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

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met Charlotte grant, about Vice-Chancellor- 879 to mpson ' s exist were introduced. Sewanee men were [known for their good graces throughout the South, and they prided themselves on {being well-dressed with a coat and tie. The first chaplain, the Rev. William DuBose, gencouraged excellence in studies by organizing the Order of Gownsmen, a unique group in American education. In 1890, the Reverend Thomas F. Gailor, later Bishop of Tennessee and first president of the National Council, succeeded the Reverend Telfair Hodgson, after the latter resigned. During Gailor ' s administration medical, dental, nursing and law studies were instituted. Construction of Walsh Hall, the library, Breslin Tower, and All Saints Chapel was begun during the first golden age, lasting from 1879-1909. In this period the faculty contributed to the major scholarly endeavors of the day, having their works printed in the leading publications, and making a name for the school on both the regional and national levels. The Sewanee Review was founded in 1892. One hundred fourteen degrees were given in 1900, a record not equalled until 1950. Benjamin Lawton Wiggins, succeeding Gailor as Vice-Chancellor in 1893, was the first alumnus to fill the post. During this period Sewanee excelled in sports, with undefeated football teams in 1898 and 1899. They were followed by fine teams in the ensuing years. This was climaxed by winning the championship of the South in 1909. However, the high spirit of the time masked the troubles which lay ahead. Wiggins died in 1909, and soon after his death the University ' s momentum declined sharply. Lacking the dynamic leadership of Wiggins, the Trustees voted to abandon the College of Medicine and Law and concentrate on the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Theology, and the military preparatory school. Dean William B. Hall carried on as Vice-Chancellor for five years. The succeeding Vice-Chancellors Knight and Finney, though distinguished gentlemen, were not able to provide effective adminis- tration. World War I hurt the University so badly that it was unable to capitalize on the prosperity of the 1920 ' s. The depression cast the school into virtual poverty, but the high standards that had been originally instituted survived during the nadir of the University ' s material progress. The year 1938 marked a period of revival and rebirth for the University under the brilliant and effective leadership of Dr. Alexander Guerry, an alumnus of Sewanee. By his untimely death in 1948, Dr. Guerry had so organized and revitalized the ad-

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taught. The school was to be patterned after Oxford, but was to be created complete. Johns Hopkins and Stanford Universities were developed along these lines decades later. The cornerstone was laid on October 10, 1860; and by that date the site had been received, a large endowment raised, a constitution written, and the Founders were ready to build. The Civil War broke out; and because most people thought that it would be of short duration, plans for the school were only temporarily suspended. Polk served as a lieutenant general along with W. J. Hardee under General Braxton Bragg in the Army of Tennessee. In a march south, Federal troops pursued the retreating Confeder- ates across the Domain of the new University, destroyed the cornerstone with a powder charge, and burned the buildings. By the end of the struggle, Polk and Otey were dead and Elliott was to live but another year. The Diocese of Tennessee elected the young Reverend Charles T. Quintard as its second bishop in 1865. As a chaplain in the Confederate Army, Quintard had promised Bishop Elliott, then Presiding Bishop of the Confederacy, to assume personal responsi- bility for the University of the South. Along with his collaborator, Major General Fair- banks, Quintard returned to Sewanee in 1866 to find the school completely destroyed. The Bishop and Fairbanks gathered around them working men and clergy and held a ceremony during which a rude wooden cross was erected, formally re-establishing the University of the South. Immediate moves were made to begin rebuilding. As an ex- ample of Quintard ' s resolution and firmness of intent, he designated Sewanee as the Episcopal theological training center for the Church in Tennessee, put up Otey Hall, built his own house on the Mountain, as did Major Fairbanks, and operated his diocese from this location. Following Quintard ' s example, other dioceses gave their support. Although interest was revived, fund-raising was slow. When the Archbishop of Canterbury called a Pan- Anglican Council to meet at Lambeth Palace in London in the fall of 1867, Bishop Quintard went to England in the hope that he might gain support abroad. He was able to solicit 2,500 pounds from sympathizers with the Southern cause. The amount was not especially large; but because very influential individuals had contributed, his mission §.64 S.FU. SAB LechO SA2 AA -V5 •f ' h cuth ij{8 oise Brown Xanier wfeins Uillem-Russel Copp 5.1 X.5.U Si S.l 63.S vS.l Juka. rv Cheape Taulkinbm-y Williams M-mlev. was brought to light. Using the English gifts, Quintard opened the University in Sep- tember, 1868, with nine students and four professors. In spite of the South ' s poverty and ruin, the advocates of the University were deter- mined to make the school thrive. The trustees elected General Robert E. Lee to be the first Vice-Chancellor, but he respectfully declined because of other commitments. Mat- thew Fontaine Maury, the former Confederate commodore who had charted the ocean ' s currents, also could not accept the post. Bishop Quintard served as Vice-Chancellor on a temporary basis until 1872, when conditions were secure and General Josiah Gorgas became second Vice-Chancellor. Gorgas served for several years, going to the University of Alabama in 1878, after disagreement arose here. The University ' s athletes were genuine champions in the early days of inter- collegiate athletics in the South.

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ministration and staff of the University that it was capable of continuing its progress on that high plane to which he had raised it. Sewanee had been one of the best schools in the South but its present position owes much to Dr. Guerry ' s efforts. In 1945 Mrs. A. I. duPont became a benefactor of the University; and through the guidance of Bishop Frank A. Juhan, the school received a tremendous boost from her donations. Henry M. Gass, Sewanee Rhodes Scholar and later a professor of Greek, acted as Vice-Chancellor after Dr. Guerry ' s death. Dr. Boylston Green served from 1949 to 1951 when Dr. Edward McCardy returned to Sewanee to serve as Vice-Chancellor. Dr. McCrady had left Sewanee to act as the head of the biology department at Oak Ridge. With his return, Sewa nee entered a second golden age whose progress has far excelled that of the past. During the ten years of the McCrady administration over a million dollars has been raised each year, the record of Sewanee ' s graduates has been unexcelled in the South, and a vigorous building program has been pursued. The first management survey was made of the University and plans were set down for probable future expansion. Sewanee will enlarge following the Oxford tradition. When a new library, a new dining hall, and an addition to Science Hall are provided, the present college unit will be nearly complete. Sewanee ' s 1962 Ford Foundation grant, one of the five maximum grants given to colleges in the United States, will be used to complete the present unit and to enrich its quality. Future plans call for the addition of another college for men, a liberal arts college for women, and a graduate school. Sewanee will provide in the future, as it has in the past, what our Vice-Chancellor calls the kind of education which goes beyond mere memorization or entertainment and requires mutual exchange of ideas. He realizes that this can only be provided by a high faculty-student ratio and the opportunity for personal contacts. In this year of 1963, one hundred and seven years after Leonidas Polk first hoped for a great university of the South, the dream gives all appearances of becoming a reality. The process will undoubtedly be difficult, but events have definitely taken a turn toward the original goal. In the future, we who have been a part of Sewanee will be able to recall that 1963 was a significant year in a great university ' s evolution and that our days here were a part of that effort. The east end of Walsh-Ellet Hall before the building re- sumed in the 1950 ' s. THE RT. REV. CHARLES QUINTARD DR. ALEXANDER GUERRY