Coastal Carolina University - Atheneum Yearbook (Conway, SC)

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dedrcatory ceremonres were held on the college campus on november 3 1963 more than 60 guests from the unIversIty of south carolrna were present for thIs servrce durrng the year 1963 ll became apparent that certarn members of the horry county hrgher educatron commrssron would have to resrgn therr posrtrons because the commrssron had been created by statute those members servrng on the commrssron and also holdlng other governmental appolntrve posrtrons found themselves unable to serve In a dual capaclty the coastal educatronal foundatron and the horry county hrgher educatron commrssron had functloned Iorntly as a srngular body after aprIl 9 1959 wrth the srxteen members of each organrzatron holdlng membership ID both the commlssron and the foundatron durrng the year 1963 64 If also became apparent that for legal and other reasons the two groups should become separate entrtres In a meetrng held on aprrl 2 1964 a resolution was adopted wherern those members of the commrssron who were holdrng other posrtrons created by statute would resrgn from the horry county hrgher educatron commrssron and would form the nucleus of a revrsed coastal educatronal foundatron Inc by thrs same resolutron the remarnrng members of the horry county hrgher educatron commrssron drd resrgn therr posrtrons as members of the coastal educatronal foundatron the year 1964 saw another sIgnIfIcant servrce rendered to the people of thrs area by the coastal educatronal foundation In the summer of 1963 the cIty schools of conway began a search for surtable land on whrch to erect a new athletrc plant whrch would Include a football stadrum wrth four thousand permanent seats and outdoor crnder track and a baseball fIeld the foundatron was approached by the board of trustees of the conway schools concernrng the possIbIlIty of usrng land held In the name of the foundatron the Idea was well recerved by the foundatron for members of the body could qurckly see the advantage of havrng a modern athletrc plant on the college campus to be used by the college and other publrc schools of the area the foundatron subsequently approved the request In a formal meetrng and not only made some frfteen acres of land avarlable but agreed to underwrite a certarn portron of the caprtal needed to make the prorect a success thrs stadrum now stands on the western portron of the college property adlacent to sc hrghway 544 as another monument to the unselfrsh Ideals of the members of the foundatron a most sIgnIfIcant actron by the coastal educatronal foundatron durrng the year 1966 was the advancement of a loan In the amount of 548000 to the horry county hrgher educatron commrssron to Insure the construction of a general purpose burldrng for the college campus the commrssron had prevrously sold 5200000 In general county oblrgatron bonds and had also been assured of 5140000 from the federal government to ard In constructron of the burldlng thus the project of the year 1965 66 was the constructron of a general purpose burldrng whrch contarns a small audItorIum a book store and campus shop a language laboratory a semrnar room and a cafeteria thIs beautiful buIldIng along wrth the atheneum adds much to the aesthetrc value of the campus durrng the late sprrng of 1966 plans were made to Institute a two year program In nursrng at coastal carolrna If was Inrtrated In the fall of that year the atheneum socrety moved forward raprdly durrng the summer and early fall of 1966 durrng that year the socrety contrrbuted 515000 to be used for equrpment for the new student unron burldrng thrs made possrble the Installatlon of a modern language laboratory atheneum membershrps totaled 95 and S16 735 was contrlbuted to the socrety durrng the sprrng of 1967 both the commrssron and the foundatron began to concern themselves wrth the expansron of the local college Into a four year Instrtutron an audrence was requested wrth the south carolrna hrgher educatron commrssron the efforts of thIs presentatron wrll some day result In a four year college for the coastal area of our state the coastal carolrna regronal campus of the unrversrty of south carolrna was evaluated by the southern assocratron of colleges and schools durrng the year 1967 68 and was found to satrsfy the evaluatrve crrterra of that assocratron thrs was an experrence of great Importance to the college srnce the entrre faculty and student body became Involved In a thorough self study edward m srngleton drrector of the college was granted a leave of absence for the academrc year 1967 68 In order to pursue a doctor of phrlosophy degree In educatronal admrnrstratron at the UHIVEVSIIY of south carolrna larry l brddle was appornted actrng drrector of the college In mr srngleton s absence the atheneum socrety contrnued to grow durrng the year 1968 and by november membershrp had Increased to 137 the chref prorect for the socrety for 1967 68 was the purchase of more than 55000 In much needed scrence equrpment for use In the nursrng program at the college one of the most Important tasks to face the horry county hrgher educatron commrssron was provrdrng addrtronal space for the shelvrng of books In the college lrbrary hoprng to have a mrnrmum of 20000 volumes by Ianuary 1970 the commrssron made plans to expand the present lrbrary facIlIty thrs wIll make avarlable 7000 square feet at a cost of 5180000 mr srngleton returned to hrs post as dlrector of the college durrng the summer of 1968 the college assumed the responsIbIlIty of provrdrng hrgher educatron for the mlllfdfy personnel of myrtle beach Alf force base IH august of 1968 thrs brlngs to date the hrstory of the coastal educatronal foundatron and the horry county hrgher educatron commrssron Ill fulfrllrng therr Ideal of provrdrng greater opportunrty for the people of horry county these dedrcated men and women have drstlngurshed themselves the people of thrs area IH makrng use of these facIlItIes show therr deep apprecratron to the foundatron and the commrssron for the great servrce they are dorng the coastal carolrna regronal campus wIll long stand as a memorlal to the vIsIon and dedlcatron of the men who founded Il I I - . I I I I I . I I . . . . , I I - - , , , , , .. . , , . . . . , . . . , .. . . , - I I I , , , , I I - I ' I , . I . . . . . . ' f ' . . . I ' I ' I I I . . I - I- .. . 1 I I . , . . - I I I ' ' ' s Y' . l , .

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in july of 7954, a group of horry county citizens met in conway for the purpose of determining a means of providing additional educational opportunity for the people of the county. these men of vision, cognizant of the mounting expenses incurred in obtaining a college education, and aware of the relatively small percentage of horry county high school graduates pursuing higher education, determined among themselves to do what they could to rectify the situation. the first organized meeting of these citizens was called on july 23, 7954, at the horry county memorial library in conway. also present at the inaugural meeting were members of the conway merchants association and certain public school officials of horry county. these assembled delegates declared themselves to constitute an association for which the purpose of operation would be the advancement of higher learning within horry county. at a meeting on august 6, 7954, the decision was made to form an eleemosynary corporation, and the designation the coastal educational foundation, inc. was adopted. the public school superintendents of the county were asked to serve in an advisory capacity as ex-officio members of the foundation. at this meeting a constitution was formulated and adopted. within the month the secretary of the state of south carolina issued a charter to the coastal educational foundation, inc. the next six years was a busy period for this newly formed foundation. a committee representing the foundation was authorized to enter into negotiations with the college of charleston, in charleston, south carolina, with the proposal that a two year junior college in horry county be maintained under the auspices of the charleston institution. a sympathetic ear was found and an off-campus branch of the college of charleston, known as coastal carolina junior college was established. as tangible evidence of their own convictions, the members of the foundation took it upon themselves to underwrite some 578,000 as a guarantee towards the operation of the proposed college's first year. the coastal carolina junior college opened its doors at conway high school on september 20, 7954, with an enrollment of fifty-three students. afternoon and evening classes were scheduled to provide an opportunity for working persons to attend college during non-working hours. this inaugural year proved a very trying one for the foundation and its members. faced with the financial responsibility of continuing the college, the members frequently made great personal sacrifice in order to keep the movement alive. from september, 7954, through june of 7958, the coastal carolina junior college served as an off-campus branch of the college of charleston, during this four-year period the school slowly increased its enrollment and added significantly to its course offerings. the services of dr. e. j. woodhouse were secured as the first director of the college. many history-making events occurred during these years and a strong basis was being laid for the educational future of the citizens of horry county. dr. george c. rogers, a former superintendent of the charleston city schools, served as administrative director of the college from 7955 until his retirement in 7960. on november 4, 7958, a referendum was held on the question of raising county taxes by three mills to provide funds to support the school, the vote was carried in the affirmative by a margin of four to one. the members of the foundation were thereby relieved of the annual chore of soliciting funds to insure the financial success of the operation of the college. because of the constitutional prohibition against levying a public tax for a private purpose, the horry county higher education commission was created by legislative act on april 9, 7959, with the members of the coastal educational foundation, inc., becoming the first members of the commission. the newly created commission in turn was given the responsibility of administering the funds derived from the tax levy. the first day of august, 7959, was an historic one for the college. on that day, joseph w. holliday, chairman of the horry county higher education commission, and william h. patterson, dean of administration of the university of south carolina, affixed their signatures to an agreement that joined the two parties in the operation of the coastal carolina junior college. the college thus became a branch of the university of south carolina. this contract went into effect with the fall semester of the academic year of 7960-67. many events led to the historic signing of this agreement. the college had operated independently for a two year period l7958-601, and was faced with the option of beginning the long struggle tor regional accreditation as an independent college or affiliating with a stronger, more establihed institution as an off-campus branch. it was only natural that the commission would look to its own state university for help. w. c. casper was named as director of the coastal carolina center upon the retirement of dr. rogers, and was the chief administrator for a two year period from 7960 to 7962. during the administration of eldred e, prince, in 7967, the horry county higher education commission and coastal education foundation faced one of its more difficult tasks, the group was confronted with the challenge of securing a suitable site and raising the necessary funds to erect a building to accommodate the academic program of the university center. a one hundred and eighty-five acre site was secured on u.s. highway 507 between myrtle beach and conway. the major portion of this land was donated jointly by the burroughs timber company and international paper company. a successful fund raising campaign was initiated and carried to a successful completion. more than 5372000 in pledges was secured by public subscription, exceeding the campaign goal by some 572000 to erect an academic building on the campus site. practically every citizen of horry county was involved in the campaign in some way. coastal carolina center of the university of south carolina opened the doors of its new building for the first time in september of 7963 and welcomed 770 full time students to its campus. edward m. singleton, superintendent of the conway city schools, had been appointed the new director of the college in july.

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