This Week in Texas Methodist History  April 18, 2021

 

Southwestern University Celebrates its Centennial, April 1940

 

Southwestern University claims the honor of being the oldest university in Texas thanks to the charter issued to its root college, Rutersville College, in February 1840, by the Republic of Texas.  Actually classes began a month earlier, in January 1840, before the charter was issued.  The Congress of the Republic of Texas also appropriated 25,000 acres of public land to be sold to benefit the fledgling institution. 

 

In the 1870s the MECS conferences in Texas combined to create Southwestern University from its four root colleges and located the university in Georgetown. 

 

In 1909 Southwestern created Homecoming.  The idea made so much since that it spread throughout the educational world, and continued to be observed at SU.  Unfortunately the COVID pandemic postponed the 2020 Homecoming until this week, April 11-18, when it was conducted virtually. 

 

I have attended several virtual events and having been thinking about SU history and traditions this week.  I wondered how SU celebrated its centennial in 1940, and upon a little research found that it was celebrated during April, the same week we have been celebratng in 2021.

 

Events consumed all of a weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and brought together educational leaders, alums, bishops, politicians, and other friends of the university. 

 

President John W. Bergin planned the program, and designed church officials and former presidents to preside over the sessions.  Former Presidents Bishop and Vivion came from California and Tennessee, respectively, to preside over sessions.  Former board chair, Dr. Claude Cody, Jr., came from Houston where he was a physician,  to preside over another.  His father, Claude Cody, Sr., had come to SU as a professor and served the university in a variety of positions over a long career.  

 

Attendees listened to four addresses on Saturday morning.  I would have been most interested in Judge Ralph Yarborough’s address on the history of Southwestern from Ruter to Bergin.  Yarborough was not an alum and a Baptist.  This is particularly interesting because there has been a continuing argument with Texas Baptists over which came first—Southwestern or Baylor?   Ralph Yarborough later represented Texas in the U. S. Senate. 

 

Another great liberal Texan, spoke that same morning, Homer Price Rainey, President of the University of Texas.  Rainey was also a Baptist, and even a lay preacher.  A previous post on this blog details how Methodist pastors in Austin came to his defense in the battle over academic freedom at UT.  https://txmethhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=heinsohn

 

The Governor of Texas, W. Lee O’Daniel, also spoke.   O’Daniel was the governor who appointed  arch-conservatives to the UT Board.  Their trying to fire economics professors friendly to New Deal economic measures led to the Rainey’s stand for academic freedom.  Burgin asked Rainey speak in the morning and O’Daniel at night.  Their political differences were public knowledge. 

 

Bishops Holt, Boaz, Selecman and Smith all spoke.  Smith and Boaz were former students.  Boaz and Selecman had been presidents of SMU.  Current SMU president Umphrey Lee also spoke. 

 

When Methodists celebrate a centennial, they use it as a fund raiser, and this even was no exception.  Bishop Holt called for increasing the endowment to $2,000,000 and striving for $75,000 in annual giving. 

 

Various alums gave speech of their memories while students.  While reading the news reports of the event, I was struck that not one woman was listed as a speaker.  Today Southwestern is firmly committed to equality, and at the next in-person Homecoming in October 2021, Dr. Laura Trombley, will be formally installed as President of Southwestern.  We can be proud of dear Alma Mater.