Augusta College - White Columns Yearbook (Augusta, GA)

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The Junior College of Augusta was accredited in December of 1926. The far-sighted Butler resigned on May 1 0, 1 930 and died three years later. James Lester Skinner became the second President of the Junior College of Augusta on May 17, 1930. During his eight years ' tenure the Junior College remained almost static, primairly because the Great De- pression gripped the country. The faculty increased from nine to ten, the student enrollment from 200 to 250, but the tuition stayed at $100. Skinner was a method- ical and efficient administrator. Eric Hardy, Skinner ' s choice for Dean, was a colorful man. Hardy ' s language was strongly peppered, whereas Skinner had a Sunday School propriety. Pres- ident Skinner was more con- cerned with the overall function- ing of the school than about what the students were learning in the classrooms. The year of 1931 saw the estab- lishment of the Board of Regents. The University System was being reorganized to save money. It was in the spring of that year that the Richmond County Board of Education attempted to solicit funds from the state. They were informed that they could expect no help. In fact, salaries for col- lege teachers were being cut from $2,700 per year to $2,500. In 1932, salaries were cut again. Operating costs of the Junior Col- lege fell from $14,857 in 1931 to $8,596 in 1932 and to $4,624 in 1933. Also cut was the new col- lege football and basketball teams. In a town as sports- minded as Augusta, this was a sure sign that the school was suffering from the decline in the economy.

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It was at the time of greatest hardship that the Fine Arts De- partment was created. It was composed of Miss Louisa Martin and Miss Louise Dyess. In 1934 the teachers saw their salaries re- duced to a new low of $2, 1 00 forcing many of them to seek outside work. After Skinner left in 1938, Eric Hardy became president. Hardy tried to bring the services of the Junior College more in touch with the needs of the community. He explained his goals, The Jun- ior College will no longer func- tion as an ivory-towered retreat, an appendage of remote and un- responsive senior colleges. It will take cognizance of the unique educational needs of the com- munity. A civil aviation unit was estab- lished in 1939 with William Hardy as director and Leconte Tally as instructor. Flying lessons were given at Daniel Field in Augusta. Also in 1 939, a Sec- retarial Science course was de- vised. Later, in 1944, a program for nurses was established in co- operation with the United States Cadet Nurses Corps. After two quarters of classroom work the students started nursing at Uni- versity Hospital, Oliver General Hospital, and Lenwood Hospital. In 1946, an evening division was established to take care of the in- creasing numbers of veterans re- turning from the war. The growth of the school continued until Hardy, in 1949, told con- cerned citizens that they must erect a new building or shut down. On November 10, the Board of Education in structed Roy Rollins to apply for the land at the Augusta Arsenal, which was being vacated by the Army. The transaction having been made, the Arsenal was trans- ferred to the College on Feburary 12,1957.