University of Houston - Houstonian Yearbook (Houston, TX)

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1934- ,Q 1959 V A f M,,, 'M ., K . -17' V,,.. 4 . A W MM :N ij: 7,,,,k i ,V,, .lil-, K Q1 ,,.gZ,Q5gffiggMt,,5y i ' As a remedy for the acute housing shortage, trailers were moved onto the 1 niversity campus to house veterans and their families. The University's first basketball team to participate in an inter- collegiate program won ten of the fifteen games played. I I I I In March, 1945, a separate Board of Regents for the Univer- sity was created by an act of the State Legislature. One of the first acts of the Board was the election of Dr. E. E. Oberholtzer as the first full time president of the University of Houston. Mr. and Mrs. Cullen donated oil royalties valued in excess of 53,000,000 to the school. Several temporary buildings were constructed in 1945. With the advent of the atomic bomb and the end of the War, soldiers discarded their uniforms and came home, many of them to resume their college studies. The nation's youngest Purple Heart wearer, 15-year-old Bob Kelso registered at the U. of H. for Hrefreshern courses in the vocational and techno- logical areas. In a newspaper article, the young veteran said he liked everything about the University except the sopho- mores. By 1946, the number of war veterans enrolled in courses at the U. of H. had reached 6,510. Total enrollment was 10,968. A special counseling and guidance department was set up for veterans. The Veterans Club was organized and fifteen temporary buildings and four permanent steel shops were erected to accommodate the increased number of students. The University of Houston, seeking to alleviate the housing shortage for veterans, worked with committees of the Veterans Club, and, after some months of negotiations, arranged to have trailers brought from nearby Texas cities to house the vets and their families. The University's first intercollegiate athletic program was launched in 746 when the school joined the Lone Star Athletic Conference.

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By 1943, students at the University Were turning from philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and music appreciation to the more practical-for-wartime pursuits of map-making, trig- onometry, radio communications and navigation. Women were trained in industrial classes to fill the jobs of men who were called into the service. At least l,000 of the University's students, ex-students and faculty members answered the call to arms. Eighty-six of these were reported killed or missing in action. Ingenuity was necessary in the Hman power shortagew War days. Senior coeds found this to be true when the senior dance was planned prior to graduation. Ninety per cent of the grad- uating class were girls. The boys who would ordinarily have escorted them to the dance were busy fighting a war. A date bureau was set up with girls registering in Dean of Men L. S. lVlitchell's office. lnformation on the girls was relayed to a nearby military establishment and dates were gotten for the dance. lngenuity of this kind Was not limited to students, however. One faculty member, unperturbed by the tire situation, rode his horse to the University every day from his home four miles away. An Advisory Board of fifteen members was created for the University by the Board of Education in '43, With 1944 came an enlargement of campus acreage. The Anderson Foundation purchased 90 acres and lVlr. and lVlrs. Cullen purchased 50 ac1'es to add to the campus, making the total campus size 262 acres. This is Cougar Den as it looked when it was new. - V'1r1tx Varieties an all student talent show was Above are nominees for Varsity Venus The econd girl from the left is the U H s Elsa Roshorough popular xx llll all

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The year 1947 brought another gift from the Hugh Roy Cullens. The donation of 3B400,000 was given to pay for the construction of an engineering laboratory building. The schools of Law and Pharmacy were opened in '47, and the Frontier Fiesta was resumed again for the first time since the war. In 1948, construction of the 35,500,000 Ezekiel W. Cullen Building and the Central Power Plant began. The first Army B.O.T.C. Quartermaster Corps was estab- lished at the University in ,48. The 748 football season was a frantic one. Twenty-one University students swarmed down upon the campus of Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville for an early- morning campaign of white-washing and placard nailing prior to a scheduled football game between the two schools. But the Cougars didn't reckon on a welcoming committee of Bearcats. When the U. H. students were finally returned home, they were sporting some very unusual haircuts. The Cougars didn't go down in dishonor, however, for when five Sam Houston students attempted to set fire to the Cougars, bonfire a few days later, they found themselves surrounded by U. H. avengers. The attempted arsonists were immediately shoved into the cage ordinarily occupied by the Universityls cougar mascot, Shasta, and were put on display for Houston students. A tour of the city was made, cage and all, and a haircut followed before the intruders were sent home. The Cullen Rifles, University crack drill team, was well known to Houstonians. Crowds gather at the Ezekiel Cullen Building dedication ceremonies. The '4Zeke', Building begins to take shape . . . . construction almost complete.