Mississippi State University - Reveille Yearbook (Starkville, MS)

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1909 REVEILLE. Vol. V. John Crumpton Hardy. -Twelve

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1909. REVEILLE Vol. V. John Marshall Stone. — Eleven

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1909. REVEILLE. Vol. V. John Crumpton Hardy, M.A., LL.D., President Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College. Professor J. C. Hardy, the honored subject of this review, was born December 24, 1 864, in Newton, Newton County, Mis- sissippi. His patriotic ancestors, of Scotch-English blood, were among the early settlers of the country and were prominent in the Colonial epoch of our national history. Professor Hardy obtained his early education in the best com- mon schools of Newton County, where he also taught one year be- fore going to college. He entered Mississippi College in October, 1885, and was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in June, 1 889, with a brilliant record to his credit ; while taking his collegiate course he spent his intervening vacations in teaching sum- mer schools. After graduation from Mississippi College, he was appointed principal of Carrollton Male Academy, and filled this position one session; he was then elected principal of the High School in the city of Jackson, but retained this position only one session, as he was promoted to Superintendent of the Jackson City Schools, an incumbency which he continued to hold for nine consecutive years, and during this time gained high favor and prestige in the educa- tional circles of the State. In 1893 he received the degree of Master of Arts from Mississippi College, and in 1904 the hon- orary degree of LL.D. from the same institution. He was grad- uated in Law from Millsaps College in 1897, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and has also taken graduate work in Cornell University and the University of Chicago. Professor Hardy was President of the State Teachers ' Asso- ciation in 1 899, one of the most successful years in the history of the association; and he was appointed by Governor Longino as a member of the State Capitol Commission, which had in charge the building of the fine million-dollar Capitol. He is a member of the State Teachers ' Association, the Southern Educational Association, and the American Forestry Association; he is also a member of several fraternal orders. In April, 1900, he was elected President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College to succeed Ex-Governor J. M. Stone, and, under his able management and administration, the College has grown rapidly in all of its departments, its field of usefulness has been enlarged, and its development has been marked in all lines of educational extension. The average attendance of students has grown from 308 until the enrollment has reached 1 ,000 ; the Col- lege property has increased in value from $279,000 to $1,000,000, and opportunities are now offered to students for specialization in a dozen different lines of education. With the strong organization of a School of Agriculture, a School of Engineering, a Textile School, a Department of Industrial Pedagogy, and a Field of Ag- ricultural Extension through Farmers ' Institutes and Experiment Stations, the College is a living, growing monument for great good in the State — leading the way for diversification, development, and prosperity — and a credit to the whole South. — Thirteen