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UT 3 1833 06720 3767 | WEST VIRGINIA STATE COLLEGE ARCH v5.02 IN75WVSA, 1985 IN IVORY Thirty years after integration A record of college events During 1984-85 Volume 45
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¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ x Ld Lf i ¥ » 4 + «3 € FORWARD DR. William J.LL. Wallace DR. William J.L. Wallace President, WVSC President-emeritus, WVSC WVSC: Thirty Years after the Brown Decision The anxiety that accompanied the 1954 Brown decision was best expressed in a Charleston, West Virginia newspaper editorial: Should the State of West Virginia continue to operate the two sepa- rate state colleges for Negroes when they are no longer needed is the $64 question. While the editorial did not criticize the quality of education at West Virginia State College, it was kn own that the College's enrollment had dropped from a post-World War II boom of 1,791 to a low of 831 in 1953 with only half of the 831 being West Virginia residents. With 10 existing White public colleges that under the decision had to open their doors to Blacks, the answer to the $64 question seemed clear -- close West Virginia State College. However, how the question was answered at West Virginia State College following the Supreme Court's decision was not typical of the Nation's other All-Black colleges. ; Led by a dynamic new President, Dr. William J.L. Wallace, the College's faculty, staff and student body was mobilized to save the college through an integration-in- reverse program. The doubters who did not believe that White students would attend the College were shocked to find that the 1954-55 Fall Semester student body was composed of 20 percent White students. The hard work from all elements of the College helped enormously to make the transition a success. By the fall of 1956, the percentage of White students had climbed to over 50 percent of the student body. Comments from White students from that time period indicate that they not only found West Virginia State College to be an institution that provided educational opportunities within easy commuting distance o f their homes, but also a first class College with a first class faculty, staff, and student body. Thirty years after the College opened its doors tg White students, historically, it continues to stand alone in the State and nation as it relates to the uniqueness of the transformation that has taken place. Today's student body, faculty and staff have representatives from several nations, races, and classes. This composition, comprising approximately 4,500 persons, adds much to the democratic life of the College as all members of the College community learn to live and work together in a nation and world often beset by misunderstandings, untruths, prejudices, and vio lence. Perhaps it was this observation on the part of President-Emeritus Wallace that led him to characterize West Virginia State College as a living laboratory of human relations where excellence is a tradition. NOTE: Material used in the forward was taken from a 1972 article, Integration-in- Reverse: Going from Black to Black and White, by Andrew H. Calloway in the February issue of College and University Business.
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