HARDIN-SIMMONS UNIVERSITY

A CENTENNIAL HISTORY

by A. Yvonne Stackhouse

Photographs by Larry E. Fink

HARDIN-SIMMONS UNIVERSTIY ABILENE, TEXAS

1991

Introduction iv

been there, but the criteria become increasingly more diverse as tuition escalates. In a speech given during HSU's Diamond Jubilee year by the Dean of the Chapel of William Jewell College, the graduating class was reminded to "Choose your ruts well. You may be in them for a long time." The graduating students who heard that speech are now in the prime of their professional lives. Many of them have chosen to support the school financially because they believe that all who have the dream and the ability should have an opportunity to go to college. Scholarships awarded, grants received, and reports on financial funding are recorded here because of their critical importance to the ongoing of the institution.

This portrait centers primarily around the lives of people who have been connected with Hardin-Simmons University since their individual and col- lective actions have resulted in the physical plant one sees, the spirit on campus one feels, and the education one is offered. The central message the university attempts to convey may be stated as follows:

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breath: In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart-throbs, He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. Life's but a means unto an end; that end Beginning, mean, and end to all things, — God.

It is recognized that the Centennial year should be a time of celebrating past achievements—"Hitherto has the Lord led us." There is also an acute awareness that insightful planning for the future of the University and its students is imperative—"Long may your worth increase."

Table of Contents The Founding of Simmons College with the Aid of James B. Simmons. W. C. Friley Becomes First President 1

The End of a Decade of Growth and the Beginning of a New Century Under Presidents G. O. Thatcher, C. R. Hairfield, and O. C. Pope 20

President Oscar Henry Cooper, "The Teacher's Teacher": 1902-1909 39

Sixth President: Jefferson Davis Sandefer and His Family: 1909-1940 58

The Vision Continues Under J. D. Sandefer: Curriculum, The Cowboy Band, The "Cowhand" Statue, and The Six White Horses 74

Sandefer's Administration during World War I and the Depression Years 102

Transition Under President W. R. White and President R. N. Richardson: 1940-1953 129

Enrollment, Funding, Buildings, and Student Life in the 1940s and 1950s 153

Presidents Evan A. Reiff, George Graham, and James H. Landes: Biographies, Budgets, and Buildings 176

Curricular and Extra-curricular Life under Three Presidents: 1953-1966 194

The Expanded Vision Continues under President Elwin. L. Skiles: 1966-1977 220

Student Life, History of Buildings, and Athletics during the Skiles' Administration 247

President Jesse C. Fletcher: Guiding the School Through New Challenges: 1977-1991 262

Celebrating Centennial Under President J. C. Fletcher 288

Conclusion 309

Endnotes 315

Appendices 330

Acknowledgements

1 began to work on this book in August of 1988, working out of a University office with questionnaire mailings, telephone interviews, and background reading. I next worked at a desk and computer at home, and also gratefully made use of the many materials located in the Research Center of the Rupert and Pauline Richardson Library.

I have benefited indescribably from conversations with people of all ages who have attended the University. Formal interviews have been enjoyable and have afforded opportunities for meeting many people I would not have had the pleasure of meeting otherwise. President Jesse Fletcher has granted me time with him often, and although I always went to his office with a checklist and questions, I came away having received his unfailing gift of encouragement along with the answers. The Director of the Centennial Projects, Dr. Lawrence Clayton, and Rebecca Harris (Mrs. Glen Dromgoole) have been immensely valuable in reading the manuscript twice each. Director of University Libraries Alice Specht and her staff, including Freda Litton, Elaine Coffman, Corinne Shields, and others, were all unfailingly helpful when I could not find necessary pieces of information. For the institutional courtesies extended by vice presidents, deans, and many faculty members, including those who contributed short essays on the history of several Departments and Schools, 1 owe a special debt.

I could not have managed without the aid of Dale Mixon, who became more and more able to ferret out details of documentation and was unflagging

Acknowledgements ii

in her enthusiasm and belief in the worth of the project. Her secretarial assistance on the computer, suggested changes, proofreading, and attention to documentation was invaluable. Wesley Watters, alumnus, aided greatly in compiling the index. Student assistants Dana Wood and Tricia Nations worked for many hours processing several drafts of the manuscript.

In many respects, this was a family project. My elder son, John Jr., is a professor of the history of Christianity and kindly critiqued my rough drafts. My younger son, Brent, visited during emergency times to insert additions and corrections on the computer. My two daughters, Cindra and Jayne, and my children-in-law—Kari, Daniel, and David, supported me with prayerful and enthusiastic interest. 1 am appreciative most of all for my husband's active involvement by giving me time to write while he shouldered many family responsibilities along with a busy surgical practice. His encouragement was constant as I travelled the roller coaster of doubt that one hundred years of history of an academic institution could be written in one volume.

One of our late presidents, R. N. Richardson, once said about one of his own works, "It was criticized, of course; almost any book you put out will be. But, it received some favorable comments also." Most of the bio- graphical information and many sections of the manuscript were mailed out to be read by those who could correct the inaccuracies and point out important omissions. The facts presented, although in some cases debatable, are given as accurately as possible. The interpretation of a century of life in this University, though, is like a photograph—a single point of view is limited. Therefore, for the inaccuracies, omission of other important people, and the general thrust of the interpretation, I take responsibility. The challenge to some writers in the future, I trust, will be to improve upon this pioneering account. In the meanwhile, I depend on the grace of the reader.

Introduction

A, iter the Texas and Pacific Railroad laid its line through West Texas, the town of Abilene sprang up in 1881 in only a few days, and less than a decade later, enough citizens wanted higher education for their children that they were willing to put aside denominational differences and use money saved for material comforts in order to build a college, a college which became Hardin-Simmons University.

Students attend a university for a variety of reasons. Most go to gain skills which they hope will prepare them for careers. Some go simply out of intellectual curiosity. And some go specifically to develop a basic, compre- hensive view of themselves and the world—to formulate a philosophy of life. Christian schools, like Hardin-Simmons University, attempt to meet all of these concerns, especially the last one, and they do so from an explicitly Christian perspective. They assert, as most modern educators do, that no education is completely "objective"; everyone has a point of view, everyone has preconceptions and limitations which restrict one's ability to see the whole truth, and it is naive at best and disingenuous at worst to claim otherwise. Even the public, "secular" university merely comprises a variety of points of view—there is no "neutral" learning. Christian schools, therefore, affirm that the Christian scholar can and should leam from a variety of other outlooks, and the best schools work hard to expose their students properly to such alternatives, but they maintain all the while that those other perspectives need to be scrutinized in a community committed to the Christian faith, the bedrock of truth as Christians understand it. Hardin-Simmons University, like similar institutions, has had varying success in this task which is basic to its phi- losophy.

Introduction n

Hardin-Simmons University has experienced dramatic events over its first one hundred years, but no full-scale work had recorded either a general outline of its history or the patterns of thought and programming which occurred and recurred during those years. Moreover, influences which affected all academic institutions throughout the United States changed Hardin-Simmons also, and each new administration was forced to deal with these influences. This history takes these influences into account.

Chapters One, Two, and Three outline the history of the founding of the school, the biographies of its early administrators, its mission, the early physical plant, early curriculum requirements, and student lifestyles. Presi- dents Friley, Thatcher, Hairfield, and Pope spent much of their time just keeping the school solvent. In 1902, O. H. Cooper became the chief admin- istrator. A former president of Baylor University, Cooper had spent his life in the field of education. He worked successfully to shape a more scholarly faculty in the nine years he presided at Simmons College.

Chapters Four, Five, and Six relate the thirty-one years of school history under the administration of Jefferson D. Sandefer, who stabilized the college despite huge cultural and financial upheavals caused by World War I and the Great Depression. Due to his fundraising abilities and his academic awareness, the college became Simmons University in 1925, and Hardin- Simmons University in 1934.

From 1940 to 1953 there was a transition period under three presidents. Dr. Lucien Campbell acted for a two-month interim period after Sandefer's death. President William R. White was instrumental in a new affiliation for the college with the Baptist General Convention of Texas in November of 1940. Dr. Rupert N. Richardson, first a student at Simmons College from 1907 to 1912 and next a professor of history, became the chief administrator from 1943 to 1953. He kept the school going as problems of decreased enrollment and resulting decreases in funding troubled HSU during World War II. A surge in Gl enrollment after the war then prompted an emergency building program to provide sufficient classroom space and married student housing. Many more teachers were hired to provide courses for the greatly increased enrollment.

Chapters Nine and Ten capture the ability of three men to bring the school into a more progressive era. Evan A. Reiff was a scholarly president who insisted on a more disciplined arrangement of the university's finances and higher academic standards. Through his efforts the school was brought into line with requirements demanded by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. His vice-president, George Graham, did a remarkable job of continuing toward these goals after the untimely death of President Reiff in 1962. Graham's year in office was followed by three years under President James H. Landes, who enhanced the school's reputation immeasurably as he introduced HSU to his

iii Introduction

many friends in the state and, indeed, throughout the national Southern Baptist Convention.

Sitting on the Board of Trustees during the Reiff and Landes adminis- trations was Elwin L. Skiles. Born in West Texas, a student at HSU for two years of undergraduate work, and pastor of several churches culminating at the First Baptist Church of Abilene, Skiles "moved across town" from the church he had led for thirteen years to the University he had been closely connected to from birth. Chapters Eleven and Twelve emphasize Skiles' role in leading the school through the turbulent sixties. He listened to and evaluated student concerns while keeping the spiritual mission of the school intact and responding successfully to pressing demands for academic improvement, particularly at the graduate level. Skiles was also an excellent fundraiser, and the results of his several abilities continued to benefit the school long after his presidency and chancellorship ended.

Many longtime supporters of HSU have expressed their feelings that the most recent president, Jesse Fletcher, was their idea of a president who could view all aspects of administration. He continued to upgrade academic standards, convinced the trustees to raise faculty salaries for the first time to a level commensurate with many other small denominational schools, balanced the desire for an athletic program with the necessity of a sound budget, and considered the future as well as the past in his decision making. Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen illustrate these facets which have accelerated progress and have readied the University to meet the twenty-first century.

The last five presidents, then, aimed at the modernization of facilities and equipment and the raising of academic standards at both student and faculty levels, while at the same time striving to maintain Baptist distinctives to prepare students desiring to live an integrated Christian life to do so. HSU celebrates one hundred years of achievement just ten years after the city of Abilene celebrated its own centennial year. The history of the school mirrors the history of the area; the emphasis given to intellectual and cultural excellence by the school and the city is disproportionately large when compared to others of similar size. In the summer of 1990, Abilene was voted one of the top ten Ail-American cities. Despite recession, the city has kept its Philharmonic Orchestra financially sound and is funding a cultural museum to rejuvenate its downtown area, and its three local universities receive a major portion of their support from the city and its surrounding areas. Year by year, HSU continues to graduate leaders—not only directed towards religious vocations as its founders had idealized, but going forward successfully in all manner of vocations. Almost all private schools face the challenge of retaining their students since education has become very expensive. The strange phenomenon of "education being the one thing people are willing to pay for without getting" may disappear very soon. The challenge to provide a good education has always

Introduction iv

been there, but the criteria become increasingly more diverse as tuition escalates. In a speech given during HSU's Diamond Jubilee year by the Dean of the Chapel of William Jewell College, the graduating class was reminded to "Choose your ruts well. You may be in them for a long time." The graduating students who heard that speech are now in the prime of their professional lives. Many of them have chosen to support the school financially because they believe that all who have the dream and the ability should have an opportunity to go to college. Scholarships awarded, grants received, and reports on financial funding are recorded here because of their critical importance to the ongoing of the institution.

This portrait centers primarily around the lives of people who have been connected with Hardin-Simmons University since their individual and col- lective actions have resulted in the physical plant one sees, the spirit on campus one feels, and the education one is offered. The central message the university attempts to convey may be stated as follows:

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breath: In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart-throbs, He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. Life's but a means unto an end; that end Beginning, mean, and end to all things, — God.

It is recognized that the Centennial year should be a time of celebrating past achievements—"Hitherto has the Lord led us." There is also an acute awareness that insightful planning for the future of the University and its students is imperative—"Long may your worth increase."

Introduction iv

been there, but the criteria become increasingly more diverse as tuition escalates. In a speech given during HSU's Diamond Jubilee year by the Dean of the Chapel of William Jewell College, the graduating class was reminded to "Choose your ruts well. You may be in them for a long time." The graduating students who heard that speech are now in the prime of their professional lives. Many of them have chosen to support the school financially because they believe that all who have the dream and the ability should have an opportunity to go to college. Scholarships awarded, grants received, and reports on financial funding are recorded here because of their critical importance to the ongoing of the institution.

This portrait centers primarily around the lives of people who have been connected with Hardin-Simmons University since their individual and col- lective actions have resulted in the physical plant one sees, the spirit on campus one feels, and the education one is offered. The central message the university attempts to convey may be stated as follows:

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breath: In feelings, not in figures on a dial. We should count time by heart-throbs, He most lives Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. Life's but a means unto an end; that end Beginning, mean, and end to all things, — God.

It is recognized that the Centennial year should be a time of celebrating past achievements—"Hitherto has the Lord led us." There is also an acute awareness that insightful planning for the future of the University and its students is imperative—"Long may your worth increase."