Texas A and M University - Aggieland Yearbook (College Station, TX)

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Vandiver resigns By Lee Schexnaider A shock wave swept through Texas A M on Jan. 7, 1988. The announce¬ ment that President Frank E. Van¬ diver was resigning his post as of Sept. 1, 1988, caught students, facul¬ ty and staff by surprise. After a seven-year term, Vandiver decided to pursue academic interests as director of A M’s new Mosher In¬ stitute for Defense Studies. He was also named Distinguished University Professor and President Emeritus. Deputy Chancellor James B. Bond said he regretted Vandiver’s decision to leave but tempered that regret with the realization Vandiver would re¬ main at A M. “You know that in the life of any¬ body they get to a point where they’re ready to hand over the mantle, but we’re so happy that he is going to stay here and do what he is so good at doing,” Bond said. “I think that the University is going to be a real benefi¬ ciary even though we’re losing a per¬ son who has been our standard-bearer and has done it extremely well.” But Vandiver’s term, marked by enroll¬ ment increases and several SWC football championships, was not with¬ out problems. He threatened to resign after the Texas A M Board of Re¬ gents hired Jackie Sherrill as head January 1982. The Board had hired Sherrill without the president’s con¬ sultation and asked him to fire then- head football coach Tom Wilson. Vandiver offered his resignation to the board twice before dropping the matter after the Board retroactively raised his salary to $100,000 — $5,000 more t han Sherrill’s salary. But late in the Vandiver presidency, conflicts with the Board appeared to have been resolved. As soon as Vandiver’s resignation and new position were announced, speculation began about his succes¬ sor. The Board set up two committees to aid in the search for a replacement. Board Chairman David Eller named himself, Vice Chairman Joe H. Reyn¬ olds, regents Douglas R. DeCluitt, William A. McKenzie, John Mobley and Chancellor Perry Adkisson to the presidential search committee. Ad- kission said the University would be looking for someone who has demon¬ strated abilities in administration, is a proven leader and has high academic credentials. Vandiver gave his own list of attri¬ butes the next president would need: “The wisdom of Solomon, the pa¬ tience of Job, and the stomach of a goat.” “You know that in the life of any¬ body they get to a point where they’re ready to hand over the mantle, but we’re so happy that he is going to stay here and do what he is so good at doing.” —Deputy Chancellor James B. Bond Features 2!

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Vandiver gives his commencement address during a May graduation ceremony. Above: Sporting a Horn Busters sweat¬ shirt, Vandiver speaks to the bonfire crowd. Right: Vandiver exchanges a word with Vice president George Bush at the 1984 spring commencement. 20 Features

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The lines were longer, the crowds were bigger, and there were more fish than ever. Call it frustrating, maddening or just plain confusing: you simply can’t avoid it when Enrollment It was obvious even before classes began in the fall that Texas A M would have more students than in the past. Crowds at the Pavilion, MSC and G. Rollie White Coliseum were bigger than ever and traffic was maddening as students paid fees, bought books, and picked up ticket books and parking stickers. By the second week of school, Aggies sported T-shirts boasting “the biggest school of fish in the nation.” Below: The sidewalk bv Blocker and Reed McDonald The fina! Count of A M ’ S enrollment fills With students between classes. was up about 2,400 from the 1986-1987 Rises academic year — the largest increase of students at any university in the nation. A survey conducted in October by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board showed enrollment at A M had in¬ creased more than 20 percent in less than 10 years. A record enrollment of 39,079 made A M the eighth-largest single-cam- pus university in the nation. •Billy G. Lay, director of admissions, say enrollment for the Fall 1987 semester in¬ cluded 7,433 new freshmen — a significant increase from the 5,966 freshmen enrolled in 1986. Growth of the student population also included almost 200 new members of the Corps of Cadets, said Maj. Gen. Thomas Darling, commandant of the Corps. About 3,000 of the new students transferred from other colleges and universities, Lay said. John White, housing services supervisor, said even though A M has more campus housing than any university in a five-state region, only 4,423 of the new dorm appli¬ cants were able to get dorm rooms during the fall semester. He said there are plans to add more University housing. To control the growth of the student body, the Board of Regents voted Sept. 21 to cap freshman enrollment at 6,600 for the Fall 1988 semester. Lay said the plan to control freshman enrollment includes raising admissions re¬ quirements for incoming freshmen, includ¬ ing requiring higher scores on the Scholas¬ tic Aptitute Test and the American College Test. He called the enrollment cap “a man¬ agement procedure designed to stabilize growth.” Lay attributed enrollment growth to the flux of the Texas economy and recent pub¬ licity of the University. “The way the economy is now and the trips to the Cotton Bowl gave us good pub¬ licity,” he said. In addition, he said, the University offers promising programs, and the tuition in Texas is not as expensive as in other states. But the most promising reason for growth was given by A M President Frank E. Vandiver, who in October told the Battalion that higher enrollment standards bring in more students. “Good students want to come to good universities that are tough to get into,” Van¬ diver said. By Cindy Milton 22 Features