building had been given over to the
expanded admissions operation and both deans and the president
were crowded together on the second floor. For a time, the
president's secretary occupied a desk in the hall. Lillian Pennell
required the top two floors of Riddle, since she and her companion
lived as well as worked there, and Dr. Lester felt there were higher
college priorities for that space. In addition, Dr. Lester's cher-
ished "Women's Center" was in the final planning stages and a
director, Dottie Geare, had been named. How did she relate to Dr.
Pennell's operation?

To further complicate matters, the Synod of the Virginias was
still trying to negotiate a final, acceptable Covenant Agreement
with the college and now sent a yearly "task force" to survey cam-
pus conditions, decide on their yearly contribution, and to discuss
yet another synod campaign to raise money for the Presbyterian
colleges within its boundaries.

Lillian Pennell had many friends and supporters throughout
the church and was a symbol of the capabilities of severely
handicapped persons. A less determined college administrator
might well have decided to back off from a situation so sensitive
and complex, but Dr. Lester did not. In the summer of 1978, she
told Dr. Pennell that she would have to move from Riddle. The
Center could stay if it wished, exchanging "services for space," but
no more funds could be committed to the program. It now became

441

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

apparent how little consideration had been given to Dr. Pennell's
future, either by the synod or by the college. She had no annuity,
since she had not been considered part of the college faculty; no
funds to buy a house, since her wants had been simple and her
salary, paid by the synod, had always been modest; and nowhere
to go. It was painful and embarrassing, and Dr. Lester was widely
criticized for her part in the dilemma. Eventually the synod found
enough funds to build a house near Fishersville that provided
suitable quarters for Dr. Pennell and her companion, and she left
the college campus, which had been her home for more than 20
years, on 5 November 1979. She departed, as was characteristic
of her, quietly and with no bitterness. The Counseling and Guid-
ance Center moved to facilities in Westminster Presbyterian
Church in Waynesboro in June 1980 and all connection to the
college was severed. ^^

At the same time these events were occurring, the Synod of the
Virginias was planning another major fund-raising campaign,
designed to raise $3 million for Mary Baldwin and Davis & Elkins
colleges. Two years of planning and discussion had gone into the
project. It was to begin in September 1981 and end nine months
later. The burden of the work was to be borne by the development
offices of the two colleges. Hampden-Sydney had already refused
to participate, and Dr. Lester and the trustees decided in 1980
that Mary Baldwin should withdraw, as well. They were already
planning their own Capital Campaign and felt the two simulta-
neous efforts would be counter-productive. Instead, they sug-
gested the synod should increase its yearly contributions to
support scholarships for Presbyterian women. ^^

On the other hand. Dr. Lester did make a concentrated effort
to strengthen the college's ties with its Presbyterian heritage.
Although she herself was a Quaker who occasionally, quietly and
privately, attended "First Day" services with other Quakers in
Waynesboro or Charlottesville, she quickly became knowledge-
able about the Presbyterian church structure, attended General
Assembly meetings, served on committees, and was a member of
the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities. On
their annual visits, the various synod task forces found much to
admire on the Mary Baldwin campus. The college now had full-
time women chaplains, and Dr. Lester was fortunate in these
appointments. The three women, Deborah Dodson, Catherine
Synder and Cynthia Higgins, who served during President Lester's
administration were all young, very bright, newly out of the

442

To Live hi Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester f 1976-1985)

seminary and earnest and dedicated. Their tenures were short
(each stayed only three years), but they related well to the
students and planned many special projects which were sup-
ported on the campus. They sponsored retreats, CROP walks,
weekly dormitory prayer sessions, peace conferences, the annual
Staley Lectures, seminars, Circle K, Special Olympics, Oxfam and
blood donor progi^ams. Cathy Snyder began a series of "Lifestyle
Colloquia," using campus and local church resources, which was
enthusiastically received and has been repeated for many years.

In 1980, the Mary Baldwin Bulletin featured three alumnae
who were Presbyterian ministers, Caroline Price, Ann Bowman
Day and Susan Poole Condrey, all of whom wrote movingly about
their experiences as women in the male religious bureaucracy of
the church. All had been told, more than once, "Our church isn't
ready for a woman minister yet," but each had eventually found
a place where she was welcomed.

In 1982, only 17% of the students said they were Presbyteri-
ans, and the college appealed to the synod to provide scholarships
for deserving Presbyterian students and to help in recruitment
efforts. In 1983, the trustees agreed to waive tuition for the
daughters of active Presbyterian ministers, thus reviving a previ-
ous commitment of long standing, and within a year nine such
women were enrolled at the college.

The Covenant Agreement was finally revised to the satisfac-
tion of the Virginia Attorney General, the college and the synod,
and was approved in 1984, The Lester presidency ended with the
church-relatedness of the college modified but intact.-*^

It was natural that the main focus of the Lester presidency as
regards the physical plant would be on incorporation of the ad-
ditional space and buildings of the SMA purchase into the "lower
campus." The principal changes of these years have already been
referred to, but some other events should be noted. Inevitably,
there were stresses and problems here, as well. The SMA alumni
hoped that some kind of memorial to the school might be erected;
that space might be provided for their records and archives;
perhaps, they hoped, sometime in the future they might use some
of the buildings again. Lester's single-mindedness about the
needs of the college and her obligation to its financial stability
meant that these proposals were refused. Consequently, college-

443

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

community relationships were strained. ^^

Equally difficult was the relationship with a new organization
- energetic and committed - the Historic Staunton Foundation.
Dedicated to preserving and enhancing the architectural unique-
ness of the community, the foundation proposed that "historic
districts" be created, in which outward physical changes to build-
ings and settings would have to be in conformity to historic
preservation standards. The Mary Baldwin College campus,
especially the SMA purchase, would come within the proposed
"Gospel Hill" district. The college was not unsympathetic with
these ideas, but Dr. Lester was concerned that long-range plans
for development and integration would be handicapped by that
designation. There were several campus buildings, notably Ad-
ministration ( 1843), Rose Terrace ( 1875), Hill Top (1819), and the
Music Building (1899), already listed on the Virginia or the Na-
tional Register of Historic Landmarks, and Kable House (1873),
a part of the SMA purchase, was similiarly listed. The debate
became acrimonious and bruising. Dr. Lester's wishes ultimately
prevailed, and the college was not included in an historic district;
but again community relationships suffered. ^'^

In November 1980, the Mary Julia Baldwin memorial stained
glass window, the gift of the alumnae in 1904 and placed in storage
in the basement of Bailey Hall when Waddell Chapel had been
demolished in 1962, was restored and mounted for display in
Grafton Library.

With a remarkable display of support, 100% of the members of
the board of trustees, the advisory board of visitors and the
alumnae board contributed toward the transformation of Memo-
rial gymnasium, on the SMA grounds, into the Doming Fine Arts
Center. Dedicated on Founders' Day, 8 October 1983, its various
components were named in honor of Fletcher Collins (theater);
Carl Broman, Ruth McNeil, Gordon Page (music rooms); and
Nena Weiss Priddie (Art Center). ^^

During the winter of 1982, the Timberlake house, located on
the corner of Coalter and Kable streets just behind the president's
home, was acquired. It became the Alumnae House. Chapters of
the Alumnae Association furnished and decorated the four bed-
rooms, which are used to house college guests and perhaps, at long
last, the Alumnae Association has a permanent home.

Other physical changes occurred. A Wells Fargo Gamefield
Jogging course was constructed in 1983. Little House was closed
for student use in 1980, after an unfortunate break-in and assault

444

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

on the students living there. Over $300,000 was spent updating
the fire prevention system with smoke detectors, sprinklers, fire-
rated doors and resistant drapes. The college has never had a fatal
fire, but three small episodes, a trash can fire in Spencer, another
in Tullidge and a mattress fire in Bailey, were enough to focus
attention on prevention. Additional large sums were spent on
painting campus buildings and on expensive boiler repairs. All
imposed strains on the Lester budget. In the early years of her
administration, the energy "crunch" remained and inflation was
still at double-digit levels. Considering all these factors, the
changes and upgi^ading of the college physical plant during the
Lester administration were remarkable.'^"

Central to the college's purpose and, of course, the focus of
President Lester's concerns, was the educational program. The
curriculum was the key to the attraction and retention of the
students, for whose sake all the other supporting activities were
carried out. The trustees approved all degi^ees and educational
policies of the college, but delegated to the president the respon-
sibility of formulating an appropriate educational plan which
would meet the college charter requirements and the needs of the
young women who matriculated there. She, in turn, delegated to
the dean of the college the matters of curriculum and the recruit-
ment and support of the faculty necessary to carry out the
educational program. The faculty, in turn, determined what
programs ("processes") were necessary in order to carry out the
policies of the administration and the trustees. Much of the
specific relationships among these various constituencies had, in
the past, never been delineated in detail - nor, in the earlier era
of collegiality and mutual respect, had it been necessary to do so.
But the stresses of the last years of the Kelly presidency had
destroyed that relationship, and Dr. Lester found herself presid-
ing over a contentious and argumentative group who had pres-
sured the previous administration and the trustees in a manner
which seemed to Dr. Lester to be highly inappropriate.

The situation was not unique to Mary Baldwin College. Edu-
cational institutions of every ilk could no longer retreat behind
their ivy covered brick walls and remain aloof from the world of
which they were a part. The Lester administration coincided with
the doubts and malaise of the Carter presidency; with the Camp

445

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

David accords, with the Khomeini Revolution in Iran; and the
hostage crisis of 1979-80. That year, Ronald Reagan was elected
President of the United States, a choice verj'^ unpopular with
academe. In 1981, he was seriously wounded in an assassination
attempt, recalling the grim days of 1963. The Soviets invaded
Afghanistan and the United States, in response, boycotted the
Olympic games. The Sandinistas came to power in Nicaragua,
and in 1982 the Equal Rights Amendment failed to secure the
necessary votes for ratification. U. S. troops were sent to Lebanon
and some of them were subsequently murdered. The Star Wars
program was announced; a Korean airliner was downed over
Soviet territory; the U.S. invaded Grenada; the Gramm-Rudman
Deficit Reduction Act was passed; and Reagan was reelected to
the presidency in 1984. In 1985, Gorbachev came to power in the
Soviet Union.

In 1979, the inflation rate had soared to 13.5 % and federal
funds for education had become increasingly limited. Although
inflation was less than 4% by 1982, the number of young people
graduating from high school declined each year after 1981, after
a short-lived increase in the late 1970s; and all educational in-
stitutions again felt the impact of declining enrollments and
shrinking revenues. Everyone had been affected by the upheavals
of the 1970s and state legislators, trustees, university presidents,
deans and faculty struggled to find a new balance in a changing
world.

Dorothy Mulberry had been appointed acting dean of the
college in 1975; that spring, faced with the resignation of the dean
of students, the chaplain, and the president, the acting president,
and the trustees agreed that she should be asked to be dean in fact;
and she consented. She began to work with Dr. Lester almost
immediately and adjusted with seeming little difficulty to Lester's
administrative style and to her personality. In general. Dean
Mulberry approved of the Lester academic agenda, and did her
best to implement it. She loyally served as dean of the college until
1980, but the bitterness of the continuing controversy over tenure
and the distribution of pay increases led her to offer her resigna-
tion that summer. Dr. Lester told her on one occasion that she had
"too much of a faculty perspective" and, indeed, she had been a
respected faculty member for many years. She returned to the
faculty who had passed a resolution of appreciation and praise for
her work.'^^

A search committee produced a new dean. Dr. Michael Pincus,

446

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985j

whose academic specialty was (as Dorothy Mulberry's had been)
Spanish language and literature. His degrees were from Univer-
sity of North Carolina, but he and his family were essentially
urban oriented and he left in 1982.^^ His successor was Dr. Irene
Hecht, a graduate of Radcliffe College and the University of
Washington. She remained until the spring of 1985, when, at the
president's request, she left before the session ended. By this
time, Virginia Lester, herself, had resigned, and Dorothy Mul-
berry agreed to become again the acting dean in order to give the
new president, Cynthia H. Tyson, time to choose her own admin-
istrative staff.

The admission consultants' reports in the spring of 1977 pro-
duced some immediate curriculum changes, as has been seen. The
new career-oriented courses were added almost immediately and
were supplemented by two "certificate" progi'ams, as well, in
Language Proficiency and Tennis Teaching. Other courses were
added, such as Accounting, Business Law, Biology of Women,
Mass Communications and Small Group Dynamics. A particu-
larly popular offering, held for several years during May term,
examined Masculine-Feminine Roles and Relationships. A limit-
ed number of men from W. & L. joined an equal number of Mary
Baldwin women. They lived in Tullidge Hall and examined hu-
man relationships from the perspectives of Biology, Law, Litera-
ture, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology and Theology. These
offerings, and others like them, reflected the increasing interest
in "pre-professional" programs, in women's studies and in inter-
national concerns. During these years, a special relationship with
Doshisha Women's College in Japan was arranged. Young Japa-
nese women studied American culture on the Mary Baldwin
campus in the summer and some enrolled for regular sessions, as
well. Mary Baldwin students could spend a semester, a year or a
summer studying in Japan. The May term, which after 1977
replaced the January term, permitted month-long intensive courses
to be held in Madrid, Paris, London, Vienna and Florence and
allowed other students to arrange externships with industries,
communication organizations, government agencies and hospi-
tals.

The faculty made every effort to ensure that a strong, liberal
arts component was reflected even in the "career-oriented" courses.
Dr. Lester answered the numerous questions from worried alum-
nae and parents by stating, "Mary Baldwin has no intention of
becoming a vocational school. "^^ It does not have to be, she added,

447

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

"either/or, but can be and/also." Still, as German, Physics, Music
and Religion majors were dropped and faculty in the traditional
courses were replaced by those versed in the new areas, faculty
were troubled. They were equally troubled by the fact that the
open-ended requirements for graduation had resulted in many
students, in spite of their advisors' suggestions, putting together
courses of study which were hardly reflective of a broad liberal
arts education. The faculty changed the Catalogue wording to
provide for more specific course distributions, revised the sched-
ule, renumbered and evaluated all courses, changed to a four-
point rather than a three-point gi^ading system, required all
course syllabi to be on file in the dean's office, devised require-
ments to demonstrate "competencies" in writing skills, mathematic
computation, and in analysis, and gradually came to the point
where they would agree to a total curriculum revision.

Faculty concerns were reflected in student apprehensions, as
well. Underclassmen, particularly, worry about whether or not a
specific course will "transfer." They are concerned about the
academic reputation of the school from which they are receiving
their degree. They were verbally indignant over the fact that, if
they signed for an academic "overload" (more than four course
units), they were charged an extra fee. Four courses, they in-
sisted, was not enough. Some saw Mary Baldwin as becoming an
"easy" college."^'*

In 1981, Dr. Lester appointed a President's Committee on the
Humanities and charged it with recommending action to "pre-
serve and strengthen the liberal arts curriculum." By 1983, a full-
blown curriculum study was under way. Again, there were
"prolonged and bitter debates"; the Self-Study of 1987 called it an
"often painful process"; but by 1984, "a rigorous, structured"
curriculum was in place. Back were five courses instead of four,
semester hours, a core or "general education" requirement. Physi-
cal Education and mandatory course distributions. There were
also emphases on international and women's studies and experi-
ential learning. There were still considerable flexibility and many
choices of electives, but it was a much more traditional curriculum
than it had been since 1974 and faculty and students were
generally comfortable with it.^^

There were other, less controversial curriculum changes and
additions. The trustees established the Bailey Scholar progi'am
in 1977 and an Honor Scholars Society was created in 1983. The
terms and conditions for the Margarett Kable Russell annual

448

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester 11976-1985)

award were revised so that applicants, who were juniors, pre-
sented a research project for committee consideration before the
award was made. An honorary society for art, named in memory
of Elizabeth Nottingham Day, appeared in 1978 and the "Execu-
tive in the Classroom" program was highly valued. The Tate
Demonstration School moved to a Stuart Hall location in 1981,
where it was combined with their pre-school progi^am. By 1983,
it had been discontinued.

A number of special conferences were held during the Lester
years. In the fall of 1976, a series of seminars and lectures on
"Values Revalued: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness in
Century III" brought a return visit from Shirley Chisholm and
other prominent speakers. In 1978, a "Women in Government"
Conference, keynoted by Betty S. Murphy and funded in part by
International Paper Inc., sought to duplicate the successes of the
earlier "Women in Industry" progi'am-without quite succeeding.
The Life Style Colloquia were well attended, but progi^ams on the
Ai'ab-Israeli conflicts, on Iran and on Japan were only moderate-
ly popular. The Mock Republican Political Convention in 1980
generated some interest, including a downtown parade, but only
after the joint student chairwomen were awarded academic credit
for experiential learning could anyone be found to organize and
publicize the event. Perhaps the visit that excited the greatest
interest (and had the least to do with intellectual affairs) was that
of Elizabeth Taylor in March 1977 with her husband, John
Warner, who was running for the United States Senate.'*^

It was, however, more and more apparent that the entire
college community never gathered together in any one location at
any one time any longer. Indeed, since the King Building was off
limits for large gi'oups, there was no structure on campus which
could hold the entire student body. Even if there had been, it
would not have been needed. Francis Auditorium and or Hunt
Lounge usually were amply sufficient for any but the most
popular events. Only freshmen and seniors, and not all of them,
attended Founders' Day ceremonies which were now held at the
Student Activities Center on the upper campus. Fewer and fewer
students participated in Apple Day or attended the Christmas
concert. Only seniors stayed for commencement, and alumnae
homecomings were now scheduled for gi^aduation weekend since
dormitories were empty and could be used to provide housing for
them. The community of common, shared experiences was gone
and the college leaders had to find other ways of bonding students

449

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

to each other and to the college itself.

^ ^

In the spring of 1985, after it was generally known that
President Lester had resigned, news articles about her presidency
appeared in the regional and national press. One such essay said
that she left behind her a "glowing list of accomplishments - and
some nightmarish controversies. " No controversy was more bitter
and prolonged than the nine year struggle with the faculty. Dr.
Lester had written, "If the faculty could have run me off campus
tarred and feathered, they would have. It was an armed camp."^''
There had been such high hopes and great expectations in 1976
and they were so quickly dissipated. What happened?

It was a matter of both issues and perceptions. The issues
were concrete although complicated. The perceptions were nebu-
lous but very real. The struggle began when Dr. Lester proposed,
in the spring of 1977 that more "career-oriented" courses be added
to the curriculum, but insisted that no new faculty could be added
to the 54 FTE faculty presently employed. In truth, faculty num-
bers were high for the then-size of the student body (ca. 579), but
serious dimunition in numbers threatened the viability of many
academic programs the faculty had worked long and hard to
institute. The open-ended curriculum required much faculty
academic advising; the freshman honors program and the dream
of expanded honors colloquia required more, not fewer instruc-
tors. "Competency testing" and "writing across the curriculum"
were faculty intensive reforms. Faculty, from a purely profes-
sional view, felt the answer was more students (which were not
forthcoming), not fewer instructors.

To complicate matters further, in 1977, 71% of the Mary
Baldwin faculty were "tenured." The economic stresses of the
1970s had, as has been seen, limited faculty mobility and many
institutions, particularly smaller ones, were in danger of a com-
pletely tenured faculty. Studies at Mary Baldwin projected that
if all those who were presently tenured stayed until they reached
70 years of age and if younger colleagues who, under former
standards would have been granted tenure were awarded it in the
immediate years to come, the percentage of tenured faculty might
shortly reach as high as 90%. Everyone agreed that such a heavily
tenured faculty was undesirable. It prevented flexibility, diver-
sity and innovation; some older tenured faculty might become dull

450

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

and rigid. It would become an "older" group and the freshness of
younger scholars would be denied access to the college com-
munity. However, the concept of tenure was at the heart of the
guarantee of academic freedom, and, having once accepted the
AAUP guidelines, which Mary Baldwin trustees had done during
the Kelly administration, it was a brave or foolhardy administra-
tor who sought to alter them.^*^

The college records are unclear about who initated the change
in the tenure program in the fall of 1977. Whether it was a
member of the academic affairs committee of the board of trustees
or the executive committee or whether it was President Lester
herself, is a moot point. The fact remains that the trustees,
between 1977-1980, unilaterally approved several changes in the
tenure policy of the college. These changes were made without
prior faculty consultation or knowledge and when some of them
were first announced in the fall of 1977, the faculty reaction was
immediate and bitter. The president, they insisted, should have
warned them that this issue was being discussed by the trustees
and should have allowed them to participate. She had "betrayed"
them. Dr. Lester responded by noting that the board had required
her to keep the entire matter confidential until the completed
policy was ready for public announcement. The faculty never
forgave the president for what they perceived as a violation of the
proper faculty-administration relationships, and the remaining
years of the Lester administration were marred by the ongoing
controversy.

Briefly, the trustees declared that a goal of 60% tenured FTE
faculty was now the college policy. The policy was to be retroac-
tive; that is, it affected the current faculty members and their
status. No discipline should be totally "tenured in" and tenure
could be granted only to those who had had six continuous years
of service at Mary Baldwin College. Furthermore, only tenured
faculty might participate in the sabbatical leave program. By
1980, when improving finances made possible faculty and admin-
istrative raises, the trustees insisted that the money was to be
awarded with three considerations: a modest, across-the-board
increase to accommodate the impact of inflation; money to provide
for "market-place" necessities; and merit pav. The trustees were
adamant that some kind of merit system based on faculty excel-
lence must be created and they directed that the faculty devise a
method of evaluating themselves, so that a few of them could be
annually designated as "meritorious". The total number of faculty

451

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

would not be increased until the faculty/student ratio was in
balance. ^'^

The faculty organized to resist; a faculty senate was created
for the purpose of meeting and discussing these issues without
administrative persons being present. The trustees refused to re-
cognize the legitimacy of the faculty senate, but it continued to
meet. Since the senate was composed of the same faculty who held
seats on important faculty and board committees, the senate's
views could still be presented, indirectly, to the president and to
the trustees. After months of recrimination, the trustees agreed
to consider a special category of "tenurable" faculty, applying only
to those who had been already employed in 1977 and whose final
three year contracts had thus been unilaterally altered. If
eligible, such faculty would not be given tenured appointments,
but would be offered successive two-year contracts until tenured
positions became available (or until they got tired waiting). They
were not eligible for sabbatical leaves nor other tenured positions,
privileges or responsibilities, but they were not required to de-
part."^^

That compromise was as far as the trustees were willing
to go. They continued to deny voting rights to faculty and students
who sat on board committees, although this request was pre-
sented to them year after year. When the faculty committee on
committees refused to nominate a person to meet with the board
because he or she could not vote, the trustees responded that the
dean would then appoint someone to fulfill that duty. When the
faculty status and tenure committee, after two years' delibera-
tion, came up with a ponderous and unworkable merit pay plan,
the board warned that the academic dean would determine who
was eligible for merit pay if the faculty would not; and eventually
Dean Hecht found herself in the unenviable position of having to
do just that. Not surprisingly, there was universal disapproval of
the process, the nominees and the amounts. There were argu-
ments over what constituted a "terminal degree. "^^ When the
board proposed to award another Honorary Degree in 1979, the
faculty demanded the right to approve it. In an area far beyond
their legitimate concerns, the trustees entered into a debate over
whether or not students on academic probation could play varsity
sports. It is clear that, in an effort to recover some of the authority
that had been eroded in the 1970s, the trustees went beyond their
proper limits. It is equally clear that the faculty were unwilling
to accept trustee concepts of trustee responsibilities.^^

452

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

On one occasion, Dr. Lester called college governance "orga-
nized anarchy" and said that the president had to act "as an ex-
ecutive officer for a governing board of lay trustees, the presiding
officer of the faculty, and the chief administrative officer of the
support services." The faculty, she said, don't understand the
charter provisions about the duties of the president, but cling to
their misunderstanding "tenaciously." "From the faculty point of
view, the board and the president only arrive at a proper decision
if that decision is what the faculty wants to hear," she declared.^^
The president's efforts to "educate" the faculty about the proper
relationships between the administration and faculty were never
successful and irretrievably embittered their relationships.

In retrospect, and with the advantages of hindsight, it appears
much of this controversy might have been avoided. If the presi-
dent and the trustees had not insisted on applying the new tenure
policy retroactively; if they had been willing to agree that "no
tenured-in discipline" was a goal, not an absolute demand; if they
had worked with the faculty to agree on these modifications, the
story of the Lester administration might have been far different.
Both sides overreacted and were reflecting their experiences in
the early 1970s. Both were partially justified in their positions.
Both trustees and faculty had assertive if not arrogant individu-
als, whose rhetoric and inflexibility compounded the difficulties.
And Dr. Lester did not have the personal qualities of mediation
and compromise to lead them.

The question of facult}/ perceptions about the president is less
tangible but equally important. The faculty had great difficulty
in appreciating Dr. Lester's academic credentials. She had had
little experience in the traditional, liberal arts college classroom,
and it was hard for her to be accepted as one of a liberal arts
faculty. Her doctorate had been awarded from an institution few
had heard of, and its course of study was different from the more
familiar pattern of the gi^aduate schools from which they them-
selves had come. Many faculty tended to think of Dr. Lester as
a "technician" who had been hired to straighten out the college
finances and to raise money. It was difficult for them to see her
as a person responsible for curriculum development and faculty
well-being. After her initial efforts to propose specific course
additions to attract and retain students in 1977, Lester experi-
mented with leaving the academic progi^am to her deans. She
hoped, she explained to the trustees, that she could "minimize the
adversarial relationship" that had developed between the faculty

453

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

and the previous administration, by using "peer evaluation" and
lessening committee work so that faculty could get on with their
major responsibility - teaching.'^'*

It is clear, however, that she was deeply hurt by the prevail-
ing attitude that she was not academically respectable. She
sought, in periodic reports to the faculty, particularly in the early
years, to discuss her educational philosophy. She considered
herself a pioneer, on the forefront of efforts to develop programs
for a wide diversity of students, many of whom could not study in
a traditional setting.^^ On at least one occasion, she presented
some truly eloquent remarks to the trustees, quoting John Adams,
Thomas Jefferson, Plato and Cicero. She repeated, in many in-
stances, her concerns about change, adaptability, the "pain" that
growing involves. She frequently said that she respected the
faculty, that they were "highly credentialed." On one occasion,
toward the end of her presidency, she wrote, "It would be im-
possible for me to love them more." But she was never able to win
from most of the faculty the respect she sought.

She was only human. As the debates over tenure and merit
seemed endless and increasingly intolerant, she delivered herself
of some sharp and pointed comments:

Colleagues, no one is more aware than I that
the successful leadership of an academic
institution is dependent upon consent. In no
other institution is that principle as important
as it is in academia. The titular head is power-
less if those whom he seeks to lead choose not to
follow. All decisions run the almost certain
risk of displeasing someone. The harder the
decision, the more bitter the disappointment for
those who perceive their interests are not served
by that decision, I am capable of those hard
decisions. My record stands for all to scrutinize
and [I] know that in the past those decisions may
not always have been popular, but they were
made with intention for the common good of this
community and, furthermore, resulted in mira-
culous progress for this community.

However, we are not in the same moment
of history that we were in the past. Many of

454

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

the decisions we have yet to make are decisions
we failed to make earher. I consider it a waste
of valuable energy and human resources if we
are going to spend our time looking backward
instead of forward. If we are unwilling to pull
together toward the common goal, we surely will
fail this time. If we spend our time defending
individual or particular group interests to the
detriment of progress for the total community, we
will not do it. All of our energies are finite. ...If
we must redo, reexplain, defend, beg for decisions
that we all know in our deepest hearts must be
made despite the pain of making them, there will
be no energy left for progi'ess. There are no quick
fixes, there are no miracles, there is just doing
the job with what we have available to us....

I am challenging all of you to a tremendous
task. I know from past experience with many
of you that you are equal to the challenge. I
would suggest to others that you search your
own souls and decide whether this is a job you
want to take on. If the answer is negative, I
would further suggest you can make a positive
contribution to those of us who have work to do
by refraining from being a negative force or,
if that is impossible, seeking a place that
has all the resources currently in place that
will satisfy your desires. "^^

The breach between the president and the faculty was now
complete. It would never be healed.

By the end of the Lester administration, an uneasy truce, born
of impasse and exhaustion, was in place. Increasingly, the divi-
sion coordinators, who had absorbed the priorities committee, the
educational policy committee and the academic dean, were as-
suming their rightful duties. In 1984, there were 59 FTE faculty,
including the ADP director and seven ADP teachers. Lester had
appointed over half of them. As had been the case with Dr. Kelly,
many of these faculty members left after a few years at the college,
but others have remained to give strength to the present admin-
istration. ^^

455

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

Early in the Lester years, it seemed that students were set-
thng down into a more balanced life style. In common with their
contemporaries, these young women expressed greater interest in
health, nutrition, physical activity and environmental concerns.
Although no one was required to register for Physical Education
courses until the curriculum revision of 1984, there was increas-
ing student interest in sports, carefully cultivated by the dedi-
cated Physical Education faculty. The tennis team continued to
be visible and popular, and the MALTA tournament celebrated its
20'^ anniversary on the Mary Baldwin College campus in 1980.
Campus Comments gave more space, often a whole page, to sports
activities. The swimming team was revived after a ten-year lapse;
riding was again briefly popular; golf, fencing, volleyball, field
hockey, lacrosse, dance - all had their adherents. Basketball was
particularly strong during the Lester years. Cheerleaders were
elected; the team defiantly called themselves the "Squirrels" and
were often cheered on to victory by President Lester herself. By
1982, the college had joined the Old Dominion Athletic Conference
and participated in intercollegiate contests. Intramurals were
encouraged and dormitory competition was often keen. In 1979,
a universal weight machine was purchased and faculty and stu-
dents participated in body building and strengthening exercises.
Two years later (1986) a new private facility in Staunton, the
Racquet Club, provided indoor tennis courts and eventually an
Olympic sized swimming pool, which were available for limited
student use. But the college felt strongly the need for more
modern and updated sports facilities. There had been hopes of
using some of the SMA buildings for a modern gymnasium, but
academic and living space priorities had converted what had been
the military academy sports facilities into other uses. Adequate
financial support for a new physical education building simply
never surfaced.

Throughout these years, an ongoing "conversation" with the
Staunton YMCA sought to combine the needs of both institutions
into some kind of joint facility use. It will be recalled that the "Y"
had purchased 8.38 acres from the college in 1976 and had
proceeded to erect a new YMCA Center on the perimeter of the
campus. But the "Y" could not afford the $1 milhon required to
build a swimming pool; neither could Mary Baldwin. The Lester

456

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

administration and the "Y" made sincere and lengthy efforts to
share their resources, but scheduhng difficulties, personality
conflicts and contradictory needs assessments meant the effort
failed. ^«

Many students admired Dr. Lester but here, as with the
faculty, she had difficulty in projecting her concern and her
respect for them. She wanted the students to be like her -
determined to become all they could be. She had said on one
occasion, "I want my cake and to eat it too. I think men get it and
I want it. I don't want to give up to get it. I didn't decide to cut
anything out of my life. I am still looking for it all."^'^ When
students failed to embrace her single-minded determination to
succeed, she was disappointed.

Her patience wore thin, however, when, year after year, a
series of student "raids" between VMI and Mary Baldwin oc-
curred. Originally viewed as "tension breakers," these midnight
forays became destructive, frightening to young women who were
unprepared for shaving cream, flour, and buckets of water dis-
persed throughout their dormitories, physically dangerous and
difficult to explain to parents of prospective students, alumnae,
trustees and others. Eventually General Irby from VMI and Pre-
sident Lester met publicly to explain and prohibit, but nothing
seemed to persuade the students to find other ways of expressing
their relationships. The raids continued unabated until the stu-
dents themselves, in 1981, declared "enough is enough" and quit.'^°

There were other occasions where Dr. Lester's bluntness or
anger provoked student criticism. Once, some playful young
women put goldfish in the salad bar. Outraged at the expense and
waste, Dr. Lester ordered the contaminated dishes to remain on
public view, so that the students themselves would be critical of
such practices. Campus Comments noted that the order was
"inhumane and thoughtless."^^

Dr. Lester had told the trustees that overnight male guests in
the dormitories placed her in an embarrassing situation when she
was at regional church or alumnae meetings. She declared that
she did not "condone" premarital sex and tried to provide students
with alternative social situations. But the student pressure for
parietals had not yet waned, and when the president and the dean
of students attended some house meetings and were critical of

457

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

student behavior, their remarks were resented. "The students'
private conduct does not harm the academic reputation of the
school," they insisted. ■'^- Most trustees, visitors, synod officials and
many alumnae did not agree with them.

For much of her administration, Dr. Lester was fortunate in
her deans of students. Both Mary Lou Kiley and Mona Olds
established good working and personal relationships with the
student body and instituted many programs which made student
life more pleasant. The 50th anniversary of the establishment of
the Honor System, Charter Night and the Student Government
Association was observed with reunions, speakers and much
ceremony in 1979. By 1980, the old infirmary, never popular even
in the seminary days, had been replaced by a "wellness" clinic, and
much emphasis was placed on "responsible drinking," protective
sexual behavior and respect for the privacy of fellow classmates.
By 1979, the students themselves agreed that cigarette smoking
in classrooms violated the rights of non-smokers, and, much to
the relief of at least some of the faculty, the ashtrays disappeared
from Academic. ^^ The sophomore shows continued with some
memorable efforts, such as "Oliver," "Music Man," "Mame," "The
Boyfriend" and "Bye Bye Birdie. " Touch tone telephones appeared
on the campus in 1977, as did the first lighting of the "luminaries"
for the "Christmas Cheer" concert and community reception
which followed the annual service at the First Presbyterian
Church. The much-awaited "Rathskeller," located in the newly
enlarged Wenger Student Center in 1977, went through a series
of management contractors and names. At various times it was
called "The Greenhouse," the "Colleatery," "Ye Merry Be Pub" and
ultimately just "The Pub." The students found it hard to live with;
they objected to the hours, the type of food and drink served and
the prices. They found it equally hard to live without it, and
eventually (in the Tyson regime) it was moved to the first floor of
Spencer, rechristened "The Chute," and was operated by the food
service personnel. By 1985, Virginia State law had raised the
legal drinking age to 21 (in a series of carefully planned incre-
ments) and this, more than any other single factor, altered the life-
style of the college undergraduates. Mary Baldwin College had
always been on a kind of "lifetime probation" as far as the A.B.C.
Board was concerned and the various deans and student leaders
enforced state regulations conscientiously. By 1983, there were
no more mid-week "mixers" and the public consumption of alco-
hol was much reduced. °^

458

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

From time to time, Campus Comments carried a "What's In"
and "What's Out" feature. In 1978, topsiders, ribbon belts, good
dress coats, briefcases, scotch woodcock and "rainbow meat" were
out; down vests, tennis shoes, Lite beer, shagging, water fights
(one memorable one occurred between Spencer and Woodson
dormitories in 1983), bookbags, chicken fillets and salad bars
were in. The bookstore sold "tee" shirts emblazoned with the
slogan, "We're college students. We can do anything we want," and
there were heated arguments over the new "soft" bottled drink,
"Chelsea," which was non-alcoholic but resembled beer. Students
were reading The World According to Garp, Far Pavilions. Eye
of the Needle, The Woman's Room. Their choices of movies
included "Ki'amer vs Kramer," "Breaking Away," "Forty Carats,"
"Wait Until Dark," and "Norma Rae." Campus Comments regu-
larly carried summaries of the popular soap operas, particularly
"General Hospital." The newly opened pizza and fast food outlets
would deliver to the college dormitories and were very popular.
"Senior Day," a concept begun a few years previously, became
increasingly raucous and in 1983 got completely out of hand, with
students exchanging vasoline "bombs," squirt gun salutes and
shaving cream facials. That year, the event happened to coincide
with a high school visiting day, and Dr. Lester decreed that
henceforth seniors could not wear their academic robes or invade
classrooms on "their" day. Everyone wryly agreed that the toned
down celebration lacked the class spirit of the earlier exuberant
but thoughtless escapades. ^^

Other changes reflected student values and student concerns.
"Alternative housing" facilities, instituted by Dean Kiley, proved
to be (and continue to be) very popular, but the rise of urban
violence, even in as small an "urban" setting as Staunton, brought
the welcome presence of the police chief to the campus to present
programs on rape prevention and self defense. The Honor System,
the concept of which had been under attack on many college
campuses since the early 1970s, was reevaluated, refined and
reinforced. Drug violations were made the province of the judi-
ciary board and the rights of those accused of major challenges of
the college policies were carefully specified and observed. Here
again. Dr. Lester, treading a difficult gi^ound between irate
parents, the college legal counsel and opportunistic lawyers, ran
afoul of student opinion. On two occasions, the students felt that
she had not supported their decisions in the appeal process, and
they thereupon amended the SGA Constitution so that an inter-

459

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

mediary appeals board was interposed between the student courts
and the college president.''''

As might be expected, President Lester and the college publi-
cations often clashed during these nine years. The size, frequen-
cy and financial stability of Campus Comments, the Miscellany
even the Bluestocking were all altered. As early as 1976, when a
student who was a non-voting member of the trustees' student life
committee had told a reporter of Campus Comments about some
tentative plans for the SMA property, the relationship with the
administration was strained. The student reporters complained
that they found it hard to interview members of the administra-
tion, and that the campus publications were slighted in favor of
releasing stories to the state and regional press. Stung by the
frequent critical stories about her or by what she considered to
be information unfavorable to the college, Dr. Lester directly
intervened. By 1980, a detailed student publications policy and a
"code of ethics" had been formulated at the insistence of the
president and the trustees. While reiterating their belief in the
"freedom and independence of all student media," the policy
declared that "student editors and business managers, because
they are not professional journalists, need guidance in their
work." The student media were to be "responsive to the concerns
of the college." Campus Comments was to maintain "the highest
standards of accuracy, truthfulness and fairness; the privacy and
rights of all individuals were to be respected. " Campus Comments
"must not impugn the character or motives of the individual
without substantial evidence; nor shall it ever violate a confi-
dence." There were detailed statements about the duties and
responsibilities of the student editors of all the colleges' publica-
tions and complex grievance procedures were established."

It would be unfair to suggest that the decline in the quality of
the student publications (a decline which is only too evident)
resulted directly from these events. By the mid-1970s, in most
college and university campuses, the student press had either
withdrawn completely from the institution of which they had been
a part and had become financially independent as well as content
independent, or had a much diminished role to play. Print media
were no longer where "it was at" (to use the college vernacular),
and there seems to have been little student awareness at Mary
Baldwin College and other institutions of how much their publi-
cations were changing or of protest about it. By the mid-1980s,
another of the institutions and traditions that had promoted

460

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

campus communication and shared experiences had lost visibil-
ity and strength.

Another sensitive area had to do with graduation. The sen-
iors of these years had serious objections to the process by which
commencement speakers were chosen. It will be recalled that,
during the Spencer era, the practice of having a commencement
speaker had been dropped in favor of a few farewell remarks
delivered by the president himself. There was always, of course,
a baccalaureate address, usually presented by a Presbyterian
minister or church official. He (it was always "he" in those days)
was often a father, uncle, or some close relative of a graduating
senior and the choice had been made by mutual agreement. But,
at the end of the Kelly years, the baccalaureate and the com-
mencement ceremonies had been combined, and Dr. Lester, con-
tinuing this format, had reintroduced the idea of a secular speaker
and had limited the religious aspects of the program. The seniors
now insisted that they be allowed to choose who would present the
address. Dr. Lester was initially agi^eeable but gi^ew impatient
when the students' choices were inappropriate or unrealistic. The
students were often dilatory in extending their invitations, and
their choices often delayed responding. The president was then
left with the task of securing a speaker at the last moment.
Always precipitative. Dr. Lester soon insisted on guidelines and
timetables which the students resented. ^"^

There was also the matter of occasional unfortunate newspa-
per or periodical stories about the college. Dr. Lester tried very
hard to win national recognition for Mary Baldwin, but there were
times when reporters exaggerated or quoted out of context her
remarks, and the resulting coverage was upsetting to much of the
college constituency.^''

Thus, in three major areas of college relationships, the faculty,
some students, and much of the local community, the Lester pre-
sidency had never won acceptance. It was with external contacts,
trustees, professional boards and associations, government and
corporate officials, that she had succeeded. It was not enough.

The point has already been made that Dr. Lester found the
presidency a challenging but lonely position. She sought, each
summer, surcease from the strain of her office - the "academic
combat zone," as David Reisman called it - by taking long trips,

461

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

usually alone, during her annual month's vacation. She went to
Russia, China, the Caribbean, Egypt and Alaska at various times,
as well as visits with her daughters and her parents in Philadel-
phia. But the time-outs did not accomplish at least one of her pur-
poses. Each time, when she returned, the tensions and disagree-
ments were still there and, as the years went on, she was no closer
to solving them. The turnover in the administration increased,
the faculty remained defiant and, although the trustees continued
to raise her salary and to support her in every way, she began to
consider future options. There had been tentative approaches
from other colleges, but none appeared to have come to fruition. In
1982, the Mary Baldwin trustees had offered her a five-year
contract, but she had agreed to only a three-year commitment;
and in October 1984, Virginia L. Lester announced her resigna-
tion as the president of Mary Baldwin College, effective June
1985. She had, she declared, some "unfinished business" to attend
to. She had privately registered for a law school admissions
review course, had taken the necessary examinations to
complete an application process and had sought admission, at age
54, to some of the most prestigious law schools in the country. She
was accepted at several and chose to matriculate at Stanford
University, beginning in the fall of 1985. The hapless faculty
advisor of those long ago undergraduate days at Penn State who
had once told her that she was not "smart enough" to go to law
school had finally been proven wrong - and Virginia Lester had
gathered up her considerable courage to make a dramatic mid-
life career change.'''^

Lester spent her last year at Mary Baldwin working on several
projects and projecting future needs. She took a swing though the
South in the spring of 1985 - a "sentimental journey" she called it,
visiting alumnae chapters and old foundation and corporate
friends. She worked hard on the proposed PEG program and was
instrumental in securing the initial grant from the Jessie Ball
duPont Fund which supported it. She made lists of unfinished
business: the King Building needed renovation; the future of
North Barracks had to be decided; the relationship with the
YMCA was not yet resolved; a new major capital fund campaign
should be projected; the ADP program needed incorporation more
fully into the life of the college; the mail service needed overhaul-
ing; parkingproblems, apparently unsolvable, needed to be solved;
and the advisory board of visitors should be expanded and restruc-
tured.

462

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

On 12 April 1985, the board of trustees and the college staff
gave Virginia Lester an elaborate testimonial dinner in Hunt
Hall. Her family, professional friends, former and present admin-
istrators, alumnae, some faculty and student leaders joined to
wish her well. In response to the speeches. Dr. Lester repeated her
oft-stated dictum, "The only constant in life is change." Later, at
Class Night, she seemed deeply moved. "Our memories will
preserve the best of the past; our courage can embrace the best of
the future," she declared.^^ At her final commencement, she
murmured, "Lady college presidents are allowed to cry," but in an
interview with the Times Dispatch she exulted, "Nobody's going
to know who I am." And then, she was gone.*^'-

The trustees had had ample time to seek Virginia Lester's
replacement, and this time there was no dearth of applicants.
Of the eight finalists, six were presently college presidents else-
where, which proved, David Riesman wrote, that in 1985, profes-
sionals perceived the presidency of Mary Baldwin as an "opportu-
nity" as well as a challenge. That spring, the trustees elected Dr.
Cynthia Haldenby Tyson as the eighth president of Mary Baldwin
College.

463

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

Notes

1 MBB, Sept. 1976, July, 1977. The four "mentors" (all men)
were Lawrence Park, president of Mansfield State College of
Pennsylvania and her student teacher supervisor of her under-
graduate studies, Joseph C. Palamountain, Jr., president of
Skidmore College, Roy Fairfield of Union Graduate School, and
William R. Dodge, dean. Empire State College. Virginia Lester
intended there to be female role models for the women of Mary
Baldwin.

- MBB, July, 1977

3 MBB, Nov. 1976; Minutes Fac. October, 1976; Minutes EC
4 June 1976, 15 Oct. 1976. The Russell Scholar Award was
established by the college in 1952 to honor the many contributions
and services of Margarett Kable Russell.

' Minutes EC 22 Dec. 1976

5 Minutes BT 15-16 Oct. 1976. Martha Anne Page chaired
a Staunton alumnae effort to raise funds for the purchase and
$23,000 was raised locally. Several alumnae and trustees made
initial gifts totahng $400,000; the land sold to the YMCA gener-
ated another $193,200; the Edgewood president's home was sold
for $150,000. Gifts to the college of other real estate in Texas and
elsewhere helped to provide the required purchase price. In spite
of the fact that the SMA account was budgeted separately from
either the New Dimensions (at first) or the current operating
budget and that "no borrowing" was involved, it was obvious that
resources the college might have generated to increase its meager
endowment and to repay the money borrowed to run the college
during the years of deficit operating budgets had gone to the SMA
purchase. Faculty and others were not slow to make this connec-
tion. It should be noted, however, that any college fund-raiser will
agree it is always easier to raise money for buildings and property
than it is for abstractions such as "endowment" or "research
funds."

^ President Lester knew many consulting firms appropriate
for college problems and used them freely, often securing their
services for reduced fees or as gifts because of her past connec-
tions. The Ford Foundation consultants were George M. Notter,
Jr. and Richard Dober and their advice proved invaluable. On
other occasions, she employed Coopers & Lybrand to advise on the
reorganization of the business office and several others to suggest
improvements in the admissions and publications processes. She

464

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

invited the Association of Governing Boards to hold a workshop
for the trustees in 1983, and stepped on faculty toes when she
reported that some of her consultants had recommended that
more career-oriented courses be added to the curriculum in order
to attract and retain students. Not everyone understood or
appreciated such advice and often considered it an unnecessary
expense. Campus Comments editorialized that consultants were
not needed because "common sense could figure it out," 13 Apr.
1979. However, unlike many administrators, Virginia Lester took
the recommendations of her consultants seriously and often acted
on their advice.

^ John Owen had estimated that it might take until 1997 to
fully integi'ate the upper and lower campuses. Although the
passing years have erased any student (and many alumnae)
memories of separate campuses, there still remain some projects
to be completed, so Owen's estimate is probably valid. It is
interesting to note that Virginia Lester thought the college should
change the SMA building names as quickly as possible, but in
several cases that was not done. Tullidge Hall, now housing the
PEG students, Kable, which is an upperclass dormitory, Kable
House, which shelters the Sena Center, remain as reminders of
the previous occupants. The name of Memorial Gymnasium has
been changed to the Deming Fine Ails Center, but the cannon
remains on Cannon Hill and has become almost as much of a Mary
Baldwin symbol as it was for SMA. The Pannill Student Center
is rising (1991) on the site of old South Barracks, and a new
winding, tree-lined driveway directs traffic from Coalter Street to
the upper campus where visitor parking is available.

^ The quotation is from John Mehner's annual report to the
trustees, 14 April 1977. He also praised Dean Dorothy Mulberry's
"extraordinary work" and Vice President Patteson's reactivation
of the New Dimensions campaign. The faculty did not so much
object to the new course proposals - although there was some
question about the relationship to the liberal arts - as they did the
implication that some of them in "unpopular" areas, such as
languages. Religion and Philosophy, Physical Education, Music,
might be riffed in favor of hiring faculty who could teach in the
new areas identified as important to matriculating freshmen.
They also objected to being told by "outside consultants," whom
they had not selected, what courses they should be teaching.
Matters of curricula were traditionally the business of the faculty.
Minutes Fac. 5 Oct. 1976; 14 Apr. 1977

465

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

^ Dr. Lester fully recognized the seriousness of frozen faculty
salaries, both as a matter of morale and a matter of justice. She
was often unfairly criticized for keeping faculty compensation low
in comparison to the "sister" colleges in order to balance her
budgets or to support pet projects. Contrary to rumors, faculty
salaries were raised each year of the Lester presidency and by
1984-85 were on the average 80% higher than they had been in
1976. They still did not meet AAUP guidehnes. Dr. Lester
explained that she was dealing with a "moving target" - all the
college's competitors were increasing salaries as well. During this
same time frame, 1976-1985, consumer prices in the United
States increased 89%, so in terms of purchasing power, salaries
for faculty and staff had actually decreased over the nine-year
period. Dr. Lester's successes in balancing the operating budget
and producing surpluses were not cause for universal admiration.
Faculty tended to feel that less "surplus" and higher faculty
salaries should have been the priority. Lester needed her sur-
pluses for capital improvements and to retire the college's "inter-
nal" debt, but faculty felt they were having to pay an unfair share
for the mistakes of the past administration.

Although the decision to drop college membership in the
King Series had been initiated as part of the last-minute Kelly
economics, the results did not become apparent until the first year
of the Lester presidency. She therefore got the blame when the
King Series, which had begun in 1947, limped alongfor a fewyears
and then collapsed. Dr. Lester had said the organization could use
King Auditorium for a fee, but the college would not renew its
membership. Those who remembered the community contribu-
tions towards the construction of the King Building in 1942 and
the college agreement that it could be used for civic, as well as
college functions, felt that the college was betraying them. They
overlooked the fact that the city fire marshal had warned that
new, more stringent safety regulations prohibited the use of King
Auditorium by more than 4-500 persons so that, in any case, the
physical space was no longer appropriate. Eventually the old King
Series became two separate entities: the Broman concerts, spon-
sored by the college, usually held in Francis Auditorium, and the
Community Concert Series, which now meets at the John Lewis
Auditorium of Robert E. Lee High School. President's Report to
the Trustees, 14 Apr. 1984 in Minutes BT; Article, untitled, in the
Washington Post 18 Mar. 1985.

^^ Dr. Lester's reiteration to herself that she could do what she

466

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester 11976-1985)

set out to do stemmed from an event in her undergraduate college
life. She wished to study law, but her faculty advisor had told her
that she did not have the potential for such rigorous study and
suggested that she prepare to teach elementary classes, instead.
When she reentered the work force, she often had to tell herself
that she could meet the new challenges presented to her as she
reinforced her own feelings of self-confidence.

Her personal letters are sprinkled with the phrase "our
emerald gi-een hills," and her daughter Valerie, talking to a
reporter after Dr. Lester had resigned the presidency, insisted she
was not "hard" and unfeeling, but really cared. Richmond Times
Dispatch 7 Apr. 1985; Roanoke Times and World News 22 Dec.
1984; News Leader, 31 May 1985

^^ President's Remarks to the Faculty: Minutes Fac. 3 Sept.
1980; President's Remarks to the Board of Trustees, Minutes BT
especially 14 Apr. 1984. It should be noted that the New Dimen-
sions campaign had budgeted $500,000 for "current operating
funds." All of this amount and more had been funneled into the
current budgets of the deficit Kelly and early Lester years.
Additional, undesignated New Dimension funds had been "bor-
rowed" as well, which helps to explain the delay in establishing
the Doming Chair in Business Administration. All those bor-
rowed funds were eventually returned by the end of the Lester
administration. See also: George McCune, "History of Fund
Raising Campaigns", Mss in College Aixhives.

12 The VFIC celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1977. At a
special meeting held at The Homestead, the 34 businessmen and
the presidents of the 12 member colleges were told that since its
foundingin 1952, the gi^oup had raised $22 million which had been
distributed on the basis of enrollment to its college members.
During the Lester administration, Mary Baldwin College re-
ceived about $100,000 a year - an important component in its
operating budget. Since 1967, the Mednick Memorial Fund has
also been administered by the VFIC and the Mary Baldwin faculty
benefited from those gi^ants as well. Lea Booth, who had been the
Executive Secretary for all of the organization's existence, retired
in Sept. 1977. To enliven the banquet given in his honor, a giant
cardboard cake was created, out of which President Lester emerged
at an appropriate moment. Although she was fully clothed, some
traditionalists and feminists thought (for different reasons) such
a display inappropriate. MBB Aug. 1979; Lester Mss; College
Archives; CC 28 Sept. 1979.

467

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

13 Of this amount, 46% ($6,359,822) was designated for the
endowment. George McCune to Patricia Menk, 23 Oct. 1991,
College Archives.

1^ The trustees of the Lester era worked very hard and many
made sacrificial financial contributions. They found new sources
of revenue for the president and provided personnel for an "Execu-
tive in the Classroom" program. They chaired the New Develop-
ment and Capital Campaign committees; they patiently listened
to lengthy reports from the faculty and student members of their
own board committees. Dr. Lester organized an orientation
program for new trustees, required all of them to attend a two-day
workshop sponsored by the Association of Governing Boards, and
made it very clear to them that they had responsibilities far
beyond appearing for meetings twice a year. There were notice-
ably more women than had previously served, many of whom were
not alumnae, and in 1980 Rosemarie Sena, who had joined the
trustees in 1978, became the first woman to serve as Chairman of
the Board, a position she held until her untimely death in July,
1985. She was a senior vice president of Shearson/Lehman
Brothers, Inc., served on several corporate boards and on the
Israel Cancer Research Foundation and the Museum of Modern
Art boards, as well. Virginia Lester admired and respected her
and, in time, they became friends. After her death, the college's
Career and Life Planning Center was named in honor of Rosemarie
Sena.

Among others who supported the Lester presidency and the
college with skill and dedication were : Andrew J. Brent, George
Cochran, Anne Dickson, Daniel G. Donovan, Elizabeth Doenges,
Bertie Doming, Richard S. Ernst, Anna Kate Hipp, Margaret
Hitchman, Caroline Hunt, Margaret Hunt Hill, Ralph Kittle,
Charlotte Lunsford, Patty Joe Montgomery, P.W. Moore, Sr.,
Betty Southard Murphy, Kenneth Randall, Rev. R. Jackson Sadler
and W. W. Sproul. For a complete list of all active and associate
trustees, 1976-1985, see the college Catalogues.

1^ Cat. 1976-77; 1984-85. In spite of the increases, each
student cost the college $1600 a year more than she paid in fees
and tuition. The differences had to be made up from the Annual
Fund, grants and special programs. Campus Comments. Inter-
view, Laura O'Hear and Virginia Lester, 1 Feb. 1982.

1*^ The quotation is from a Lester interview published in the
Washington Post 18 Mar. 1985. The goal of 40 new students ayear
was not met if one considers "traditional" students (FTE). It was

468

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

if ADP students are counted.

^' Enrollment of "traditional" FTE students improved some-
what in the late 1970s but dropped again in the 80s, to Dr. Lester's
dismay. There had been 582 students enrolled in 1976-77, and in
1985-86 there were only 597, although there had been as many as
660 in 1982-83. The ADP enrollments, however, had steadily
grown, and in 1985-86 there were 225 enrolled, allowing the
college to report a total enrollment of 833. The first ADP student
to receive her B.A. degree from Mary Baldwin was Diane Babral
on 27 May 1978. There is no question that the ADP played a major
role in the college's viability, although many traditional faculty
continued to question its academic quality. David Riesman
suggests that, to traditional faculty, "...those who teach adults are
not quite respectable - not true colleagues." Eventually, as more
and more of the faculty and students became acquainted with the
ADP's , they were more fully accepted - even admired. Those who
attended some on - campus classes provided a lively challenge for
the traditional students, who perceived that they worked very
hard, were well-organized and labored under pressures of family
and jobs unknown to the younger women. A few ADP students
have been in their 60s and 70s, but the median age is about 35. In
1980, FIPSE (Foundation for the Improvement of Post-Secondary
Education) awarded Mary Baldwin College a grant to enable ADP
personnel to act as resource persons to southern colleges who were
interested in establishing similar progi^ams. Self Study July
1987; Green, Levine and Associates, ed. Opportunity in Adver-
sity: How Colleges Can Succeed in Hard Times: MBB Nov. 1980.

^^ Initiation of the PEG progi^am was funded by a $250,000
grant from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.

^^ Richmond Times Dispatch 7 Apr. 1985 The article com-
ments that changes in personnel and policies were not done
"gracefully or consultantly."

-" Of the former administrative handbook. Dr. Lester re-
marked that it "smacked of distrust and one-upmanship ...inad-
equate salaries seemed to breed inappropriate titles." President's
Report to the Board, 11-12 Apr. 1980. The appointees involved
included: Academic Dean: Dorothy Mulberry, 1975-80; Michael
Pincus, 1980-82; Irene Hecht, 1982-85; Dorothy Mulberry, 1985-
86 (Acting). Vice President: Roy Patteson, 1976-77; Wilham
Wehner, 1977-80; John Wighton, 1980-83; Robert A. Jones, 1983,
Kenneth Armstrong, 1984-86. Physical Plant Director: Roger
Palmer, 1969-1978; Clay Bennett, 1978-80; Rosalind Howell,

469

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

1980-83; Richard Barron, 1984-85; Allen Martin, 1985-to date.
Alumnae Executive Director: Virginia Munce, 1963-79; Latane
Ware Long, 1979; Sylvia Baldwin, 1979-82; Lee Foster, 1982-88.
Public Relations: Janet Ferguson, Betty Lambert, Virginia Munce,
Marcella Gulledge, Anne Brandt, Ron Burris, John A. Wells. By
the end of the Lester administration, two lengthy and
comprehensive Handbooks had been produced, one for the admin-
istration and staff, the other for the faculty. In particular, the
faculty Handbook had required years to write, reflecting the deep
disagreements that existed between the president and the fac-
ulty. Dr. Lester told the trustees that "the dilemma will continue"
unless the proper relationship between the president, the dean
and the faculty "can be cleared up." The faculty, she continued
"misunderstand my authority and this will be a problem no
matter who is president." The faculty "misunderstandings are
held to tenaciously," she concluded. She said that particularly the
long process in revising the faculty Handbook "foreshadows an
increasingly litigious society" during the next decade. President's
Report to the Board, 14 Apr. 1984; 13 Apr. 1985.

21 CC 18 Mar. 1983

22 16 Nov. 1978. There were some "middle management"
administrators whose years of service at the college predated both
Lester and Kelly. They brought continuity and needed flexibility
in the face of many turnovers. Frank Pancake and George
McCune wore many hats, all of which seemed to fit. Carolyn
Meeks (who moved to the president's office in 1981), Ellen Holtz,
Bettie Beard, Ann Shenk, Richard Crone, Bertie Huggard, Ed-
ward C. Dietz, Margaret Wikel, Betty Barr, collectively probably
knew more about the college than most people imagined and they
were silent and discreet. Although living conditions in the
dormitories and elsewhere were much altered, the students still
formed close relationships with long-time college employees.
Campus Comments reported in 1978 that Hattie Thomas, who
had taken care of "her girls" for more than 25 years, was a friend
to all. In 1981, as she prepared to retire, the students said, "In her
own special way, she reaches all of us." They also praised Melva
Smith, who had come to the college in 1967 and was made the head
cook in 1982. "Others include: Bertie Huggard, Charlotte White
and Marian Veney." CC. 1 Mar. 1978; 9 Apr. 1981, 3 Dec. 1982.

23 CC 14 Feb. 1980; 20 Nov. 1980; 5 Nov. 1981; Lester Mss
College Archives.

2^ Lester Mss; College Archives. Although Dr. Pennell had

470

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

ample reason to feel that she had been unfairly treated, there is
only one occasion in the records that indicates how much she had
been hurt. The 20 Mar. 1978 CC included a letter written by her
explaining, once again, the nature of the services the Center
offered, and how it differed from the Women's Center. "I felt
slapped in the face," she wrote, when the story about Dorothy
Geare said "Students now have a place to go to assist them in all
aspects of life."

Dr. Lester researched the whole affair in the college's
records and convinced herself that any permanent contract with
the synod had been voided by the move back to Riddle, which, in
her view, was intended to be temporary. Her files contain many
letters from distressed or critical Presbyterians, and the whole
episode did the college's reputation much harm. Dr. Lester always
insisted that her first priority had to be the college's welfare, and
that she needed the space.

25 Minutes BT 29 Jan. 1980; Lester Mss; College Aixhives.
Virginia Lester to Josiah Bunting III (President of Hampden-
Sydney), 8 Dec. 1977.

26 Minutes Synod of the Virginias, 1977-85; MBB, Mar. 1980;
CC 17 Nov. 1977; 16 Nov. 1978; 8 Oct. 1982.

-' In 1989 and 1990, Mary Baldwin agi^eed to let a group
representing SMA alumni operate a summer school program on
the campus. There were hopes that this could be a beginning of a
revitalized academy, but the number of enrollees was small, and,
by mutual consent, they did not return in the summer of 1991.

2^ Dr. Lester, with encouragement from the trustees, tried to
mend the community fences. In 1977-78, she gave receptions for
local government and church personnel and the economic and
social leaders of Staunton/ Augusta County. She soon found such
entertainments expensive, unrewarding and not reciprocated.
Her insistence that any community users of college facilities must
henceforth pay a users fee, her barely concealed feeling that
Staunton needed the college more than the college needed Staun-
ton and that councilmen and supervisors should be aware of that
fact, and some unfortunate press reports all mitigated against her
acceptance by the community. She made few friends, either on the
faculty or in town, and she was often solitary. She wrote to a
distant friend, "...the winter looks long and uneventful socially,"
and again, "Some days this job is staggering and the end seems
never in sight. Too often the job is lonely and misunderstood." A
note reporting that she had enjoyed a trip to the Caribbean

471

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

concluded, "It is lonely when you go by yourself ." Lester Mss, 27
Sept. 1978, 7 Aug. 1979 and elsewhere. College Archives; MBB
March 1979.

2^ In January, 1982, the college sold the Music Building which
it had acquired in 1941 to Historic Investments Partnerships, one
of whose owners was Ken Armstrong. The proceeds, $130,000
were used toward renovations of Deming Fine Arts Center. In
recent years, the college has rented the building, now called C. W.
Miller House, for its offices of development and institutional
advancement. CC 28 Jan. 1982.

It should be noted that the purchase of the SMA property,
the remodeling of the buildings (Kable and Deming), and all of the
other expenses of demolition, painting, plantings, parking lots,
etc., would not have been possible without the continuing support
and contributions of the Hunt, Deming, Murphy, Keller, Nolan
and Montgomery families. Their commitments to the college go
back in time to the 1940s and have continued to the present with
the recent major renovations of Hill Top and Memorial dormitor-
ies on the "old" campus. MBB Nov. 1980, Nov. 1982, Nov. 1983.

^^ The four bedrooms were furnished and decorated by alum-
nae chapters from Staunton, Richmond, New York City and
Dallas. The Atlanta chapter provided the dining room, and the
Eastern Shore the TV room on the second floor. CC 11 Feb. 1977,
6 Feb. 1978, 28 Feb. 1980, 16 Oct. 1980, 5 Mar. 1981, 8 Oct. 1982.

^1 Minutes Fac. 23 May, 1980. The Resolution said in part;
"...we would like to recall and express here our gi'atitude for her
leadership in a difficult time of transition for the College, her utter
self-giving to the well-being of the whole College... her unvarying
fairness and complete integrity... her commitment to democratic
decision-making through full use of Faculty elected committees...
and in all her impeccable good manners and good humor." Some
of the overtones of the resolution were not lost on Dr. Lester.

32 Virginia Lester was capable of unorthodox appointments.
In the college's history, there had never been a male as academic
dean''' nor a woman as the physical plant supervisor. Michael
Pincus as dean and Rosalind Howell, supervisor of the physical
plant, were both capable individuals and their sex seemed a
matter of indifference to most of the college community, although
one suspects that some of the physical plant employees were a bit
non-plussed about a woman supervisor. Mrs. Howell, however,
appears to have won their respect. She left because of family
considerations. ('•'Inthemid-1940swhenMrs. Grafton was acting

472

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

president, Lee Bridges occasionally served as acting dean.)

^^ Specifically, Virginia Lester to Frank L. Dana, Jr., 3 Jan.
1978, Lester Mss, College Archives.

^^ The Catalogue had said that the 36 course units required for
graduation "should" come from selections from all the divisions,
particularly from those divisions concerned with the liberal arts;
i.e., I, II and III. In 1981, the language was changed to "must."
Cat. 1980, 1981.

The whole point that four courses rather than five allowed
a student time to study a particular area in depth and to improve
concentration was lost on many young women. They were simply
uneasy that the Mary Baldwin curriculum seemed to be so
different from that of their friends' at other institutions and
uncomfortable with academic innovation. The student body was
and is conservative about many, but not all, aspects of college life.
Cat. 1978-83; CC 16 Feb. 1976.

35 Minutes Fac. 1981-1984, particularly 12 Feb. 1981, 21 Jan.
1983, and 1 Mar. 1984. CC 24 Feb. 1984, 7 Dec. 1984, 29 Mar.
1985. Two of the most significant curriculum changes of this era
were, of course, the Adult Degi^ee Progi^am and the Progi^am for
the Exceptionally Gifted.

3^ Elizabeth Taylor's visit was not universally applauded. Dr.
Lester received at least one letter from a patron objecting to a
Presbyterian college receiving a woman who had been so fre-
quently divorced. to Virginia Lester, 19 Sept. 1977.

Lester Mss, College Aixhives.

3" Washington Post, 18 March 1985.

3^ The American Association of University Professors is a
professional organization for college and university faculty. Many
institutions have local chapters, as does Mary Baldwin College.
The AAUP provides research and figures on salary ranges and
benefits, on working conditions such as hours and facilities, on
pension progi'ams and annuities and on academic freedom. It has
no legal power to enforce these standards, but the threat that a
college or institution might be removed from its "approved list" is
a powerful weapon. In theory, academically respectable individu-
als would not accept an appointment at an institution which was
not "approved"; student degi^ees from such a college were suspect;
and accrediting agencies such as SACS could withhold their
approval if academic freedom was not protected. The changes in
academe in the last 20 years have seen some modification of this
statement. Some prestigious universities do not conform in eveiy

473

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

respect to AAUP guidelines, but in the 1970s their powers of
coercion could be formidable.

"Tenure" is a complicated issue for the non-academician to
understand. Essentially, after a six-year period of employment at
an accredited college or university, during which time both teach-
ing and research skills have been satisfactorily demonstrated, an
individual would be offered a permanent appointment, subject to
modification only for "moral turpitude" or financial exigencies.
This was intended to guarantee a professor the freedom to teach,
research and publish within the professional restraints of his own
discipline, without pressure or penalty from parents, colleagues,
administration, trustees, state legislators and/or the public. No
guarantee is more basic than this if higher educational institu-
tions are to carry out their function in a democratic society, and
college faculty fight vigorously to defend it.

On the other hand, a "tenured-in" faculty denies the aca-
demic dean and the administration the flexibility of adding new
programs and eliminating outmoded ones; it promotes rigidity,
high costs, lack of innovation, and prohibits infusions of new
personalities and ways of doing things. Many institutions in the
1980s rigorously enforced the "up or out" provisions of the tenure
system. If one failed to receive a tenured appointment at the end
of seven years of active teaching, one had to leave the institution
and find employment elsewhere - often outside the teaching
profession.

Dr. Lester's board of trustees had almost no professional
educators among its members. Business and corporate executives
who were on the board tended to believe that the AAUP was very
close to a labor union (which in fact some college faculties in this
era were organizing), and reacted to its demands with, if not
outright hostility, at least a lack of sympathy.

^^ Regardless of who initiated the proposal. Dr. Lester told the
academic affairs committee of the board that "I am convinced the
decision was right." There were several aspects of these proposals
that violated AAUP guidelines. Their provisions said that the six-
years of satisfactory college teaching could be done at several
different teaching institutions; the proposed Mary Baldwin Col-
lege policy insisted that the six years all be done at Mary Baldwin,
thus discounting any previous experience. The goal of 60% ten-
ured faculty (the national average was 52.7% in 1977) could be
achieved only by attrition, which meant that no new tenure
appointments could be made until 10% of the current tenured

474

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

faculty resigned, retired, or died. Conceivably, it could be many
3^ears before that happened. There were two faculty members who
were eligible for tenure in the spring of 1978, but the board policy
said they must leave, even though both were respected members
of their disciplines whose contributions to the college were many,
and both had accepted work at the college with the expectation
they would be tenure-eligible. Lester to Academic Affairs Com-
mittee, 4 June 1978, 4 Jan. 1978. Lester Report to the Board of
Trustees, 15 April 1978, 14 Mar. 1979, Minutes BT

40 Lester Mss 24 Feb. 1978, 31 Mar. 1978, CC 20 Mar. 1978.
The tumult over the tenure situation seemed to have leveled off,
although it did not die. Dr. Lester wrote to the trustees, "The
faculty is meeting with a committee of the Board and their
hostilities spill over into everything else we do. There isn't a single
decision now that they don't want to be consulted on, and then
when they are consulted they always harp back to before — they
accuse you of not knowing what you're doing. They want to know
what color ink I use when I dot my "i's." And again, she declared
to a board member, "Even as I turn a whole institution around the
faculty is discussing having a union. I could operate with a union
- it makes things really clear cut. But I don't think you could raise
a nickel in Virginia for a unionized faculty. I wonder if the faculty
have any real conception of how close the college came to closing,
how close we are to taking off, how easily they could kill it. " 29 Oct.
1978, Lester Mss. College Archives.

In the faculty meeting of 26 May 1978, the faculty criticized
the "breach of professional courtesy and violation of accepted
procedures... there has been a failure to consult in good faith."
Faculty senate statement read in faculty meeting, Minutes Fac.
26 May 1978. By 1983, Rosemarie Sena was telling the trustees
that they must get word to the faculty "that we are all on the same
team, seeking the same goals." Sena, Report to the Board of
Trustees, 22-23 Oct. 1983 Minutes BT

4^ In 1983, ten members of the faculty were each awarded
$500; in 1984, two were paid $1000 and two $700. In 1985-6, the
sum of $2000 was set aside to be distributed. Self study 1987. It
is unclear as to why Dean Hecht left so abruptly, but perhaps the
bitterness over merit pay was involved.

42 Minutes BT Apr. 1983

43 Lester Report to BT, 14 Apr. 1984; AGB Reports, Sept.-Oct.
1983.

44 Minutes BT 6-7 May, 1977. Although she tried to leave

475

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

these matters to her various academic deans, Dr. Lester was
unable not to "jump in" and take charge when changes came too
slowly or too inappropriately for her agenda.

« Minutes BT 7 Nov. 1977; 2 May 1978; 11-12 Apr. 1980; 14
Apr. 1984. Dr. Lester remained part time on the faculty of Union
Graduate School, corresponding with students and making sug-
gestions for their progi^ams. Lester Mss College Archives.

^6 Minutes FM 8 Nov. 1982.

'^^ During the Lester years, many old friends of the college,
most long retired, died. Among them. Dr. Turner, 1976, Julia
Weill, 1977, Mildred Taylor, 1978, Marshall Brice and Carl
Broman, 1979, Ruth McNeil and Marguerite Hillhouse, 1982,
Mary Swan Carroll, 1983. Particularly tragic was the loss of
Donald Thompson of the Psychology faculty, who was killed in an
automobile accident in Sept. 1981. Other familiar figures retired.
Fletcher Collins and Trudi Davis in 1977, John Stanley and
Gordon Page in 1978, Patricia Menk in 1981, and Marjorie
Chambers and Albie Booth in 1983. Faculty whom many alumnae
remember who resigned before retirement age to continue their
work elsewhere include Carl Edwards, Joanne Ferriot, Lynne
Baker, Michael Campbell, Bernard Logan, Jane Sawyer and
James McAllister. Some of the faculty who were appointed during
these turbulent years include Margaret Pinkston, Terry
Southerington, John Kibler, Lundy Pentz, Roderic Owen, Ken
Keller, Robert Allen, Michael Gentry, Judy Klein, Diane Ganiere,
Gordon Bowen, Daniel Metraux, Stevens Garlick, James Oilman
and Patricia Westhafer. Catalogues. 1976-1985.

48 By the mid-1980s, the YMCA had fallen on hard times. The
United Fund bureaucracy decided such "middle class" institu-
tions as Scouts and the "Y" did not really need public support and
limited or cut entirely their annual payments. There was an
increase in private athletic facilities in Staunton and the busi-
ness-men and women who used to gather at the Y for volleyball,
basketball and swimming withdrew to their own clubs. The
counterculture claims that the Boy and Girl Scout programs and
the "Y," all of which had a Christian component, were elitist,
exclusive, even fascist, hurt community support. Early in the
Tyson presidency, the Staunton "Y" sold its property to Mary
Baldwin College, thus at long last providing suitable indoor sports
accommodations for the college. The college still does not have an
adequate swimming pool of its own.

The college teams adopted the squirrel as their symbol

476

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

because it was a major component of Mary Julia Baldwin's family
coat-of-arms.

^9 Richmond Times Dispatch 15 Aug. 1982. It should be noted
that two years later, after she had made her decision to go to law
school, Lester said she still believed "you can have it all," but she
now knew that one lived in "cycles." One can have it all, but not
all at the same time; at different stages in life one made different
choices. Roanoke Times and World News 22 Dec. 1984.

•50 CC 5 Oct. 1977,3 Ct. 1978, 18 Oct. 1979, 5 Mar. 1980, 16 Oct.
1980, 5 Nov. 1980, 20 Nov. 1980, 30 Sept. 1981

51 CC 15 Oct. 1981

52 Minutes BT 21-22 Oct. 1983; CC 23 Sept. 1983.

5'^ Smoking had long been banned, except in faculty offices, in
Pearce and in the library. It was not appropriate in laboratories,
as there were too many volatile substances around for it to be safe,
ecu Feb. 1981

5^ CC 19 Oct. 1978, 12 Mar. 1979, 3 Dec. 1981, 8 Oct. 1982. The
students always felt that the Staunton ABC Board applied stricter
standards to Mary Baldwin College than were enforced against
W. & L., U. Va. , or even the other women's colleges in Roanoke and
Lynchburg. However, the college, located in what amounted to
the center of the city, was always more visible than its sister
institutions, and hence more subject to criticism. Staunton offi-
cials were determined that the social activities of the college
women would not follow the pattern of Lexington and
Charlottesville.

55 CC 8 Dec. 1978, 18 Oct. 1979, 10 Apr. 1980, 5 Feb. 1981, 15
Apr. 1983, 9 Dec. 1983, 30 Mar. 1984, Lester Mss, College
Archives, Spring, 1981

56 CC 1 Dec. 1977, 6 Feb. 1978, 19 Oct. 1978, 12 Mar. 1979, 15
Oct. 1981, Minutes BT, 19 Oct. 1984, 18 Jan. 1985., MBB Fall
1980, Spring, 1981.

5' Minutes BT Apr. 1980

5^ Choices ranged from First Ladies to television talk show
hosts to nationally prominent politicians and outspoken femi-
nists, none of whom would or could accept. CC 24 May 1979, MBB
29 Oct. 1982.

59 Most of the college family would prefer to forget the article
written by Helen Rogan in 1978, and a front page feature in the
Washington Post by Elsa Walsh in 1980, which among other more
objectionable comments, quoted President Lester as saying that
Junior Dads' Day was "a quaint little anachronism of another time

477

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

I love." Clipping, n.d. Lester Mss College Archives.

60 MBB 20 Oct. 1984, Daily News Leader 31 May 1985, Green
& Levine, eds. Opportunity in Adversity 1985

There is no hint in any college record that the continuing
struggle with the faculty had persuaded some trustees, in particu-
lar Ms. Sena, that a change in chief executives might be desirable.
Certain oral evidence exists that this was so, but it cannot be
substantiated from the written record. In any case, nine years
was a long tenure for a college president in the 1980s, and while
her interpersonal relationships might, at times, have been lack-
ing, there was nothing wrong with Virginia Lester's sense of
timing. It was time for a change and she knew it.

^^ Some faculty refused to attend the dinner. The class night
statement is found in the Lester Mss, College Archives. See also
Roanoke Times and World News 22 Dec. 1984, Richmond Times
Dispatch 7 Apr. 1985, MBB, Summer 1985.

62 Most college presidents are given to summing up the accom-
plishments of their tenure. In a long resolution of appreciation,
the trustees did it for Virginia Lester. They cited:

Increased enrollment (737 to 1229)

Seven years of balanced operating budgets

Increase in the endowment from $2.9 million to $10 million

Salary increases

Successful completion of the New Dimensions campaign

Retirement of old debts - a $239,128 surplus created

Purchase and development of the upper campus

Increased student services

The ADP progi^am, approved by SACS and emulated

Introduction of business management, career and

communication courses into the curriculum
Fifteen new alumnae chapters established
Increases in participants of the Annual Fund
Doming Fine Arts Center; Alumnae Guest House
Year round campus activities; international programs
National recognition for the college
Alumnae admissions aides and volunteers
Improved SAT scores for entering freshmen

478

To Live In Time The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

Dr. Lester said, on one occasion, "We have all participated
in a kind of miracle." Minutes BT 18 Jan. 1985; 12-13 Apr. 1985;
MBB Summer, 1983, Summer 1985.

479

To Live In Time

The Turnaround College - Virginia L. Lester (1976-1985)

Cynthia Haldenby Tyson

480

EIGHT

EPILOGUE:

"To Ensure The Future"
Cynthia H. Tyson, 1985-

he eighth president came to Mary
Baldwin from Queen's College in Charlotte, N.C. where she was
serving as Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Cynthia H.
Tyson was from Lincolnshire, England and was a scholar of
Medieval English Literature. Her college and gi^aduate work had
been at the University of Leeds, and she had come to the United
States in 1959 as a Fulbright Lecturer at the University of
Tennessee. Later, she taught at Seton Hall University in New
Jersey, became a naturalized American citizen, studied college
and university Management Development at Harvard, and in
1969 had gone to Queen's College where she had been Professor
of English, Chairman of the Division of Humanities and Dean of
the College before being appointed a Vice President. She was an
elder in the Presbyterian Church and the mother of two adult
children.

Slight in stature, feminine and attractive in appearance, she
was quietly confident, enthusiastic about Mary Baldwin and its
future, and seemed, from the beginning of her tenure, to fit the
needs of the college and the community. Her years of residence in
the United States had blurred but not removed her English
accent; her frequent and unexpected lilting laughter (often at her
own expense) added an optimistic and informal element to her
public presentations. She was a gifted speaker, seldom if ever
using prepared statements or lecture notes, and she established
an almost immediate rapport with those with whom she worked.

481

To Live In Time Epilogue: "To Ensure The Future" - Cynthia H. Tyson (1985 - )

Cynthia Tyson's immediate priorities were to reinvigorate the
college constituencies' perceptions of their mission and goals; to
restore civility and a sense of cooperation between the faculty and
the administration and between the college and the community;
to build on the strong alumnae organization and financial founda-
tion left her by her predecessor; and to continue to provide the
"high quality in education and in preparation for life which
enables [our students] to choose among many options..."

The SACS Self-Studv provided an excellent opportunity early
in the Tyson administration to examine and reevaluate the
college's past and present condition. One result was a "Vision
Statement" endorsed by all of the college constituencies which
has, ever since 1986, appeared as the first item in all college
catalogues. Essentially this concept of the qualities of a "liberally
educated person" has established the agenda for Mary Baldwin
College as it approaches its Sesquicentennial. In more modern
overtones, it restates the purposes and dreams of Rufus Bailey,
Mary Julia Baldwin, and their successors and bears repeating
here:

Characteristics of a Well-Educated Person of the Third Mil-
lennium

* She has a firm foundation in the arts, humanities and
sciences.

* She understands and appreciates the major elements
of her culture, yet she is not culture-bound; she recog-
nizes and values the integrity of cultures not her own.

* She is aware of and engaged with the world beyond
herself and her immediate personal and professional
concerns.

* She is socially concerned.

* She communicates effectively through the written
and spoken word. She is eager to learn.

* She is prepared for the knowledge explosion, having
learned the theories which shape changing practices
and having learned to recognize and ameliorate her
own deficiences in knowledge and skill.

* She is comfortable with technology and uses it to
enhance her personal life and to extend her pro-
fessional abilities.

* She is skilled at group processes and uses them to

482

To Live In Time Epilogue: "To Ensure The Future" - Cynthia H. Tyson (1985 - )

cope with specialization and environmental com-
plexity.

* She is problem solver, not merely an applier of
formulas.

* She thinks clearly and is able both to analyze and
synthesize.

* She is tenacious in the pursuit of knowledge and
seeks the answers which are best, not easiest.

* She works to stay mentally and physically fit.

* She makes choices among the new life options for
women with courage and enthusiasm.

* She is aware that "achievement" has many proper
measures.

* She copes with changing patterns of family and com-
munity by establishing meaningful personal and
professional relationships and appropriate personal
values, regardless of setting.

* She acts within a consistent set of values and
ethical principles in making decisions.

* She takes responsibility for her decisions and actions.

It has been a sparkling administration, the Tyson one, with
many triumphs and, of course, its share of problems. The physical
improvements have been continued; both Memorial and Hill Top
residence halls have been completely renovated - literally almost
rebuilt from the ground up. The same is true for the venerable old
Academic building, rededicated in 1988 as Carpenter Hall. A
happy combination of class and seminar rooms, faculty offices and
small conference centers, adequate restroom facilities on every
floor, carpets and an elevator, has transformed the building which
every alumna since 1908 remembers with nostalgic affection.

In 1988, the college was able to purchase from the Staunton
YMCA its building and athletic facilities, which were located at
the northern end of the college campus. It will be remembered
that the "Y" had purchased the 8.38 acres from Mary Baldwin
College in 1976, and in the ensuing decade there had been much
discussion about the joint use of the facilities the "Y" had built, but
without any satisfactory agreement having been reached. Now
the "Y" felt its holdings must be liquidated, and with the generous
support of alumnae and trustees, the college reacquired the land

483

To Live In Time Epilogue: "To Ensure The Future" - Cynthia H. Tyson (1985 - )

it had sold as well as a modern, fully equipped sports facility
providing basketball, volleyball and handball courts, aerobic and
body-building equipment and dance studio facilities. The Physical
Education faculty vacated King Building to move into their vastly
expanded space in 1989, although the swimming pool in King is
still utilized, and, at long last, the hopes of successive dedicated
Physical Education faculty have been for the most part realized.
The campus now includes 55 contiguous acres with several alter-
native "residence interest halls" located nearby.

Early in the Tyson administration, the Computer Center had
been moved to Wenger Hall, displacing student government and
publications offices, the bookstore, and coexisting uncomfortably
with the college mail service. Various makeshift solutions for
student needs have been employed - the "Chute" in Spencer,
college publications and SGA offices to King, SAC for college
dances and ceremonies; but the need for a student center has been
pressing. As the college planned for its year-long Sesquicenten-
nial celebration. Dr. Tyson announced in 1990 that a new student
center named in honor of its donor, trustee William G. Pannill,
would be erected on the site of South Barracks on the upper
campus. It will be dedicated and ready for student use by the end
of 1992.

The upkeep, maintenance and remodeling of a college campus,
of course, never ends. The "new" buildings of the Spencer era are
now 30 years old and someday soon will need major renovations.
The appropriate uses for the 50-year old King building and
McClung are still being defined. The integration of the old and
new campuses, almost complete, is ongoing. The problems of
automobile control and parking facilities never end. The college
still needs its own olympic-sized swimming pool, a visitors' center
(perhaps with a college musuem), and a chapel. As the curriculum
adapts to the demands of a new century, other physical needs will
emerge, but in her 150th year, Mary Baldwin College has retained
her physical charm and tranquillity - that rare beauty of green
hills, trees, cream colored buildings with white columns and
vistas which were her legacy from W. W. King, Samuel R. Spen-
cer and Virginia Lester.

The financial record of the Tyson administration is equally
gratifying. The Annual Fund has increased steadily. There have
been major generous gifts; $1.3 million from the Charlene Kiracofe
estate; $2.25 million from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter
Foundation; a $2.4 million gift from Caroline Rose Hunt and

484

To Live In Time Epilogue: "To Ensure The Future" - Cynthia H. Tyson (1985 - )

Margaret Hunt Hill; and an anonymous gift which established a
trust, the proceeds from which will be payable to Mary Baldwin
over a 20-year period and which are estimated to bring for the
college's endowment between $13 and $14 million. After several
years of planning and preparation, the college trustees announced
a $35 million Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign to "ensure the
future." The active phase began in 1990 and will be concluded by
Founders' Day, 1992. The goal has been exceeded.

Dr. Tyson is a scholar as well as a college administrator. Her
interest in academic excellence colors all that she and her faculty
do. The PEG progi^am, now in its seventh year, has gi^aduated
several classes and has established a national reputation for
innovative progi^ams for gifted high school girls. ADP continues
to expand. There are satellite offices in Richmond, Charlottesville,
and Roanoke and the 1991-2 enrollment of degi^ee-seeking adults
numbers 565. Three academic chairs, in English, Chemistry, and
Business, have been established and two new academic progi^ams
in Health Care Administration and Christian Ministry Prepara-
tion have been funded and incorporated into the college curricu-
lum. Majors in Philosophy and Philsophy/Religion have been
restored. The Rosemarie Sena Center for Career and Life Plan-
ning has become an integi'al part of the campus, as has a Commu-
nications Institute which, among many other activities, has
produced a 43 minute video titled "Footsteps: 150 Years at Maiy
Baldwin" in honor of the Sesquicentennial. After months of
discussion and research, the college faculty and the board of
trustees approved, in the fall of 1991, a Master of Arts in Teaching
in Elementary Education program which will begin in 1992. The
college has thus expanded both its mission and its clientele.

The Tyson administration has been characterized by stability
and civility. Her administrative team has, with few exceptions,
remained constant and has evolved into a working group that
communicates easily and respects each other. Her relationships
with the faculty have generally been amicable. She made a special
effort to be responsive to their needs and concerns, and they, too,
after long years of controversy, were more than willing to seek a
new relationship. President Tyson chose, in 1986, a trusted and
admired member of the college community to become the new
dean of the college. He is James D. Lott, who had joined the college
English faculty in 1964, and his presence and his knowledge of
past events, in some of which he had played an active role, helped
to lessen faculty - administrative tensions. This is not to say that

485

To Live In Time Epilogue: "To Ensure The Future" - Cynthia H. Tyson (1985 - )

all problems have been solved, because, of course, they never are
or can be. Probably there does not exist a college faculty anywhere
which would always agree with administrative and trustee poli-
cies. There is an inbuilt tension between them which is natural
and healthy. But Cynthia Tyson has been far more successful
than her two immediate predecessors in establishing a working
relationship and the campus climate has warmed considerably.

The president, likewise, quickly established rapport with the
college's traditional friend, the First Presbyterian Church of
Staunton. She was elected to the session and has been a visible
presence and support. She has also been elected to membership
in the Rotary Club and serves on various local boards and
committees, such as the United Way, the Woodrow Wilson Birth-
place Foundation, the American Frontier Culture Foundation
and PULSAR. Community groups are welcomed on campus and
various college-community cooperative enterprises have been
encouraged. After the Lester years of isolation and withdrawal,
the community has revived its interest in college activities, town
and gown have resumed more normal relationships, and the
college president has become a welcome addition to the social
scene.

What of the students of the Tyson years? Student memories
encompass only four years and before long, none of them remem-
bered the tensions and strains of the Lester era. Generally, the
student-administrative relationships have been cordial. The
campus is more fragmented than it was in older times; there are
fewer opportunities for the whole college community to partici-
pate together in mutual activities. The greater social freedoms
first "won" in the early 1970s are still in place, so an older alumna
might miss the "innocence" of her own college years, but the
traditional students remain remarkably the same. They are
young, idealistic, capable of remarkable feats of concentrated
work - and equally sustained periods of concentrated play. They
are accustomed to more diversity than their mothers were, per-
haps they are better able to adjust to uncertainty and change than
were the earlier "bluestockings," but they are basically the same.
Miss Baldwin would recognize them - so would Mr. King, Miss
Higgins, Dean Parker and Dean Grafton. Eager, ambitious, ca-
pable of great kindness, and occasional cruelties, sometimes lazy
and uncooperative, at other times touching in their willingness to
help, they mature during their four years at the college and
become capable, self confident, caring adults.

486

To Live In Time Epilogue: "To Ensure The Future" - Cynthia H. Tyson (1985 - )

As she approaches her 150th birthday, Mary Baldwin College
is justified by her daughters (and sons) . She could ask for no better
measure.

487

To Live In Time Epilogue: "To Ensure The Future" - Cynthia H. Tyson (1985 -

488

To Live In Time Bibliography

Bibliography

Unpublished Materials in Mary Baldwin College Archives

Askegaard, Lew and Klein, Judy. "Alumnae Follow-up Study. "

December 1988.
Annual Reports of the President to the Board of Trustees of

Mary Baldwin College, 1931-1985. (broken sequences)
Handbooks: Mary Baldwin College, Administration 1976-

1985, Faculty 1965-1985, Student 1930-1985.
McCune, George, "History of Fund Raising Campaigns." Mss.

Mary Baldwin College Archives.
Minutes of the Advisory Committee to the Student Govern-
ment Association 1930-1940.
Minutes of the Board of Trustees, Mary Baldwin College,

1897-1985.
Minutes of the Executive Committee, Board of Trustees, Mary

Baldwin College, 1897-1985.
Minutes of the Finance Committee, Board of Trustees, Mary

Baldwin College, 1897-1985.
Minutes of the Meetings of the Faculty, Mary Baldwin College,

1930-1985.
Minutes of the Meetings of the Staff, Mary Baldwin College,

1960-1985.
Minutes of the Student Government Association, Mary Baldwin

College, 1929-1980.
Oral Interviews; taped and transcribed.
Papers of the Mary Baldwin College Presidents; College Ar-
chives 1956-1985.
Self-Study Reports for the Southern Association of Colleges

and Schools, Mary Baldwin College, September 1965,

September 1975, July 1987.
Senior Theses, Mary Baldwin College:

Ballew, Kathy J., "A Portrait of Two Women: Mildred
Taylor and Debbie Dodson Parson, Chaplain", 1978.

Hepford, Diane, "The Letters ofMary Julia Baldwin" 1977.

Jones, Rozalia, "And She Shall Have Music: Music as a

489

To Live In Time Bibliography

Discipline at Mary Baldwin College, 1929-1972," 1978.
Sproul, Virginia," Eyewitness Views of Stauntonl924-1929,"

1974.
Tapes, cassettes and motion picture reels, Mary Baldwin

College Archives.
Taylor, Mildred and Strauss, Fannie, "Mary Baldwin in the

Past". Taped Program for the Annual Alumnae Dinner,

May 16, 1970.

Unpublished Material in Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation
Archives

Atkinson, Deborah J. "Woodrow Wilson Birthplace: Preserv-
ing a Presidential Historic Site". MA Thesis, Wake
Forest, N.C: August 1977.

Manuscript Collection Relating to the Establishment of the
Foundation, 1920-1940.

Published Materials

The Bluestocking, (Mary Baldwin College Annual), 1899-
1990.

Campus Comments (Mary Baldwin College Newspaper),
1924-1992. '

Catalogue. Mary Baldwin College (Title Varies), 1868-1991.

Chaffee, E. E. After Dechne, What? Survival Strategies at
Eight Private Colleges. Boulder,Colorado: National Cen-
ter for Higher Education Management Systems, 1984.

Commonwealth of Virginia, State Corporation Commission
Records, Richmond, Virginia.

Daily News Leader. (Title Varies) 1904-date .

Gaines, William H., Jr., "A House on Gospel Hill". Virginia
Cavalcade 6 (Fall, 1952): 12-19. "From Staunton to the
White House". Virginia Cavalcade 2 (Winter, 1952): 45-
46.

General Assembly of Virginia, Acts (1844-45) 105; (1895-96) 5-
6.

Green, Janice S., Levine, Arthur and Associates, eds.

Opportunity in Adversity. San Francisco: Jossey - Bass
Publications, 1985.

Higher Education and the Virginia Svnod: Survey Staff Re-
port on the Educational Institutions Survey Respectfully

490

To Live In Time Bibliography

Submitted to the Council on Educational Institutions of
the Synod of Virginia. June, 1956.

Hoge, Arista, comp. The First Presbyterian Church. Staunton,
Virginia. Caldwell-Sites, 1908.

Lester, Virginia L. "Ask Mary Baldwin... AGB Mentor Ap-
proach Really Works." AGB Reports Sept/Oct 1983.

Mary Baldwin Bulletin: Alumnae Issue (yarious titles),
1913-1991.

Minutes of the Synod of Virginia. 1919-1973. The Historical
Foundation of the Presbjd:erian and Reformed Churches:
Montreat, N. C.

Minutes of the Synod of the Virginias. 1973-1985. Union
Theological Seminaiy: Richmond, Virginia.

Miscellany: (Maiy Baldwin College Literary Magazine)
1898-1991.

Nardi, Gail, "'Nobody's Going to Know Who I am' Says
Mary Baldwin College President." Richmond Times Dis-
patch, 7 April 1985.

Pancake, Frank. A Historical Sketch of the First
Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Virginia: Whittet &
Shepperson, 1954.

Proceedings. Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of
the Southern States. 1931-1990.

Recorder, The. June 1892.

Record, The Alumnae Association of Mary Baldwin
Seminary. October 1896; October 1898; March 1902.

Richmond Times Dispatch. 15 August 1982.

Roanoke Times and World News. 22 December 1984.

Scott, Anne Firor, "One of the Most Significant Moyements of
All Time." EleyenthAnnual Carroll Lecture. Maiy Baldwin
College, 15-16 October 1984.

Thelin, John R. Higher Education and Its Useful Past, Cam-
bridge,Mass: Schenkman Publishing Co. Inc., 1982.

Waddell, Joseph A. A Histoid of Mary Baldwin Seminary,
Staunton, Virginia: Augusta Printing Corporation, 1908.

Washington Post 18 March 1985.

Watters, Mary. The History of Mary Baldwin College,
Staunton, Virginia: The McClure Co., Inc., 1942.

Wilson, Howard McKnight, The Lexington Presbytery Heri-
tage. Verona, Virginia: McClure Press, 1971

491

To Live In Time Bibliography

492

To Live In Time

Index

INDEX

Academic Year in Madrid, 260-61, 317-
318 n88. 361

Academic Building, See Carpenter
Academic Building

Adams, Elsie Palmer, 310 n56

Administration Building (Main), 4, 26

Admissions, 25, 147 n54, 354, 406-7 n41.
See also Enrollment

Adult Degi-ee Progi-am, 430, 434, 436,
469 nl7, 485

Advisory Board of Visitors (ABV), 348-9,
371, 393

Agar, Herbert, 130

Alcoholic Beverage Control Department
(ABC), and Mary Baldwin College,
458, 477 n54

Alderman, Edwin A., 58

Alexander, Aixhibald, 1 1

Alexander, Terry Lee, 275

Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, 83,
130, 142 n26

Alma Mater (traditional), 397 n9, 410
ri52

Alumnae, 29, 85, 86, 110, 120, 150 n69,
165, 175, 202, 238, 252, 254, 338-9,
433 surveys of careers, 29, 182-3,
202 n58

Alumnae Association: organized, 39;
financial campaigns in 1920s, 53,
55-57, 58, 62; memorial window, 56,
311 n59: membership on Board of
Trustees, 56, 85; name, 71 n59: in
1920s, 119; in 1930s, 119-122, 151
n79, n80; New Century Campaign,
126; in 1940s, 181-183; and
President McKenzie, 202 n56; in
1960s, 239-40; in Kelly Years, 380-
82; in Lester Years, 433-34, 444

Alumnae Newsletter, 238, 239

Alumnae Plate project; 122, 151-2 n84,
239

"Amahl and the Night Visitors", 178

American Alumni Council Editorial

Project for Education report, 3, 96
nl

American Council on Education, 83, 186

American Association of Governing
Boards, 465 n6

American Association of University

Professors (AAUP), 179, 277, 278,
379. 473-4 n38, n39

American Association of University

Women (AAUW), 83
American Youth Congi-ess, 114
"America's Town Meeting of the Air,"

originated, King Auditorium, 180
Anderson, Judith, 317 n87
Applebee, Constance, 188
Apple Day: origin 108-9, 149 n67; and

projects to fund the library, 247
Archery, 106

Arnold, Claire CYum") Lewis, 326 nl28
Ai-mstrong, Kenneth, 438-9, 469 n20
Ai-nold, Reba Andrews, 71 n62
Art education, 22, 178-9
Askegaard, Lewis D., 439
Associate Trustees, 349
Association of Governing Boards of

Universities and Colleges, 435
Association of American Colleges, 83
Athletic Association, 101, 106-7, 388-9.

Also see Physical Education
Athletic Federation of College Women, 83
Atkinson, Gloria Jones, 151 n81
Augusta Female Seminary: founded and

early years, 3-8; conditions during

the Civil War, 10-12; and Mary

Julia Baldwin, 16-32 passim

relationship to Presbyterian Church

24-26
Automobiles; 113, 150 n72, 383

Babcock, Hendrick C, 39-40

Babcock, Mai-y Reynolds, 307 n42

Babral, Dianne, 469 nl7

Baccalaureate, in 1930s, 112

Bailey, Harriet, 6

Bailey, J. Russell, 312 n66

Bailey, Marietta, 6

Bailey, Mary, 6

Bailey Residence Hall, 136-37, 165, 182,
208

Bailey, Rufus Wilham (1793-1863): early
life, 3; founded Augusta Female
Seminary, 3-4; influence, 4-6, 7;
author, 4; family, 6; interest in
technology, 6; American Coloniza-
tion Society, 6; Austin College, 6-7;
rediscovered, 110; compulsory
church attendance, 396 n5

Bailey Scholars Program, 448

Baillie, John, 317 n87

493

To Live In Time

Index

Bain, Bernard E., 303 n26

Baker, Lynne, 417 n71; 476 n47

Baldwin, Mary Julia (1829-1897): early
life and education, 9 appearance, 9;
personal characteristics, 12-15;
appointed principal of AFS, 8-10;
relatives and friends at AFS, 12;
letter to Agnes McClung, 13; pets,
13-14; charities, 14; action against
intruders, 14; property acquisitions
and building program, 16; income
and finances, 16-17; religious
beliefs and practices, 24; "Miss
Baldwin's School", 31-2; will; 32;
death and funeral, 35; and
Founders' Day, 110; memorial
window, 311 n61: her farm, 16, 36,
313 n67, 410 n52 compulsory
church attendance, 396 n5; 425

Baldwin, Sylvia, 470 n20

Barkley, Alben, 180

Barks, Herbert B. Jr., 398 nlO

Barr, Betty, 401 nl9; 470 n22

Barr, Stringfellow, 180

Barre, Sallie, 413-414 n63

Barron, Richard, 470 n20

Barter Theater, 180

Baseball, 106

Basketball, 106

Bateman, Effie, 78, 79

Battle, William C, 317 n87

Baylor, Fred, 366 n38

Beagle, Ben, 307 nil

Beard, Bettie, 461 nl9; 470 n22

Beauchamp, Richard, 399 nl3

Bell, Claire Carter, 439

Bell, Mary Lou, 71 n62

Bell, Richard P., 50, 61

Bennett, Clay, 469 n20

Benwood Foundation, 367 n42

Bernhardt, Helene, 262

Bestor, Ai'thur E., 222

Beta Beta Beta (Biology Honorary), 176,
321 nl02

Beverley Hall, 79

Bible, Holy, included in Administration
building cornerstone, 4

Bicentennial Campus, 351

Billiards, 107

Biology, 98, 146 n50, 166-67

Black, Mary Benham Mitchell, 120, 136

Blackburn, John A., 297, 355, 401 nl9,
406 n39, 422 n94, 438

Blackley, Charles, 264

Blakely, Hunter B., 88, 150 n69, 142
n26. 302 n26, 109-110, 193-4

Bluestocking. The. 109-10, 193-4 n9, 293,
389, 420 n87

Blackburn, Lois (Bryan), 416 n71, 419
n86

Board of Trustees: of Augusta Female
Seminary, 7, 15, 30; reorganization,
1897, 35; of Maiy Baldwin Semi-
nary, 40-41; of Synodical College,
56, 87; in 1940s, 136-37, 143 n32,
161; in 1950s, 177; Amended
Charter, 1957, 212; in Spencer era,
218-219, 234, 254, 277; Peaks of
Otter Retreat, 1966, 288-91;
changes in college rules, 288-89;
324-5 nl20: Resolution of Apprecia-
tion, 326-7 nl28: 329, 333; in Kelly
years, 347-348; plan for economic
viability, 354-55, 357-58; 391-93;
interim, 394-5; Lester era, 395, 396
n5; 451-2

Bookkeeping, 23

Booth, Alfred L. ("Albie"): 279; ap-
pointed Registrar, 340; computers,
343-44; 401 nl9; 422 n94; 476 n47

Booth, Lea, 254, 467 nl2

Bowen, Gordon, 476 n47

Bowling, 107

Brandt, Anne, 470 n20

Brent, Andrew J., 405 n32, 420 n88, 426,
468 nl4

Brice, Marshall, 95, 180, 258, 278, 416
nil, 476 nil

"Brick House" see McClung Residence
Hall

Bridges, Dorothy Hisey, 120, 181

Bridges, Herbert Lee Jr., 95, 137, 153
n92, 416 nil, 473 n32

Brogan, Denis, 317 n87

Broman, Carl W., 95, 131, 291, 416 n71,
444, 476 nil

Broman Concert Series, 466 n9

Brown , Frederick L., 88, 156 nl05

Brown, John Mason, 146, n49

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954
student comments, 186-7

Bull, Libby Alby, 25, 115

Bumgardner, Augusta, 71 n62

Bumgardner, Eugenia, 151, n81

Burnley, Catherine M., 401 nl9

Burress, Julian A., 50, 69 ni8, 70 n53, 88

Burris, Ron, 470 n20

Butler, Thomas, (gardener), 29

Butler, W.F., 15

Butterfield, Victor L., 249, 317 n87

Byrd, Harry Flood, 72 n69

Byrd, Harry Flood Jr., 319 n9i, 393

"Cabin Day", 195 nl8
Caldwell, Erskine, 317 n87
Caldwell, Lila, 398 nlO

494

To Live In Time

Index

Campana, Jeanne-Renee, 116
Campbell, Edmund D., Member Board of

Trustees, 1942-1976: 88, 138, 143

n34. 156 nl05. 161-2, 165, 209, 301

nl9. 302 n26, 308 n43, 325 nl20.

348
Campbell, Elizabeth. See Pfohl,

Elizabeth
Campbell, Hannah, 181, 220
Campbell; Harry D., 77-78, 88, 110, 139

nl, 142 n24, 143 n32
Campbell, John, 417 n71
Campbell, Joseph, 317 n87
Campbell, Michael, 417 nTl, 476 n47
Campbell, Ruth C, 71 n62
Campbell, Tommy, 402 n24
Campus Comments. 97, 100, 109-10, 149

n68. 190, 293, 389, 419-20 2l87, 460,

465 n6
Campus protest activities, 350-1
Campus security, 407 n43
Canterbury Club, 185
Caplen, Jane, 439
Career and Personal Guidance Center

(Presbyterian), 167, 362, 370-71,

440-42
Career Planning and Counseling Center

(MBC), 370-71
Carpenter Academic Hall, 36, 51, 123,

166, 483
Carr, Betty ("B.C."), 184, 185, 203 n61,

403 n24, 414 n63, 422 n94, 438.
Carroll, Maiy Swan, 94-5, 109, 278, 376,

476 n47
Carroll Lecture Series, 351, 376
Carter, Constance Curry, 151 n81
Cary, David, 430 nTl
Catalogue, 70 n50, 420 n87
Cather, Lloyd, 398 nlO
Catlett, Charles, 72, n69
Catton, Bruce, 317 n87
Cecil, John H., 325 nl20
Centennial, 1942, 110, 129-30
Chamber of Commerce, Staunton/

Augusta County, 49, 53, 54, 62, 154

n94
Chambers, Marjorie B., 279, 320 n99,

326 nl28. 341, 372-3, 392, 401 n20.

418 n78, 476 n47
Chapel (building). See Waddell Chapel
Chapel services, 291-2, 332
Chaplains, 346, 442-3
Charter Day, (SGA), 101
Charters, AFS and MBC, 47-48, 68-69

n40. 84-85, 212, 299 n8, 345, 404

n26
Chauncy, George A., 317 n87
Chesterman, E.R., 41

"Chip Inn", 107, 165-6
Chisholm, Shirley, 337
Christian Association, (MBC), 254, 280,

281.346. 399 nl3
Christian College, characteristics of:

Jarman commitment, 98-99; 169;

Spencer commitment, 211, 214; 335,

337
Christian College Challenge Fund

Campaign, (1966-1972): 234,297,

308 n44. 331. 409-10 n51
"Christmas Cheer", 111, 148 n64, 458
Chute, The, 242

Clark, Nexsen & Owen, 229, 363
Clark, Pendleton, 230, 305 n36
Class Day, 111-112
Clausen, Laura, 185
Clem, John IIL 306 n38
Clemmer, Richard, 301 nl9, 308 n42
Cleveland, Grover, 30
"Club House" (Alumnae), 103, 119, 121
Cochran, George M., 405 n32, 422 n94.

468 nl4
Cochran, Lee, 264
Cochran, Margaret, 121
College Bookstore (MBC), 260
College Faculty Exchange Program

(India), 262, 263
College Housing Authority Act, 232
College student protests, (1965-75), 329-

30
Collingwood, Charles, 180
Collins, Fletcher, 178, 193 n5, 267, 416

nTl, 444, 476 n47
Collins, Francis J., 420 n88
CoUis, Charles, 349
Columbia Boys' Choir, 317 n87
Commencement, 111-12, 274-5, 321

nl03. 389-90
Communications Institute, 485
Community Concert Series, 466 n9
Compton, Arthur H., 146 n49
Computers, 343-44, 403-4 n25
Conant, Elizabeth, 417 nTl
Condray, Susan Poole, 443
Conference Board, 435
Conger, Edwin F., 314 nT2
Conlon family, 30T n42
Continuing Education, 317
Convocation, 291

Cooke, Richard D., 307 n42, 310 n53
Corbin, Anne, 320 n96
Corbin, Norma, 417 n71
Council for the Advancement of Small

Colleges, 435
Courtney, Kate, 19
Cover, Rachel, 220
"Covered Way", 28

495

To Live In Time

Index

Cowan, John W., 405 n32

Cox, Dane J., named business manager
& treasurer, 439

Craftons, 286

Craig, Mrs. W. R., 143 n32

Crawford, Aurelia, 315 n78

Crawford, Caroline Sowers, 12

Crawford, Mary, 12

Crawford, W.B., 15

Crone, Richard, 152 n86, 402 n24, 470
n22

Crone, William, 112, 152 n86, 161, 193
n5

Culbreath, Kay, 319 n95

Cunningham, John Rood, 130, 301 nl9,
302 n26

Cuninggim, Merrimom, 334, 397 n9

Current Issues Series, 256, 260

Curriculum: (AFS), "university" course,
11; 21-22; conservatory of music, 22;
fine arts, 22; elocution, 22; (MBS),
changes, 38, 42 (MBC), Jarman era,
97-98; 110-11; World War II, 133;
Lewis study, 170; 174-77, 200 n46;
Spencer era, 215, "New Directions
in the Liberal Arts", 255-263, 266,
1967 Revision, 270-272; limitations,
365-6; end of Saturday classes, 271,
lectures and seminars, 1960s, 317
n87. 320 n99, 332; overseas
progi'ams canceled, 354, 361
changes, 1968-74, 365-7; new
educational pattern for MBC, 356,
372-377, 415 n68; Lester changes
431; ADP, 436; PEG, 436; other
changes, 445-448; revision 1984,
448-9; Tyson administration, vision
statement, 482, 485

Dabney, Virginius, 146 n49, 180
Daffin, John Baker: appointed business
manager and treasurer, 82, 140
nl7; and alumnae, 182; college
development, 218; Pearce Science
Center, 250; chemistiy department
named in his honor, 409 n51. Also.
93, 137, 156 nl05. 161, 182, 228,
237, 238, 241, 250, 278, 308 n42.
322 nl09
Daffin (John Baker) Department of

Chemistry, 313-314 n72
Darden, Colgate, 180
Davidson College, 297, 316 n80
Davis, Gertrude (Middendorf), 193 n5,
219, 248, 279, 339, 369, 402 n23,
416 nil, 439, 476 n47. Biogi-aphical
notes, 312 n64

Davis, W.E., 70 n53

Davis family, 307 n42

Day, Ann Bowman, 443

Day, Ehzabeth N., 95, 178, 179

Day, Horace, 95, 131, 167, 178, 243, 264

Day, Horace and Mercer, gift of urns in
honor of Elizabeth N. Day, 311 n61

Day students: not allowed to visit

"boardei's", 29; changing attitude
toward, 105; and Fannie Strauss,
105-6; establish scholarship
honoring William F. Kelly, 393-4

Dean, James W., 331

Debating Club, 107-8

Deming, Bertie Murphy, 301 nl9, 325
nl20. 326 nl28, 365, 390, 398
nlO, 405 n32, 420 n88, 468 nl4

Deming family, 307 n42

Deming Fine Ai-ts Center, 430; dedi-
cated, 444

Depression: student interest in, 114-14;
NYA funds, 113; FERA funds, 113

Desportes. Ulysse, 279, 320 n99

Dick, Rebecca, 401 nl9

Dickson, Anne Ponder, 468 nl4

Dietz, Edward C, 402 n24, 470 n22

Dillon, Kenneth, 417 nTl

Dober, Richard, 464 n6

Dodd, Harold Willis, 180

Dodge, William R., 464 nl

Doenges, Elizabeth Kirkpatrick, 420 n88.
468 nl4

Dolphin Club, 186

Don Cossack Chorus. 120, 180

Donnalley, Mary Jane, and MALTA, 269,
322 nllO. 388

Donovan, Daniel G., 307 n42, 468 nl4

Doshisha Women's College, program at
MBC, 439

Douglas, William O., 317 n87

"Down in the Valley", folk opera, 178

Dunsmore, J.G., 20

Durant, Will, 146 n49

Earhart, Amelia, 120, 146 n49

East, William H., 70 n53, 88

Easter Trilogy (Medieval Drama), 320

n96
Ebbott, Elizabeth, 243
Echols, John, 17-18
Echols, Mary 279, 417 n71
Edgar, M.M., 139 nl
Edmondson, Gertrude, 141 nl8
Edmondson, John P., 325 nl20, 348
Edmondson, Lucy, 141 nl8
Education for Women, 117-118, 431, 436,

447-448

496

To Live In Time

Index

Edwards, Carl, 322 nllO. 346, 396 n2,
398 nlO, 417 n71, 417 n72, 422 n94.
476 n47

Egeli, Bjorn, 140 nl7

Ehmann, Mrs, Neville, 310 n53

Eight College Consortium, 366, 412-13
n57

Eisenberg, C.F.W., 20, 141 nl8

Eisenberg, Katherine, 67 nl6

Eisenberg, Luise, 67 nl6

Eisenhower, Dwight D., 263-64. 319 n94

Elbow Room, 286

Elderhostels, at MBC, 439

Ellen Glasgow Centennial Conference,
351

EUer, Cecelia Flow, 320 n96

Ellis, Sharon, 326 nl28

Ely, Barbara, 261, 279. 316 n82, 396 n2

Emily Smith Medallions, 310 n53

Endowment, 153 n87, 236-37, 358-59.
Also see Finances

Energy' crises, 359

English Speaking Union. Summer study
awards, 273

Enrollments: during 19th century, 17,
18; 66 n8, end seminary, 62-63;
1930s, 83, 100, 127; 141 iil9; during
World War II, 156 n98; Lewis years,
162, 163; promises not to increase,
164; quotation from The Bluestock-
ing. 193-4 n9; in 1950s, 251-255;
Spencer N-ears, 254-255, 279, 314
n75; Kelly years, 331. 353-4, 356,
407-8 nil, n45, Lester years, 435-6,
468-9 nl6, nl7. See also Admis-
sions

Ernst, Richard S., 468 nl4

Essay Contest, 1920s, 57

Esso Foundation, 317 n42

Eta Betas, 184

Europe, Mary Julia Baldwin's trip, 22;
other chaperoned trips, 62

Exchange Consortium. 350

402 Workshop, 293

Faculty: AFS, characteristics of, 18-19;
music, 19; 1920s, 51; Jarman era,
93-97, provisional contracts, 131,
132, 135, 139 n3.n4. 141 n23, 145
n46; Lewis eras, 162, student
evaluation of, 177; McKenzie, 179,
198 n34, 281 n51, n52; Spencer,
267-68, 275-79, 282, 301 nl8, 321
nl04. nl05. nl06. 322 nl08. nl09:
Kelly, 338, 360-1, 368-9, 376-380,
390, 398 nl2, 417-18 n74; Lester,
431, 450-55, 475 n8, 466 n9

Faculty: Tenure Issue: 201 n53, 277,
322 nl09. 450-455, 474-5 n39, n40

Fairfield, Roy, 464 nl

Fancher, Mrs. James, 301 nl9

Fauver, Dorothy Morris, 151 n81

Ferguson, Janet, 342, 402 n23, 422 n94.
470 n20

Ferrell, Dorothy, 322 nllO

Ferriot. Joanne, 322 nllO. 417 nTl, 476
n47

Fickling, Gladys Palmer, 310 n56

Fiedler, Ai-thur and the Boston
Sinfonietta, 146 n49

Field Hockey, 106

Finances: AFS, 10, 15-17, 31-33, 36, 66
n7; MBC, 52-63, 125-126, 135-36,
152 n87, 162-63. 208-09. 217, 231-
239, 308 n46, 309 n46, n47, n50,
312 n66, 314 n74, 331, 468 n48,
431-37, 446, 484-5

Financial Campaigns: 1920s, 52-64;
New Centuiy, 127-129, 152
n87. 153 n91, 154 n95; Synod, 1958,
212-213, 227-229, 238-39, 304 n34,
305 n35; Christian College Chal-
lenge Fund, 234, 308 n44, 409-410
nSl; New Dimensions, 364-65, 433,
467 nil; Sesquicentennial Capital
Fund, 484-5

Finley Memorial Church, Stuarts Draft,
Va., 305 n35

Fishburn. Katherine N., 325 nl20

Fisher, Dawn, 417 n71

Flansburgh, Clare, 94. 278, 316 n82

"Footsteps: 150 Years at Mary
Baldwin", 485

Ford Foundation, 307 n42

Foreign Exchange Students, 116, 117

Foster, Lee Johnston, 470 n20

Foster, William H. Jr., 325 nl20

Foundation for the Improvement of Post-
Secondary Education, grants to
MBC, 434

Founders' Day, 110, 149-50 n69, 265-66

Fountain, Margaret, 186

Foxes Den, 286

Francis, James D., 88, 154 n95, 250, 307
n42. 409 n51

Francis, Permele Elliot, 409 n51

Francisco, Virginia Royster, 320 n96, 716

nil
Frank, Elke, 340-41, 401 n20
Eraser, Abel Mclver, 32, 43, 44-50, 58,

60, 64, 67 n28, 69 n47, n48, 70 n53,

88, 118-119, 126, 128, 142 n26, 149-

50n69
Eraser, Margaret Mclver, 68 n29

497

To Live In Time

Index

Fraser, Nora Blanding, 68 n29

Fraser Hall, 166

Freeman, Douglas Southall, 146 n49

Frenger, Bruce, 291

Freund, PaulA., 317n87

Friedan, Betty, Feminine Mystique, 239

From Ham to Jam, cookbook sponsored

by Alumnae Association, 381
Frueauff Foundation, 307 n42
Frye, Roland M., 317 n87
Fulton, J.A., 69 n48

Gaines, Francis Pendleton, 194 nlO

Galbraith, W. Jackson, 279

Gallup, Judy (Armstrong), 203 n64

Gamble. Susan 319 n95

Ganiere, Diane, 476 n47

Garlick, Stevens, 476 n47

Garrison, Joseph, 248, 279, 320 n99

Garson, Greer, 155 n95

Gates, Robbins L., 266, 279

Gay, Anna M., 14

"G.E. College Bowl", 265

Gentry, Michael, 476 n47

Geoghegan, Linda, 417 nTl, 419 n86

George Hammond Sullivan Political
Science Department, 266

German Club (cotillion), 101

Geyer, Alan, 322 nllO. 266

Gibbs, Mrs. W. Wayt, 136, 157 nl05

Giddens, Lucien P., 126, 128, 153 n92

Gifford, Richard P., 334, 348, 398 nlO

Gill, AmeHa, 146 n50

Gillespie, Albert R., 301 nl9, 325 nl20

Gilliam, Nancy Gwyn, 151 n81

Gilman, James, 476 n47

Glenesk, William, 317 n87

Goeltz, Heidi, 419 n86

Golf, 106, 107

Gonzalez, Crissy, 419 n86

Goolsby, Joan (Rapp), 321 nl02

Gordon, Bonnie, 417 n71

Governor's School for the Gifted, 351,
372. 414-15 n67. 439

Grafton, Martha Stackhouse, 82, 90, 92,
comment about 92, 137-8,
biography, 144 n38, 153 n 92. 159,
160, 165, 180, 182, 216-17, 221, 228,
238-9, 249, 253-4, 273, 286, 298, 302
n26. 313 n70, 315 n76, 320 n99, 326
nl28. 331-333, 339, 340, 349, 381,
396-7 n6, 401 n20, 420 n88, 425

Grafton, Thomas H., 241, 249, 381, 416
nil

Grafton (Martha Stackhouse) Library,
82, 145 nil, 234, 245-250, 312 n65,
n66. 360, 363-4, 369, 411 n54, 413,
444

Grant, Juha B., 307 n42, 405 n32
Grant, T.A., 308 n42
Grasty, MattieW., 50
Graves, John Temple, 180
"Great Books" class, 180
Greer, Juanita, 145 n42
Grennan, Jacqueline, 317 n87
Gruenther, Alfred M., 317 n87
Gulledge, Marcella, 470 n20

Hagerty, James C, 264
Hainer, James, 417 n71
Hairfield, Elizabeth M., 416, nTl
"Ham and Jam", 14, 152 n84, 245, 312

n62
Hamer, Fritz, 20
Hamilton, Don, 180
Hammack, Linda, Dolly, 320 n96
Hammer, Elizabeth, 417 nTl
Hampden-Sydney, 170-71, 173, 227-8,

442
Handbook (faculty), 379, 470 n20
Handbook (student), 102, 109, 149 n68
"Happy Birthday USA", 400 nl3
Harrington, James J., 439
Harris, H. Hiter Jr., 405 n32
Harrison, Albertis S. Jr., 244, 405 n32
Harwell, Richard Barksdale, 246, 312

n64
Hassett, Thomas, 306 n38
Hecht, Irene, 44, 452, 469 n20
Heckler, Margaret M., 414 n63
Hedrick, Bayard M., 57, 59
Heiskell, Emma, 12
Heiskell, Julia, 12
Heiskell, Mr. & Mrs. Wade, 12
Herndon, J. Michael, 392, 402 n23, 422

n94
Hibbs, Henry C, 128
Higgins, Marianna Parramore, 44, 45-46,

50-52, 68 n34, 77-79, 101, 109, 126,

139 n7, 140 nl2, 147-8 n56
Higher Education Facilities Act, 232
Hiking ("tramping"), 106, 107
Hill, Margaret Hunt, 420 n88, 468 nl4
Hill Top Residence Hall, 16, 472 n29
Hillhouse, Marguerite, 92, 93, 96, 160-

61, 182, 251-53, 298, 315 n76, 331-2,

339, 340, 476 n47
"Hillhouse Scholars", 97
Hipp, Anna Kate (Reid), 405 n32, 420

n88. 468 nl4
Hirschbiel, Paul O., 405 n32
Historical Foundation of the Presbyte-
rian and Reformed Churches

Montreat, N.C., 140 nl3
Historic Staunton Foundation, 429, 444
Hitchman, Margaret, 468 nl4

498

To Live In Time

Index

Hix, Mary Lewis, 398 nlO

Hobbie, F. Wellford, 301 nl9, 325 nl20

Hoge, Moses Drury, 24

Hogsett, Charlotte, 417 n71

Hogshead, Annabelle T., 71 n62

Hogshead, Thomas, 53 n70

Hohn, Bonnie, 279

Holcomb, Luther, 414 n63

Holt, Josephine Hannah, 301 nl9, 314

n72
Holtz, Ellen O.. 220 401 nl9, 470 n22
Honor System; 100-02, 147 n56, 148 n57,

148 n61, 282-3, 383, 459
Honor Scholars Society, 448
Honors Day Convocation, 176, 273
Hoon, Ehzabeth (Cawley), 117, 145 n39,

303 n26
Hotchkiss, Jed, 20
House, Carmen, 234
Howard, Anna, 19
Howard, Eliza, 19
Howell, Rosalind, 469 n20
Howison, Anne Hotchkiss, 71 n62
Hoy, Austin Y., 307 n42
Huggard, Bertie, 470 n22
Hull, Rosa Witz, 129, 142 n26
Humphreys, Mary E., 95, 133-34, 146

n50. 167, 262-3, 278, 416 n71
Hunt, Caroline Rose, 420 n88, 468 nl4
Hunt, Lyda Bunker, 88, 143 n32, 161;

biogi-aphical note, 310 n54
Hunt (Lyda Bunkerl Dining Hall, 240-1,

307 n42, 310 n55
Hunter, Charles S., 87
Hunter, Mrs. Charles S. Jr., 157 nl05
Hutcheson, R.F., 69 n48
"Hymn for Mary Baldwin, A", 313 n70.

397 n9

Independent Reading Program, 256, 258-

60, 316-17 n84
Industrial Revolution, new vocational

and educational opportunities for

women, 36
Ineri, Maria, 184

Institute of European Studies, 261-2
International Relations Club, 108
Irving, Mary, 279
Ivy Ceremony, 110, 190-1

Jackson, James W. Jr., 217, 227, 234,

238. 308 n45
Jacob, Frances, 260, 262, 316 n82, 320

n99
Japanese Total Cultural Immersion

Progi'am, 439
Jarman, Alice, 76
Jarman, Laura (Riviera), 76, 139 n2

Jarman, Lewis Wilson: 45, 64, 75-77;
personal agenda, 81-82; faculty
appointments, 86, 93; Board of
Trustees, 88-9; administration, 89-
90 n37, 96. 100; SGA, 103-05;
alumnae, 118-119; fund raising,
128; World War II, 131, 137-8; 140
nl3. 141 n22, 141 n24, 142 n25, 143
n37, 145 n45. 152-3 n87, 160-61

Jarman, Margaret (Hagood), 139 n2

Jessie Ball duPont Fund, 462

John, Joyce Sheila, 263

Johnson, Effie Ann Nursery, 186

Jones, Francis Freeman, 297, 340, 357-8,
400-1 nl7, 422 n94, 438

Jones, Howard Mumford, 175

Jones, Robert A., 469 n20

Journal of Education. 17

Junior Year Abroad Programs, 260-61,
317-18 n88

Kable, WiUiam H., 427-28

Kable Residence Hall, 430

Kantak, Vaman, 317 n87

Kegley, Betty Myers, 279

Kehr, Kurt, 316 n82, 322 nllO. 417 nTl

Keller, Caroline Murphy, 420 n88

Keller, Helen, 120

Keller, Kenneth, 476 n47

Kelly, John S., 439

Kelly, William Watkins: biogi-aphical
note, 333; inauguration, 333-35;
President's Committee on the
Challenges of the 70s, 334-336;
student unrest. 1970, 337-339;
administrative staff instability,
339-343; Virginia Tuition Assis-
tance Grants, 345; Covenant
Agreement, 404 n27, 346-7, 348;
Kelly family, 349-50; management
style, 350, 406 n35; campus
activities, 351; finances, 352-358;
faculty frustrations, 361; dedication
Wenger Hall, 363: New Dimensions
Campaign, 364-5; Phi Beta Kappa,
368; Governor's School, 372;
parietals, 384-87; resignation, 391-
395; 397 n7, n9; 398 nl2, 404 n26;
406 nSo, 414 n63; 421-2 n92

Kemper, Charlotte, 19, 25, 115

Kennedy, Judy, 417 nTl

Kenney, Maud, 186

Kerensky, Alexander, 146 n49

Ketchum Inc., 228-229, 234

Kibler, John, 476 n47

Kiley, Mary Lou, 439, 458

Kimball, WilHam, 322 nllO

King, Billie Jean and Larry, 371

499

To Live In Time

Index

King, Fannie Bayly, 65 nl

King, Martin Luther, 316 n79

King, William Wayt: 20, 35; building

program, 36, 45, 46, 56, 53, 65 nl;

65-66 n6; as business manager and

President Jarman, 70-80; comments

about, 130; 140 nl7; 142 ri26; and

apples, 149 n67
King Community Concert Series, 135,

466 ii9
King (William Wayt) Gymnasium-
Auditorium (King Building): 80;

building and dedication, 126-130;

use of during World War II, 135;

financing of, 154 n95; cornerstone,

155 n96
King's Daughters' Hospital, 136, 156-7

nl05. 163-64
Kittle, Ralph W., 348, 370, 398 nlO, 468

nl4
Kivlighan, J.J., 306 n38
Klein, Judy, 476 n47
Kline, Mikie, 204 nTO
Knorr, Kimber H., 70 n53
Knowles, Lewis, 306 n38
Kjiudson, John, 417 nTl
Koontz, Elizabeth Duncan, 414 n63
Kresge Foundation, 250, 307 n42
Krock, Arthur, 180

Lafleur, Robert H., 279, 320 n99

Lafuente, Enrique Ferrari, 317 n87. 318
n88

Lakenan, Mary E., 94, 193 n5

Lambert, Mrs. Clyde, 301 nl9, 405 n32

Landis, William H., 68 n39, 69 n41, 70
n48. 70 n53, 87, 139 nl

Language Laboratories, 316 n82

Latimer, Mary E., 137, 145 n42

Laue, Ruth, 116

Laughton, Charles, 180

Laurel society, 259

Lee, Suk Hyun, 185

Lemmon, Willard L., 325 nl20. 326
nl28. 329, 399 nl2

Leoffler, Layne E., 428

Leonard, Janet, 323 nllO

Lescure, Dolores P., 219, 293, 308 n45,
339, 342, 402 n23

Lester, Virginia Laudano: 395; bio-
graphical note 425-6; inauguration,
426-7; goals, 430-432; finances 432-
434; student publications, 435;
administration, 437, 439-40;
church relations, 440-442; faculty
conflicts, 450-55, 461; student
relationships, 457-461; resignation,
462-3; 465 n7; 466-7 nlO; 467 nil;

471 n24; 471-2 n28; 472 n32; 478

n62
Lewis, Frank Bell, 159, 160-61, 162, 163,

180, 182, 197 n28, 302 n26, 317 n87
Leyburn, James G., 161, 175, 200 n41
Library: See Grafton Library

Lickliter, Mr. (guard), 29

Lifestyle Colloquia, 443

Link. Ai-thurS.. 317n87

Liston R.T.L., 170

Literary Society, 101

Little, William L., 416 nTl

"Little House", 124, 444

Locke, Louis, 193 n5

Logan, Bernard, 279, 476 n47

Logan, Van Lear, 319 n95

Long, Latane Ware, 470 n20

Lott, James D., 279, 398 nlO, 485

Louchheim, Katie, 317 n87

Love, Winifred, 126, 128, 131, 151 n81

Luck, Dudley B., 416 nil

Lunsford, Charles P., 221, 325 nl20. 348

Lunsford, Charlotte, 468 nl4

Lytle, Lelia Ann, 315 n78

Lytton, Vega, 95, 185, 316 n82, 416 n71

McAllister, James L., 193 n5, 279, 291,
346, 381, 416 n72, 476 n47

McCain, James R., 141 n24

McChesney, Margaret, 71 n62

McClung, Agnes R., 8, 10; "dearest
friend", 11, 12

McClung Residence Hall, 16, 36, 65 n5

McCormick, Mrs. Cyrus, 46

McCullough, Nellie Hotchkiss Holmes,
31,39

McCune, George, 416 nil, 470 n22

Mac Diarmid, Clementine, 310, 402-3
n24

McDowell, Charles, 317 n8I, 331

McFarland, Abbie, 93-94, 137, 142 n26

McFarland, Daniel K., 93

McFarland, Frances, 7

McFarland, James W., 68 n39, 70 n53

McFarland, Nancy, 71 n62, 93-4, 137;
142 n26

McFarland, W.B., 7

McFarland Language Laboratory, 255-
56, 257

McGuffey, William H., 10, 17, 24

McGukin, Emmett B., 232

McKenzie, Charles W.: 159-60; relation
ship to trustees, staff, faculty, 162;
college's future, 168; "Great Con-
vocation", 169; Synod, 171-2; tenure,
179, 182; biogi-aphical notes, 192 ri2,
196-7 n26; resignation, 198 n34;
contributions, 198 n34, 303 n26

500

To Live In Time

Index

McKenzie, Margaret H.: contributions to
college, 198-9 n34

McLaughlin, Margaret, 182

Mac Leod, John D. Jr., 326 nl28

McMillin. Lucille Foster, 57

McNeal, Horace P., 325 nl20

McNeese, Margaret, 420 n88

McNeil, Ruth, 95. 263, 381, 416 n71. 444,
476 n47

Mahler, Andrew, 95, 131. 222, 278, 302-3
n26

Manse (birthplace Woodrow Wilson), 53,
60, 71-2 n69

Marias, JuHan, 317 n87. 318 n88

Mark, Hans, 361

Market Street, closing of, 230

Marshall, Peter, 146 n49

Martha Riddle School, Hwaianfu, China,
116

Martin, Allen, 470 n20

Martin, D. Grier, 301, nl9

Marts and Lundy, 168. 169, 209

Master of Arts in Teaching Program, 485

Mather, Jean 417 nTl

Mary Baldwin Bulletin (Alumnae
Edition): drops class notes, 381;
renews class notes, 1975; "Who's in
charge?", 330-331

Mary Baldwin College: becomes
"Synodical College", 47, 49-50;
site purchased, 50; adjustment to
full-time president, 77; characteris-
tics synodical college, 85; after 1939,
85; physical relationship to com-
munity, 99; archives, 140 nl3;
sale of college site, 153 n91:
physical characteristics of campus,
154 n93: post World War II
adjustments, 160; relationship to
Synod, 169-701 evaluation by Synod,
170-74; events, lectures, etc., 180-
181; pivotal time, (1957), 208;
college seal, 313 n69; external
factors, 329-30; student protest,
337-339; community relationships,
386; Bicentennial College, 393;
women leaders. 425

Mai-y Baldwin Honor Society, 97, 130,
176, 413n60

Mary Baldwin School For Girls, Kunsan,
Korea, 115-116

Mary Baldwin Seminaiy, (1895-1928):
named, 30; benefits from M.J.
Baldwin's will, 32; building
progi-am, 1900-1917, 36, 46;
becomes junior college, 39-41;
importance of "special" students, 40;
World War I, 44; discontinued, 61

"Mary Baldwin System", 45, 47
Matthews, Samuel, 6
Matthews, Sarah M., 220
May Day, 111, 204 n69
Medical technology'. 175
Medieval music dramas, 267
Mednick Memorial Fund, 467 nl2
Meeks, Carolyn, 220, 401 nl9, 422 n94.

470 n22
Mehner, John, 146 n50, 279, 314 n72,

320 n99, 396 n2, 417 n72, 465 n8
Mellon Foundation Grant, 407 n42
Memorial (Baldwin) Residence Hall, 36,

65 n5, 472 n29
Menk, Patricia H., 193 n5, 391, 392, 394-

5, 417 nil, 418 n78, 427-428, 476

n47
Metraux, Daniel, 476 n47
Meyer, Gertrude Ellen, 140 nl8
Middle Atlantic Lawn Tennis Associa-
tion (MALTAi, 269, 388
Miles, Sioux, 342, 402 n23
Miller, A. Erskine, 88
Miller, Andrew P.. 363
Miller, Anne, 322 nllO
Miller, Flora McElwee, 195 n20
Miller, Francis Pickens, 146 n49, 161,

170-71, 197 n28, 198 n32
Miller, Helen, 326 nl25
Miller, Helen Hill, 317 n87
Miller, James, 186
Miller, "Queenie", 111
Mims, Catherine, 95, 193 n5
Miscellany. ( 1899- ), 109-110, 190, 293,

389
"Miss Baldwin's School", 24
Missionaries, 113-116
Mizuno, Grace, 185
Mollenhoff, Clark, 331
Montgomery, Patty Joe, 301 nl9, 307

n42. 325 nl20, 363, 405 n32.

411 n53,468nl4
Montreat, N.C., 207, 299 nl
Moore, Frank S., 198 n32, 325 nl20
Moore, Marion, 260, 402 n23
Moore, P.W. Sr., 468 nl4
Moore, Mrs. Robert H., 301 nl9
Morriss, Carlotta Kable, 71 n62
Morton, Anne Inez, 145 n39, 303 n39.

303 n26
Muir, William; sculpture, "Freedom" in

Grafton Libraiy, 249
Mulberry, Dorothy, 279, 316 n82, 341,

392, 398 nlO. 401 n20, 422 n94.

446-47, 469 n20, 472 n31
Munce, Virginia Warner, 220, 308

n45. 342, 380, 422 n94, 438,

470 n20

501

To Live In Time

Index

Murphy, Betty Southard, 348, 449, 468

nU
Murphy family, 307 n42
Music: "Golden Era", 178
Music building (C.W. Miller House), 123,

472 n29
Myers, Duane, 417 n72

Nair, C.P., 308 n43, 325 nl20
National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA), 375-6
National Associated Collegiate Press

Association, 109-10
National Defense Student Loan Pro-
gram, 307 nil
National Education Act, 232
National events (external factors), 352
National Student Federation of America,

114-15, 189-90
National Symphony Orchestra, 180, 317

n87
National Urban League, 435
"Needle's Eye" Coffeeshop, 286
Nemerov, Howard, 317 n87
New Century ("Ensie") Campaign, 89,

126-7, 153 n91
New Dimensions Campaign, 340, 351,

364-5, 385, 392, 394, 411-12 n55
"New Directions in the Liberal Arts ",

221-223
Newman Club, 185
Nicholas, Hallas, 203 n61
Nininger, Scott, 297, 401 nl9, 402 n23
Notter, George M. Jr., 464 n6
Novack, Sigi-id, 417 nTl

121st Psalm, traditionally read on
Founders' Day, 149-50 n69

Oak Grove Theater, 178

Olds, Mona, 439, 458

Omicron Delta Kappa, Laurel Circle
(MBC), 351, 368

Opie, E. Walton, 72 n69

Opie, H.L., 70 n53

Owen, John 465 n7

Owen, Roderic, 476 n47

Page, Barbara Kares, 185, 219, 307 n42
Page, (Barbara Kares) Memorial

Terrace, 219, 301 n20
Page, Gordon C, 150, 185, 193 nS, 201

n48. 239, 267, 291, 313 nTO, 398

nlO. 417 n71, 444, 476 nil
Page, Martha Anne Pool, 219, 239, 310

n55. 464
Palamountain, Joseph C. Jr., 464 nl
Palmer, (Charles Vernon) Meditation

Room, 241

Palmer, Miriam, 57-8

Palmer, Roger, 359, 402-3 n24, 408 n46,
469 n20

Pancake, Campbell, 70 n53, 88, 156 nl05

Pancake, Frank R., 342, 370, 414 n64,
416 nil, 422 n94, 441, 470 n22

Pancake, Mary Moore, 151 n81, 181

Pannill, (William G.) Student Center,
465 nl, 484

Parents' Weekend, 180

Park, Lawrence, 464 nl

Park, Rosemary, 368

Parker, Anne Elizabeth: 93, 95, 137, 145
n39. 160, 182; biographical notes,
192-3 n3; modifications of in loco
parentis. 287, 289-91, 298, 302
n26, 303 n26, 310 n55, 315 n76,
341, 363, 381, 401 n20; Spencer
evaluation, 402 n21, n22, 411
n53

Parkins, Virginia, 71 n62

Patch, Julia, 220, 262, 256

Patrick, James, 279

Patteson, Roy K. Jr.: 342, 370, 392, 405
n33; biogi-aphical note, 411 n55.
422 n94, 428, 438, 469 n20

Peace Movement, 1930s, 113-114

Pearce, Jesse Cleveland; biographical
note, 409 n51

Pearce, Margaret Eldridge Henderson,
234, 256, 307 n42

Pearce, (Jesse Cleveland) Science
Center: 250-51; dedicated,
350, 361; costs & financing, 314
n74, 361-2

Peck, Betty Lankford, 303 n26

Peck, H.D., 46, 49

Peerce, Jan, 249

Pennell, Lillian: 44 n64. 167; biographi-
cal note, 196 n23, 339, 370-371,
440-42, 470-1 n24

Pentz, Lundy H., 476 n47

Perry, Elizabeth Crawford, 204 n69

Perry, Marvin B., 301 nl9, 325 nl20. 326
nl28. 405 n32

Perry, Virginia, 369

Pfohl, Ehzabeth (Campbell): 82, 83, 100,
110, 129, 139 nl, 142 n26; bio-
graphical notes, 144 n38, 175, 303
n26. 420 n88

Phi Alpha Theta, 273

Phi Beta Kappa, 98, 176, 273, 350,
367-8

Physical Education: seminary, 23; 1945-
56, 187-8; intercollegiate com-
petition, 268-9; renewed
interest in, 456-7. See also
Athletics

502

To Live In Time

Index

Physical Plant: Jarman era, 122-26;
tradition of upkeep and mainte-
nance, 124-25; World War II, 136,
152 n85, 164, 166-167, 194-5 nl3;
Spencer era, 229-239; "priceless
gem", 240; Phase I, 240-245; Phase
II, 245-251, 255, 310 n55, eM, n57,
311 n59, n62, 312 n65, 313 n67;
1970s, 362-363; bells, 369; color of
buildings, 410 n52; integi'ation
SMA, 430-1, 443-4; M.J. Baldwin
Memorial Window, 444, 472 n29;
recent changes, 483-484

Pilson, J.W.H., 77-78

Pincus, Michael, 446-7, 469 n20

Pinkston, Margaret, 476 n47

Pleet, Ronnie, 438

Poland, Jean, 247

Pollard, William C, 439

Poole, Mary Elizabeth (Arnold), 145 n39,
303 n26

Post, Howard L., 310 n55

Potter, Richard, 160, 161, 197 n28, 241,
301 nl9, 302 n26

Powell, Mary Collins, 127, 145 n42

Pratt, William A., 70 n53

Presbyterian Guidance Center. See
Career and Personal Counseling
Center

President's Committee on the Challenge
of the 70s, 334-37, 398 nlO

Price, Caroline, 443

Price, Frank Wilson, 267, 279

Priddie, Nena Weiss, 444

Proctor, Samuel D., 331

Program for the Exceptionally Gifted
(PEG), 436, 462, 485

"Project Opportunity", 278, 322 nl08

Prufer, Fred, 157 nl05

Quarles, J.M., 68 n39, 70 n53

Race Relations: in 1930s & World War
II, 113, 115; student concerns, 185-
187, 203 n64: Synod campaign
(1958-9), 229; no "race or creed"
criteria for admissions, 253-255;
faculty appointments, 292-3;
enrollment black students, 315 n78.
n79; in 1970s, 394

Rafters, The, 286

Randall, Kenneth A., 393, 405 n32, 468
nl4

Rathbone, Basil, 317 n87

Rathskeller, 383, 458

Rawling, J.B., 69 n48

Rea, J.R., 417 nTl

Recreation Association, 188

Red Head Club (W.W. King), 79

Reeves, Marjorie, 317 n87

Reform era, 1840, 2-3

Reid, Malcolm J., 306 n38

Reigner, Charles G., 307 n42, 317 n87

Religion: See Christian Association,

Synod of Virginia, Synod of

the Virginias
Religious Life Committee, 346-7
Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC),

375
Reveley, Taylor, 284
Richardson, Margaret, 314 n72
Richmond, Julia Gooch, 161
Riddle, Martha, 20
Riddle Hall, 122
Riesman, David, 463, 469 nl7
Robert, Joseph S., 197 n26, 228
Roberts, Philip A., 303 n26, 308 n44
Robertson, A. Willis, 319 n94
Robertson, Kathryn, 403 n24
Robertson, Margaret Stuart, 13
Robertson, Richard D., 314 n72
Rockefeller General Education Board, 46
Roe V. Wade, 352
Roller, Helena, 363
Roller, Jane S., 71 n62
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 114, 129
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 129, 134
Rose Terrace, 76, 139 n3, 164
Rose, Willie Lee, 351, 376
Rosen, Catherine, 323 nllO
Rosenberger family, 307 n42
Ruckman, D. Glenn, 88
Rudeseal, Lillian, 95, 257, 381, 416 nTl
Rufus' Trunk, 399 nl3
Rusk, Dean, 337
Russell, Margarett Kable, 87, 106, 118-

19, 120, 126, 142 n26, 143 n32, 161,

176, 428
Russell, Thomas H., 70 n53, 75, 87, 139

nl, 143 n32, 428
Russell Scholar Award, 464 n3

Sadler, R. Jackson, 468 nl4
Sandburg, Carl, 146 n49
Sanders, Marlene, 331
Santana, Manuel, 317 n87
Saturday classes, 271, 332
Saunders, Martha Godwin, 398 nlO
Sawyer, Jane O., 417 nTl, 476 n47
Sayre, W.W., 317 n87
Schaub, Jeanne, 314 n74
Schlesinger, Arthur M. Sr., 226-27, 304

n32
Schmid, Frances D., 220, 342, 370, 441
Schmidt, Wilmar Robert, 94, 116
Scholarships, 55, 97, 176, 235-6, 443

503

To Live In Time

Index

Scholl, Anne, 319 n95

Schorchtova, Rudolfa, 116-17, 151 n77

Schultz, Anvilla Prescott, 126

"Science and Society", S & H Lecture
Series, 265

Science at MBC, 98

Science (Beckler) Building, 123, 154 n93,
196 n22

Scott, John, 317 n87

Scott, Mary, 112

Seal, college, 313 n69

Security, Campus, 283, 383-4

See, Ruth D., 25, 115, 310 n53

Seitz, Karl, 417 nTl

Seminaries, 19th century, characteristics
of, 3

Sena, Rosemarie, 420 n88, 468 nl4, 475
n40

Sena (Rosemarie) Center for Career and
Life Planning, 485

Senior Class Gifts, 111-12, 124, 150 n72

Sesquicentennial, 1992, 484

Sesquicentennial Capital Campaign,
484-5

Shakespeare, 268

Shedd, Karl Eastman, 126, 128, 137, 145
n42. 157 nl06

Shenandoah Valley Airport, 225

Shenk, Ann, 401 nl9, 470 n22

Sherrill, Katherine, 145 n39, 303 n26

Shirer, William L., 180

Shuler, Barbara, 319 n95

Shultz, Mrs. Sidney B., 310 n53

Shumate, Stuart, 308 n44

Simmons, Louisa, 79

Simpkins, Alice, 322-23 nllO

Singletary, Ann, 321 nl02

Skinner, Cornelia Otis, 146 n49

Sky High (building), 16, 26, 123, 126-27

Smeak, Ethel, 279, 342, 371, 392, 394,
402 n22, 422 n94, 441

Smith, Ben H., 279, 326 nl28. 372, 414
n67. 417 n72

Smith, Benjamin, 7

Smith, Emily Pancake: Chamber of

Commerce Campaign, 54; Alumnae
Campaign, 57, 70 n53, 71 n62:
Woodrow Wilson Birthplace
Foundation, 72 n69; plate project,
120, 122, 161; Bailey Residence
Hall, 182, 195 nl4; Chairman
National Alumnae Fund, 234, 239,
240; visit President Eisenhower,
264, 265, 301 nl9, 308 ri42, 325
nl20
Smith, Harry M., 59
Smith, Henry Louis, 70 n48
Smith, Hulett, 249, 317 n87

Smith, Huston, 274-75, 317 n87, 321
nl03

Smith, Jane Frances, 376

Smith, Marian H., 401 nl9

Smith, Martha, 186

Smith, Melva, 470 n22

Smith, R.R., 405 n32

Smith, Richard W., 303 n26

Smoke, Kenneth L., 145 n42

Snodgi-ass, Sue Stribling, 39-40

Snowstorms (1960-61, 1966), 323 nll6

Soetje, Edward A., 342, 370

Solie, Ruth, 417 nil

Sophomore Shows, 458

Southerington, Frank, 279, 396 n2, 417
nil

Southerington, Theresa K., 476 n47

Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools (SACS), accreditation of
MBC, 82, 83

Southern Association of Colleges and

Schools, self-study, 220, 273, 320-21
nlOl. 343, 375, 482

Speaight, Robert, 317 n87

Spencer, Samuel Reid, Jr.: biogi'aphical
notes, 201-8; accepts presidency,
208, 209, 210-13; commitment to
church related colleges, 214; to
academic excellence, 214-15; to
economic viability, 214-15; to
international studies, 215; on leave,
221; "New Directions in the Liberal
Arts", 221-223; off campus
activities, 223-224; personal
characteristics, 225-6; administra-
tive style, 224-26; integi'ation, 253-
255; intellectual environment, 258-
259; overseas programs, 260-61;
Fulbright lectureship, 263; "Phone
In", 265-66; Saturday classes, 271;
women's roles, 294-297; resignation,
297-9; speeches, 321 n63; Board of
Trustees, 324-5 nl20; achievements,
326-7 nl28. 420 n88

Spencer, Samuel Reid Jr.: Building
program: campus expansion,
305 n38; timetable, 306-7 n39;
Waddell Chapel, 243; Grafton
Library, 245-249. Also see Physical
Plant; Synod of Virginia

Spencer, Samuel Reid, Jr.: Finances:
Synod Campaign, 1958-59,
228-29; 10 Year Development Plan,
233-34; endowment, 236-37,
Christian College Challenge Fund,
308 n44
Spencer, Samuel Reid, Jr.: 66 n6, 154
n93. 232, 238, 291, 292, 303-4 n30,

504

To Live In Time

Index

303 n27, 315 n76, 315, n79, 316

n80. 318 n88, 318 n93, 331, 402

n21
Spencer, (Samuel Reid, Jr.) Residence

Hall, 242, 313 nil
Spillman, James T., 82, 93, 101, 140 nil,

221, 298, 308 n43, 339-40, 353
Sproul, Ai-chibald A., 247, 308 n42
Sproul, Hugh B., 62, 68 n39, 69 n48, 70

n53, 77-78, 139 nl
Sproul, Hugh B. Jr.. 161. 301 nig, 308

n42
Sproul, Ruth Peters, 126
Sproul, William W., 225, 301 nl9, 325

nl20. 405 n32, 422 n94, 428, 468

nl4
Sprunt, James, 308 n42
"Sputnik", 232
Squirrels, (mascot), 388-89, 456, 476-77

n48
Stackhouse, Elizabeth Hamer, 124
Stackhouse, Martha. See Martha

Stackhouse Grafton
Stanley, Charles J., 267, 279, 398 nlO,

413 n60, 417 n72, 476 n47
Statler Brothers, 400 nl3
Staunton, Virginia, 1-2, 8, 146-7 n53
Staunton, Virginia City Council, 230-1,

305 n38. 306 n38
"Staunton During the Civil War"

(exhibit), 265
Staunton Military Academy: MBC

purchases. 427-30; alumni, 443-

44; funding for purchase, 464 n5;

alumni summer school at MBC, 471

n27. See also. Lester, Virginia L.

and Physical Plant
Stephens, Sue, 326 nl28
Stollenworck. Bessie, 112, 137
Stonewall Jackson Golf Club, 76
Strand Theater, 146 n50
Strauss, Fannie, 67 nl6, 71 n62, 94, 105-

6, 109, 119, 121, 179, 239, 278, 310

n53. 316 n82, 322 nl09. 381
Strickler, Virginia, 20, 21
Student Activities Center. See Wenger

Hall
Student Government Association

(1929- ): and Dean Pfohl, 90;

installed, 100-103; elections, 188-89;

25th anniversary, 189; role in

curricula changes, 271-2; bookstore,

259; Honor Court, 282-4; Voluntary

Action Center, 387; evaluation of

faculty, 387; 50th anniversaiy, 458;

offices in Wenger, 411 n55
Student life: at AFS, 25-29, 36; in 1920s,

57; Jarman era, 99-112, 121;

smoking, 103, 458, 151 n83, World
War II, 134-5; Transition era, 183-
191; Spencer decade. 242-248, 254-
5, 279-80, 280-289, 320 n99; Junior
Dads Day (1967), 282, 291- 293;
Kelly era, 332; protests, 337-338,
356-7, 382-388; "parietals", 381-386,
418-19 n80; "streaking", 387, 394
Lester years: 456-61; Tyson years:
486-7. Also: 325 nl22. 323 nll7.
324 nll9. 325 nl21. 323 nll2.
nll3. 396 n3. 399-400 nl3
Sullivan, Brian, 241
"Summer at Oxford" Progi-am, 262, 318

n90. 368
Summer Progi-ams, 177, 371
Sycamore Street, 306 n38, 419 n81
Synod of Virginia: MBC becomes a
"Synodical College", 47-49, 52, 62,
63-64; Jarman era, 83-85; meets at
MBC, 130, 309 n49; contributions to
MBC, 141 n24, 142 n28; Transition
era, 169-173; Campaign for
"Christian Higher Education", 173-
74; Spencer era, 210-13, 227-229.
Also 197-98, n31, 199 n36, n38, 300
nl3. 304 n34, 305 n35; Christian
College Fund Campaign (1968), 234,
308 n44, 331. 314 n74; Career and
Personal Guidance Center, 370;
"Christian Campus", 398 nil
Synod of the Virginias: colleges under
its jurisdiction, 345; task force, 346;
proposed "Covenant Agreement",
346, 404 n27; finances, 442;
redefine and sign Covenant
Agi-eement, 440, 441, 443

Talbott, Sara, 422 n94

Tams, W.P. Jr., 314 n72

Tannehill, Joseph F., 136

Tate, Nannie L., 11, 39, 42

Tate, (Nannie! Demonstration School,

164-5, 195 nl5, 368, 413, n61,

449
Taylor, Elizabeth, 449
Taylor, H.T., 87
Taylor, Mary Ann, 200 n45
Taylor, Mildred E., 94, 112, 182, 381, 416

nTl, 476 n47
Tempest. The. 177
Tennis. 106, 107, 269. Also see Middle

Atlantic Lawn Tennis Association

and Mary Jane
Tennis America Camp, 371-2
Thanksgiving, 110-111, 177-78
Thomas, Hattie, 470 n22
Thomas, Howell, 120

505

To Live In Time

Index

Thomas, John Newton, 88, 161, 197 n28,

210, 212, 228, 299 n2, 300 niO, 301

nl9, 302 n26, 325 nl20
Thompsen, Lillian, 95, 109, 146 n50, 167,

278
Thompson, Donald D.. 279, 375, 476 n47
Thompson, L.P., 16
Thompson, Mr. (night watchman),

29
Tidball, Elizabeth, 373, 415 n68
Timberlake, Elizabeth (Betty), 217-18,

239, 310 n55
Timberlake, Joseph W. Jr. ("Buck"), 217-

218, 221, 239, 308 n45
Time. 200 n42
Tinsley, John B., 8
Tobin, Richard, 331
Toynbee, Arnold J., 222, 302 n25, 317

n87
Trapp family, 180
Trice, O. Ashton, Jr., 193 n5, 414 n64,

417 nTl, 440
"Triumvirate", 160, 161, 298
Trout, William E., 145 n45
Truman, Hany, 186
Tucker, Heni-y St. George, 87
Tucker, J. Randolph, 24
Tuggle, Bonnie, 387
Tullidge Hall, 430
Turk, Mary Houston, 151 n81
Turner, Herbert S., 87, 95, 137, 143 ri33,

179, 180, 197 n28, 241, 278, 291,

302 n26, 322 nl09. 381, 476 n47
Tyson, Cynthia H., 73 ri82, 463, 481-6

"Uncle Chess", 15, 26, 29

Union Theological Seminary, Richmond,

Va., 159
United Black Association (WANA

WAKI), 388
United States, federal funds for higher

education 1960s, 232-3
United States Steel, 307 n42
University Center in Virginia, 260
University of Virginia, 18
Upward Bound Program, 434

Valley Field Hockey Association, 187

Van Doren, Carl, 180

Veney, Marian, 470 n22

Venn, Jerry, 279

Victory Corps, 132-134

Vietnam Moratorium(s), 337, 400 nl4

Virginia Association of Colleges and

Schools for Girls, 39
Virginia Athletic Federation of Colleges

for Women, 188

Virginia Foundation for Independent

College (VFICl, 163, 254, 333, 334,
467 nl2

Virginia Intercollegiate Press Associa-
tion, 109-10, 190

Virginia Music Camp, 439

Virginia State Corporation Commission,
84-85

Vision statement, 482-3

Voluntary Action Center, 387

Von Schuschnigg, Kurt, 317 n87

Vopicka, Ellen, 322 nllO. 398 nlO, 417
nil

Waddell, Addison, 7

Waddell, Joseph A.. 7, 8, 14, 15, 28, 32,

33, 66 nl3
Waddell Chapel, 15-16, 26, 53, 123-4,

167-68, 242-244, 311 n59, n60, n61
Wagner, John, 417 n71
Wallace, Irene H.; resignation, 78
Walsh, Elsa, 477-78 n59
Walsh, Gwen, 279
Ward, Wells, Dreshman, and Gates, 57,

59
Watergate conspiracy, 352
Watters, Maiy, 33, 42, 145 n42, 193 n5
Wayt, John, 15
Wedemeyer, Albert C, 241
Wehner,' William, 469 n20
Wei, Philip C, 369, 402 n23
Weill, Julia, 165, 193 n5, 278, 416 nTl,

476 n47
Weimar, Ella Claire, 19, 20, 35, 38, 40,

42, 45, 65 nl
Weiss, Robert, 279, 343, 417 nTl, n72
Wells, Donald W., 439
Wells, John A., 470 n20
Wenger, Consuelo Slaughter, 30T n42,

311 n62, 362, 363, 364
Wenger (Consuelo Slaughter) Hall, 166,

182, 244-45, 351, 357, 362-63, 393,

410-11 n53
Wertenbaker, Thomas Jefferson, 180
Wesley Foundation, 185
Westhafer, Patricia, 476 n47
Westminster Club, 185
White, E.G., 70 n48
White, Charlotte, 470 n22
White, Juhan, 316 n82, 322 nllO
White, Mrs, William H. Jr., 310 n53
Who's Who of American Women. 309

n52
Wighton, John, 469 n20
Wikel, Margaret, 470 n22
Wilbur, Frank, 417 nTl
Wilhelm, Jane, 219, 401 nl9, 422 n94

506

To Live In Time

Index

Williams, Craven, 218, 297, 308 n45,

342, 387, 392, 398 nlO
Williams, Emlyn, 317 n87
Williams, Harry L., 291
Williams, Ray, 168-69
Williamson, Helen, 19, 27
Willson, Gilpin Jr., 161, 301 nl9

Wilson, Edith, 60

Wilson, Eldon D., 168, 299 n2, 301 nl9,

325 nl20
Wilson, I. Delos. 310 n55
Wilson, Joseph Ruggles, 8, 17, 24, 244
Wilson, Thomas Woodrow, 81, 26-27,

178, 180, 244, 264
Wilson Memorial Terrace, 244
Wine. Winston, 306 n38
"Women in Government" Conference,

449
"Women in Industry" Conference, 350,

370
"Women in Science" Project, 344
"Women's Center", 441
Women's College Coalition, 435
Women's college, 36, 65 n4
Woodhall, June, 322 nllO
Woodrow, Hattie, 26
Woodrow Terrace Apts., 362
Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation,

53-54, 58-60, 64, 71 n£6, 72 n69

Woodrow Wilson Graduate Fellowships,

274
Woodrow Wilson Military Hospital,

benefits and dances held, 134
Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows

Progi-am, 351
Woods, Agnes, 116
Woods, Brooke, 342, 402 n22
Woods, Lily, 25
Woodson, Margaret Cunningham Craig,

161, 237, 301 nl9, 307 n42,

309 n50
Woodson (Margaret Cunningham Craig)

Residence Hall, 241, 310 n56
Woodstock, 330
World War, First, 44
World War (1941-1945), 130-138
Worthington, Clarke, 70 n53
Wright, Sarah, 20, 30

Young Men's Christian Association,

(YMCA), 429, 245-7 n48, 483-4
Young Women's Christian Association

(YWCA) , 25, 100-01, 106, 111, 127,

185, 404 n29
Young Women in Science, (summer

program), 439

Zimbalist, Efrem, 146 n49

507

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "To live in time: the Sesquicentennial history of Mary Baldwin College 1842-1992"

See other formats