The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 18, 1981 Page: 1 of 6
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MEGAPHONE
4
Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas 78626 ISSN 0025-8709
FRIDAY.
SEPT. 18 VOL. 75, NO. 4
7
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Hard Times at S. U., or a
Two Texas Women receive
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School on the Make
honorary degrees Friday
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Elizabeth Perkins Prothro
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CONVOCATION
11:30 AM
FRIDAY
Lois Perkins Chapel
THEATRE CHARGES REINSTATED
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Dr. Richard HmmII* (Photo by Joel Vera)
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professional academic program. The
direction chosen by the Board at that
time has been followed for the last
twenty-five years with increasing suc-
cess.
Several reasons for the success of the
University in recent years can be deter-
mined. First, it has continually tried to
improve the quality of its educational
program rather than trying to expand it
beyond the ability of its resources to
support quality.
Secondly, it has enjoyed unusual suc-
cess in building up its plant, program
See Hard Times pg. 5
CoDY MEMORIAL LIBRARY
SULFUWESTERN UNIVERan
Gnozenrow, Thus
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speaker, served several churches and
was a dismet supetintendemt in
Oklahoma before his election as bishop
earlier this year.
He received bachelor's degrees from
Oklahoma City University and Perkins
School of Theology, SMU, before receiv-
ing a doctor of divinity degree at
Oklahoma City University in 1968. He
has done additional study at Phillips
Graduate Seminary.
Dr. Russell is a member of the Board
oif Governors at SMU and chairs the
Perkins Trustee Committee of Perkins
School of Theology. He is also active on
the Board of Trustees of Southwestern
University.
students (all men), and that blood flowed
freely. In April, 1880, over fifty students
outof a total enrollment of only a few
hundred were expelld. Dr. Mood replied
to some of his critics on that occasion
that the question at issue was: “Shall
the faculty or students rule?”
As late as the early 1950's severe
financial problems confronted the
University. The school had expanded
during World War II to provide training
for a Naval V-12 unit. The return of
soldiers and sailors to college under the
G.J. Bill of Rights further increased
enrollment to 870 in 1947.
The disadvantages of this explosive
expansion for the physical plant, the en-
dowment structure, and the teaching
and administrative personnel situation
became apparent when the enrollment
declined in the early 1950’s due to the
Korean War and the small graduating
high school classes of depression-born
students found the school with an
enlarged faculty and a shrinking student
body. The enrollment was reduced to
414 in 1951. A severe readjustment
followed. The graduate program was
eliminated, summer school was drop-
ped, intercollegiate football was discon-
tinued, and a sizable proportion of the
faculty was not rehired.
It was In response to this last crisis
that the present direction of the Univer-
sity was instituted. The Board of
Trustees determined to rebuild the in-
- st it ut lo n on the solid—g rou nd of —
Vivian L Smith
several of me’staimed giaes windows
which have beden called among the
most beautiful in the United States.
An accomplished photographer, Mrs.
Prothro has also contributed several col-
or photographs that hang in the
hallways and stairwells of The Cullen
Building at Southwestern.
Mrs. Prothro has also held a number
, of leadership positions in the First
United Methodist Church of Wichita
Falls, where she is presently chairman
of the Administrative Board. She has
also been active in a number of civic and
charitable organizations and is a
member of the Board of Trustees of
c ’
nouncement at a student assembly one vestablishing a strong endowment and a
spring that the school would open in the strong undergraduate liberal arts and
motion was passed, 7-6.
I asked some students what they
thought of this decision. Scott Holliman,
a theatre major, said, “If people have to
pay, they will probably appreciate the
productions more. It doesn’t have to be
an exorbitant price, though. ” Another
student agreed with the decision
because, as he said, "So far the
students have not seemed to mind (pay-
ing) because the programs have been of
sufficient quality that the admission
charge did not seem excessive. These
moneys have gone for the elaborate sets
for which the theatre department is so
well known." This argument loses Its
strength when you realize that-the
money made from tickets does NOT go
for set building, nor, for that matter, for
ANY aspect of the production itself. It is
merely subtracted from the theatre’s
allocations.
In summary; there are two views: one,
that paying for the productions makes
students appreciate them more, .and
two, that students should not have to
pay twice for the same function. Or-
dinarily, this issue would be closed,
since a vote has already been taken.
However, four student members of the
. committee were absent from the
meeting because of insufficient notice,
so there is the possibility of a recall of
the vote. If this is done, there could be a
change of circumstances, and the final
vote may sway against Dr. Hossalla.
Two prominent Texas women will
receive honorary doctorates from
Southwestern University at Georgetown
Friday, September 18.
Elizabeth Perkins Prothro of Wichita
Falls and Vivian L.Smith of Houston will
be honored at the opening convocation
of the state’s oldest university as it con-
cludes a three-day celebration of
rededication of its Lois Perkins Chapel.
United Methodist Bishop John
Russell of the Dallas-Fort Worth will be
the keynote speaker for the convocation
that begins at 11:30 a.m. in the chapel.
A reception for Mrs. Smith and Mrs.
Prothro will precede the convocation at
10 a.m. in Mood-Bridwell Hall.
Earlier programs of celebration in
Lois Perkins Chapel include a program
of sacred music Tuesday, September 15,
at 7:30 p.m. with composer Norman
Dello Joio conducting several of his own
works; and a service of worship Thurs-
day, September 17, when Methodist
Bishop James Armstrong of the Indiana
Area will preach..
Mrs. Prothro and her husband
Charles, who served for years as chair-
man of the university’s Board of
Trustees, presented the gift that made
possible the recent renovation and
enlargement of the chapel in honor of
Mrs. Prothro’s mother, Lois Perkins.
Not long after the chapel was built in
1950 from a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Joe J.
Perkins, the' Prothros contributed
Contemplating the lovely grounds and
spacious physical plant of
Southwestern University, one would be
tempted to think that good fortune had
been the lot of the University for many
years. The current endowment of about
$35,000,000 (market value) ranks among
the highest per student of institutions of
its kind, and the prospects for increas-
ing it In the future appear to be good.
Yet this picture of a flourishing insitu-
tion is deceiving when extrapolated to
include Its past. The title of Charles
Dickens' book Hard Times (with
apologies to him for the sub-title above)
could have well been applied to
Southwestern during most of its early
existence. Stories abound about the
financial difficulties of the school dur-
ing Its first years In Georgetown.
These financial difficulties endured
and brought the University to the edge of
bankruptcy during the 1930's. The audit
of June 30, 1929 revealed that its in-
debtedness was only $1,533 less than
the total endowment. From this point on,
for the next five years, the University
operated on the brink of insolvency.
Student enrollment dropped 42 per
cent during the same period and fell
below 300 for the first time in the cen-
tury. As a result of these and other pro-
blems, Southwestern was placed on pro-
bation by its accredltion agency. On
several occasions, thought was given to
discontinuance of operations, and the
president had to make a formal an-
Southern Methodist university. She
received a Distinguished Alumni Award
from SMU in 1978.
Mrs. Smith and her late husband, R. E.
Smith, have been major supporters of
Methodist higher educational institu-
tions in Texas. They were the pace set-
ters of the successful United Capital
Funds Campaign in 1960-63 when the
five Methodist colleges and universities
in Texas raised $33 million for capital
improvements. Mr. Smith was a long-
time trustee of Southwestern, and Mrs.
Smith has continued to support the
university.
Mrs. Smith is active in the operation
of the Smith business activities that in-
clude oil and gas production and ex-
ploration, farming and ranching, bank-
ing, real estate, marina operations, hotel
and shopping centers, and investments.
She is currently a director Of
Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. of San An-
tonio and of Cullen Center Bank and
Trust of Houston.
Mrs. Smith is currently active on
boards and activities that supporet
SMU, the Marine Military Academy at
Harlingen, Jesse Jones School of Ad-
ministration at Rice, the Institute for
Rehabilitation and Research at
Houston, the Bob and Vivian Smith
Foundation, the Vivian L. Smith Founda- .
tion for Restorative Neurology, and the
Texas Medical Center, Inc. of Houston.
Bishop Russell, the convocation
fall.
But difficulties were not limited to
financial matters. Student discipline
seems to have been more difficult to en-
force then than now, though it goes
without saying that part of the difficulty
was probably due to the greater degree
of rigor in enforcement then as over
against today. Out of the first class of
thirty-three which enrolled in
Georgetown in 1873, six were expelled'
for misconduct. Dean Cody’s biography
of Dr. Francis Asbury Mood,
that fights were frequent among the
Southwestern’s first president, says
By Mikal Trimm
On Wednesday, September 9, a
special meeting of the Student Affairs
Council was called, and a decision af-
fecting the entire theatre-going
populace of Southwestern was made
With a hodgepodge of deans and
students attending the meeting, the Im-
portance of this decision was evident.
The Mask and Wig, S.U.’s theatre arts
group, will again be charging admission
to student productions this year.
In an earlier meeting, held before the
start of this school year, the decision
was made that the Mask and Wig would
not charge students for admission.
Students would be allowed into the four
productions of the year free of charge.
However, Dr. Dick Hossalla, the man
who directs those performances, was
not happy with that decision. Dr.
Hossalla feels that a monetary commit-,
ment made by the students gives more
value to a performance.
Therefore, the special meeting was
called. Dr. Hossalla, basically, was mak-
ing a last ditch effort to reinstate the
sale of the tickets to students. In his
presentation to the committee, he
stressed that charging students would
be extremely beneficial to the Mask and
Wig operations. He said that charging
would help In making reservations, help
In student attendance, give more Impor-
tance to performances, and cause
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students to make a commitment to the
theatre. In fact. Dr. Hossalla was willing
to take a 10 percent budget cut to make
up for any gain made from ticket sales.
(A $7500 budget has been appropriated
to the Mask and Wig by the Student
Allocations Committee. The budget cut
would, amount to a $750 loss) Dr.
Hossalla presented a probable charge
for the tickets: $1.50 for individual
shows, $4.00 for season tickets.
There was opposition to Dr.
Hossalla's proposal, though. Ben Sher-
man expressed two points that seemed
to best represent the point of view of the
opposition.
1) The allocations paid to the theatre
come from student fees; therefore,
charging students to see the shows
would, in effect, be charging them twice
for the same service.
2) Also, all other entertainment
events on campus are free of charge.
Dances, Union movies, choir con-
certs—all are without fee. Charging for
theatre performances, then, would seem
to be in abeyance with this tradition.
It appears that the opposition was not
strong enough, though. The final
decisin, stated In a motion made by
Dean Oliver, said that the charges men-
tioned by Dr. Hossalla be accepted, and
that the take-In be subtracted from the
original allocation. Also, it was
stipulated by Don Heins that this
system be reviewed during the year. This
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The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 18, 1981, newspaper, September 18, 1981; Georgetown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1560113/m1/1/: accessed June 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Southwestern University.