Samford University - Entre Nous Yearbook (Birmingham, AL)

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New Samford president says An air of expectancy hangs over Samford University's campus this week as parents unload boxes and help their freshmen students get settled in for fall term. One of the fathers himself will be a newcomer to the university nestled at the foot of Birmingham's Shades Mountain. Dr. Thomas E. Corts takes over as president of Samford Thursday as his daughter. Jennifer. begins studies as a freshman at the Baptist liberal arts school. Corts, who has been president of Wingate College in North Carolina for the past nine years, succeeds Dr. Leslie S. Wright who is retiring to become chancellor. Corts describes Samford as a jewel of a place, a quality institution with a bright future. The new president said he hopes to build on the founda- tions laid by Wright. But he said his primary interest is in trying to make a lasting impact on students' values and in commitments to academic excellence rather than in bricks and mortar. Many institutions face difficult times because of declin- ing enrollment, but Samford's well-defined mission and role as a Baptist institution give it distinction and stability, he said. Declining enrollment certainly will be a pressure, Corts said. But he said standards will not be lowered to maintain enrollment. The university is at capacity with about 4,000 students, and plans are to remain at that level, he said. We will try to assure quality and quantity of students,', he said. Corts said he wants to focus on quality so Samford can reach even greater distinction. There are a lot of ideas in them have a price tag Dr Thomas Corts the world of education, all off t Excellence is his commitment ' 'wvvi' ffl I A key ingredient will be to boost the university's endow- ment of S7 million, which he called extremely modest for Samford's size. He said he doesn't have a firm goal or timetable, but S50 million would be a good number. During Corts' tenure as president of Wingate, endow- ment funds of the 1,500-student college more than doubled from S2 million in 1974 to S6 million in 1981. There are alot of ideas in the world of education, he said. All of them have a price tag. A top priority will be to make international studies a central commitment of Samford if the institution is will- ing, he said. Global perspectives can be emphasized in courses, reading assignments and through special programs in which students study abroad, he said. At Wingate, he started a program that allowed students at the midpoint of their sophomore year to travel abroad at almost no additional cost. Samford can make a commitment to giving students an international education as some schools do for supporting football, Corts said. Students need to have a global view of events and a glimpse of what it means to be a world citizen because of the importance of international trade in the business world, as well as the Baptist tradition of pumping money into healing and teaching in other countries, he said. Corts, a 41-year-old native of Terre Haute, Ind., is a graduate of Georgetown College with a doctorate from In- diana University. Before going to Wingate, he was coordin- ator of the Kentucky Higher Education Consortium and director of planning, executive dean and chief operating officer at Georgetown College. By Jean Lufkin Bouler The Birmingham News

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percentage of faculty members holding thc earned doctoral tie- gree had grown to more than twice the national average since 1957. A campus of more than 30 major structures with a replacement value ofapproximately S75 million has been built. The school has pumped millions of dollars into the economy of Homewood and Jefferson County. reprinted from Shades Valley Sun 10 T 'fem C7 sg Nl if ning neu Saint-'rd l'l'L'NLtlL'li r in .i laniilx portrait ir ighter ill l .i'r'1-I 4 k. ,,t,l,, lk... i. K .K X1 ltnniltr intl Ratla. ., .tl -i' 4 r' il' ttilcr it l ts Q- ., A

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ai I I - 'K' s X , Q x 'gif 57 i 1' i e . Dr. Corts and his many responsibil- ities as President of Samford University.