University of Alabama - Corolla Yearbook (Tuscaloosa, AL)

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LOSE SOME. WIN SOME . . . The moving companies from Washing- ton to Tuscaloosa have enjoyed a busy season shuffling the University of Ala- bama administrators to other parts of the country. It all started on June 26, 1975, when Dr. David Mathews, President of the University, was officially nominated to the post of Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare by the White House. He was granted an 18 month leave of absence by the Board of Trustees and Dr. Richard Thigpen was appointed to fill the position of Acting Chief Executive Officer. Three members of the University administration joined Dr. Mathews ' HEW staff. Former Director of University Rela- tions, Jim Wilder, resigned on September 8 to become a special assistant to Mathews. Stan Murphy, recently a University law student, also joined the HEW staff to serve as a special assistant to the new secretary, and Robert McKenzie, a former adminis- tration assistant and an assistant professor of Ameri- can Studies, is now an HEW executive assistant. The University has undergone many administra- tive changes since Dr. Mathews ' departure. It oper- ated on a team basis with the six vice-presidents meeting twice a week and conferring about policy for several months. Final authority had then rested with John Caddell, president pro tempore of the Board of Trustees. Finally The Board of Trustees appointed Thigpen to the Executive post and gave him the authority that accompanied it. Along with the national discovery of Dr. Mathews came an appreciation of University administrators that has since caused the appointment of two vice- presidents to the office of president at two southern universities. Dr. Joab Thomas, vice-president for student affairs, took over as chancellor of North Carolina State University in January. Dr. Neal Berte, vice-president for educational development and dean of the New College, was named president of Birmingham-Southern College in December and took over the office in February. 22 Inlroduction

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then different from someone who is in business or commerce. He has to struggle with the things inside himself. The things that make him what he is. Engle is responsible for many of the decorations on the Uni- versity of Alabama campus. He is the creator of the sculpture in front of Bryant Hall and of much of the decorations in Paty Hall. He also has pieces at several southeastern universities, including Louisiana State University and Mississippi University for Women. Professor Engle has found his place and is comfortable in it. He lives in his imagination — and his hands make it reality for him. Art is a way of life, he said. It is a way of presenting your- self, and a measure of how alive you are. An example of how alive Frank Engle is came when he told about working on a piece that he was particularly interested in last spring. I stayed up three straight days and nights. Graduate students were all walking around in wonder that an old man could keep up such a pace. Know how I could do it? 1 could do it because I wanted to prove something to myself. 1 wanted to prove that 1 could maintain a state of excitement. It had a meaning for me. Introduction 21

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Jim Wilder Robert McKenzie Stan Murphy Dr. Joab Thomas Dr. Neal Berte Introduction 23