The Library as a Hub of Learning (Part Two)

Since the school’s founding in 1892, the library has played a central role in supporting faculty research and student learning.  From its humble beginnings of being located in a small classroom to its current massive holdings of analog and digital holdings, the library has sought to keep pace with emerging scholarly trends, changing researcher needs, evolving uses of technology, as well as a growing student population.  This second blog post about the history of the library at UNCG will examine the profound changes in its collections and space between the years 1945 to 1974.

Carnegie Library Building

At the time of the school’s celebration of its fiftieth anniversary in 1942, the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (UNCG) library was considered the largest woman’s college library in the South.  Its staff of eleven professionals supported the needs of 2,300 students and 300 faculty.  Yet, library administrators and college faculty declared that the current facility was “inadequate” in accommodating the growing collections.  The library’s director (Guy Lyle) and the Faculty Library Committee worked together to build a “case” for the construction of a new library building.  Lyle noted that the library had seen a marked growth in collections and patrons since 1923.  Drawing on its annual statistics over the past 20 years, Lyle found that the number of faculty had grown by 101%, the student body had grown by 75.9%, the number of titles in the collections had grown by 441%, and the over-all circulation of titles had grown by 175%.  Lyle also noted that the seating capacity of the library had only increased by 14.7% since 1923.  During the course of the war years (1941-1945), a number of Greensboro newspaper articles raised the issue of the library’s “space crunch” by referencing Lyle’s key talking point that the facility’s seating capacity had not kept pace with the growth of its student population.  Before Guy Lyle left to take a position at Louisiana State University in 1944, he had the Winston-Salem architecture firm of Northup and O’Brien develop drawings and a conceptual plan for a new library.  His successor, Charles M. Adams, would rely heavily on these designs as he advocated for a new building.   

In 1945, Woman’s College submitted a request to the North Carolina General Assembly for monies to build a new library.  Dr. Walter Clinton Jackson, Dean of Administration, stated that $380,000 was needed for the new structure.  As the Advisory Budget Commission considered this funding request, the library’s director Charles Adams continued to make his case to the general public.  Quoted in a December 1946 article in the school’s newspaper, Adams stated that the “present quarters are so crowded that it is nothing short of a shocking academic situation.”  Adams also noted that the current library could only seat 10% of the student body while the new library was expected to seat upward of 50% of the student body.  In this same article, it was mentioned that the cost of the new library now stood at $1,128,400.

With the North Carolina General Assembly approving this funding request in 1947, contractors quickly submitted bids for the $1.1 million dollar project.  The new building project was to be located on Walker Avenue between McIver and Forest Streets.  The city of Greensboro approved the permanent closing of this portion of Walker Avenue on campus.  While there was some local opposition to this shift in traffic patterns, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 27, 1948.  Surrounded by dignitaries, faculty, and students, Chancellor Walter Clinton Jackson wielded a pick axe and a shovel to formally mark the start of construction.  Jackson stated that the new building marked “the beginning of a new era of greater usefulness of the college to the people of the state.”  The building project started in earnest in October 1948 with the grading of the land.  The installation of steel girders took place throughout the winter months.  The building quickly took shape and was completed in March 1950.  During the College’s exam period in 1950, the library staff relocated the collections from the Carnegie library to the new space.  The College supplied canvas laundry baskets in which the books were packed in.  To expedite the moving of books from the second floor of the Carnegie building, the laundry baskets were sent down chutes into waiting moving trucks!  The new library building opened on June 5, 1950.

Walter Clinton Jackson Viewing the New Library Building

The structure was built to be fire-proof by employing a steel frame and reinforced concrete floors and roof.  All floors were designed for a live load of 100 pounds per square foot.  The floors were covered in terrazzo.  The building contained an elevator for staff to move collections between floors as well as a pneumatic tube system to assist with the sending of call cards to all floors for book retrieval.  Air-conditioning was only provided on the first floor of the three story building.  The exterior of the building featured sand-finish colonial face brick and white Georgia marble.  The main entrance of the library featured a marble columned portico.

The building was designed to meet the projected future growth of the student population from its current 2,300 students to 3,000 students.  The seating capacity was set at 1,384 seats (which included seats in the reading room, seminar rooms, study carrels, and lecture hall).  And, the building’s new book stacks areas now had the capacity to handle 300,000 titles which was more than double its current holdings.  The design also allowed for special services that ranged from seminar rooms for faculty, a small lecture space for book talks, a large lecture room for classes, a student lounge, and sound-proof rooms for audio listening.  Interestingly, access to the collections was restricted to those students who were given a “stacks permit” (mostly juniors and seniors).  

New Library Building, c. 1955

After ten years of service, the “new” library building was formally named the Walter Clinton Jackson Library in 1960 in honor of the former Chancellor.  At the same time, the building was already reaching its projected capacity for titles and patrons.  Indeed, the library was already installing extra shelving in the stacks areas as well as in seminar rooms to accommodate new acquisitions. 

With Woman’s College becoming a co-educational University in 1963, the library was now required to support new graduate programs and an ever-growing student population.  By 1964, the library’s director Charles Adams began to consider plans for an addition to the building.  To assist the planning process, Adams turned to the architecture firm, Odell and Associates of Charlotte, to develop a plan for the addition.  Odell and Associates recommended the construction of a ten-story structure to be located at the rear of the present library building.  The designers consciously designed a building whose features differed greatly from the more traditional brick and marble Jackson Library.  The bright white concrete clad tower embodied the architectural approach known as Brutalism.  Nevertheless, the two distinct buildings would be connected and function as one facility.  The designs and conceptual plan were submitted to the University and to the North Carolina General Assembly. 

Walter Clinton Jackson Library

In 1967, the General Assembly authorized funding of the addition.  However, it was only in 1969 that the General Assembly actually appropriated funds.  The leadership of the library changed in 1969-1970.  Charles Adams retired.  Elizabeth Holder served as the acting director until a search was completed.  Dr. James Thompson was hired in July 1970 to oversee the library and the coming building project.  He immediately began to work with the architects to realize the construction of the ten story addition and the renovation of the 1950 building.  The 1971 General Assembly allocated $4,240,000 to pay for the addition, along with $185,000 for renovations to the existing Jackson Library.  Additional funds were allocated to relocate the intersection of Walker Avenue and Forest Avenue to accommodate the new building.

Construction on the tower addition began in early February 1972.  At that time, the University had 6,983 students and its collections contained 614,098 items.  These numbers were more than double what had been planned for the original 1950 building.  The library’s director noted that “Jackson Library is a fine building” but that the goals of the University had changed.”  So, the current space was inadequate for instruction, collections, and research programs.  Thompson stated that the library addition would provide 119,000 square feet of floor space.  The addition would also increase the number of student seating as well as increase the number of student carrels from 49 to 271 spaces.   With the combined spaces of the current Jackson Library and the tower addition, Dr. James Thompson declared that there would be enough future growth space to house a total of one million volumes. 

Library Tower Under Construction, c. 1973

The tower project was completed in October 1973.  Starting in November 1973, the library staff moved 500,000 books to the tower addition.  The move would take place over three days.  During the entire move operation, the library remained open to meet the needs of its 7,856 students and 400 faculty.  With the books relocated, the construction project turned to renovating the 1950 portion of the library complex.  Those renovations would be completed in fall 1974.  At the completion of the construction and renovation projects, Dr. Thompson estimated that it would take UNC Greensboro 10 to 15 years to fill up the building with books at its present acquisition rate.  Thompson’s prediction was largely correct.  Over the next decade, the library would need to address advances in library technology, continued increases in student enrollment, space, and the growing costs of acquiring new collections.      

Letters from Abroad: McIver’s Trip to Europe, Part 2

McIver chose the Hamburg-Amerika line for his transatlantic crossing

As the S.S. Blucher started its ten-day voyage across the Atlantic, Charles Duncan McIver and James Joyner explored the ship and began their individual routines. McIver enjoyed daily walks on the deck and was thrilled when he glimpsed “large fish and sea animals” in the waves. His letters to Lula expressed excitement about the trip and the beautiful weather, as well as his relief at not becoming seasick like many of the other passengers. He reported that the food was excellent onboard ship and although he had been given “instructions from home” to watch his diet, it was becoming increasingly hard to do so. The elaborate first class menus included rich German dishes and the sumptuous desserts were difficult to resist. McIver spent the first days of his cruise with little to do but “loaf, tell yarns, [and] eat 5 times a day.” He wrote Lula that he was enjoying more “rest and freedom from care that [he] had in a long time.”

Joyner and McIver on deck of the S. S. Blucher, 1905

As one of the main reasons for the trip was to improve his health, McIver found his way to the gymnasium and made exercise a part of his daily ritual. He was amazed to find that the training equipment ran on electric motors, including a machine that took the speed of either a horse or a camel, and a massage apparatus with a belt that moved from the shoulders to the waist.


Entertainments were also a favorite part of his day, with music on the deck every morning and concerts held for the first class passengers in the evening. McIver was particularly charmed by the sounds of informal accordion music and dancing that wafted up from the lower steerage decks.

Dancing aboard the ship

There was much to tell, and McIver continued to write Lula even though he knew that he would not be able to mail his letters until the ship reached its first stop in Plymouth, England. He pined for his little family and took time each day to look at their photographs and write letters. Joyner missed his family as well and wrote his wife constantly. McIver even suspected he was writing Mrs. Joyner poetry! In a romantic flight of fancy, the two men decided to send their wives “love message[s]” from mid-ocean on the Marconi, a recently invented system of wireless communication using coded signals.

When they arrived in Paris, Joyner had correspondence waiting for him at the Grand Hotel, but there were no letters for McIver. His next note to Lula chided her for not sending mail and newspapers. When he finally received a letter from her, he was “dee-lighted!” He continued to write and chronicle his trip from France, to Germany, down the Rhine River, to Brussels, and finally to England.



During his travels, he received letters from his family, as well as his colleagues at the college. A birthday telegram was delivered from campus physician, Dr. Gove, and professors Gertrude Mendenhall and Viola Boddie, and steady correspondence was received from his administrative assistant, Miss Coit. A letter also arrived from the college’s African American facilities manager, Zeke Robinson, who had worked for McIver in his early years at Peace College and later joined him at State Normal. Zeke wrote “It is useless for me to try to tell you how much I have missed you, for you know that already.”

A letter to Lula dated September 28, 1905

By early October, the traveling companions began the last leg of their European trip. McIver had enjoyed France, Germany, and Brussels, but he really seemed to hit his stride in England. He marveled at the country’s history and monuments, and he attempted to see all the sites of London, including the British Museum and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Then they traveled throughout the English countryside, visiting Kent, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Oxford. McIver and Joyner also took every opportunity to see plays and productions, ranging from variety shows to more serious plays such as Louis XI starring Henry Irving (a week before his death). McIver wrote Lula, “I was impressed more than ever by the tremendous greatness of the English people and the civilization for which they are responsible.”

McIver especially loved the Lake District. Yet it was at this “ideal spot” that he lost a treasured personal possession. In a letter dated October 6, he told Lula of his heartbreak at losing his locket which contained her picture. While he knew he could purchase another when he returned to North Carolina, he grieved the loss of such a sentimental object.

The travelers’ final stop was Scotland where the beauty of the scenery and tales of Culloden and Mary Queen of Scots did not fail to impress them. McIver also tracked down several of his Scottish relatives and paid them a visit. Although the men had a wonderful time in Scotland, as they made their way south to catch the ship to America, McIver’s letters reflect his desire to “start straight home … and fly all the way.” The fall semester at the State Normal was underway and he missed his family – he was ready to go home. As he boarded the ship at Dover, he summed up his adventures to Lula, “This has been a good trip, full of interest, instruction, and pleasure, but this is the happiest day I have spent abroad because I’m starting toward you and our dear children.”

The McIver home on the State Normal Campus

By all accounts, McIver had enjoyed himself immensely, yet what was planned as a relaxing excursion, had quickly transformed into an extensive and grueling tour. He admitted to his wife, “Our trip has been more strenuous than I expected it to be.” It certainly did not give him the much-needed rest he required and once he returned home, his schedule remained as hectic as before he left.





In subsequent months, McIver’s fast-paced, stressful life began to catch up with him. Less than a year after his grand European trip, Charles Duncan McIver was dead. He suffered a stroke ten days before his forty-sixth birthday. Lula saved his letters from Europe, as well as much of their other personal correspondence, which can now be found in the archives of UNC Greensboro.

Letters from Abroad: McIver’s Trip to Europe, Part 1

Charles Duncan McIver had not been well. Although he was only 45, the years of hard travel, an indulgent diet, and the responsibilities of his role as founder and president of the State Normal and Industrial School had taken its toll. Those close to him were concerned about his health and suggested that a sea cruise might provide the rest and relaxation he would need to restore his strength.

Charles and Lula McIver and their "quartet" of children

 In the summer of 1905, McIver began to finalize his plans for a trip to Europe. Accompanying him would be his friend, James Y. Joyner, a fellow University of North Carolina alumni. McIver and Joyner were part of a group that championed teachers’ education in North Carolina, holding training institutes across the state. In 1891, when the North Carolina legislature finally agreed to establish the State Normal and Industrial School, a state sponsored college for women, McIver took the helm as president and Joyner served as a professor, then head of the English Department. In the years after the school was established, Joyner left to pursue other endeavors, but McIver remained president with the constant pressures and responsibilities that came with the position.

James Joyner and Charles Duncan McIver

McIver’s wife, Lula encouraged her husband’s trip with his college friend and agreed to spare him for what would be an eight week adventure, while she remained home caring for their four children. Lula was an educated woman in her own right and matched her husband’s intellect and energy. A Salem College graduate, Lula had studied medicine and was a committed supporter of women’s rights. They were a very devoted couple, conferring about all matters and writing copious letters during their many separations, as McIver often traveled for business. Yet, this trip would be different – it was longer and communication would be more tenuous. Overseas correspondence could take weeks to deliver and telegrams and telephone calls were costly. As his departure time drew near, the couple devised a code that could be telegraphed inexpensively (the charge was per word), serving as a short-hand to convey how they were doing. For example, “Alog” meant “We are well. How are you?” or “Comem” meant “Come home, Annie is sick,” etc. Promising to write every day, McIver set out on the first leg of his trip, a train from Greensboro to New York, the first week of September.

With a gregarious and engaging personality, McIver encountered many interesting acquaintances as he made his way north. He wrote to Lula the evening of September 4 (on Park Avenue Hotel stationery), telling her of meeting a Captain E. J. Parish of Durham, who suggested that he go into business for the American Tobacco Company. He was obviously flattered and intrigued by the thought of a career change. When he arrived in New York, he met with Mr. Mebane, who tried to persuade McIver to postpone his European trip and instead, stay in New York to discuss taking a job there. It is apparent by his letter that McIver was seriously pondering this offer, but it would have to wait until he returned. While he was in New York, McIver also had the opportunity to meet “Dr. Booker Washington,” likely referring to Booker T. Washington, the African American educator and orator, with whom he had a relationship through the Southern Educational Board.

Correspondence from New York

Lula responded to her husband’s letters with relief and reports of the home front. These mostly included everyday household news of the children, visitors, and her attempts at campus maintenance. Many of her letters reflect her deep worry for his health. She writes, “Sweetheart, please please take care of yourself. It makes me so anxious to see you so sick and tired. I cannot rest.” She also begs him to watch his diet. McIver loved rich food and it was perhaps impractical to suppose that he would curtail his eating habits on a European cruise. She signed her letters affectionately with “lots of kisses from your loving wife.”

While in New York he met his friend, James Joyner, and finalized their travel plans. After considering several different ocean liner companies (including the White Star Line, which would later launch Titanic), they decided on the S. S. Blucher, of the Hamburg-Amerika Line. The friends booked first class passage and also purchased tickets for their return trip October 20, departing from Boulogne, France, and arriving in New York on October 28.

As the ship departed from New York, McIver took the time to quickly write a note to Lula “to say another goodbye,” assuring her that he was well and that his he liked his ship’s quarters very much. He signed the letter, “I love you Sweetheart, I tell you I do. Love to the dear quartet (his children Annie, Charlie, Verlinda, and Lula Martin). Affy (affectionately) your husband, Charles Duncan McIver.” And with this note, written at 11am, he began his European adventure.

The S. S. Blucher

Next week: McIver’s shipboard experience and his “Grand Tour” through Europe!

 *Courtesy of GG Archives https://www.gjenvick.com

The Liberty Ship, S.S. Charles D. McIver

On May 23, 1943, the North Carolina Ship Building Company, located in Wilmington, North Carolina, launched its 100th Liberty Ship, the S.S. Charles D. McIver. As founder and first president of the State Normal and Industrial School (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro), and a fierce advocate of public education for women, McIver was a natural choice for a commemorative Liberty Ship. He was one of several North Carolina educators to have this honor. Initially named after notable deceased Americans, the ships names’ eventually included men and women, of all ranks, who were lost in the war. Naming opportunities came to those who raised two million dollars in war bonds.

The S.S. Charles D. McIver, 1943*

On the day that the S.S. Charles D. McIver was launched, high-ranking representatives of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, along with local dignitaries, gathered for the festivities in Wilmington, which was broadcasted on the radio. The shipyard band played as the newly christened ship slipped into the water. For glamor, Hollywood actress Constance Bennett was in attendance to present the shipyard with an award for its exceptional purchases of war bonds. Launching its first Liberty Ship only hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Wilmington shipyard was considered one of the best producers of these types of ships in the United States. The yard boasted over 20,000 employees and the ability to deliver up to ten ships per month.

Actress Constance Bennett (polka dot dress) attends the launching ceremony at the Wilmington Shipyard, May 25, 1943**

Based on a British design, Liberty Ships were basic cargo vessels built by the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The first of these “Emergency Cargo” ships was launched on September 27, 1941, with President Franklin Roosevelt in attendance. Named the S.S. Patrick Henry, who is well remembered for his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, the president expected these ships to bring liberty to Europe and they were dubbed accordingly. Liberty Ships were meant to be quickly and economically mass-produced, with parts manufactured throughout the country and then assembled at shipyards on the east and west coasts, as well as the Gulf of Mexico.

The launching of the S.S. Charles D. McIver**

Eighteen shipyards built over 2700 ships during the years between 1941 and 1945. Considered the “ugly ducklings” of the naval fleet, the Liberty Ships averaged 441 feet long with a crew of forty-four, holding almost 10,000 tons of cargo in addition to tanks, planes, and ammunition. Built to last only through the war, many of these ships survived, with over 800 incorporated into the United States cargo fleet, and others sold to Italy and Greece. Several ships continued to serve into the 1970s, and currently, two are used as museums. Sadly, the S.S. Charles D. McIver did not fare as well. On March 22, 1945, it sank after striking a mine as it left Antwerp, Belgium. A full rescue was made by a British motor minesweeper and a motor torpedo boat, which rescued the Merchant Marine crew and the armed guard also on board. The S.S. Charles D. McIver was later written off as a total loss.

*Image from the Charles D. McIver (Liberty Ship) subject file
** Image courtesy of New Hanover County Public Library, North Carolina Room

Campus Regulations Through the Years: Part I

When college students move onto campus, they may no longer be subject to their parents' house rules,but they now have a whole new set of regulations by which to abide. All rules are intended for the students' and the school's protection, but they change with the times. Prior to the late 1960s, colleges and universities operated with the policy of in loco parentis, which is Latin for "in the place of a parent." Students, especially female students, were restricted from doing many things that would be considered basic rights by students today. I have looked through UNCG students' handbooks through the years and want to share some of my favorite regulations.

1898-1899
The student handbook for academic year 1898-1899 does not specify any rules beyond don’t destroy school property and pay for the property you accidentally destroy, but it does note that students should have a pocket in their school dress and to BE SURE “to remember that fine feathers do not make fine birds, and that what you make of yourself in College you will be so long as you live.” Gulp.

1912-1913
Codified regulations first appear in the 1912-1913 handbook, and only for the Library! The first rule, considered so important that it is in italic type is: “Absolutely no promiscuous talking in the Library.”

Additionally:

• “When necessary to speak to the Librarian, speak in a low tone of voice.” 

• “A student may have two books charged to her at the same time, only one of which may be fiction.”

1917-1918
By 1917, the handbook specifies “Indoor Rules” (e.g. “The bathrooms and halls shall not be used for studying”) and “Outdoor Rules” (e.g. “Walking period shall be observed by every student every day except Saturday. During walking period every student must be on campus taking exercise, unless excused by College President or physician.)”

1924-1925
They were not kidding around in the 1924-1925 handbook! In that year the it was clearly printed on the title page of the Official Bulletin of Information: "Ignorance of the law does not excuse violation".

To dispel your own ignorance, I draw your attention to the following:

• "No gasoline, or benzene, and no electrical fixtures except study lamps and standardized curling irons, may be used in the dormitories." I can still get behind the gasoline and benzene ban.

• "Each student should make her bed by 9 o'clock in the morning." 

• Although students were permitted "to go to the shoe shop or neighborhood stores until 7:30 p.m.", they were NOT "to stroll on the public streets at any time."

1929-1930
At the end of the Roaring Twenties, freshmen and sophomores were required to turn off their room lights at "10:30 on all nights except for Saturdays when they are to be turned off at 11 o'clock. Juniors must get 8 hours rest a day. They may use their own discretion in regard to lights. Seniors are to use their own discretion in regard to lights." I hope the seniors made wise lights-out choices.

Students' whereabouts continue to be strictly monitored. For example,"All students are to register accurately and promptly before leaving campus and upon their return, except when going to neighborhood stores, to Sunday morning church services and on hikes not lasting more than an hour." I have no idea what the extreme hikers were supposed to do.

1930-1931
Some highlights:

• "No student is to drive nails or tacks into the walls or paste pennants or pictures on the walls." Which must have been frustrating as the handbook later describes how the campus "Ye Junior Shoppe" (which was run by the junior class) "carries college pillows and pennants and society stationary." How were they supposed to hang their North Carolina College for Women pennants?

•  In the dining hall the food was served to each table. Students had to receive permission from the hostesses to have guests from other tables sit at their own table and also to leave the table before others have finished. With that being said, the stated preference was that a whole table should leave the dining room altogether.

• And although this was more of an exhortation than a regulation, I must commend the handbook for "It is wise to spend at least a little part of every day in our library." Hear, hear!

1936-1937
For the first time there needed to be rules for telephone calls! All calls were connected by campus operators and calls made from and to dormitories were “strictly limited to three minutes. Operators are instructed to cut off service at expiration of that time.” I guess those students must have texted a lot?

This year's handbook contains fewer regulations than previous (and subsequent) ones, but it does include some excellent suggestions that are as relevant to today’s students, such as:

• "Be sure to set aside some time each week for the folks back home. Write letters regularly of the interesting things you are doing on the campus. You will have many new interests here, but they must never crowd out the old relationships which are a part of you."

• "That in being tolerant of other peoples’ ideals you have grown bigger and stronger."

• "To make mistakes or you won’t have any reminiscences."

1942-1943
By 1942-1943, there were regulations about radios (“can be played anytime in a student’s room and in the parlors provided they do not disturb others”) and smoking (“Students may smoke on the terraces and in the residence halls, except in the parlors and entrance halls.)

“Social privileges” such as “entertaining a caller” were now based on academic standing. Students with a “C” or better average were allowed more weekend and evening “engagements.”

Regarding riding in automobiles, on horseback, and on bicycles required parental permission and there were different rules for each class. However, all students require special written permission to ride in airplanes.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Establishing the Katharine Smith Reynolds Scholarship Program

In 1962, one year before Woman's College was renamed UNC Greensboro and two years before men undergraduates were allowed to enroll, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation made an initial gift of $58,600 (over $482,000 today's dollars) to WC to establish a scholarship program that would be named in memory of Katharine Smith Reynolds. At the time, it was the largest scholarship grant the school had ever received.

Portrait of Katharine Smith Reynolds

Katharine Smith Reynolds was born on November 17, 1880, in Mt. Airy, NC. She attended the State Normal and Industrial College (now UNCG) from 1897 to 1899. After the 1899 typhoid epidemic on campus, she transferred to Sullins College in Bristol, Va., where she graduated in 1902. She returned home after graduation and began work as a secretary at the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem. There, she worked with the company's founder (also her first cousin once removed), and they eventually married in 1905. After a honeymoon trip to Europe, she worked with landscape architects and designers to plan their grand Reynolda estate. She was a prominent local philanthropist and served as President of the Winston-Salem chapter of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in 1917. On May 23, 1924, at the age of 44, Reynolds passed away due to complications of an embolism caused by the birth of her fifth child.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation sought to honor her with a scholarship program that would provide an award for students entering WC as undergraduates. Reynolds Scholars would be chosen on the basis of scholastic ability and evidence of "moral force of character including truthfulness, courage, devotion to duty, unselfishness, and consideration for others." Leadership ability and financial need would also be considered.

In January 1963, letters were sent to principals in secondary schools throughout North Carolina announcing the first competition for the Katharine Smith Reynolds Scholarships. A Reynolds Scholarship Central Committee was formed to choose the award winners. This committee consisted of one appointee of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, one permanent member by request of R.J. Reynolds, Jr., four faculty members appointed by the Chancellor, and three alumnae appointed by the president of the Alumnae Association. Additionally, Reynolds Scholarship District Committees were formed to facilitate in-person interviews with applicants across the state.

The initial class of Reynolds Scholars

Out of an applicant pool over over 200, twelve incoming freshmen were officially named as the inaugural class of Reynolds Scholars in May 1963. As the report of Central Committee chair Anne L. Lewis noted, "we were searching, above all, for excellent scholars. We feel sure that we have twelve such young women. You will be interested to know in addition, however, that in every case there is evidence of real financial need in order for the girl to pursue her higher education." The report also names the scholarship winners and provides a brief biographical sketch to illustrate their academic skills and "moral force of character":

• Rosalyn R. Fleming of Greenville was described as "very polite, neat, personable" and had directed the Vacation Bible School at her church.
• Evelyn Brake of Rocky Mount was "a lot on the ball, yet very modest." She earned money for college by driving a school bus and writing a school news column for a local newspaper.
• Shelby Jean Rice of Holly Ridge  was the oldest of seven children in a farm family. She also was top of her class and president of her student body.
• Francine Johnson of Four Oaks was also from a farm family, and the committee "was struck by what this girl had accomplished and the promise she showed."
• Jane Taylor of Wilkesboro was described as a "lovely girl, very modest about her achievements, stands up for her own ideas."
• Susan Prince of Chapel Hill  was the daughter of a French professor at Appalachian Teachers College (now App State). She attended a National Science Foundation program for talented high school students.
• Nancy Glazebrook Holman of Wilmington, the daughter of a WC alumna, graduated top of her class of 550.
• Dorothy Crowder of Charlotte was described as having a "pleasant face, good speaker, a lot of poise."
• Anne Presnell of Statesville was tagged by the Admissions Office as "the top student admitted for next fall." 
• Martha Bridges of Boiling Springs was the daughter of two school teachers.
• Sandra Cheek of Marion was described as "very neat and sweet looking with a quiet, pleasing personality."
• Judy Ann Davis of Pfafftown received a special award for a students from either Surry, Stokes, or Forsyth County who intended to major in chemistry.

The Katharine Smith Reynolds Scholarships continues today (although, in a change from the original intent, men were first allowed to apply for the program in 1980). In 1997, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation pledged $5 million to the University over 10 years. Part of the funds were used to establish the Katharine Smith Reynolds Scholarship Endowment.

Happy Birthday to Us!: Celebrating 60 Years of University Archives

Annual Report of the College Archives Committee

Prior to 1958, there was no organized, formal method for acquiring, managing, and preserving the official records created by the Woman’s College (now UNCG). The need and importance of establishing such a process was brought to the administration’s attention in August 1956 in a letter from A.F. Kuhlman, Chairman of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, and E.C. Roberts, Director of the Southeastern Interlibrary Research Facility. In their letter, they noted that as colleges became more decentralized, “it becomes increasingly important that there be a central depository and an archival program for the official records of an institution.” They went on to explain that “only by a systematic program of collection and preservation of the publications and records of an institution can the full and true story of that institution’s development and endeavors be recorded.” The letter closes with a recommendation for the college to assume this responsibility and to start saving their history. However, it would be two more years before the school took any official action.

In the fall of 1957, North Carolina State Archivist, H.G. Jones, was invited to the campus to survey the archives. He was not happy with the current conditions of the archives as he “looked with considerable scorn” upon the cases that housed the archival materials in the Forney Building and Library Building. Following his visit, Jones wrote a letter to Chancellor Gordon W. Blackwell, giving detailed advice on some immediate and long term problems facing the college archives.

Charles Adams, 1951

In response to these recommendations, Chancellor Blackwell appointed current Librarian, Charles M. Adams, as the new Archivist, and Marjorie Hood as the Assistant Archivist.  In addition, he established the College Archives Committee in January 1958, whose charge was “to advise the College Archivist concerning selection of materials for the archives, proper housing of the archives, and other pertinent matters.” Other members of the committee, along with Adams and Hood, included history professors Richard Current and Blackwell Robinson. In May 1958, the committee traveled to Raleigh to study the state archives and ask for further advice on proper storage and care of archival materials.  One of the first priorities of the committee was transferring records located in the basement storage vault of the Forney Building to the Library Building as excessive temperature and humidity threatened to damage the materials.

The work of the College Archives Committee was the first step in developing a formal archival program with dedicated staff and storage space. Today, UNCG's University Archives continues to collect and maintain the campus's historically-valuable documents and records. These include paper records, as well as those produced in a digital format (including websites). The University Archives faculty and staff also present guest lectures on campus history in numerous undergraduate and graduate courses throughout the year. Additionally, through social media, online publications and exhibits, and digitization work done in the University Libraries, researchers can now dig into UNCG's long history from anywhere in the world. The University Archives ensures that the history of UNCG is remembered - now and in years to come.