Centenary College of Louisiana - Yoncopin Yearbook (Shreveport, LA)

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8»Student Life

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Celebrate 160 Years Like the undaunted grande dame, Centenary College is hard to deter. For 160 years — through the Civil War, two World Wars, and the Great Depression — this venerable institution has managed to overcome its adversities and maintain its raison d ' etre as a quality educational institution. Centenary is a direct descendent of The College of Louisiana in Jackson, chartered by the State of Lou- isiana in 1825, and Centenary College of Clinton and Brandon Springs, Miss., chartered by the Unit- ed Methodist Church. The two merged in 1845 be- coming Centenary College of Louisiana in Jackson. The institution flourished, rivaling even Harvard ' s enrollment as nearly 300 students appeared for some sessions. A huge Center Building on campus in- cluded classrooms, laboratories, a library, and a 3,000 capacity auditorium, easily filled for every Commencement weekend and other special events. But classes came to an abrupt halt with the Civil War broke out. Faculty minutes, stored in Centena- h I, I 4 . ■■ « 3i!. sit. %■ ■ ■ ■ ■ . . . ■ t W I w is -lo- ry ' s archives, read Students have all gone to war. College suspended. And God help the right! When the doors finally reopened, enrollment had dropped, so much so that college officials resorted to admitting women to classes. At the end of their studies, they were not granted degrees; instead they were given certificates of completion. It was not until 1947 that those ladies were awarded bachelors degrees. Never really recovering from Reconstruction, the College was moved to Shreveport in 1906 with exact- ly $118.11 and a donation of 40 acres of land. Two years later, Jackson Hall was completed and the first session of Centenary College began in the fall. Times were still not easy for the struggling institu- tion, now into its second great war. In 1918, there were only nine faculty members; in 1921 only 43 students. But is was in that year that the dynamic Dr. George Sexton left his charge as a Methodist minister and took the post of president of Centenary College. He had taken the job on a temporary basis . . . but stayed for most of his life. With the post-war veteran boom, Centenary was bursting at the seams. Dr. Joe Mickle came to the helm and saw more buildings erected and more alumni graduate than any other president. It was also during his presidency that Cheesy Voran formed the Centenary College Choir, and overnight success which played Radio City Music Hall for six weeks and has remained on top for its entire 40 year history. It has been another dynamic Methodist minister, Dr. Donald Webb, 33rd president of Centenary Col- lege, who has given the College new vitality. With a $20,000,000 endownment, eight endowed academic chairs, the instution has never been more financially stable. The College ' s $9 million budget and 250- member staff mean business for the Ark-La-Tex. Over 80 percent of the faculty hold terminal degrees earned at colleges and universities all over the world. The average ACT score of freshmen climbed each year, consistently higher than the national or state averages. The student-faculty ratio is 14 to 1 ensur- ing small classes and close personal attention. Centenary College, on its 160th birthday, the grande dame of Louisiana colleges — small and strong. Opening»7

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' ' ' Student Life Centenary students eased into the school year. Along with the tradi- tional activities of partying at Toudans and late-night trips to Mur- rell ' s, students witnessed the repainting of James Lobby, the new attendance policy, and the new 2 3 meal plan. The physical campus under- went much beautification through landscaping. Well- kept lawns blanketed with colorful arrays of flowers could be viewed throughout. Not all of the changes were of a positive nature. Students felt another increase in tuition and some students did not agree with the telephones being tak- en out of the dorm rooms. Individuals have their own feel- ings of expectancy for student — life beyond the classroom; feel- ings that are modified by the changes in the college and throughout the world. Student Life this year at Centenary was truly an exciting experience. BEHIND HER TEAM - Lynette Potter and Shelly Colbert support their team at an intramural foot- ball game. Photo by Rick Anders. ALWAYS LAUGHING - It ' s hard to catch Janet Stevens without her famous smile and loud laugh. Photo by Rick Anders. Student Life»9