Berea College - Chimes Yearbook (Berea, KY)

Page 13 text:

Dr. Francis Stevenson Hutchins, who came from China to follow in the educational footsteps of his father, William J. Hutchins, was inaugurated November 25, 1939, as the fifth President of Berea College. The inaugural ceremony was held in the presence of official representatives from more than two hundred colleges and universities. Phelps-Stokes Chapel, well filled with college students, faculty members, workers, and friends of Berea College, was the scene of the event. Dr. W. D. Weatherford, assistant to the President of Fisk University and vice-chairman of the Berea College Board of Trustees, presided at the ceremony. In his welcome to the delegates, Dr. Weatherford pointed out that ninety per cent of the students of Berea are from the Southern Appalachian Mountain region. Berea, he declared, is dedicated to the dignity of labor, explaining that every student must work with his hands two hours a day. This labor takes the place of high powered athletics. He referred to Berea College as an institution founded by plain and simple people. Dr. Stewart W. McClelland, President of Lincoln Memorial University, delivered the response for the delegates of the educational institutions and de- clared that Berea is a great institution with a great future. The future of Berea will remain intact under Dr. Francis Hutchins. In the main address of the day, Dr. Frank Porter Graham, President of the University of North Carolina, discussed the economic and educational inequal- ities of the South. Referring to Berea College as one of the temples of American freedom, Dr. Graham said that freedom can be protected by the advance of equality of opportunity. Liberty can be raised to higher levels by the widening of social security. Dr. Hutchins, who served in China for fifteen years as teacher, and later representative of the American Board of Yale-in-China, was presented by William Dean Embree, New York attorney and trustee of Berea College. Dr. Albert Buckner Coe, Pastor of the First Congregational Church of Oak Park, Illinois, pronounced the benediction. Immediately following the morning ceremonies, a luncheon for the delegates was held in Boone Tavern. Dean Thomas P. Cooper, of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, presided at this luncheon. Speakers were Dr. Donald J. Cowling, President of Carleton College, who discussed The Support and Control of Education, an d Dr. Clyde E. Wildman, President of DePauw University, who spoke on Higher Education Faces the Future. The inauguration was brought to a close on November 26 with the inaugural sermon delivered by Dr. Edwin McNeill Poteat, Pastor of the Euclid Avenue Baptist Church, Cleveland, Ohio. His subject was Prophet or King? Trustees present for the inauguration included: Richard Bentley, Chicago; Barry Bingham, Louisville; Dr. Albert Buckner Coe, Oak Park, 111.; Thomas J. Davis, Cincinnati; William Dean Embree, New York; Allen Foster, New York; Joel E. Goldthwait, Boston; Louis J. Karnosh, Cleveland; C. N. Manning, Lexington; Carl T. Michel, Kansas City; Seth Low Pierrepont, Ridgefield, Conn.; Charles Ward Seabury, Chicago; James L. Stuart, Pittsburgh; A. E. Thompson, Medina, Ohio; and W. D. Weatherford, Nashville.