High Point University - Zenith Yearbook (High Point, NC)

Page 11 text:

C a place we love the be$t;

Page 10 text:

3n our kearti we hold tke mem ' ry . . .

Page 12 text:

THE GROWTH OF OUR COLLEGE The year 1940 is a milestone in the history of High Point College. It marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the institution. Though comparatively young as institutions of higher learning go, High Point College has shown re- markable growth in its first quarter century of existence. High Point College began as the dream of Rev. J. F. McCulloch, a native of Guilford County who attended Ad- rian College, Adrian, Michigan. After a few years of teaching. Dr. McCulloch returned to North Carolina with the conviction that the North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church should establish a college in the state. Attending the annual conference at LaGrange in 1893, he presented his proposal in such a convincing manner that a Committee on Ways and Means was appointed to explore the possibilities of building an institution of higher learning. The Methodist Protestant Church, however, did not feel the need of a college, thus nulli ying the work of the committee. Undaunted, Dr. McCulloch established Our Church Record, later renamed The Methodist Protestant Herald, to transmit his views to the homes of members of the church. After many years of agitation, personal solicitation, and many disappointments, the campaign began to bear fruit. Mr. J. C. Roberts, a Methodist Protestant layman of Kernersville, N. G, provided in his will a gift of Si 0,000, if the college should be ready to open by 1920; otherwise, the sum was to be used as an invested fund, the interest on which was to aid worthy young men preparing for the ministry. The legacy, though it never materialized because of the time limitation, stimulated considerable interest; and when the college was finally built, the administration building was named in honor of Mr. Roberts. The next step forward was taken in 1 920. Dr. R. M. Andrews, President of the North Carolina Annual Conference, urged that the church either take action on the matter of building the college or abandon the project altogether. The conference appointed a College Committee, composed of Dr. Andrews, Rev. L. W. Gerringer, and Rev. J. E. Pritchard, who were to campaign for funds in the churches of the North Carolina district. Aware of the increasing interest in the educational enterprise, Mr. J. Norman Wills, a son and grandson of Methodist Protestant ministers and an active layman in the church, offered to donate $100,000 (on condition that the College Committee should obtain $300,000) by the end of 1920. The time limit was subsequently extended by Mr. Wills, but, owing to a post- war business slump, the committee secured only $241,000. However, with this sum as a basis, the campaigners pressed forward. They submitted a proposition to several cities in the Piedmont area: if a city should offer an acceptable building site and $100,000, the College Committee would consider establishing the college in that city. Burlington, Greensboro, and High Point met the terms of the proposition; the High Point location was chosen. A Building Committee consisting of Dr. F. R. Harris, Dr, J. F. McCullock, Dr. R. M. Andrews, Mr. R. F. Williams, Mr. J. Norman Wills, Mr. R. H. Brooks, and Mr. J. S. Pickett was appointed. Mr. Herbert B. Hunter was engaged as architect; and he, accompanied by Dr. Andrews and Mr. Wills, visited a number of colleges and universities. After a thorough investigation, they recommended to the Building Committee that the colonial style of architecture be employed. The cornerstone of Roberts Hall was laid on June 29, 1922; the building was completed during the ensuing autumn. McCulloch Hall, a dormitory for boys, and Woman ' s Hall, a dormitory for girls, were not completed until September, 1924. With Dr. R. M. Andrews as president, High Point College opened its doors to one hundred and thirty-two students, of whom fifteen were sophomore transfers from other institutions, on September 15, 1924. The Class of 1927, the first graduating class, consisted of thirteen members. In that year nineteen members made up the administrative sta,ff and faculty. Of the original faculty, five members — Dean P. E. Lindley, Professor Alice Paige White, Professor E. Vera Idol, Professor J. Hobart Allred, and Professor J. Harley Mourane — are still with the college. In 1928, the administrative staff and faculty numbered twenty-five, and the Class of 1928 consisted of forty-five graduates. Upon the resignation of Dr. Andrews in 1930, the Board of Trustees selected Rev. Gideon I. Humphreys to fill the presidency of the college. Dr. Humphreys was well qualified for the position, having served as President of the General Board of Christian Education from 1924 to 1930. By virtue of his service on the board, he was in close con- tact with the educational program of the denomination. Dr. Humphreys assumed his duties as president of the col- lege in June, 1 930. The years from 1930 onward have constituted a period of steady expansion. Harrison Gymnasium completed in 1933, was named in honor of Dr. N. M. Harrison, whose persistent efforts in obtaining donations of materials and money resulted in the building. Four residences were purchased— the president ' s home (1931) a professor ' s home (1937), a home economics house (1939), and an additional professor ' s home (1942). The M J Wrenn Memorial Library, erected in 1937, was presented to the college by Mrs. M. J. Wrenn as a memorial to her deceased husband Albion Milhs Stadium was completed in 1938; and the baseball field, a year later. Additional rooms on the third floor ot Woman ' s Hall were built in 1937; and in 1943-44, more housing space was prepared in McCulloch Hall ' The field house, located at Albion Milhs Stadium, wa? the gift of the American Business Club of Hio-h Point in iqa7 During this period, the campus was neatly landscaped, concrete walks were laid, and the main road into the campus was given a hard surface. mp A consolidation of the orphanage work of the Western North Carolina Conference was brought about by Methodist Union. As a result ol this consolidation, the Board of Trustees of the Children ' s Home of the (former) Methodist Pro testant Church deeded to the college the property located one mile northeast of the ' consols of approximately ten acres of land and three principal buildings-J. M. Millikan Ha TZmitor forTarr.Vd veterans. Penny Hall, a dormitory for young women, and B. N. Duke Cottage to be 1 In addition to the construction and acquisition of new buildings, the original academic departments were enlarged and new ones were added. Much new equipment was obtained for instructional pu The size of the student body increased as the instructional facilities rposes. were expanded. The Class of i 94 o consisted of eighty-one graduates. In that year the administrative staff and faculty numbered thirtv ,iv n I?4 ° t C ,° nS1S , part of World War II, the college, along with all other educational institutions w nessed a l a ! of students enrolled. But when large numbers of veterans began to take advance of then- educat n } in iq 4 - r4 G, High Point College received its share of enrollees. The college went all o „ in , ff °PP ortumtles qualified applicants as possible. l a11 ° Ut ln lts efforts t0 ad mU as many Today, High Point College is literally bursting at the seams. There are two i,, m j 1 1 , • of the senior class. The total enrollment is perhaps larger than the founders dreante 1 i 1 ' wV 7 ° members is to be commended for having adjusted itself without loss of poise to the increa ed eman clfo r h T f ' C °ir S u a quarter century of remarkable growth behind it. High Point ColWe bra K -Inn Z f 8 le , arnm S- Wlth ■ 4 Diavely looks forward to a glorious future.