Belmont Abbey College - Spire Yearbook (Belmont, NC)

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young Benedictine monks. Belmont Abbev College was ad- mitted into the Southern Associa- tion in 1936, the same year that Father Cuthbert Allen was appoin- ted rector of the school. Fr. Cuthbert maintained his dis- tinguished association with the college until his death in 1978. In 1952, under the leadership of Ab- bot Vincent Taylor as president, the Abbey was reorganized as a senior college. The fact that Belmont Abbey is a small, liberal arts college did not exclude it from the changing times. The 60 ' s was a period of confusion including the burning of draft cards, the Viet Nam War, and the civil rights movement. In May of 1969, six Abbey students belong- ing to the Black Student Union, staged a civil rights protest by seiz- ing the Science Building. The 60 ' s also Included the 1965 renovation of the Abbey Cathedral and the institution of a major con- struction campaign on the campus. This began with the building of the Abbot Vincent Taylor Library, which was opened for use in 1958. O ' Connell dorm was built In 1962, and was followed by the construc- tion of Poellath Dorm and Maurus Dining Hall in 1963. 1967 marked the completion of the Raphael Arthur Dormitory and the William Gaston Science Hall was opened for use in 1968. That stage of ex- pansion was completed with the construction of the Wheeler Center for Physical Education in 1970. Changes did not just pertain to the students and campus physical plant In 1970 Fr. Bradley became the first secular priest to hold the presidential office at the college and under his direction in 1972 Belmont Abbey College underwent its most dramatic change by becoming a co-educational college. O ' Connell dormitory was restruc- tured during the summer to facilitate women. There were 59 women Bring on campus and 45 commuting the first year. The enrollment of women has since in- creased to the present total of 286. 1976 brought Belmont Abbey College into its centennial year. The monastery was remodeled, and plans were laid for the renovation of many other buildings. Other changes in the centennial year in- cluded the secularization of the Board of Trustees, as well as the gradual institution of visitation privileges in the dormitories. In 1979 Fr. Tobin became the new president of the college. Like Fr. Bradley, he is not a Benedictine monk, yet both have brought many progressive changes to Belmont Abbey College. These recent changes coupled with those of the past decade, have encouraged the growth of Belmont Abbey from its humble beginnings in 1876 through its increasingly complex years since 1952 as a senior college to the present Belmont Ab- bey College now looks Into a problematical future with expec- tancy, hope, enthusiasm, and an unshakeable trust in the goodness of God. RAI

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