This Week in Texas Methodist History June 7

Texas Methodists Embark on Major Expansion of Wesley Foundations, June 1947

One of the most important pieces of legislation ever passed in the United States was the G. I. Bill.  Among the other provisions was funding to supply tuition and living expenses for veterans of World War II to obtain higher education.  The G. I. Bill thus provided an opportunity for higher education to thousands of Americans for whom a college education had been almost impossible. 

Veterans took advantage of the opportunity presented and Texas campuses experienced huge increases in enrollment.  The G. I’s tended to be older than traditional college students, and many professors noted their maturity.  The education they received in engineering, business, sciences, and humanities held fuel the economic boom as they entered the work force.

The increase in enrollment strained campus facilities—most notably married student housing.  There are many oral histories of young couples living in converted military barracks, including Quonset huts.

Another set of campus buildings under strain were the Wesley Foundations, the student centers through which the Methodist church offered ministries to college students. 

The earliest attempt of Texas Methodists to minister to college students were women’s organizations during the Progressive Era.  Women built dormitories to provide a Christian “home away from home.”

By the 1920s there were also ministries at the University of Texas and Texas A&M College (not yet University.)  At UT the effort included a Bible Chair in which for credit courses were taught.  At A&M it was a pastor at a local church who was instructed to spend time with Methodist students studying in College Station. 

The post war increase in enrollment prompted Methodists to upgrade the Wesleyan Foundations. 

All of the 1945 annual conference sessions of the annual conferences agreed to raise a total of $440,000 from the South Central Jurisdictional Conferences in Texas. .  The Texas Conference was assessed $120,000.  By June 1947 the fund raising efforts were still in the planning stage.  Each conference would decide on its own fund raising program.  So that donors would know they were supporting Wesleyan Foundations within their own conference, the allocation of the $440,00 was announced.   In the Texas Conference Sam Houston State Teachers College (today Sam Houston University) and Stephen F. Austin College (today Stephen F. Austin University) would each be allocated $32,000.  The balance would be equally divided among Texas A&M, the two state universities in Denton, Texas Tech, and the University of Texas.

The Wesleyan Foundation movement became one of the most important ministries in Texas Methodism.  Very soon Foundations were established at other universities, colleges, and junior colleges.  They used various models, including some ecumenical efforts.  Some offered for-credit classes in addition to the fellowship and spiritual development offerings.  Some, such as the one at UT became known for their social activism and influenced campus life far beyond the Foundation. 

In recent years Wesleyan Foundations at state schools have become a major source of candidates entering the ordained ministry.