Agnes Scott College - Silhouette Yearbook (Decatur, GA)

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Ji ll ! m m I i I f orty years of T rogress Forty years ago an Ideal was conceived. Forty years ago Agnes Scott was only a dream in the mind of a man who recognized the need of higher standards of education for women in the South. Forty years ago a practically unknown Seminary housed its four teachers and little group of students in a part of the present White House which they rented for that purpose. Forty years ago the foundations of truth, scholarship, and character that permeate the institution were laid by a group of men who kept faith in all things. Toda) ' , a standard college recognized throughout the countr ' , we respect the sacrifices and struggles of our founders to give to Agnes Scott the tradition and char- acter that distinguish it. Today, noted for our high standards of scholarship, we honor the men who worked that this realization might be ours. The four men with whose names the growth of the college is inseparably linked are the four chairmen of the Board of Trustees: Dr. F. H. Gaines, Col. G. W. Scott, ] Ir. S. M. Inman, and Mr. J. K. Orr. In July, 1899, Dr. Gaines, pastor of the Decatur Presb terian Church, was so impressed with the need of a school of high char- acter for girls that he suggested the establishment of such a one in Decatur, and then and theie Agnes Scott came into being. In September of the same year, with a faculty composed of Miss i

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s5:S!:s!« le Qircling years ' dents. And while we are about it, we might quote the old Latin sentence which so aptly expresses the college student ' s position : ... qui me non accipere mode haec a maioribus voluerunt, sed etiam posteris prodere. ( . . . who wish me not only to accept these things from those who have preceded me, but also to accomplish something to pass on to those who will follow me.) Still looking back to the old : quite capable of seeing clearly the new, those of us who are here now feel that past and future generations of students will say to us envi- ously, Ah, but you were at Agnes Scott at a wonderful time! We are indeed, and we realize it fully. And so because we believe in the future of Agnes Scott and the girls who through the coming years will make up her student body, because we are grateful to those past classes of students who before our day came to Agnes Scott and loved it and worked for it and gave it to us, and because we love it too, and our years here have been happy ones, we ha -e pledged ourselves to the success of this great development campaign. fi m i

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' ' orty years of 1?rogress Hopkins as principal and three teachers, a part of White House rented, and five thou- sand dollars subscribed, the Decatur Female Seminary opened with sixty-three pupils, of whom three were boarders. The first years were especially hard, as education for women was viewed with much disfavor in the South at this time. Dr. Gaines, always recognized as the leader, became president of the institution and Col. Scott succeeded him as Chairman of the Board in 1897. Col. Scott, mean- while, had made a gift to the school of the present site and had presented Main Hall fully equipped and ready for occupancy, altogether one of the largest single donations ever made. The name of the school was changed to Agnes Scott Institute, honoring Col. Scott ' s mother, an Irish lady by birth. The Institute in the small suburb of Decatur had a difficult time gaining recognition, and during this trying period Col. Scott aided materially in its survival. The leadership and support of the First Citizen of Atlanta have in great measure made possible the Agnes Scott of today. The Seminary first opened as an elementary and grammar school. Each year after- wards the peculiar process was begun of discontinuing the lowest grade and adding a higher. This was continued until all grammar school work was eliminated and the institution became a college preparatory school. It was during the chairmanship of Mr. Inman that Agnes Scott Institute became Agnes Scott College in 1905.- Prepa- ratory work was continued in the Academy until 19 1 2. Mr. Inman, like Col. Scott, was verv generous and far-sighted and it was due to his influence that the campus was greath ' enlarged by the erection of several new dormitories. There was always a constant struggle on to maintain the high standard of the school when by so doing the chief source of funds was being cut off, for the students were not prepared for the work and very few were even interested in it. Have you f m I