Virginia Military Institute - Bomb Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

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1 IImIk Nash Dillard, Lieutenant Colonel Scuird: l.iciilciiaiit ( ' ..li.ii.l . i.iii M lii ' lig, Jr., Colonel Carringtou C. Tutwiln- George L. Kotli, Majur Williiuii I ' . Uycrs. Standing: Mr. William H. Williams, Mr. Robert F. Calhoun, Captain Joseph C. Pearce, Major .lames VV. Pence, Major Thomas B. Gentry, Major William W. Kelly, Mr. Robert R. Ratcliffe, Mr. WiUiam Truesdale. Nut in Picture: Major Robert K. Turner. And indeed there will be time For the i ellow smoke that slides aloin the street. Rnhliiiuj its hark upon the irindoir-iiancs; There will he time, there will he time To pre [Hire a fare to meet t he faces that yon meet; Tliere u-ill he time to murder and create. And time for all the works and dai s of hands That lift and drop a question on your plate; Time for you and time for me. And time yet fu- a hundred indecisions. And for (I hiinilred visions and revisions. Before the taking of a toast and tea. In the room instructors come and go Talking of Michelangelo. M .it The cognoscenti liurn willi a liaril gem-like flai

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Colonel Dillard Head, Department of English majors. In view of lliis growth, the Department continues to strengthen its teaching staff and faciHties. All members of this staff haA-c miLsters degrees, a high percentage hold doctor ' s ilcurers, and several are in the process of obtaining the latter. ' J ' lie si .e of the English Department allows each student to have a personal advisor among the faculty members with whom he has frequent consultations con- cerning grades, courses, and future plans after graduation. The Department is in the process of building a strong departmental library and wide facilities, for work in the fine arts. The English Department is the only one which offers a comprehensive examination at the end of the student ' s senior year, and those with good records are urged to take this. The courses otferiMl by tiie English Department are of two basic types: one is the broad, inclusive, survey of a wide field or a long period; the other is an intensive exami- nation of a smaller area, done with a more concentrated DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH THE Department of English aims ]M-imarily at provid- ing a strong basis of humanistic learning in literature, history, foreign languages, and the arts recpiired of civilized society, along with a foundation in the natural and social sciences. A comparatively large number of electi -e courses are offered vith the stipulation that the student take half of them outside of the English Department in orfler to provide him with a wider base of education. An important consideration throughout the student ' s cadetship is given towards a preparation for graduate stud.y in such fields as law, the fine arts, teaching, and literary or i)rofessional writing. The English Department, though it is the youngest of the academic departments, is growing rapidly in enroll- ment and facilities. The number of students graduating with degrees in English increases yearly and many high positions in the Corps of Cadets are held by English thoroughness. They are designed to blend into a wide knowledge of the cultural advance of Western man, with specific stress laid on that of England and America. Extracurricular activities of the Department include sponsorship of visiting lecturers, the R. E. Dixon English Society, cultural tours to special events in the Virginia area, and a summer tour of Europe conducted yearly by some member of the staff of the Department. After four years of study under the guidance of the English Department, the V. ' SI. I. cadet graduates with the assurance that he has been exposed to as thorough an indoctrination in humanistic learning as is available in anj ' other undergraduate institution. The excellence of the instruction received may be seen in the fine record which V. M. I. English major graduates hold in graduate schools all over the United States. : R. R. Evans

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Head, DepartmenI of Ili. lnri The Department hopes to expand this curriciihim in depth in the next few years to inelnde ancient and medieval liistoiy, and in breadth to inehi k ' history of the Far East and possibly Latin America. Recent changes in the history curricidum have included the addition of six hours of economics in place of social psychoh)gy anil i)ublic s])eaking, and the replacement five years ago of R jnian history with Civil War and l e- construction. The V.] r.I. History Department was one of the first American undergraduate departments to oiler geopolitics, which, begun during World War II, has served as a guide for the developnieiil of similar courses in otljer colleges. At preseid, ' .M.I. is one of the few undergraduate schools to offer military history. Three graduates of this dej)artment have studied in foreign countries on Fulbright Scholarships, the only V.M.I. graduates to be awarded grants under this program. Other fine scholarshi])s obtained by recently graduated history majors include a $6,600 National Defense Fellowship for study in foreign aft ' airs at the University of Virginia, and a DuPont Fellowship for study in economics. The history curriculum is designed to provide cadets with a broad and sound preparation for many fields of en- deavor and, in particular, to develop the citizen part of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND ECONOMICS TuE History Dep. rtment THE History Department, V.JNI.I. ' s second largest degree-granting department, has in the past decade under- gone an extremely rapid expansion and development, so that it now contains about two hundred students from all four classes, or about one-fifth of the present Corps. The History Department has long been an essential part of the V.M.I, academic system, but it was not until relatively recent years, around 1950, that this curriculum obtained the status of a degree-granting department, thus enabling the V.M.I, cadet to major in the field of history. When Colonel John D. P. Fuller, present head of the History Department, came to V.M.I, in 1935, there were only three instructors in history, and this was the case as late as 1948. In contrast, there are now nine men in the History Department and four more in the Department of Economics, which is under the jurisdiction of the History Department. Of the nine instructors in history, six have doctor ' s degrees and the other three have master ' s degrees. The History Department constantly seeks to provide a broader, better curriculum, one designed to best prepare the history major for an immediate career, or for further study in a variety of fields. At present, the history major receives a total of 139 semester hours of instruction, of which 39 hours arc in history or political science and 15 are in economics, often referred to citizen soldier. Yet the curriculum is not so broad that it fails to fit men for particular careers, and the prospective historj major should have a rather definite idea of his occupational goal before enrolling in this course of study. Because of its faculty, its curriculum, and its students, the V.M.I. History Department is considered one of the leading undergraduate le])arti nents in the South. : S. A. Clement The Economics Department The courses offered by the Economics Department, under the auspices of the History Department, are a rel- atively new and growing field of stud.y at V. I.I. This may be seen by the addition of nine more hours of courses since Colonel Morrison ' s return in 1956. Previously, only two semesters of Principles of Erdnomics were offered, but now Comparative Economic S lini-, N ilional Income and Fi- nance, and International Ecoiii.niics are taught. Principles of Economics is a required course for all cadets, regardless of their major, and V.M.I, is one of the few schools in the country that makes such a course mandatory. It is felt that a course such as this, giving the student a broad understanding of the economic system as a whole, is extremely important, for any well informed citizen today should know a good deal about the economic institutions and economic functioning of the society in which he lives. The history and English majors may elect the remaining courses that the Department