Tennessee State University - Tennessean Yearbook (Nashville, TN)

Page 26 text:

. . - 1 ade Developing the Student Activity Program. The students who sat in the audtence as Pregldfggefililzlsigem his inaugural address must have been pleased to hear his very seeelfic commitments toamdp student activity activity program. By 1943 the college displayed abundant ev1clence that a wellwrotm .8 on campus, and program was highly valued. A democratically established student counml was functioning w University no doubt as the President of the Student Council listened to the pronouncements of illie deent activity President, his joy from anticipation of whole-hearted administrative eorhrmtmcnt to :such that in the program must have excelled that of all others. The magnitude of the emslmg program :3 cl ns , absence ofadrninistrative commitment, student leaders would have had unmanageable Hi : aerivilies d6- In the Bulletin for 1941-1942, two years prior to the Davis appomtment, the glam: agculty assumed scribed could be placed in two broad categories: tll activities for students for whlc ht f? st category were dominant leadership roles and CD student organizations led by studeht officers. In tl e 11' ctivities. In the the religious services, college publications, theatre, and varsity and mtramural ath cm: a . ' ' 1 'es and the Stu- seeond category, activities led by student officers, were the varlous clubs, fraternities, sororltl dent Council. . . . ' that made it con- In general, the student aetivrty program at the Universny was managed m admarllgegd and shared with tribute maximally to the education of students The talents whieh the student? 1:15 pht to the campus to each other were SUDplemented by the shared talents of outstanding personalllles roug . . - m. The Univer- 1nsp1re, inform, entertain and generally serve the students as models of human achieveme sityls religious and Lyceum Programs served this purpose. The Religious Program. i In the fall . ' mic of 1953, the young university acquired the services or a dyna welltrained Minister, Dr. William J. Sim . . . - - ' , Dr. moms, and thereby created the DOSIUO 0f Unlvermplllx'g IFSSthIZI-esi- Simmons found a rich heritage of religious activities and emphases. Through the effogigswdems during dent, Dr. W. J. Hale, Mr. R. E. Clay and Mrs. Lena B. Watson, the religious interests 0 8' mon5 concluded their college years were nurtured. Analyzing the efforts of those who preceded him, Dr. 1m . . - - . ' 'ous life of that his contribution should be the ercauon of coordinated structure and directlon for the rellgI the students.

Page 25 text:

Growth ofzhe Library. a The Davis administration not only began with a good nucleus ofa library, but it inherited the seasoned services of a head librarian whose career at the college began when its doors first opened. Mrs. Martha M. Brown must have had all of the dedication that any college president could desire in a librarian. She had seen the collection grow from the very first book to the quantity of 1944 of 34,000. Mrs. Brown's staff in 1943 consisted of three professionally trained librarians and twelve additional persons. Theyr provided their service in a building which was made possible through the efforts of Mrs. Brown. She is credited with having secured a Rosenwald grant to fmance its construction. Until the time of her retirement in 1951 Mrs. Brown continued to guide the growth of the library service and instructional program of the library. She was available in 1950 to advise concerning the modernization and enlargement of the Library Building to its present size trated capacity of 120,000 volumes; U. Hun Hg! firing; t.- Miss Lois Daniel. who succeeded Mrs. Brown as Head Librarian. was responsible for eomplllng the Library data for the report to the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools 1n 1958. That TCDOI'i provided data which, when compared to the 1943 data showed that SOme categorles of the holdtngs had more than doubled during the fifteen year period. The book collection had actually outgrown the rated capacity 0f the building. This situation stimulated a campaign by the librarlans for a new butlding. As the library collection had grown the size ofthe professional staffhad also grown. . . In retrospect it is easy to discern evidence of the motivational force ofthis dream operattng 1n the evolu- tion of the institution. The insistence on offering a graduate program whose breadth exceeded the depth of preparation ofthe faculty in several disciplines; dividing and subdividing the aeadernte program mm more and more areas of specialization; and structuring the faculty into a rapidly inereaelng number of depat't- mental units, even when some departments consisted ofone person, were actions which reflected Dr. Daws' urge to create an embryo from which a university could develop. In August 0! 1951 the State Board of Education authorized the transformation of the college into a university. The dream had become reality. The achieving ofuniversity status was indeed a momentous event for all who had become a part 0t Ten- nessee Agricultural and Industrial State College.

Page 27 text:

The Speech and Drama Program. - During the first year of the Davis administration in 1943 the Depart- ment of Speech and Drama was formally established. However, long before this time Miss Laura M. Averitte had initiated speech and drama courses within the English Department, and cocurricular dramatic activities as part of the student activities program. But the formal Department of Speech and Drama did not come into existence until the President requested it in 1943. Due to retirement the University lost the services ofDr. Poag in 1974. He was succeeded by a member of his faculty, Dr. Jamye Williams. But during the years that intervened between 1943 and 1974 Dr. Poag provided the leadership which caused the University to achieve widespread fame for its theatrical productions. Looking backwards to the point at which the illustrious career of Dr. Thomas E. Poag began to materialize at Tennessee A8LI., one finds an ideal match between the setting he entered in 1939 and the pressing interests which he possessed. Miss Averitte and her colleagues in the English Department had established the little theatre concept in theory and practice and had developed an active ehildrents theatre program. Composers OfIhe t'Alma Mater. - Homecoming 1949 was made very special by members of the Alumni Association when they honored Clarence Hayden Wilson, who was a student in the early days ofTennessee A. and I. State College. He composed the music ofthe Alma Mater. Mr. Wilson, who returned for this ocea- sion was serving as president ofthe National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. and as a music teacher in the St. Louis Public School system. Also recognized at this time was Miss Laura M. Averitte, English Pro- fessor. Miss Averitte, an alumnus ofthe class of 1918, was recognized for making two very OUISIBHding COT!- tributions. She wrote the lyrics to the Alma Mater which were set to music so beautifully by Mr. Wilson. Miss Averitte was also the originator of the Childrents Theatre. She was a devoted and dedicated 1630116? until she retired in 1966.