University of the South - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Sewanee, TN)

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The University [ANY are larger, many are older, yet none has a more striking history. The history of Sewanee, founded on faith and kept alive by the grim determi- nation of many brave souls whose whole existence has been Sewanee — and Sewanee is the University — has been called a high romance of education. The University owes its inception to the vision and faith of Bishop Leonidas Polk of Louisiana, who in 1835 proposed to Bishop Otey of Tennessee the establishment of an Episcopal College. Immediate action was prevented by the financial panic of 1837; but the vision, strengthened during the lapse of time, assumed definite form in 1856. At this time, these two churchmen and a third, Bishop Elliot of Georgia, held a con- ference; and definite plans for the establishment of a Protestant Episcopal College were adopted. Their task seemed hopeless, but they set to work as only God-inspired men can. An historian has said of them, A noteworthy group, Otey, Polk and El- liott — a saint, a soldier, and a scholar. The name, The University of the South, was decided upon because the school was not to be the University of any State nor was it to be the gift of any one man. The site for the school was purchased, and on September 10, i860, a large crowd witnessed the laying of the cornerstone of this university of the wilderness. Six months later, however, the country was plunged into the worst catastrophe of its history; and Sewanee, along with the rest of the South, was swallowed up in the struggle. All the buildings were destroyed, and even the cornerstone — noble emblem of the founders — was blown to pieces. The endowment was lost, and it seemed as if all the hopes and ideals of those three bishops were blasted into one great conflagration. Yet, to quote a lover of Sewanee, Sewanee is of the spirit and can never die. This spirit was resurrected in the person of Bishop Quintard, who in 1886, rekindled the dying embers of faith engendered by Bishops Polk, Otey and Elliott, all of whom had died during the war. Undaunted by the fact that the South was impoverished and demoralized by the war, Bishop Quintard went to England and raised five hundred thousand dollars on which to rebuild Sewanee. Therefore, mainly through his efforts, the University of the South opened with nine students on September 18, 1868. From this humble beginning, a great, though still small, university has grown. Its very existence has been a struggle — chiefly against financial ruin. With no endow- ment, a small enrollment, and no help to be hoped for from the exhausted South, the University seemed each day to be nearer the brink of failure. But, that undying spirit, Sewanee, has grown and endured through grinding poverty by sacrifice and self- denial, by a reverent tenacity of purpose, and by an unquenchable faith in the spirit in which it was founded and later reborn. 13

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Bishop Gailor Chancellor Board of Regents Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor, S.T.D., Chancellor, Chairman Memphis, Tenn. Rt. Rev. Frederick F. Reese, D.D Savannah, Ga. Rt. Rev. T. D. Bratton, D.D Jackson, Miss. Rt. Rev. Edwin A. Penick, D.D Charleston, S. C. Rev. Charles T. Wright ... Memphis, Tenn. Rev. Carroll M. Davis, LL.D New York, N. Y. Rev. Walter Whitaker, D.D Knoxville, Tenn. B. F. Finney, LL.D Sewanee, Tenn. John L. Doggett, Esq Jacksonville, Fla. William B. Hall, M.D Selma, Ala. G. W. Duvall Cheraw, S. C. Georce R. Parker Lexington, Ky. Robert Jemison, Jr Birmingham, Ala.

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Dr. B. F. Finney Vice-Chancellor Dr. B. F. Finney attended the University as a student, and his life has been closely associated with it ever since. After leaving Sevvanee, he was graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg, Va. Even as a student Dr. Finney had displayed an unusual interest in the welfare of the University, and in 1913 he was placed on the Board of Regents. He served in this capacity until 1922, at which time he was made Vice-Chancellor. In 1924 he was given the honorary degree of LL.D. from Hobart College, Ge- neva, N. Y. Dr. Finney is also a member of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew and is a trustee of St. Katherine ' s, a girls ' school, at Bolivar, Tenn. In addition, he is the Executive Head of the Board of Trustees at Columbia Institute, a girls ' school at Co- lumbia, Tenn. In the years that Dr. Finney has served as Vice-Chancellor, he has done much for the good of the University. He has put Sevvanee on a much sounder financial basis, and his accomplishments in the endowment campaign have been very exceptional. Though his interests in the campaign have kept him away from Sewanee much of the time, Uncle Ben, as he is affectionately called, has won a place in the heart of every student; he is indeed a loyal son of whom his Alma Mater may well be proud. 1+