Tennessee State University - Tennessean Yearbook (Nashville, TN)

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ROTC building burned in 1968 protest. Emerging from its first fifty years of service to black students exclusively in 1962, Tennessee A. and I. State University was in the midst of a social revolution from which it did not wish to escape, and from which it could not escape. When the 1962-1963 academic year began, public accommodations in many sec- tions ofNashville had already acquiesced to the persistent efforts of students and local citizens who eought service without regard to color of skin or ethnic origin. In the fall of 1962 these efforts were continmhg because the task was far from complete. An understanding ofthis process, and the studentsi linvo'lveiinent' m it, will contribute to understanding 0fthe complex nature 0fthe process of desegregating an institution like Tennessee A. and 1. State University. . The process of becoming a multi-ethnie university was accelerated during the eohcludmg years of the Davis administration, and continued throughout the period ofservice 0fthe third preSdent, Dr. Andrew P. Terrence. . . From 1961 through 1965 black college students in the City of Nashville made continuing essauits on racial segregation practices. The ufreedom rides, nsit in, along with stand-insii 1n tnotioit picture theatres were the major forms of protest used. For many Tennessee A. and 1. students Fitlt'tng this period, the academic year was a period ofalternate living on campus, picketing segregated faCIIlIlCS in town. and waiting injail for the NAACP. SNCC, 0r SCLC to arrange bail.

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28 Student Activities. The advent of student protest activities did not cause the more traditional student ac- tivities to disappear from the campus. During the semicentennial year a student at Tennessee A. and I. had the opportunity to choose membership from among four chapters of national sororities, four chapters Ofna- tional fraternities, the honor societies, and forty-one other varied student organizations. By 196 l theatrical arts had unmistakably surfaced as one of the major areas of student activities at Tennessee A. and I. The newspaper announcement of the drama offerings for the 1961-1962 drama season identified three theatre organizations at the University. They were the Players Guild, the ChildrenTs Theatre, and the Laboratory Theatre. In 1962 intercollegiate athletics had achieved a truly distinctive status at the University. The pro- gram was well-rounded and included the major sports in the region. The souvenir program for the fiftieth year homecoming football game contained a briefhistory of athletics at Tennessee A. and I.

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30 Following the announcement of the Board's approval of Dr. Davist request for retirement status, the search for the third president for Tennessee A. and 1. began. Responsibility for this search was aSSIgned 1e a committee composed ofseven members ofthe State Board of Ed ueation and three alumni. These commit- tees used the period from their appointment date, June 28, 1968, until the date their report to the Board. August 9, 1968 to perform the assigned task. Upon recommendation 0fthe Search Committee on August 9. 1968, the Board named Dr. Andrew P. Terrence, an alumnus of' the University, as the third president of Tennessee A. and 1. State University. Dr. Terrence served as president of the university from 1968 until he resigned in 1974 to become prevost and executive vice-president of Tuskegee Institute, a post he held until his death. He had served as viee-president of the Alabama institution before assuming the presidency. During Torrencets presidency, a desegregation suit to dismantle Tennesseets dual system of higher education was filed. The suit came to fruition on July 1, 1979, with the eourt-ordered merger of the University of Tennessee at Nashville into Tennessee State University. ttDr. Terrence was a great leader ofthis university and in this community during a very troubled time, said Dr. Frederick S. Humphries. A native of Little Rock, Torrence graduated from the former Tennessee A8t1 University tnow TSU1 in 1948. He earned his Master of Science degree and PhD. at the University of Wisconsin in 1951 and 1954, respectively. During his career Dr. Terrence served as a research associate at the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults in Chicago; as visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin in rural and adult education; and as a consultant to the Negro College Committee on Adult Education. Dr Terrence con- tributed widely to professional journals in his field and co-authored three books. Among the accomplishments at the university during this time were: the granting of autonomy equal to other public institu- tions of higher education under the State Board of Education; substantial increases in amounts of federal and foundation funding; the initial accreditation or approval of six new programs; and the organization of the businessfindustry cluster in 1969 as well as the establishment in I970 efthe TSU Foundation.