Eckerd College - Logos Yearbook (St Petersburg, FL)

Page 10 text:

Convocation The Eckerd College 25th annual Convocation took place on Wednesday September 12th, 1984. This was a special occasion in a series honoring our first 25 years in existence. The Convoca- tion ceremony was held in Griffin Chapel. The opening prayer was delivered by Dean Chapin prior to which two tardy faculty members slipped into their places while adjusting their caps and robes. Dr. Peter Armacost then proceeded to greet the college and community. The overall turn out of students was quite impressive. President Armacost wanted to thank all who had been involved in the past 25 years of our charter. Then he introduced distinguished guests, faculty, and past students. There were two alumni of the first graduating class in atten- dance, Howard Carter and Carolyn (Hall) Horton. Mrs. Hor ton said she had seen many changes since she studied here. She also said that the core curriculum she was in 25 years ago was similar to the program used at Eck Tech today. President Arma- cost also read a message from our distinguished board member Jack Eckerd which sited Eckerd College as a fine institution and expressed thanks to all who had been involved in it ' s history. Uncle Peter then introduced the first and second presidents of Eckerd College, Dr. William Kadel and Dr. Billy Wireman. Seldom does a college president have the opportunity to intro- duce all of his predecessors. Dr. Kadel, a spry looking grey haired gentleman, said he was glad to be here. Also, he was happy to see Eckerd was still seeking to present a challenge to anyone willing to listen. He said he was glad to see there were i £ ' ' . Above: Andy Haines and Pat Roberts discuss the coming year while waiting for the faculty members to line up for the Convocation procession. Above right: Scott Estes gives the official greeting for all residents of Oberg House. Right: The grand opening of the weight room for women only was met with sweat beaded lips arid buldging muscles as girls started using the equipment. •W

Page 9 text:

« B J - ' fe At least now they have decent materials to work with, not the equipment that was sitting around since before the war. As a college, our campus and community has grown extremely fast. In 1960 there were five clubs and organizations one could participate in. These included Chemistry, Dramatics, French, German, and Spanish. Today a student has over sixty-four clubs to choose from: beginning with ECOS administration all the way to tour guides. I ' m sure everyone attending school in Florida can relate to the Saturdays on the beach. In 1961, students beach days consisted of box lunches, surf boards, swimming, 150 hot dogs, and 5c cokes. Now, a few years later, students find themselves at the beach ' s hot spot watching activities such as jet-ski racing and para-sailing. We must also remember the serious aspects of Eckerd College life. In September, 1958, our first president. President William Kadel, took office and the decision was made that St. Petersburg would be the site for the new college. In the beginning of 1960, Florida Presbyterian College began its academic year with 151 freshmen at an interim on Bayboro Harbour in St. Petersburg. Accompanying the first few years of Florida Presbyterian College were the ever popular problems of every college: apathy and rules. Apathy proved to get the best of the students. There was no sight of recovery until the students became involved — such as a yearbook committee (which was formed in 1965). The Trident sent out pleas for writers and people to become involved with their social life. This hardly presents a problem for some of us today! Pets on campus? At Florida Presbyterian College it was absolutely unthinkable to allow pets on campus. The Trident felt the same about the situation when they stated that they didn ' t want the reputation of being, a flea bitten institution. As FPC moved into its third year, it began to deal with major social problems, such as integration. In May of 1962, a black student, Howard Kennedy, was admitted to FPC as a junior transfer student. Howard had the proper credentials and filled all the requirements necessary to become a student. As soon as the Board of Trustees heard that a black student was admitted to our lily-white school they overturned the Admission ' s decision. In disgust and disbelief, a major portion of our, fine, dedicated staff ' handed in their resignation. The resignation letters were put in a drawer over the summer while the Board of Trustees reconsidered their dccision • The next fall semester, black students were admitted as FPC students. Unfortunately, Howard Kennedy had found another school. Apathy, apathy . . . Yes, apathy was still evident at FPC. Due to the lack of social events, a new gameroom was opened on campus consisting of cards, board games, etc. ... To add icing to the cake, confusion still existed about the voting policies of Student Government. Five years after the birth of FPC, the Student Government began reconsidering the dorms and the rules that govern them. As the rules stood, visitors of the opposite sex could only visit in the lounge areas. Rules were passed in 1966 that allowed open houses on Sundays, provided notice was given to the campus community by the dorms wishing to have open dorms. Curfew hours were also extended for senior females. They could remain out until 12:00 on week days, one AM on Fridays, and two AM Saturdays, thanks to President Kadel. During the next few years President Kadel and the students of FPC engaged in a serious run-a-round. The students were displeased with Kadel ' s attitude, especially when he felt that it was necessary to, apologize for their long hair while speaking off campus. And he stated his disbelief and unwillingness to accept the fact that FPC had been charged with housing drugs during the Great Drug Bust. President Kadel resigned soon after to accept an administrative position with the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church. The next person to fill the position of president was Billy O. Wireman. during his years at FPC he advanced from athletic Director and basketball coach, to Dean of Men, Vice-President of Development. As he took the final step to Presidency, he took with him the respect and personal friendship of many students. One of Wireman ' s most memorable decisions was to improve on dorms and the dorm life. Women over 21 had no designated dorm hours, she only needed to fill out an off campus pass. Freshmen girls were the only students to have strict restrictions. Open dorms and co- ed dorms, a dream of the students, soon became a reality thanks to Wireman. continued on page 8

Page 11 text:

still cocky people here. Dr. Kadel told a couple of amusing stories. One being about the time he and another college official went to ask President Dwight D. Eisenhower to be our first honorary alumnus. They were scheduled to spend only ten min- utes with the president. Everything was worked out to the sec- ond. Yet, after he was asked to accept the degree, Ike proceeded to ask them, two men who had just started a college and really were not experienced, about private education in America. They spent thirty minutes in the Oval Office. Dr. Kadel told the community about the first official event at Florida Presbyterian College, a prayer was said in an empty store front in Orlando. The prayer asked for guidance in begin- ning a college. In closing. Dr. Kadel, speaking of today ' s Eckerd College, stated one parting remark, Well, I ' ll be damned! President Armacost introduced the second President, Billy Wireman Dr. Wireman said that the concern for money at Eckerd was not new. He also told why he was attracted to the school. He was only 27 years old when he first appj ached Dr. Kadel. He spoke of Eckerd as a dream that our fo n( j$ d envisioned. Dr. Wireman then proceeded to rememblr|i 6 i John Kennedy ' s election, and Camelot, also, the impact of ;tj( invasion of Israel on the college. He went on to discuss the v i that we should never loose sight of our goals, and to keep the dream alive. These were the dreams of Eckerd during his ad- ministration. Also, mentioned was the prospect of College Har- bor which is being built out behind the gymnasium. This project is being built for ASPEC members. It brings together the imagi- nations and reams of youth and elders. Chaplan David Cozad delivered the Benediction and a reception followed in Fox Hall. There was punch and Hors d ' ouvres catered by Saga. ?y Above left; above: President Armacost greets the audience as faculty members look on at the 25th Anniversary Convocation. Left: Dr. William Kadel and Dr. Billy Wireman, the first two presidents of Eckerd College speak as honored guests at the convocation. r