History of East Texas State University
During this era, ETSU was led by five different presidents: James Gilliam Gee, D. Whitney Halladay, F. H. "Bub" McDowell, Charles J. Austin, and Jerry Morris.
ETSU's Five Star Series brought many prestigious artists and creative minds to campus, including author Alex Haley as well as actors Larry Linville and Vincent Price.
[1] After President James G. Gee retired in 1966, he was replaced by D. Whitney Halladay, a native Californian who was educated at Claremont College and Columbia University.
Despite this trend of slowing growth and national factors such as the declining overall birthrate, the newly established Texas College Coordinating Board predicted that ETSU's fall 1971 enrollment would reach 12,200, a prognostication that Halladay "fully accepted".
The next year, the Texas Legislature established a separate ETSU board of regents when it passed House Bill 242, which historian Donald E. Reynolds termed the "most important administrative change" because it allowed the university to "pursue goals tailor-made for [its] best interests".
[9] The library's 1969 addition expanded it by 31,000 square feet (2,900 m2) and increased its capacity to 750,000 volumes; over 30,000 books, microforms, and other cataloged items were added to its holdings during 1969 alone.
[6] In 1971, a comprehensive campus plan was developed by an outside engineering firm for ETSU, and while it was not entirely implemented due to an unexpected decline in students that occurred during the 1970s, it did result in the closing of Bryan Street and College Drive and their replacement with pedestrian malls.
This was part of an effort by Governor John Connally to reduce "wasteful duplication of programs" that resulted in the creation of a list of approved doctorate-granting state universities, on which ETSU was not included.
[10] ETSU Texarkana developed "almost as a separate entity", according to Reynolds, sharing a system of governance with the main campus in Commerce but enjoying significant independence in regard to budget, curriculum, and faculty.
According to Reynolds, however, the Faculty Senate was more an effort by the administration to meet Southern Association of Colleges and Schools guidelines than it was "any real commitment to the principle of shared governance".
[13] Halladay's relative lack of charm and the "mutual distrust" that existed between him and the faculty led to many of them feeling indifferent towards him, in contrast with Gee's more personal yet also more polarizing style.
[23] In 1973, he played a key role in mediating a conflict between Kappa Alpha Order and African American students over the hosting of Confederate-themed Old South Week, ultimately helping the university reach a compromise that would allow the celebration to be held only if it were off campus.
[24] Another major first for African American students at ETSU occurred when Glenda McKissic was elected homecoming queen in 1969, despite a walkout by many whites during the coronation ceremony.
However, they had a much more difficult time gaining access to the Greek organizations on campus; Reynolds notes that the existing fraternities and sororities "continued to exemplify a greater degree of segregation than any other segment of the university".
[28] Born in Paris, he worked for the school for a total of 45 years, first being hired immediately after graduating with a bachelor's degree from what was at the time East Texas State College (ETSC).
In his own words, he rationalized that ETSU's "single most important commodity" was its academic reputation, and that "[r]elaxing standards in order to attract students is not the answer to long-term growth and development of the university".
[42] Austin and his wife, Carol, also made strides in beautifying the campus, chiefly by securing an adequate water supply from Lake Tawakoni and planting numerous flowers, shrubs, and trees around the grounds.
[46] A more serious crisis occurred in spring 1986, when Select Committee on Higher Education chairman Larry Temple proposed the closure of some state universities, including ETSU.
[48] President Austin had accepted the position of head of the Department of Health Care and Administration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's medical school before East Texas State's existence had been secured, but according to Reynolds he did not leave ETSU until after the bus trip "because he did not want to jeopardize that mission".
Morris' goal to make salaries more competitive with those of other schools "proved to be an elusive one", partially due to ETSU's relatively overstaffed faculty, evidenced by abnormally low student–teacher ratios.
[59] A spirited dialogue ensued on campus, including a three-hour debate sponsored by the student senate, and ultimately Gregory did make an appearance at ETSU two years later in 1970.
It brought a wide variety of talent to Commerce, including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band of New Orleans, and the program presented 33 total events in 1967 alone.
[63] In 1975, the university established the Sam Rayburn Symposium, which featured prominent politicians and scholars, including columnist Patrick Buchanan, Liz Carpenter, historian Frank Freidel, Lady Bird Johnson, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John William McCormack, George Reedy, Congressman Ray Roberts, political satirist Mark Russell, and Speaker of the House Jim Wright.
Additional programs were offered by a variety of academic departments on campus, including a series of lectures and a three-day Fall Literary Festival sponsored by Literature and Languages, periodic shows scheduled by Art, plays offered by the Department of Communications and Theatre, and even Broadway musicals and operas produced in collaboration by Communications and Theatre with Music (the later was boosted by the completion of the Performing Arts Center in 1975).
[61] The football team remained the most popular squad on campus, and while not as dominant as they had been during the "Golden Fifties", they often competed for Lone Star Conference (LSC) championships during the 1960s and 1970s.
The team, often considered the best in school history, was led by head coach Ernest Hawkins and defensive end Harvey Martin, who later played for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL).
[79] The men's basketball team, on the other hand, struggled to compete in the LSC from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, before winning the conference title four times (and finishing second twice) during a six-year span from 1973–74 to 1978–79 under head coach Jim Gudger.
[82] African American students made major contributions to ETSU athletics after the integration of the university in 1964: Curtis Guyton and Arthur James both starred for the football team in the mid to late 1960s,[27] while a number of later Lion football players went on to play in the NFL, including Autry Beamon (with the Minnesota Vikings), Harvey Martin (Dallas Cowboys), and Dwight White (Pittsburgh Steelers).
[84] Other African American track team members accused Brown of mistreatment in 1970, and in early 1972 African American football players issued "a long list of complaints" against head coach Ernest Hawkins, which ultimately resulted in the creation and implementation of 16 recommendations by the Athletic Council before the football team's national championship season that fall.
[88] 1976 also witnessed the opening of the Joseph Zeppa Center for Recreational Instruction, which hosted numerous intramural sports and physical education courses as well as offering students facilities such as a bowling alley, handball/racquetball courts, a weight room, saunas, a 25-meter (82 ft) swimming pool, and a diving well.
