McMurry University - Totem Yearbook (Abilene, TX)

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Foreword . . . A DECADE OF PROGRESS On Jen. I. 1943. Dr. Harold G. Cooke became the president of a college that for more than a decade had faced the threat of closing. It could boas: on.y seventeen teachers and a student body of 160 and its entire physical worth wax SS75.000—and that included a token S60.000 endowment crr.d the -acre- campus. The new executive lost no time in conceiving a daring plan that scared the most optimistic of the opamists. He decided on a minimum o. SI.000.000 in endowment and S75.000 in building and equipment In Novem- ber. 1945. ground was broken for the fir»! building—the completion of Presided- Hall A month later, a project of building a dining hali wax assumed by the college exes. Then from his hospital bed after having hia neck broken in a serious auto accident. President Cooke announced his greatest thnli —the decision of Mrs. J M Radford. Abilene business woman and philanthropist to build and equip a Student Life Center She marked $300,000 for the project and doubled the amount in 1949 to meet rising co--' - With hi3 nock still -n a brace, the President sot out on an extensive fund-raising campaign which netted enough to build Gold Star Memorial Dormitor for men. An endowment gift of S5GO.OOO by Mrs Dora Roberts of Biq Spring led the way The name of McMuny has been synonymous with 'Progress'' during the past decade THE POINT In the 1953 Totem wo have sought to commemorate two important events in the history of the college. First, that in September 1923. exactly 30 yearn ago. Dr. J W Hunt founded McMurry College; naming it for William McMurry, area bishop. And second, that ten years aao. another great builder. Harold G Cooke, arrived on the scone to lift a colleae that lay stunned from the de- pression The Convocation ceremonies, held March 1C 14 in honor of Dr. Cooke and McMurry’s Ten Years of Progress could well be considered The Point between a decade of progress and A DECADE OF PROMISE On the adjoining map is McMurry College within another decade. A nat ural though: will be that the goal is too big. but a comparison of the college ol 1943 and 1953 gives substantiation lor belief in such miracles Las: March, a courageous and far-sighted Board of Trustees, headed by J. M Willson of Floydcda. issued the following proclamation and adopted an accompanying building program. It is axiomatic that no person or institution can remain static. In recogni- tion of our obligation to provide adequate Christian educational facilities for young men and women so that they might fulfill their destinies in this highly competitive world, provision must be made for their training in those profes- sions peculiar to this great western area. It is apparent that in order for Mc- Murry College to fulfill its obligation there must be a planned expansion of present plant facilities. The program should include a building program as follows: 1. A physical education building and matching endowment for its op- eration. upkeep and maintenance. 2. Two additional dormitories, one for men and one for women, together with sufficient endowment to maintain and operate same. 3. A library building with adequate book stock and reading space for business and administrative work of the college. Matching endowment to be supplied. 4 An adequate building for Fine Arts, together with matching ©ndowment 5. An adequate science building 3hould b planned with matching en- dowment. 6. A ccmpus improvement program is a project by itself with a definito plan of landscaping by competent architects and artists. 7 This planning committee in connection with the above items, should de- velop a sound program of land acquisition and an architect should be employed to prepare a Master Piot Plan of the whole area now owned ar.d that is to be acquired end :o make a layout sketch of the various buildings now in existence and those which this committee will pro- rvM » There you have it -McMurry» master-plar. of action for the next decade The name of McMurry is also synonymous with ' Promise!''