Tennessee State University - Tennessean Yearbook (Nashville, TN)

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The ambitious academic organizational structure which greeted Dr. Davis that first year t1943-1944t was matched by an equally ambitious array of courses. Dr. Davis must have been quite pleased with the fact that the curriculum included courses that were uniquely relevant to the student body such as the following: Drama 51 l w The Negro in Drama and the Theatre English 433 w American Prose and Poetry ofNegro Life History 41 l - Negro History Sociology 441 - Races and Nationalism Dr. Davis must have been a bit perplexed by the incongruity of the existence of such situations as a foreign language faculty of one teacher, Mrs. Alma Watkins, and the foreign language section of the catalog which listed twelve French courses, twelve Spanish courses, one Italian course, one Portuguese course, and three German courses. Dr. Gore Leaves the College. b Just as the college was bringing into realization new and exciting dimen- sions of its role and scope, an event occurred which introduced pain with the exhilaration. The Dean ofthe College, Dr. George W. Gore, announced his resignation to accept the Presidency ofa sister institution. In the fall of 1950 Dean Gore became the President of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College. To lose the services ofa man who had been literally the embodiment ofthe intellectual spirit ofthe college was loss that taxed the cohesiveness ofthe college to the limits. In retrospect one realizes that the past exercise of Dr. Gore1s creative academic administrative expertise, which made his departure so painful was the same phenomenon which had influenced the development of the college to a level that enabled it to sustain itself in his absence.

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Ifthese actions satisfied the requirements of the law during the early-fonies, they did not produce :tequallzatli? between Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State College and the Universny of Tennessee that persmtedl. Aetlfl'atl-f1 the state of equalization was not achieved. However, in the process, the reorgamzmg and strengthemng o e academic structure and program was commenced. l r. r - mi;imameM-LgyE-mtwm p: r- ' ' ' re with which TheAcademfc Organizational Srructure and Program after 1943. e The academlc organ gatigngiitgghu Offered three President Davis started included seven divisions with fourteen departments. The Gra ua - - ' ' ' their depan' degrees - Master of Arts, Master of Science, and Master of Educatton. The 51x undergraduate d1v151ons and ments which awarded Bachelor of Science degrees were: tn Division of Agriculture Department of Farmer Education Department of Agriculture Qt Division of Business Administration and Education Department of Business Education Department of Business Administration OJ Division of Education Department of Education fan Division of Engineering Department ofGeneral Engineering Department oflndustrial Education at Division ofHorne Economics Department ofHome Economics t6t Division of Liberal Arts Department ofEnglish Department of Romance Languages Department of History Department of Mathematics Department of Science Department of Social Studies . . . . . . - ' rsit From the tune of the inauguratlon of Pregldent Dams 1n 1943 to the tune ofthe CICVaIICIfI ofthe College to Untgfeur Y status in I95! the number of divisions was increased L0 ten and the number ofdepartments was Increased to forty- O -

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20 Creation ofthe Vice Presidency. h How do you fill a void created by the departure of a college Off'ICIal who nurtured all college publications for nearly thirty years; guided the development and safeguarded the integrity 0f the total educational program; directed the origin and development of the graduate program: directed the delivery of off campus credit instructional programS; and maintained an active role in Signifi- eant professional organizations to promote the colleges interests? This was the question 905951 by 'Dean GOWS resignation, One answer that Tennessee A. and I. offered was to create a new super position 1 the organizational chart, and call it Vice President ofthe college. Then came the task of identifying a super PCP son to fill it. The person selected was Dr. Alger V. Boswell. . Dr. Boswell, who had come to the college as a mathematics teacher in 1930, had served in a variety 0f capacities during the subsequent twenty years. Among these were treasurer of the ecallege 311d ad- ministrative assistant to President Davis. When interviewed during this study Dr. Boswell commented on the various positions that he had filled at this institution. At another point in the interview Dr. Boswett stated that the greatest challenge that he faced was hto take on all the jobs vacated by Gore when he left. This challenge aCCIuired added dimensions during the next year when the college was authorized to operate as a university. University Status. a The concluding statement in President Davisi Inaugural Address was the following: The establishment and maintenance of a strong nA class university with a complete program ofeurricular and extracurricular activities is our goal. It '15 00W apparent that this was far more than a mere exercise in rhetoric designed to en- Courage applause at the climax of an academic ceremony. For Dr. Davis this was one of those dreams WhICh approach the obsession stage in the lives ofhuman beings.