VOLUME 29 DECEMBER, 1938 NUMBER 4

 
 
 

 
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VOLUME 29 DECEMBER, 1938 NUMBER 4

ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

EDUCATOR, EXECUTIVE, AND LEADER IN
TEACHER TRAINING.

PRESIDENT OF EAST CAROLINA TEACHERS COLLEGE
(1909-1934)

“He was as true a man as I have ever known—unpre-
tentious and sincere, a man for whom I had the utmost
respect and in whom I had unguarded confidence. In
character and to some extent in appearance he reminded
me of Abraham Lincoln. I recall no better characteriza-
tion of him than Edwin Markham’s poem in which the
poet refers to Lincoln as a lordly cedar going down and
leaving a lonesome place against the sky.”

T. WINGATE ANDREWS.

EAST CAROLINA
TEACHERS COLLEGE

BULLETIN

GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
1938

Published four times each year— March, May, August and December.
Entered as second-class matter March 16, 1936, at the post office at

Greenville, N. C., under the act of Congress August 24, 1912.

 
FOREWORD

ROBERT H. WRIGHT belongs to the period of educational awak-
ening in North Carolina ushered in by Aycock; and he became a
part of the period of educational growth that followed. From
the time he returned to the State in 1909 as president of East
Carolina Teachers Training School to the time of his death he
participated in every major educational movement in the State.

As an educator he possessed constructive wisdom and the
courage to lead in the face of adversity. The type of fearless-
ness and indomitable integrity which he displayed commands
respect whether it be found in friend or foe. His idealism was
an inspiration to thousands who came under his influence. He
had abundant faith in mankind and a strong hope in the ulti-
mate triumph of righteousness.

_As an executive he gave sympathetic encouragement that led
his co-workers to their best efforts; and he was wise in the
freedom he allowed for their activities. His confidence in his
associates served as an inspiration to those who strove with him
to codéperative endeavor. He made up his mind within the calm
of his own soul and expected no cheering multitude to inspire
his purpose.

He had a public mind and gave himself to the service of his
fellow-man with a singleness of purpose excelled only by his
enthusiasm. He conceived of life, duty and religion as a series
of relationships and obligations to his fellows. He belonged to
that great aristocracy of them that love and serve their fellow-
men. He achieved mightily for mankind.

We, his colleagues, representatives of the faculty of East
Carolina Teachers College, as a memorial to him herewith pre-
sent a record of his life and works, with some interpretation of
the principles for which he stood and the ideals he translated
into objectives. In tracing his career as an educational leader,
we have added to our conception of his contribution in the im-
provement of the public school system of the State, the appraisal
his peers have placed upon him and his services.

Twenty-five years of his life, the best of his thought and
efforts, went into the building of this institution. It was, in
truth, his life work for which all else seems, in retrospection, to
have been preparation. Within the following pages we have
attempted to let his works speak for him.

THE COMMITTEE FROM THE FACULTY.

 
FACULTY COMMITTEE

MAMIE KE. JENKINS, Chairman
RALPH C. DEAL
M. L. WRIGHT
KATE W. LEwIs
SALLIE JOYNER DAVIS

 

CONTENTS

A SON OF NORTH CAROLINA

BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION FOR TEACHER
TRAINING

Beginning of East Carolina Teachers Training
School

Jarvis, Joyner, Ormond Strong Executive
Advisers

Well-Equipped for His Life Work

Tasks the New President Faced When He
Took Charge

Faculty Stability an Important Factor

Purposes and Aims Carried Out in Courses of
Study and Curricula

Meeting the State’s Demand for Better Teachers

Practice Teaching Essential for Acquiring the
Art

Summer School Never a Teacher’s Holiday

Faculty Coéperation Brought Unity in Spirit
and Purpose

Student Activities and Campus Life

Alumnae and Their Alma Mater

Development and Growth Shown by Figures
and Expansion of Plant

CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS AND
THOUGHT
Equality of Educational Opportunities
Education as the Safeguard to Progress
Education for Leisure
His Conception of the Function of a Teachers
College

“Hr Stoop FOURSQUARE TO ALL THE WORLD”
Tributes from His Fellowmen

oo

or

Iq 4 4

oo

 
CALENDAR OF EVENTS

1870, May 21 —Born in Sampson County.

1888-1890 —Taught in “Hungry Neck,” Bladen County.
1890-1892 —Student at Oak Ridge Institute.

1892-1894 —Taught in Marlborough County, South Carolina.
1894 —Entered University of North Carolina.
1897 —Graduated with A.B. Degree from U. N. C.
1897-1898 | —Principal of Stanhope High School.
1898-1901 |—lInstructor in Oak Ridge Institute.
1901-1903 | —Studied at Johns Hopkins University.

1901, Dec. 31 —Married to Charlotte Pearl Murphy.
1902-1904 —lInstructor, City College, Baltimore.

1904-1906 —Head of Department of Social Sciences, in City
College, Baltimore.

1906-1909 | —Principal Eastern High School, Baltimore.
1909-1934 —President of East Carolina Teachers College.

1915 —Vice-President of North Carolina Teachers
Assembly.

1916 —President of North Carolina Teachers Assembly.
1917-1922 —Chairman State Educational Commission.

1925-1926 —President American Association of Teachers
Colleges.
1928 —Doctor of Education conferred by Wake Forest

College.
1934, April 25—Died.

 

A SON OF NORTH CAROLINA

“It is a story of East Carolina on the march. It is the story of
a leader,” said Dr. Frank Graham of Robert Herring Wright and
his life of service. “Already tested, he came back to his native
state and became a great leader of the people.”

“We see him on his way, this North Carolina youth, tall and
lean and strong as those North Carolina pines among which he
grew to manhood; this leader in educational life, this builder of
this college through which more than twenty thousand students
have passed, plastic to his mold, to go into the schools, into homes,
to build, to creatively transform a continent.”

“Something happened in the history of North Carolina when
there converged in the life-strains of this boy the Wrights, the
Herrings, the Simses, the Cromarties, in old Sampson. There
was born out of the fusion of those bloods, and grew to manhood,
Robert Herring Wright.” '

“We see him in et mind’s eye a boy in the South of that
period; we see him in this combination of family strains, east
North Carolina, southwest North Carolina strains blended to
make that man and to make this college.” ae

“We see him in the neighborhood testing his strength wres-
tling; we see him putting his hand to the plow down the —
row. He learned when he put his hand to the plow to go sie
the furrow to the end of the row—that was what boys lear =
in the North Carolina of that day. Let us thank God that wit
all those privations and struggles North Carolina was fashioning
men for our times.”

“At the close of the War for American Independence, there
settled, between the Big and Little Coharie rivers, in what is rt
Sampson County, North Carolina, John Wright, a este e
Revolutionary Army, and his wife, Penelope Clark Wrig ‘ j

John Wright, dying October 4, 1814, at the age of eighty- ped
an honored and highly respected citizen, left his property on :
Coharie to his son, Isaac Clark Wright, who had married Elisa
Cromartie. The Cromarties were the earliest Scotch settlers in
that section of the Carolina Colony. fae

Sane Cee Wright, the son of Isaac and Eliza W right,
improved and added to the properties he had inherited from his
father. He married Bettie Vaiden Herring, and brought her as
a bride to his home that he had named “Coharie.” Here were
born and reared their nine children. ; =e

Robert Herring Wright, the second of these five sons and four
daughters, was born May 21, 1870, a “significant year in which to
be born, in the South.” His youth was that of the average farm
boy of the 1870’s in eastern North Carolina. He ploughed and

 
10 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

planted, tended and harvested. He “fished a little and hunted a
little and swam a little,” when he found the time. He enjoyed
the usual social activities of the community of his day, and he
attended a neighborhood school, when there was a school to
attend. Those who knew him during his boyhood speak of him
as friendly, fun-loving and socially inclined, but with a naturally
serious turn of mind.

The days of his boyhood were spent in the South of recon-
struction and poverty. Living was a struggle, a series of
struggles. Families that had known affluence felt the sharp sting
of privation and want. Men and women who had lived in comfort
and ease found themselves fighting for life’s necessities.

Something of these conditions went into the making of the
man. He was fond of saying that a goodly part of his youthful
educational training was received “at the business end of a
mule,” and that one lesson he learned well was the need of being
careful. That did not, however, quell his venturesome spirit, or
dull the edge of his ambition and enterprise.

The schools that Robert Wright attended in his boyhood were
operated by public funds for three months in the year and then
extended two or three months by private subscription. Two of
his early teachers to whom he often referred were Dr. A. A. Kent
and Rev. R. C. Craven. Dr. Kent, he sometimes said, made a more
lasting impression upon him than most of his teachers because
of the disciplinary methods he used.

Ploughing in spring and summer, hunting in fall and winter,
attending the neighborhood parties, and going to school some
six months in the year, made up the life of the country boy.

At the age of 18, having completed the “courses” offered in the
local school, Wright applied for a teacher’s certificate and a job.
He received both at about the same time. Standing his exami-
nation for a teaching certificate, he was given his first teacher’s
certificate by Rey. William Brunt, a Baptist minister, who was

at that time County Superintendent of Public Instruction in
Bladen County.

Between the Black River and the Cape Fear, largely in Pender

County, but partly in Bladen, was a section known as “Hungry
Neck.” It was in Bladen, in the Hungry Neck section, on Colly,
in French’s Creek Township and in the Corbett neighborhood,
with his post office at “Nat Moore”, that the tall, earnest boy
began the work that was to be his field throughout his life. He
began teaching in this country schoolhouse in 1888.

For this first teaching he received $20 per month, and his
board—“boarding out.” Boarding out meant that he lived for a
Specified time, often a week, sometimes a month, in the homes

 

 

A SON OF NORTH CAROLINA 11

of different patrons of the school. Wright taught this school for

4 s, from 1888 to 1890. ieee fae
Bai Savon tig Betty Vaiden Wright, at this time —_— on
inadequacies of the subscription-extended public soe partes,
necessity of better preparation of her own children . “ . os
toward which Robert was now definitely headed, concety pee
idea of giving, herself, to her children this necessary Lirhdposiaey
Mrs. Wright opened her school, “Mrs. Wright 8 Private ¢ oe
which was better known as “Coharie”. In a few esi ; Arps
potent educational influence in that section of the ots e. — Pee
probably her son Robert’s decision, after teaching for vn ; his
two years, that he needed special preparation for college, anc Pie
determination to go to Oak Ridge Institute before oe
enter the University that largely influenced his mother in deciding
to establish her school.

Robert, however, came into young manhood too early to =
benefit of his mother’s Coharie School; but his younger brot —.
and sisters and many others were there prepared tor conege ae
came to bless her name and the institution she had sounded. .

Wright was a student at Oak Ridge Institute for two ee
1890-92. In that live and growing institute he found — fia
was lacking in the country schools he had ae ee
made up what he felt were the deficiencies in his earlier ve a cas
Contact with other forward-looking young men forging rei 3
to the front stimulated his ambition ere 1 Ce
termination to make his mark in the wor . aes ss

According to his schoolmates at Oak Ridge, he bir en wi
cellent student, somewhat sobered by his teaching Lt gr
fond of fun but taking his work seriously. Somewhat = se
many of his fellow students, he was keenly interested in = . rte
particularly in football, but more as an observer than as

articipant. : 2 ie!
: Caities Oak Ridge in 1892, he accepted a school in the a —
Section of Marlborough County, South Carolina, and taug fi sie
two years. By that time he seemed to have been definitely
launched upon a teaching career. Jee its

His ab and popularity in his work in South segasapnitic
attested by the many pleasant memories of him, and je ae
recollections of those acquainted with him. rina a ae
at that period show him a tall, slender, Se aoe
Those who knew him then remember him as eet ' a tts
serious young man, deeply interested 7 4 Whe A ays ali ious
young people with whom he was working. Of a decic — es.
temperament, he was active in Church and — mers a
Returning to South Carolina after he entered the University,

 
ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Conarie ScHooL"

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THE WricHt Home in SAMPSON County.

 

A Son oF NorTH CAROLINA 13

taught in this same school in the summer of 1896, during a
college vacation.

Entering the University of North Carolina as a sophomore in
the fall of 1894, Wright graduated in 1897, with his B.A. degree.

It was a time of ferment in North Carolina. The State’s
educational awakening was just beginning. Burning with zeal,
educators were carrying on a crusade for better schools, better
colleges, better teacher training, a revamping of the entire
system of public education. Faculty and graduates were in the
very forefront of this movement. Students caught the vision.
Fired with enthusiasm, they pressed forward in the determi-
nation that the hopeless “old field” schools should be replaced by
modern buildings, competent teachers and higher standards to
provide our children with the educational opportunities which
those of other States and sections enjoyed. Wright thus, in
college, came in contact with this mighty movement in which he
was to play so large a part in later years. Though his pro-
fessional career in Maryland kept him out of North Carolina for
quite a period, he never lost interest in its progress, kept in touch
with every development, and, in a sense, shared in the State's
educational advance almost from its beginning. Older than many
of the students when he entered the University, realizing his
educational needs and the necessity of thorough preparation for
his profession, Wright was primarily interested in his studies, but
found time for extra-curricular activities. Deeply interested in
the Young Men’s Christian Association, he became one of its
officers, supporting it with his personal effort and limited finances.
For years after his graduation he contributed to the Y:M.C.A. at
Chapel Hill.

College experiences, the characteristics manifested, the im-
pression a student made on his fellows and classmates throw
interesting sidelights on development during these formative
years. Of Wright one who knew him well in his college days
Says:

“I have talked with men who knew Wright there, college mates,
classmates, team mates. He went quietly about his work ; he was
never a pretentious person. There was no ‘fuss and feathers
about him. He was a quiet, reflective student who saw into the
inner nature of things, and though he came quietly, and with
characteristic modesty, it was not long before Wright stood out
for something more than his six feet three. There was some-
thing in the quiet, serious, reflective life of the tall giant that
took hold of his fellow students, and made him a leader in his
college generation.”

Outstanding as he was in scholarship, his popularity among
the student body attested by election to the presidency of two

 
14 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

societies and other University honors, Wright is
by his contemporaries at Chapel Hill for his prowess in football.
First a star linesman, then a tackle, he became finally captain of
one of Carolina’s most famous football teams. He was also
captain of the track team of 1896. He was a marshal at com-
mencement in 1896, when his cousin, Tom Wright, was chief
marshal. The girl to whom he gave his regalia still has it—and
her name is Mrs. Robert H. Wright.

Wright won more than his share of studen
athletics. He was president of the Histor
of the Shakespeare Club, and president

best remembered

t honors outside of
ical Society, a member

of the Philosophical
Society.

Edwin Anderson Alderman
President of the University, Robert Wright was Selected to deliver
the address of welcome on behalf of the students. In his contact
with Alderman, Wright found a source of inspiration and a
friendship that lasted through life.

Upon his graduation, he went to Stanho
the fall of 1897, where he taught for
impression on the neighborhood.

Oak Ridge Institute then called for his servic
to 1901 he taught mathematics and coached
Ridge. Already a familiar figure on rolina gridirons,
Wright starred again in athletics ; at that time coaches in
preparatory schools were allowed to play on the team, and
Ridge teams were always good. During that per
he read ‘law, and was seriously considering it as ;

In the fall of 1901 he went to Baltimor
studies at Johns Hopkins University.
studying there, he ; teacher of history at
the Baltimore City In 1904 he was made head of the
departments of History and Civics. He continued at the
University while teaching till the fall of 1903, when he left and
devoted all his time to his duties at the Baltimore City College.

Dr. Wright found his life-companion as he did his most im-
portant life-work in North Carolina. It was on December 31,
1903, that- Robert Wright and Charlotte Pear] Murphy, of
Tomahawk, North Carolina, were married. Four children blessed
their union. All of these survived him: Mrs. Donald Cadman,
formerly Pearl Wright, of Chappaqua, New York; Dr. Robert
H. Wright, Jr., of Phoebus, Virginia; Mary Wright, who became
Mrs. Durwood Parker, and who died in December of 1937, leaving
two children; and the fourth, William. All but one of these were
born in Baltimore.

All four of Dr. Wright’s children attended East Carolina
Teachers College at some time and two graduated from there.

inaugurated as

pe, Nash County, in
one year, making a fine

es, and from 1898
football at Oak

e to pursue advanced
In June 1902, while

} 15
A SON OF NORTH CAROLINA

. > ~ waar cplaca > or as
Pearl was in the class of 1925, the first four-year eggnog”
freshmen and go straight through 9 - ptm wi ope
taught in the Wilmington and Raleigh th pei B-emyc
tended Teachers College, Columbia University, ae ee
her M. A. degree and was for two years a grec East Carolina
William Wright received his A. B. degree — ery eng oe
Teachers College in 1935, and taught in sega gr ee
following. Mary was a student at K. C. 07 fs Saek ae
years. She was married shortly before het a a oo pects
took courses in East Carolina Teachers eo ‘ole
but graduated from the University of — : Seauauindaia:
ceived his medical degree from the Universit — ican
By the time the Legislature had provided for on yrtose sin ssi
of a teachers’ training school in Eastern ha? pele er srs
Wright had attained distinction in city besa bite a satis
His service in Baltimore was marked by ee Civies
In 1904 he was made head of the Department . writ pha ey se
and Economics in Baltimore City College. se pero —
1906, he was made principal of the ag sa ong By se: eae
Baltimore’s two high schools for girls. During — poster
service as principal, his modern methods and . yes sage
tration won wide recognition. By 1909 he — "es Sr ces
the highest officials in the Baltimore school peer "cama
considered in other States as a “coming man, in ah ‘ata a re
Baltimoreans liked him. He had won a rape tone slags
civic and social as well as educational life al = perl
the first president of the Maryland History ale iy! satheidhan
Cherishing memories of “down home”, he enjoy ec 7 f io North
with his fellow Tar Heels, and was an active member . : Se “
Carolina Society of Baltimore. A favorite among - yt perio:
was a member of the group that met a bade
teaching problems and for social intercourse, : . _ phones
afterwards became the Schoolmasters Club. He was also ¢
ber of the National Educational Association. pipe ener
When, in 1909, he was tendered the oe beard «4
founded East Carolina Teachers Training Sc a ? ea s Sak siete
many of his friends advised strongly against ms hosel gin Boca aad
in Baltimore. They felt that he was rapidly rem age a pe pte
a place for himself in the educational me en ot 2 ldo
the contemplated move would be a apie ti. bis decline, his
While his Baltimore friends were urging ; : sicttek the offer.
friends in North Carolina were urging bengs : pestle pers
They felt that he was peculiarly amend ge sine ae
for the successful heading and guidance o ,
Carolina institution.

 
16 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Love of his native State, and earnest desire to render it a real
service; his conviction that training teachers was the most im-
: that the building up of such an

institution was an opportunity and a duty that no forward-
looking educator could decline, turned the tide.

Never for a moment minimizing the difficulties he

knew he
isioned the

and Nation. With unfailing
nation, he worked steadily toward that end.
Resigning as principal of the Eastern Hi

his connection with the Baltimore gs
his new and broader task.

Beginning his work at Greenville in 1909, he serv
of this school, which later became East Carolina Teachers College,
until his death on April 25, 1934. His sudden death, after an
illness of only two days, was a shock to his family and friends.
But, more than that, it was a sad loss to the people he served so
well, and to public education. The whole State mourned him,
and tributes came by hundreds. But he had the satisfaction of
knowing, as all men knew, that he had “rendered the State some
service”—a service that would not en i i i
would in this college continue from ge
bless his native land.

During the twenty-five years of his presidency he had seen the
school,'of which he was the first president, grow from an insti-
tution of about 175 students to a college of a thousand.

Modest as he was able, the honors which Dr. Wright received
came to him from merit, not Self-seeking. His interests extended
far beyond the campus and his profession. He was keenly and
vitally interested in civic life, and gave freely of his time, talents
and finances to further any and all movements that he felt were
for the good of the community.

ed as president

some appraisal of his

worth by his fellow-citizens, will] be found in the pages that

follow.

Wake Forest College in 1928 conferred upon him the degree
of Doctor of Education. Widely known as a progressive educator,
he took an active part in national as well as State and local
associations. A member of the National Educational Association
and the North Carolina Educational Association, he was at one
time president of the American Association of Teachers Colleges

A Son oF NoRTH CAROLINA 17

and a member of the World’s Federation of Educational Asso-

ns. eS 5 Bae
pie life enlisted his constant pans gh pce Bs
member of the Jarvis Memorial Methodist Chure Cpt yee hom
having served as a Trustee, a member of the saga i ——
and, for years, as teacher of the pooaagipaann Oh: Pg aes
affiliated with the Masonic Order and was a mere i Berlh dacgr
Lodge No. 63 in Baltimore. In Greenville wats As a ae ina
Sharon Lodge A. F. and A. M., and of Greenville Chap

7 rch Masons. : :

ier the Greenville Rotary Club was enact pes
appeared on the roster as a charter niet: Sites ing na
served as president. He was also a charter member ther
ville Country Club. He was a Director of the ert aang sy Se
Loan Association, a member of the Greenville C 2 i ae
merce, and at the time of his death was Presiden
ey ay eb ye of interests, che anes 70.5
in so many ways, and the willingness to give, of himself and his
1 "eS sO many causes. ae
ee lived who was more willing, eager vay captor
serve the youth of the country, his home, his fren eo iv pi
ciates, and the community in which he lived, in any way, h
capacity, at any time, than Robert H. Wright.

 
BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION FOR TEACHER
TRAINING

Trained teachers, Wright was convinced, constituted the most
vital factor in the whole educational system. In no other section
were they so much needed as in the South. North Carolina had
taken the lead in the movement for improvement of public schools

that was Sweeping over the entire country. Nowhere did edu-
cational leader necessity of providing

In him the trustee
seeking to build up th
in Eastern North Car
There was a meeting of mind which mad
one in plans and purpose. fan and the Opportunity
—a fortunate combination f. ition and the State.

“Every institution,” some one has said, “is but the lengthened
Shadow of a man.” Many others have contributed to this one,
many have shared in its upbuilding, but none has left upon it so
marked and enduring an impress as has its first president.

Wright’s own training and his success in stimulating the
teachers who had come under his supervision had fitted him
peculiarly for the task presented here.

In the spring of 1909, when he was hesit
it would be better to remain in Baltimore where he had already
won high standing, was in line for promotion, and advancement
seemed assured, or to accept an offer in another school System,
he was discovered by a group of men who had been on a still
hunt for an able, forward-looking, energetic executive qualified
to head a teachers’ training institution. They were gratified to

find that the man Selected as best qualified was a North Carolinian
born and bred, nurtured

He was delighted to find not only the ch
operation his experience and well-matur
a greatly needed service to his belov

€ president and trustees

ating as to whether

on its soil, understanding its problems.

ance to put into practical
ed methods, but to render
ed native State,

Forming the hear J }
of how it was created and how it was built up.
interesting than the story of how E
was founded and began its
in whose brain the idea ori

story
None is more
ast Carolina Teachers College
Service. It would be difficult to tell
ginated, or to locate the exact birth-

 

19
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

hee ie rintendents
place. But it is well known that county erin catide rine om rrna
and principals in the eastern section of the 1 fc a training school
had from time to time discussed the neec a prio eisai
that would supply the rural schools with ep Rabe
familiar with the two-year normal schools in ¢ ator eae
The splendid work being done by the ae ne pnt onsey res
already existing in North Carolina having “te es rant
training of teachers was greatly appr ial in the eastern
claimed, however, that the rural war Apirert raakes the supply of
part of the State, got little benefit from t rr wert ite
teachers was not equal to the demand. Most : as hierar charter
absorbed by the cities and towns which oo - ame pars
schools Interest in the cause went beyond € ‘| ding astute
The laity became interested. Leading one oe hyn pani
lawyers and shrewd politicians, were: Griliave ey oe ‘n -Elizabeth
a result, a bill for the establishment of wae of ' it failed to pass.
City was introduced in the Legislature of yet once alive and the
In the two years that followed, the cause ‘cal i a involving the
agitation continued until it became a political iss
old east and west division of the State. ORT ONE +
As the idea spread, one town after anot a it oh a school.
benefits to be gained from having located a al of Pitt
William Henry Ragsdale, superintendent of . ne poets ptt
county, was one of the first sf seienn senate con ta eanil
interested. He was a man of strong epeiageses 3 aan Pict de*
larized the idea of a normal school in the — ra per ante ee
the legislature could be induced to establish et nada
Mr. Ragsdale believed his own town, Greenvi tr sitizens of the
school located there if he could arouse prc ni se do this
town to strive for it. He knew the sensor onan ee bey Woe
depended upon getting the political jeaders i h pene only had
for it, and Greenville had certain oc ees ; a
political influence but were statesmen as ih # sis knew how te
A good mixer and a good psychologist, ape ‘professional ad-
talk town pride to one group, educational an Z .d inéeaatiale
vantages to another. Able and popular, he worke
for the cause. tela as J. Jarvis,
Greenville’s leading citizen, pies et a eye PS was
North Carolina’s “grand old man”, who py the state’s greatest
won over to the cause. Although ae pst: eae pas during his
educational governor until the time of 4 os of state support of
administration had been a strong — ti he had seen no
the University and of the public school “i Act tin Gat Ghen
need for special training for teachers. © + it. At the crucial
that if a person knew a thing he could teach it. 4

 
20 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

time, however, he came in with th
Pll get the school for you.”

Greenville lined up her forces and left no stone unturned in
her preparation for the fight, in which other towns and leaders
were joining.

While to the general public the organization in Greenville was
to get the school established, its purpose ultimately was to get it
established in “our Town.” Before the General Assembly of 1907
had met, a committee of eighty persons from Greenville and other
sections of Pitt County had been appointed by the Greenville
Chamber of Commerce. This committee was thoroughly or-
ganized, with Ragsdale as general chairman and Jarvis as chair-
man of the steering committee. When State Senator James M.
Fleming, one of the strongest supporters of the cause, went to
the Capitol, in his pocket was a bill for the establishment of such
a school with no mention, it seems, of its location. Fleming
introduced the bill and bore the brunt of the fight that followed,
especially in the Senate.

Introduced into the Senate on January 31, 1907, the bill im-
mediately afterwards was introduced in the House, meeting with

e promise, “If you do as I say,

no opposition at first. Then it came before the Educational Com-

mittee, at which point strong forces began to line up against it.

Some of the opponents were fearful that a new school would
weaken their own institutions or causes, or lessen their share of
state appropriations. Other opponents had pet measures which
they thought the new cause might obscure. Still others thought
the bill might interfere with the legislation pending to extend
public schools into the high school field.

Jarvis was the leader of a strong group of citizens from the
eastern part of the State which appeared before the committee
to plead for the school. He said:

“The bill has the distinction of being the one important measure
before this session of the legislature against which not one word
of opposition was uttered before the reference committee.”

Governor Glenn made a special address before both houses,
uring the passage of the bill.

After a hard fight, compromises were made.
appointed to draw up a substitute combining the teachers training
school bill with the high school bill. This combination bill was
finally passed as one act entitled: “An Act to Stimulate High
School Instruction in the Public Schools of the State and Teachers
Training.” It was ratified on March 8, 1907.

Fortunately for the success and growth of the training school,
the items in the law regarding it were briefly, simply, and directly
stated, with emphasis on the purpose. The very small amount
of machinery attached to it was dependent on the needs and de-

A committee was

 

1
BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION 2

mands of the public schools. Its purpose was “a ae
training school for young white men and a a
was “to give young men and women such an or renee
training as shall fit and qualify them for teaching 1
schools of North Carolina.” pal
Upon the Board of Trustees was placed ee
working out details, the act merely specifying ee ‘ on y onal ste
the course of study of said school”, they yee 8 rata > he
phasis on those subjects taught ae public schools 0
and in the art and science of teaching. ma
The small appropriation shows plainly — heme |
to be anything more than a small, local affair, . ee peeled on
the means elsewhere, not from the State. poo not por at
propriated originally for the purpose of in ie ee
the buildings” and the “sum of $5,000 —s cee =
of maintaining said school,” the latter amoun aa eed age
the joint appropriation of $50,000 for the high s
teachers’ training school. ie
Whether the school should be large or rs, Sa bees
pended upon the amount given by the oneen
to be located. The conditions for the location fo 7 if ee
“That the said town or county in which said — tociaa a.
shall contribute the sum of not less than = dts Goal
construction and equipment of said bub ey wed ati meaphael
property shall be in the name of and be heid by
Education.” : : : ae
The section of the Act which needed yep airing aggre
the part on location, directing “that said school go eee North
by the State Board of Education at such a point - apie i
Carolina as they may deem proper, and shall ae regard to
that town offering the largest financial aid, = a naok”
desirability and suitability for the location 0 vt ws peli A
The State Board of Education set to von 5 aay sang tt a
notice stating the conditions for the bid, an 4 A peg ars
decision, was published in the newspapers of t “ aed pyre
22. Eight towns entered into competition for t ih ney toate
school, met all the conditions, and stayed in until
was made. agp,
The towns were given hearings and presented elie
The members of the Board visited each town, Ww _ susie ale
ceremony and had all the advantages of the tow n Pt centres
them. Each town hoped it would win when due —_ mnt
given to “desirability and ese aR oo it is true,
town had some advantage peculiar to itself. a
Rivalry was intensified by postponement of se Pn i
that towns which wished to revise their bids cou iS

 
ae ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

them in written form. One town, Greenville, had centered its
attention on one point, “the largest financial aid’.

The permit issued to the contesting towns for a bond election
to raise the sum pledged by them for establishment of the school
Specified that such election could be held before or after the
decision as to location was made by the Board.

Greenville held its bond election before, instead of afterwards.

Jarvis, who was still chairman of Greenville’s steering com-
mittee and who had promised to get the school for Greenville if
given a free hand, had called together the same committee that
had worked for the bill and had convinced its members that the
town giving the largest financial aid would naturally be con-
sidered the most desirable. The committee organized a campaign
reaching every person in the county by using the schoolhouses
as meeting centers. This was the first time found on record that

the school houses had been used as community centers in that
section of the State.

Furthermore, Jarvis convinced his fellow
the town presenting legal assurance of the sum it offered for the
establishment of the school would win out over those which
brought only promises. His co-workers were amazed when they

paid by the
But he made an
the returns the

committeemen that

heard him propose the sum of $100,000, half to be
town of Greenville and half by Pitt County,
eloquent appeal that had in it prophecies as to

town and county would get for their investment.

The committee voted for the plans Suggested and later,
polls, so did the citizens of both town and county. In the election,
the town voted almost 100 percent for it and the county gave ita
large majority. Financial Support had thus been assured before
Greenville presented her bid. With this advantage over the
towns basing their bids on promises, Greenville won. Jarvis lived
to see his prophecies fulfilled and the leaders who were alive in
1937, when the bonds were retired, at the end of the thirty years,
could testify to the value of the investment to the community.

The exact site within the town was the next question to be
decided. That there Should be no dissension to create local
factions it was agreed that no preference should be shown by the
local committee for any site, but that all eight offered should be
submitted to the Board of Education. Consideration was given
to four, and the decision finally fel] upon the one now occupied
by the institution.

The State Board of Education, in the meantime, had appointed
the nine members of the Board of Trustees of the school which
finally was named East Carolina Teachers Training School, the
State Superintendent of Public Instruction making the tenth.
These trustees had power to “acquire and hold property, manage

at the

23
BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION

“Training School” chartered
and conduct said school”. With the epg a ie phe to the
and the location selected, the institution was . NR eh
newly appointed Board with instructions, as soon é pt necessary
organization, “to proceed to build oo nd “do all other things
buildings”, “make rules and regulations, Bours oe ee
necessary to the carrying out of the Act — - edinecs wisp 4

The Board of Trustees met and organized i eae ae
1907. James Y. Joyner, by virtue of his Ate Ke ado Ormond,
man. He and two other members, ee had oe eakeue ie
> ° ew E A S ml ese ; ¢ ;
formed the executive committee. Picadas. the tae
leaders in the fight for the school. rene hfs pring ace was the
member who could keep in wary tar tahoe fought valiamtly

i y ad as State Sené } :

shairman. Ormond, who had as Pi eee ee
oT htt serving as a member of bpadidaige> oF ths ae

prepared the substitute bill which finally ; shige
Oe, bee Seteuins Se. bs W ihe ate of a building com-
is committee were assigne astern outskirts
mittee. Ieacqired agence a Rr tee: and

7 oar Pe

: 7i 2 one selected by the sh pep pesettcetet 0
fricpabetee tect to work in earnest, conducting oF se peer oe
among architects for the plans for plotting hay Pte rp bids
buildings. After selection of the plans cata at foe a
ffom contractors were considered and the
buildings was awarded. 2 hy Jarvis—a momentous

r 2, 1908 by Jarvis ire

y yas broken on July 2, 1908 Dy datvis— thi alike os

eee He volctel the first shovelful of 1 t pode of the
sion. plies ray.

the first building to be started, at poe ©

East Dormitory, later known as Jarvis ‘as made up largely of

The group assembled for the ceremony W Tksin the school for
men and women who had worked hard to oe day gives the fol-
the town. The Greenville Reflector the next daj
lowing report of Jarvis’ address: foundation for a great

in the foundé sosth
“We have met here to begin ig ee eran
institution of learning that will be a “pehegeran you your

Carolina. I ask for you and those tap 1 never begin to

hearty support of this institution. We pate especially
calculate the value it will be to Parth | lly to Pitt County
to this eastern section, and more especial!)

and Greenville. j an oli os Lam. ae

i re live to be as old as

“When these standing here when Pitt County anc
will look back with pride eclag en een gs this great
: = 22.0 or e fu]
2enville gave $50,000 eac ' ie nae: Maen

Paya — year from now you gah will open.

buildings, and in September 1909 this great s¢ a

¥ will in to see four or five hundred beauti : ye *

ou w J cS AE AOS :
these buildings Watch and see the prediction con

 
ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

“Dear, you have worked enough now.
more.”

“This is a work of love and not labor,” replied the “Grand
Old Man” to the admonition of his wife. He had been digging
all the time he was talking, not Seeming to realize how
oppressively warm the weather was, nor to heed the drops of
perspiration falling from his face.

The ladies and gentlemen present then formed a semi-
circle about T. J. Jarvis as he stood with shovel in hand and
photographer R. T. Evans took a picture of the group.

It is too warm to do

was to be

nto of the
hich has appeared on anniver-

yer, is a plain shovel, not thus
ornamented.

On the third anniversary of this beginning those who had been
present must have enjoyed the contrast between the two scenes
and ex-Gov. Jarvis must have viewed with satisfaction the large

audience, including more than three hundred students, that had

iplomas had been presented to
the first class to graduate and had heard Josephus Daniels, later

Secretary of the Navy, then editor of the News and Observer,
deliver the address. In the three years most of the prophecies

had come true, a great deal had been done, “much water had
passed under the bridge.”

Jarvis given closer attention
ness than he gave to the affairs of the school.
visits to the campus, following the erection of
watching every detail. His interest never flagged. Ormond came
over from Kinston and Joyner from Raleigh whenever decisions
were to be made about matters of importance. Full records were
kept and reports made of plans and progress, together with
itemized statements as to expenditures until the smallest articles
of equipment were in place, even to the garbage pails and waste
The plant that was ready for the opening of the school
was composed of six buildings: a large dormitory for girls, later
known as Wilson Hall, which was completed according to the
plans of the architects; a boy’s dormitory, later named Jarvis
Hall, the first unit of which was completed; an administration
building, now Austin Building, containing the auditorium, offices,
and classrooms, the plans of which called for wings to be added

private busi-
He made daily
the buildings,

 

25
BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION

“refectory” ;
later; the dining hall, designated x. cetera tai Mse nego
3 ; and power house an oe eri
be Hens gy last ee had been built from an additional app
u i s
priation from the Legislature of 1909. ae ae
In excavating, quicksand was discovered un

° r the
i of water under t
i ildi and a natural spring oo ond
eters had to be used to correct the form

tiling pipes to drain the latter.

i ident, finding the rig rage
to ‘ue alae ene was another task delegated to

st that was in
Executive Committee, and to this they gave poe seco tnaoee anos
them, realizing this was a matter of far eae peri t::
those Soya sereplbabeean ew reeriestoeioe ai on the minutes be-
They kept their poops rand nar yrocrnvatln them, December 31,
hen the task was ass io rogress”
1908, and the ~stnctiba, June 11, + apf bivtscemetbea o
re April ne ee lin min a ee dunts of the members of the
: : , in s we
mmittce, at least. Although the list cannot crear
ith vtusteeetiater heard later. It was esag4 pene vob ego 8
this a job that must find the man rather than one to be sought
by ‘en. The requirements fell roughly 2 native of the state
of background, education and experience. se they thought his
was preferable to one from outside a a poe eo a
knowledge of the people and their needs an If he had taught or
give him greater depth of mrs a ‘tter as he would bring
studied elsewhere, that would be all the ; e soe ania haved walle
in new ideas. Consideration would be given, snivaiaity and bie
only to a graduate of a high class — ioe was then a new
study should have included special work eee nee, either within or
field, that of Education. Successful pein a and school adminis-
outside of the State, in teaching, es choo qualifications at
tration were necessary. Few could meet ts were automatically
that time, therefore most of the pr oor’ sepa
eliminated. The limitations made = as
required more time and a wider sear . ;
Records alone could not sey ne fa
be called a “listening campaign,” gettin

itati F d to : :
ile ae reine and must have his own
a : ac u ge 6)
Sufficient. Jarvis was a j

‘ d
i i ssions of the character an
4 j t, his own impression ear psig s
rar ae himself ; furthermore, oe =
tit hie vanes on his ideas and ideals, and his a

School in particular.
Several men approached measure

sewher eliev
Were either interested elsewhere or b

ht man to recommend

definite, but

He pursued what might
g opinions and estimates
records was still not

d up to the standard set, but
ed the institution would

 
26 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

never be more than a small local school. They did not see it as

No letters

ply to one he had

if he were interested,
he frankly said that he
m, but that he would not

he was given a tip that,
to get the position;

might consider it if it were offered hi

seek the place,
The first definite ste

put in a long distance t

Wright to meet him in

before the date set for Exactly

what passed between the two men at that conference is not

known, but it must have been highly satisfactory to both. Jarvis

requested Wright to return to Greenville with him go as to be
on hand for the mee

Mr. Wright in for conference.”
ment of his election and his ¢
the whole Situation was
acceptance on the other,

mutual agreement virtuall
was set at $2.5

in the boys’

Water, li

Opening in the ear
This confe

there that
right found

, and in giving him a Board of
“free hand,” the one condition that

27
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

‘5 arvis and
ae yas proffered. Jarv ’
atter i yhen the position was Pp) ver had cause
ager eee of the executive 2 agensantrrgiP to the
en a pes choice. Time and ry 9 Sr! of the
Board that nape. He: yor hands of Reobist H. Wright
; the school in the nid ave realized.
=n ode ed any of them at the time Pango and his
paged a the prospect had been to them, : ~ en to give them
Ph wens far beyond theirs and he knew
beatae ity had come to
The right man had been found and — np tthe the big
is ive .

ight to return to his na ; East Carolina

ack meee institution that later became

Teachers College.

TIVE ADVISERS
JARVIS, JOYNER, ORMOND STRONG EXECUTIV
’

resident, he
3 : . the hands of the p , of
Tat rship passed into s far. the members
8 ac ibe te aa had been leaders me att eo them as ad-
his pieidees committee, to withdraw, a pres was the relation-
vediog bia lides. Especia ee ether in
Sh bela art Wight Tes ew ile together
Ship between s i A Thich ideals, fa ’ day
ethos re partnerships in whic vit r, hardly a day
ta x cron Ly Until Jarvis died six init problems. If
chased that the two did not meet and re ‘the school, Wright
we tape ay his usual daily visi 7s think alike, opinions
ri i eh oak They did not a vias of vital
differ 4 of would take a staunch stand mots rights and
" antacids to him, but they respected an his statesmanship,
theca The ripened wisdom of the one anal the political in-
seasoned by his years in public life, — his advanced ideas of
Sa ees wot a in turn, by his jer man
E f the other, who, in tur i t the olde
impaled wate and his faith 7 im ae :
looking towards the future with Thomas Jordan Jarvis’ eon
. “Any F ” 5 « j ng
In a manuscript on “Governor : “J was fortunate in bel
: ion.” Wright says: st dependable
bution to Education, Wright ras the most dep :
ee: > associated with him. He was ite Governor Jarvis
eee, Stes puso "eer" I would not ng ae : have ever
counselor I have ; ras the wisest mz : t
an a sad scholar, but he was ie ut he did no
as a profound et manhood he taught “agi a ana toda,
known. In his young He was, as thousands 0 > en i
y ¢ Pe ee ? ° m C .
pt potion ng Se if a person knew a thing he a cl leaving the
eee co d 7" lacing responsibility on duties . He was
. He believe pre es the administration of hows ‘gui better in-
Sen yer yield his preconceived ideas
always willi yle
formed than he.”
Wright gives one : a On a
Yielding to the judgment of others

+. fairness in
: . arvis’ fairness
atta istrating Ja ‘ :
meu gue lees point on which he did not

 
ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION 29

public schools but to other state educational institutions. As a
result, he saw it as part of the whole.

Yancey T. Ormond, a strong member of the bar of eastern
North Carolina, one of the leaders in the Senate in the fight for
the school, was, doubtless because of his reputation for fair-
mindedness, made chairman of the joint committee that drew up
the substitute bill that was finally passed. When his town failed
to get the location of the school, that did not affect his loyalty
to the cause; he could work as well for it in the rival town. If it
had gone to Kinston he would probably have been the adviser
closest to its president. He was a staunch supporter of Governor
Jarvis. He served on the executive committee until his death,
in 1922, working untiringly for the interests of the school,
throughout fifteen years of his service.

The three men were warm friends, knew each other well and
Ps either worked together for other causes or had been worthy
oes. The young president who had not had their experience in

ae before legislative committees and in diplomatic relation-
ships wisely profited by their experience, either leaving such
from them. He

g up the school,
both those that

lly delegated to
commenda-

— = the executive committee, which they, after careful con-

+ sor ee presented to the Board of Trustees and that only the

Ri gon ad power to act on many matters of importance. He was

prnn who wished to usurp the powers of others and always

wae ered it his duty to execute the orders of the Board, if there
e orders, and attempted to execute them wisely.

The mutual confidence of President Wright and his Board from
he complete understanding

ao largely to his advisors or taking lessons
rim that his part was to do his best in buildin
pai staan defined the powers that were his,
es rally belong to the president and those especia

m. He realized that it was his function to make re

quickly.
a is the president, after all, who is held responsible for the
Ri Be or failure of an educational institution. His is the praise
ital is the blame, and President Wright found he was No ex-
“ah lon. He had his share of both, from the beginning, but he
pairs generous in sharing the praise with his co-workers and sup-
amd 2 giving credit to the Board or Trustees and to his staff,
id not shirk taking the blame on his own shoulders.

 
ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

WELL-EQUIPPED FOR HIS LIFE WORK

When Wright entered upon his task as president, he was young
enough to have enthusiasms, isions, and dreams, but old enough
to know that these must be turned into realities in order to
amount to anything. His whole career thus far had proved this.
All of his earlier life, especially his professional experience, now
can clearly be seen as preparation for his culminating career,

" part in giving him the endowment j
make a “born teacher.” Inheritance must have
to do with it, as his mother

The very
seemed to sense the tea
young, for as a boy he r
with gratitude thos
as “good teachers”
could give them.

t takes to

had somethi
was ranked as one of the

texture of hig mind was such that he
cher quality in others even when quite
€sponded to good teaching, remembering
e instructors whom he intuitively recognized
» and this seemed to be the highest praise he

 

s teacher.

arner as teac

as much lear
ss ealized that he —
t more advancec

As a boy teacher he must ee .
While he found his calling ear ys d later withou
not go far in it without college, an
study and preparation. Se: maga it

Easy success never satisfied him. anced he saw other objec

alls it ireams or ambition, ashe adve sidedly practical side.

Seakan rear the same time he had a gr how to go about
eo ne Soper and had ideas of h

e knew wh: Pte

ing i “ees 3s stood him in

7 ag: i ‘eached college this Leer haere in his

Sahar wo tee to have been no pagar re he was

dd ste as s § : eae ‘ 2
ee hive Hg In his selection of studies 7 needed and could
university life. -perience had taught him - for departmental
psoralen savas It was too early d that he thought
oc me bata all the courses he could fin
education, @

It matters little whether one

; i 7 to teach.

would help him in learning seen geet SR

“Having studied the science ne ws alae

under Dr. Alderman, I oe — prospectus sett

P i -ed in ‘ 1. idan

teaching,” he announcec ning his aeuree, stanho|

C Soapcirvetes him as an

: s for his first school after earni! anew peaches
erga! eae ee authorities recomn

igh School. e SIT}

heory and practice,
d for the duties of
t out soliciting
the Stanhope

layed en-
: by the delay :
, ras gained by oF ast tos
raat acher is time wa : > trial ar
experienced teacher, — passed through the soemhenie aint
re 2 «) e, as Pp c L is same ‘ > ie
ae Pritt teacher. In 7 School is found his
oben “the ptresies of the Stanhope a <
: rs > 1etnoas. ss an
promise to use “the most advanced 86 a trained instructor bega!
The e trance into the profession as a University. Stanhope
ran é j } ” “a 5 maa
with pes first position after leaving et shortly before, was
High § h ] whigh had been an academy u ious career. In the
1 School, whict sch ae - ning his serious eS
a iets i place for prpaning § mye frst formal yin sae
: - ; what must be > his educationa
rospectus presents what ; of his e
deca ee pata might be called gree states, is “to make
“Clare j 2 Sle ~» isis
articles of faith The aim of a, ae Kone of the country ,
articles of fez 4 ; ” «The he h.”
ssible. : f its youth.
t St men and women poss , cation 0 ) a
— “sp ow : say, “depends upon the vie see towards his
Th goes on id sa) : .graph that shows he is
€n comes the parag a i
‘ is world, and the
later work: nost in this world, an By
ink does the mos ink is a failure;
“The man who can thin and women think is < sg et
‘ai ; nen é ‘nd so its ow! é
teacher w ails to help n ind so its
ie who soe strive to develop the sell be based upon the
: oi vie Mia tic nore life; i.e., our course ¥ that the child be
Se it in a 1S dally es This requires é aye
i oe ible, and that his
ic ee the f teaching. 1! yssible, anc
ae Penge: favorable environment oe glish this we must
ace J] eee r .
ee in the mapper oy In order to acco pn careful in the
rn veh eae ‘d teachers, therefore we are :
'e well-trained te wa
Selection of our assistants.

 
32

Pproval upon the
She remembered him
ould have liked most: “He

experience in the personal supervision
dormitories and on the athletic field.

ys.” While this implies

were wasted teaching

IS a testimonial of his
success.

But Wright’s work w
The ambitious young m
or a minor place.

chosen to be principal of this new gs
at that time.” “He w

re See en :
would be a good thing for uggested that it

such members 5
time for pedagogical study and reading pa tr a have
better results come from Systematic effort.
Getting teachers alread i
study, he discovered in th
secret of keeping them u

 

33
BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION

é * supervision
istration included that of supe

principal’s idea of admin e quality of their

over his teachers and responsibility for th
teaching.

The suggestion was made the next f
for all to take up some outside i oa
“glad to take up again and carry peo (we
Psychology class begun the year befor ie
new members.” In connection with sl a seed
ciation, he was conducting evening classes
teachers. ce ~~"

Administrative policies inaugurated a imatatins”
were followed for many years afterwards. “4

t fall that it “would be well

and the leader would be
d the work of the
d would “welcome
achers ASSsO-
for the city

o years

D AT 60
Rosert H. WriGHT AT THE AGE OF 22 AN

i ikeli d have
vould in all likelihooc

ras are his peers, and he would 1 Eobecemgprr bog
reached < e ie Ne public school <a gate ~
that city or i some other, if he had enone. fics apap
field His rapid rise from classroom to riiag Soto by
cation that he would undoubtedly have ee — gorge

Little time was left from resigns — i Sng
researches that would lead to the doctor's eg ee
i ee oh eee for awhile to eg nh ge
cei a thoug pie ee College, Columbia Univ ce Sov -
mieantime ee the Mecca for teachers, especially

Ae ime, a

 
had a chance to test his ic

before he accepted the
the school devoted to teacher tr

Twenty-one years
old boy tau i
he returned to
was to give

were these:
officers

DOSition

aining,

 

35
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

= ion to
Plans were immediately = gehen es
s for whom eo &£ 4 woe
n and women . its purposes an
rien _ Fn clearly and cea pang ig wished to
>a avis which it offered both fos ng = who wished
become teachers and for those avanp Se that only cog in-
vag ‘t was ms ally és d these

ae raining, it was made equa ’ ‘each these an

shag pagers were wanted. How to reac

only was the problem. secretar :
Claude W. "ilcon, Whe ad. Se aoe See
Board, was elected business na the president was an
: yas ° n - e
ati same meeting whe ‘ong supporter 0
pia i partes: S he had been . yeaa in Eastern
cite Woes Vea earlier stages, and he the school. See
N rth Carolina who would be benefited bj resident and business
The Board of Trustees directed ac presenting the aro
* rospectus pres vas adde
; repare and issue a prospec . Ragsdale was
ahvet acer and its pahletrepe oe Pe deain 00 and po
staff j ble capacity 0 s on supervision a
cp cneatalt in oh taealie to deliver engages ct of field repre-
time cu , The president, business sts oa institutes, to
a a directed to attend county — and to appear on
de mop ial dy to assist in these institutes
e rite ‘ ssis
their programs. f
ghee 3 2 ans 0
Superintendents, principals, and en institution as the means :
forward to the establishment of this ath Carolina, were 1n the
helping the public schools in eastern ey ys wished to become
best position to know what girls ss “4 for teachers. Many
teachers and were capable of being ae wish to avail a
Sic eae eae would almost cert Sire y Beyond U is
ae fic cheertans to get further oe ek boarding
See IBN sual campéz : stion
there was little publicity. The usua zis f the question,
cate eabet Ge eas up” stadeits ae OF Designed for
precluded by the very nature “ vee to those concerned,
Poe! sre presented directl;
teachers, its claims were presen >
Without waste of time or effort. or two or three years when the
The agitation about this school for twe 1 when several towns
fight toe le for its establishment on had attracted wide
i . tea ie ir spirited bids for its location | ction of buildings
ies: ee = heat was broken and peas the State. But
‘eae “agul “ 4. that was news published all ir out of the news
f a, e it had practically a pe atietiek: Salt:
or € Taayr . yr a aed ‘ ’
Shirin tena l that could e yt were in suspense,
*e i -inted or related. gh see if the fair
ta ar sc ee everybody waiting to sé
a public standp ’

Promises would be fulfilled.

in every way possible.

y of the original

achers who had been looking

 
26 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Public interest and enthusiasm had to be revived and tur
practical ends—not an easy task, Much of the work of reaching
the public could be left to the presiden

; t's two aides. One of these
had been a leader in the campaign for

the school’s establishment,
an for the schoo] men; the oth

er, a school man
also, had been a member of the first oT. stees, familiar
with everything about the institution. Both men Were popular.
Ragsdale was on home ground, using the Same tactful methods

he had used in popularizing the cause, now strengthened by the
fact that the long-talked-of hopes of Superintendents, principals,
teachers and prospective teachers could at last be realized. Wilson
also knew the field but all looked to th

e new president for le
ship and direction. He must set the

course,

Once started, the school, they were convinced, would meet with
such success that it would “gell] itself.” Pressure should not be
brought to bear on groups or individuals. Artificia] means would
not be resorted to in attracting students.
as inducement except showing
was their policy, and their fait

Students came,
rollment in later ye:

ader-

and they have
very doors Waiting to
coming jn When the

They were at the
be admitted, crowding the carp
shavings were swept out.
females and 19 males,” ¢

In the g
enrolled, most of them teachers who came str

classrooms and returned to them in the fall wi

fresh inspiration. Dormitories wer

available rooms in the town we

attended during the regular

school, so there were 462

full year of four-terms.

promises as to numbers were fulfilled, ;

originally set for the ultimate e

were passed the very first year.
Rural communities, it was anticipated, would

majority of students and receive the chief benefit.

years especially this proved true, as the statement has bee

that 85 percent of the Students the first year were

sections. The proportion was in about the same Percentage as

that of the urban and rural population. No comprehensive study

has been made in late years. 4
In a very short time there we

and in the last years ave

ummer, 330 were
aght from their

; th new ideas and
e filled and pr

re occupied. Only for

nrollmer

furnish the

 

37
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

-ed in any period covering
variation to include practically all hundred in any p :
» pee é s ar ely loca
a few years. had argued that the school se agee grein dew
a prophets. In the ie earn Pitt County
prove " a “ her states. J : ing
: ‘ : s and four othe ng - neighbori
sven 4 sates Gk and has rere eee and some
est sn Prt lo have not ranked pra boncrOs
counties at a distance have been strongly

T FACTOR
FACULTY STABILITY AN IMPORTAN

he faculty by
n assembling t taka l
r rd of Trustees had begu! . time they electe
5 a o et time teachers at the aia general quali-
rns ae they evidently had in mind t co natives of the
the — uiding them in their choice. 58 V all had had pro-
a ee of colleges of high ptane s iaitked in teacher
nods al training in institutions that po i a The three
ee teat and had had graduate work In univ and History, took
sada tal subjects, English, ee Two whom they
i ag pieones became three le ebgon Ries “esther
care of w pang Ses rg yeeros
é ee eae 0 do part time teac largest an
eons er od naturally to become the
depar ; as . :
important ier pre 4 geek worthy of pat ge a
rsonnel of the first faculty 18 Work! the first decade, es
Nine won influence on the anon ten were still with
ete 7 Of the thirteen on the charter s i ‘remained who were
age | in its thirteenth year ; three others re
e schoo ‘ 7

the " t ff bef re t e Ss e e ? [ se k y the
hes prought
7 a ore h 2 first year nded. |

- faculty still here in | ; iv
number from the first year faculty rmanency is a test. “ie
year up to thirteen, a lucky number if eg side with Dr. W rb

> a . | T wal
4 faculty were working side by §s is significan
‘ st faculty were wo 1 tebe habe it ites
Pry wig tes nearly twenty-five meer started was repre-
that Paces department with which the ai teenth vear, the first
sented in the number remaining - eae a college. Teachers were
peace the institution began to function th ah was seldom complete
© « oe Ve.” n . yas
_ s expanded but ; t. There was
added as departments expan +, anv department.
wrote i at any one time in any depa ’
3 evolution. Ase spart-
ee a ecule in organizing the pana
ini ri Vilson an ice: sperience in a ted :
at ann an was a man whose exper invaiuable member
> ve x « c .
—— = nes rg another state made ae wr Post and the first
Py pe es te President Wright hac ned the business
of the staff, meagre Mr. Wilson, having ei took charge of
2 ‘a 1m. . rears later,
eas ony Rec to a treasurer two years 4 devote his time to
ang 5 » a > ‘
the Gece nt. Mr. Austin was then ea achat the geography
the Scion va artment from which later eee death in 1929.
> ¢ ont, . s re
oe thich he continued until
cepartment, with w

 
ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

i ae ;

sO nN SS MICE

CHARTER MEMBERS OF THE Facutty, 1909

Beginning at top row:
Brrpie McKINNey, Latin: Satur
Mathematics; Mamie BR. JENKINS,
JENNIE M. Ogpen, Home Economics;

AUSTIN, Science; ROBERT

Kate W. Lewis, Art; W.
Joyner Davis, History;

H. Raaspatr,

FANNIE BISHop, Piano;
H. Wricut, President.

Maria D. ¢
English; C. W. WILSON, Education; Mrs.

Education:
*RAHAM,

HERBERT E.

 

39
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

i i ith the Education department,
Rec ica ane ne gt aah combined =e
a8 side eaaiai? the second Age psig hirntye gees.
‘ re nin ee
a aye: ry dngdipe on? of special er
Spee see rs had any training for it although : W oO
i ra oc be ni This was one of the original “ee —
sts i ia the State has been immnaneiarens. Faster
erin die parecer the art work in the Greenville City =

ikea ” ‘ d full time.
giving half time until the “Training School” demande
6

Lin 1934 * 4
Memeers oF First Facutty STILL vo a Wricut, Kate W.
7 7 ace IS AMIE E. JENKINS, . “ADOWS.
SALLIE JOYNER Bate ig pcre D. GRAHAM, LEON R. Mean

The school was
. first summer. . h
ics sic was added the : ETS d into the
ety anne in getting this ae & ine masts.
v7 ¢ Pp Yr g i.
Tab ae ‘ the teacher, a former , fifteen years she
dy Shea an to popularize it in the fiftee
more sc s,
° i faculty. seiko teacher, and
— np furnished the first ggg ie ape
eabo , ge iecessors in the years to follow. Moss atheage Br
my ieatraeine was needed that first boy gal ae
students, so another was at ee | ater member of the
ary r subject taug ieee Stagg ; high school
‘ Latin, snot a for a short time after — valine
Sond bad mei dropped, but, combined with o
Ourses ha ‘

 
40 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

forming the language department, was restor
tution became a college. Home Economics wa
winter term of the first year, with the teache
also for the first few years.

Leon R. Meadows, who joined the staff befo
first year, coming in the summer term as te
twenty-four years later became president
Teachers College.

Charter members of the staff, strictly speaking, are those who
were present at the opening, the president, the nine members of
the faculty, and the lady principal, in char
the students, a physician who made r
health of the students, and the president’s secr

Thirteen was the total, but the number did
fixed. Those added at any time during the firs
the fourth term, the “summer school,” who be
members of the staff, formed the “first
members” frequently referred to in late
the two teachers mentioned above was a “custodian of records”
whose duties were those of the registrar, and who was installed
by the second opening, and she, too, has served continuously ever
since.

Henry Page, in a visit to East Carolina
that he discovered the secret of its phenom
found that it had the same president and a large pr af
the same teachers that started the institution ic gibatiins oF
gether. They had been able to do constructive wo
upheavals, no tearing down and st
purpose and objectives. This stability und
influence.

Dr. Wright at the opening of the twentieth
appreciation by saying: “It is the spirit of t
given the spirit to this institution that has permeated the student
body, and it is this spirit that has done the great work,”
“Oneness of purpose” had characterized the faculty from first
to last, although it had grown to nearly sixfold the size in twenty
years. The secret of this was the power its president had of

holding them to the one purpose for which the school was
established. ;

ed after the insti-
S Introduced at the
r acting as dietitian

acher of English,
of East Carolina

not remain long
t year, i

faculty”, or “first staff-
r years. In addition to

in its mid-years, said
enal success When he

,

arting again, no changing of

oubtedly had its

year expressed his
hat group that has

PURPOSES AND AIMS CARRIED OUT IN COURSES OF STUDY

AND CURRICULA
“The purpose of the school hasn’t changed,”
said ina talk to the student-body on the twenty-fifth anniversary
of the opening of the school, “but the institution has time and

again, to meet changing needs. The objective is the same, but
the means of obtaining that objective have changed.”

President Wright

Q oda y Al
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

“Never for a moment has this institution sae ged pean
purpose,” he truthfully said, for he held gia! “ged ai
pose throughout his entire administration. i. first bill was
of this purpose has never been changed nance f siving young
passed chartering the school: “for the purpose 0 g shall fit and
white men and women such education and pig ty qeo snd,
qualify them to teach in the public nohoess. of ee Qn lol upon the

Room for growth, he saw in the beginning, Maiapeiaend erg
qualifications and fitness the public cg Se nym Bed we
teachers. It was imperative, he believed, that Mas
should meet these demands. Pe vr

The section of the law that gave him authority 5 frag Fe
should be given in the way of “education and plese rile aa
qualify” them for teaching also remained unchanged.
follows: ee is

“The Board of Trustees shall have the ghey 0 alyyrssiin
the course of study and shall lay special pe whe the

subjects taught in the public schools of the State a

science and art of teaching.” cial al

This power was entrusted to the president and Figg.
interpretation of this that he has been able to asia tale for the
needs of the public schools which have been respons
changes in the institution. oe eee ees

cure of his purpose, President Wright eco ee He
by a method that he might have called his i ts that covered
clarified the aims, itemized the fields of know ues nt ist learn
the subjects and that would be required of ecart heel aie
the science of teaching, and gave what he — pdellniey title of
for acquiring the art of teaching. Under 7 a per pee
“Aim” he has sub-divisions, each of which is In act . id curricula
which have been the basis of all courses of study —. eit
ever offered by the school. These have been fa cee ne sah
the purpose of the school and as gracing era par oar with
published in every catalogue ever issued hs i ti phrasing.
no change in meaning and with only slight ee Aor making
The number was at first six, but one of these was al ,

a seventh. This is as follows: sae
“The aim of the College is to teach 1s dtp a saifaiaa
subject-matter but also the processes by = seat ak

mind functions. Its purpose is to give the te 5 ths public

“1. Such knowledge of the studies — agen them

schools as a teacher must have in order t g

ees knowledge of other studies that are related to the

branches taught in the public schools.

 
 

 

ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

“3. A knowledge of the mental and phy
child and their methods of development.

principles of education and

Sical powers of the

“4. A knowledge of the
methods of teaching.

“5. The practical application of these principles in the
actual work of the schoolroom by practice teaching.

“6. A knowledge of the methods of organizing and man-
aging schools.

“7, A knowledge of the school law of the State.

is cee this institution aims to prepare teachers, both
theoretically and practically, for teaching j AMIE: .
North Carolina.” #m the public schools of
To translate these aims into definite units of work, courses of
study, and workable schedules was the task of that first faculty ;
to make the changes and adjustments needed to keep u with
changing standards has been the task of the faculty ever Oak
Building up of the courses of study and the curricula ness “ental
the most important work of the institution for through hows has
it done its real work. The soundness of the principles upon ‘iain \
they were based can best be judged by results. The function of
a teachers college, President Wright believed, was to train its
students to be efficient teachers in practice, to know how to —
their subject-matter and how to apply theory and principle i
their actual classroom procedure. ,
“He had_a clear sense of the function of a teacher
knew what it should do,” said a member of his first faculty who
for many years served on every course-of-study committee. “He
knew the basic elements in such a curriculum, and to that was
perhaps due the early recognition the school received rem
Teachers College, Columbia University. The term of ‘profession-
alized subject-matter’ was rich in meaning to him, as Rae dace
clearly the difference between review of subject-matter and the
use of old materials with new purposes, and the distinction be
tween devices and principles.” 5
A “course-of-study committee” revised the courses every two
years, making a report to the faculty, for action, until the faculty
became so large that this method became unwieldy. Then th.
smaller group composed of the “directors of instruction :e a title
he liked better than “heads of departments,” took the place of the
faculty. The president was a member of every committee f x
this purpose, not merely ex-officio, but as an active partici ed
Feeling free to enter into discussion of problems, he pot 1
questions to provoke discussion, to lead to a point he wished t
have brought out, or to show up weaknesses or strength om so
plan, but always holding the group to the major purpose kaa
objectives. The faculty, when the report was presented to ie

S’ college and

BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION 43

as a committee of the whole, was invited to “tear it to pieces,’
and each one was given the privilege of giving his own views.
In the formative years this method was valuable as it gence in
welding the ideas of all into one whole and tended to age en
the feeling of unity that was so desirable. Each one kept oe!
formed about the work of others and saw his own as part of t .
whole. It was stimulating and inspiring, in spite of occasiona
long meetings when tedious details or differences of opinion
caused weariness of the flesh, but this was soon forgotten. ir
President Wright’s ideas of the basic plans, or matters of erg
importance that affected the whole, usually dominated, ey >
felt this was right, that he should keep the control in his hanc 7
After the basic plans were made, the committee was conces peed
largely with adjustments, the dropping of courses for — be
need had passed, the addition of others, or the expansion ° Pa
others, the changes always marking progress. Here, as yes?
where, there were easy, logical transitions rather than radica
changes.
Difficulties were greatest in the early period when greta?
tions were being laid. Never afterwards was more wean yo
tention given to the task. Prescribing a course of -_— ba
accordance with the instructions in the charter seemec Peer gu
enough. The subjects taught in the public schools, four oe
number, were listed, as any one applying for a certificate ha °
stand an examination in all of them. These and the a
from other normal schools constituted a guide as to what shoulc
be included in the “science and art” of teaching. ee
On closer analysis, however, the task was not so easy as it
seemed at first. The apparently simple phrasing, when its we
connotations and implications were considered, gave room ir
wide interpretation. Finally, the two-year professional on
or curriculum, the one that seemed best suited to sede Aig ~
purpose of the school, was much more satisfactory jg a
faculty dared hope, as they found later they had done the eyes
work, in spite of the long succession of changes in wy spe ca :
follow. But they could not yet rest on their laurels, for ano a
course or curriculum, was demanded by those who yt eg a
the entrance requirements, graduation from an accredite : or
school or its equivalent. The president decreed that the course :
study not only should be flexible, but that there should be various
curricula designed to meet certain situations,— pm
courses,” he called them—and insisted that these shou
offered so long as the emergencies existed. Lave  er
Expressions culled from minutes and other notes . wind Ht
President Wright was determined to offer help to all, nygorshad
unprepared, who were going to teach in the public schools: ¢

 
 

44 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

what schools send out,” he said. “Star :
getty are, not where you think ee eee where they
poe ee ae iy get down to their level and moron gi
gether ‘he pangs > i wall Many other striking neh a
wards in one of hie i me re up the situation years rt .
: is talks on the anniversary of East ain idee
opening. , “ast Carolina’s
“We had some splendid theories; had s >
that we had to abandon. They did wee sneaks schemes
soon found they had to come down from where th ¥ first faculty
would start until they got in touch with the bee: io eer
eagsata nineteen years ago and they kept mh and girls that
unc what the high schools were doing. From ‘aa until they
iron a hoe institution it has been the purpose ergot d begin-
ett: e the products the high schools send th ; vonehine
e high schools left off and not leave a eimai an
the student was taught in the high school ar arti between what
weliee? and what we taught in
It was not the students who hs r
schools that caused his faculty gee Sirti from the high
gether those that had not completed high school i
then had to have sub-freshman classes or prep: er colleges
ments to take care of the students who in rioviahteidalaae aa
high schools. It had been expected that some bot accessible to
would have to be offered until the state provid ce school work
school facilities for those in the rural Petstvie’s oe high
towns. This was plainly an emergency ait pri ——
this institution against the danger SP the rates ee safeguard
merely a high school, only those not iceminthle considered as
were admitted to these courses. These ‘Mio h Sele os
contract, required of others, promising to teach t ; ‘a i Ngan
took advantage of the free tuition. Most of Ah givin aed
many continued their work through the enateialouel lee spe
Lone ack nag Sipamae, some continued thece: a apie
qutbansatl sis was earned. In later years, after entr pig
S were in terms of hours and unit credi a sicaigd
standard high school, whenever the students who a pared
high school course returned for work towards a d ~ aien this
held rigidly to the requirements and had to joa serie. Smee
ea emergency courses that taxed the inGeliader eee
held nee oy aa by people already teaching. Some of
ped si 2 certineaves and were interested in getti =
aa core ee methods. If their certificates abe 5 ht
former . : = igher certificates. A one-year course f ee
group was arranged by making provision for i wfc Ni
riched

wg of the faculty

BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION 45
review of subject-matter and adding courses in what were then
called “pedagogy” and “educational psychology.”

Short-term courses substituted for the institutes were offered
only in the spring and summer terms.
When the only requirement for admission to one course was
“Seventeen years old and going to teach next year,” the faculty
felt the bottom had indeed been reached. The argument that
convinced them the course should be given was that these people
could get schools, and while there was no hope of making them
good teachers in one year they could be made better teachers.
No credit except attendance and class grades was given to this
class. This emergency soon passed, the course was discontinued,
and not long afterwards the other one-year course was also
dropped.
Some had feared that the reputation of the school would suffer,
and the accusation was made that it was turning out “half-baked
teachers.” When it was seen that the emergency courses, which
had seemed to be short cuts, were dropped as soon as the need for
them passed, the public began to understand what Wright meant
when he said he could not promise the schools good teachers so
long as those of no training were authorized to teach, but he
could and would give them better teachers, and in time he hoped
to have the chance to give them really good teachers. His theory
was that any group for which the state issued certificates, of any
grade, must be able to get some help from the school, therefore
courses had to be arranged for them.
The vicious circle, he thought, would never be broken unless
there was improvement at every point. He did what he could to
hasten the improvement.
Wright’s far-sighted policy was not fully understood until long
afterwards, when, as the standards of certification were raised,
the standards of East Carolina were raised to those of a college.
He used the same arguments for going forward to meet these
higher requirements as he had used when he seemed to be
reaching down to meet the lower level.
When he saw the time was coming when four years of college
work would be required by the State, he did not rest until his
school was authorized to offer four years of work and was re-
chartered as a teachers’ college. The two-year course or curricu-
lum, which for the first thirteen years was the chief one, in turn
became an emergency course. He foresaw that it would pass
away, but he would not consent to its discontinuance so long as
superintendents and principals gave positions to those who held
normal school diplomas.
East Carolina Teachers’ College func
of a two-year normal school and a four-yee

tioned in the dual capacity
ur teachers college until

 
 

46 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

three years after his death. He had predicted th
come earlier but it was delayed by the retarding in
depression. None would have rejoiced more than
lived to see the institution at last utterly
four-year college, with no short or eme
moving together in one straight line.
Recognition came soon after the school began to function as a
College. In 1926 this institution was received into full member-
ship in the American Association of Teachers’ Colleges. In 1927
it was accepted by the Southern Association of Colleges aie
Secondary Schools, which placed it in the rank of “Class A”
colleges. oan

at this would
fluence of the
he if he had
and completely a full
rgency curricula, with all

MEETING THE STATE’S DEMAND FOR BETTER TEACHERS

After eighteen years East Carolina Teachers
reached its place among the American colleges of the highest
rank. Its graduates were entitled to the same rating as iss
from the best colleges, were acceptable for graduate work in the
universities, and their credits could be transferred to other
colleges.

Opposition, which had raised its head at every
affected Dr. Wright’s determination to go on. Tt merely stimu-
lated him to greater effort. Conservatives had taken as signals
for alarm every change made. Protests from well-meaning
friends as well as from others poured in to prevent the change of
the charter in 1920, and the change of name that followed a few
months later. The word “college” seemed ominous to those who
did not remember that the word “teachers” preceded it. Pre-
dictions were made that it would become a liberal] arts college
would lose its distinctive place, and gain nothing. In that case.
critics argued, it could not compete with those of long standing
reputation so would never be anything but second-rate, a college
in name only. To all this Wright paid no heed.

All he had to say in answer was summed up in the catalogue
the next year, as follows:

“To meet the demands of the State for better trained teachers
and to meet all the requirements of the State Board for the certifi.
cation of teachers, the college is now offering in addition to the
Two-Year Normal Course a Four-Year Course leading to the
bachelor of arts degree.

“Every subject in the Four-Year Course is given with a view
of making efficient teachers for the schools of our State.”

Announcement that preparation of teachers for high schools
was added to that of preparation for primary and grammar grades
brought forth another flood of protests. Hundreds of successful
primary and grammar grade teachers sent out from Greenville
had made its reputation in these fields. Many thought it poor

College had thus

advance, never

BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION 47

policy for Eastern Carolina to enter the higher field. oe
which had been the source of supply for the high school, “9
perhaps not expecting the school ever to become a formida e
rival, did not welcome the newcomer. Members of the staff, even,
were rather dubious as to the advisability of attempting at that
time a task so complicated. It would increase the load upon s
faculty already overworked. Expensive equipment for labora-
tories, a greatly enlarged library, and complex rcsescigs, M8
quiring a larger administrative staff would be necessary. : o
of them thought the college should eventually enter this field, bu
feared the decision was premature. No such fears had President
Wright. Support would, he believed, come when the work once
started met with success, and it would not come until this insti-
tution had proved it could do the work successfully. He lived to
see his judgment confirmed. : ith
Extension into the graduate field was requested, carrying : .
it the right to offer graduate courses and to confer S oe <
degree, and granted in 1929. The M. A. degree was : ae dee
order to prepare critic teachers as the colleges acetate -
schools for practice teaching. When the North erg ;
ference agreed that only those teachers holding the M. ss —
could qualify as critic teachers, Dr. Wright felt that this co oo
should offer work leading to the M. A. degree. This was in _
with the interpretation he placed from the beginning yn
purpose of the school: it was under obligations to prepare uno feat
for all the public schools of the State. -W right would _ er
satisfied, objectors claimed, until he had made the co lege &
university and that was going too far. His answer to these w as
that the certification and salary scale for high school teachers
demanded the M. A. degree for its highest certificate and salary,
its best positions, and it was not only a right but a duty to sohng
teachers for all levels in the scale. Great must have been is
satisfaction when he conferred the M. A. degree for the ont time.
He had this pleasure only one time, in the summer of 1933. 0
Never once did Dr. Wright go beyond the rights ares -
by the charter, never did he usurp authority vested in the — 3
Limitations which he saw would hamper the development ne
worked to have removed, but he did not step over priya m
long as they existed. Possibilities for growth he saw oe 4
sections of the charter that remained unchanged, but it ert -
eyes of a seer to discern them. Public schools came ee ; ~
interests were never minimized and W right insisted t . i ea
relationship between them and the institution training wae a
for them must be clearly understood. He deserved the description

that has often been added to his name.—He was indeed “a man of

vision.”

 
48 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Rural schools in 1909 were elementary sc 3 wi os
to three teachers and a term of four he gg nga
high schools had been included, the consolidation winmeeee! ree
set in, and the term increased to six months. By 1934 wt le a
high schools were large consolidated institutions in seere oe sig
eee ae ag and the term was eight months. Be akegini
Any teacher-training school that remained gs atic. satisfied wi
meeting the needs at the beginning of this Rat ae We etge tip ei
as the schools advanced, would have died at the end of a
decade. One that attempted to advance too fast, on he “40
hand, would have failed. “To go too far ahead,” Dr Wri r ia
said, “is as bad as to lag behind.” iii, eli
When asked what influence Wright had had ; RS ce
one replied, “Why Wright has been connester ee
cational movement in North Carolina for fifty years *
Considering it is his duty to keep in touch with the schools
familiarized himself with conditions and needs and nr i lived
trends in educational thought and practice. His work ee idee
went far beyond his campus. Chairman of an educatic pene
mission appointed to study the schools of the state tg ered
recommendations for their improvement, he was in a brags
position for six years. This commission, appointed in aa
two years, was continued another two years to complete its viel
and submit a printed report. Codifying the laws ellen ias =
organizing those in existence and making recommendati oe ane
what should be retained and what should be added was thee on
This work enabled Wright to acquire an intimate under vs Pa
of the various school problems, and to develop definite hes
their solutions. He could see far ahead, anticipating PE hc
> . iq raa ; sar mY * ee Bes
gal later. This was pioneer work, blazing the way for the
This work undoubtedly exerted a great influence Wars
himself which bore fruit in the later histor: ee ped: ere
whose fortunes he guided. He saw that East Carolina T —
Training School could not continue to function as a valu: ae
of im public schools if it remained merely a normal saint nai A
> ne . 7. . + PX74 > of + « = : 1
gia greater service if it had the powers of a teachers
PRACTICE TEACHING ESSENTIAL FOR ACQUIRING THE ART

edu-

Extension of the time for training was needed so that prospec
tive teachers could not only get more subject matter back sie em
and knowledge of the “science of teaching”, but could nase
longer apprenticeship and gain more experience so they wo ld
proficient in the “art of teaching”. ; mg de

Two distinctive features have been considered essential j
teacher training school, in both the normal school and pa ty

serve aq

 

BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION 49

college periods. Opportunity must be offered the “teachers-to-
be” to acquire the art of teaching, and the ‘in-service teachers”
to progress without loss of time.

The means for providing for the former has been a satisfactory
system for observation and practice teaching. The latter have
found the Summer School to be their salvation.

Practice teaching, together with observation work, apprentice-
ship, and other preliminaries, has been a requirement for the
diploma or degree. Explanations in the catalogue, although they
have varied somewhat, changing with the fashions, have been
adequate.

Each student in the two-year Normal course must do a definite
amount of teaching under close supervision during one term of
her second year. Students working for the B. A. degree must
teach for two terms. This work is preceded by carefully directed
observation. Practice teaching is directed by critic teachers,
supervising teachers who are in charge of the grades. The
teachers of Primary Education and of Grammar Grade methods,
are supervisors, in charge of the groups for each level. Teachers
from the departments supervise the groups for each subject in
the high school.

“The supervising teachers meet the student teachers in regular
conference periods, and the methods teachers have frequent con-
ferences with them. An effort is made to place each student in
the work for which she seems best fitted and she is given careful
instruction in how to handle the children and how to present her
subject. Before the close of the year each student is left in
complete charge of her class for a limited time, so that she may
try herself out under conditions approaching a real teaching
situation.”

Practice-teaching and observation of the work of master
teachers have been generally recognized as essentials in the
training of young teachers, but the means of providing for this
have varied greatly. Campus schools, variously called “practice,”
“demonstration”, “training schools”, or “laboratory” schools,
some institutions have. Sending their student-teachers without
supervision directly into the regular classrooms of the public
schools is the plan of others. Combining the two seems to be the
ideal plan, if the disadvantages of other plans can be eliminated
and the advantages retained. By such a combination East
Carolina Teachers College, in cooperation with the city schools
of Greenville, has been able to work out a satisfactory arrange-
ment by which the difficulties involved in administration and
finance have been overcome.

Utilizing grades in the local schools, President Wright believed,
was the only feasible way of getting desired results. Student-

 
 

 

50 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

teachers should teach in actual schoolrooms where they would
meet natural situations such as they would find in their don
classrooms later, he argued. The school should, however, be Son:
venient to the college so that members of the faculty could ha af
their classes observe demonstration lessons by the critic atcha
For this reason the school should be on the campus. Farther:
more, it was important that the college have supervision over the
work so as to bring theory and practice into co-ordination. The
complex plan was gradually and carefully built up from the secon |
year of East Carolina Teachers Training School when the fir ie
senior class was ready for practice teaching. :

Starting with one grade and one teacher doing double duty as
critic teacher and teacher of primary education, the system . =
until in 1934 there were thirteen teachers in the Trainin “Arbon
doing grade critic teaching and one or more in every de . ste
in the Greenville High School. ——

A grammar grade school that is a part of the Greenville school
system has been located on the college campus ever dies tose
to the mutual satisfaction of the town and the college. Dr Wri ht
knew the only way to achieve this was by building up paar
and good will and by co-operation and he bent every effort to this
end. He took into consideration first of all the children, and to rk
pains to fortify them against any damage that might be done b 7
having inexperienced students as teachers. He understood Dba
parents would not want their children “practiced on” by scho x
girls or experimented with. What he could not understand Ww -
how they would complain of these and yet complacently let =
inexperienced, untrained teacher walk into a schoolroom and shed
the door, while she bungled through trial and error methods with
her pupils as the victims. Safe guarding their interests he ]
ways insisted that experimenting with children was ‘Kot the
purpose of this school. At Teachers College he had long bef. ve
learned the differentiation between an experimental school ae
one for training purposes. : ee

Teachers of the grades who are critic teachers have dual
sponsibility. As grade teachers they are responsible for kee oh
their grades up to standard, checking closely on the pupils an
critic teachers they supervise the plans and the teaching of the
student-teachers, holding them up to high standards. My h f
the teaching is done by them while the student-teachers ree
them, and this, in itself, puts an experienced instructor
mettle.

In the meantime, for ten years practice teaching was done als
in county schools. The superintendent of the county had as
a member of the faculty from the first, when Ragsdale joined i
staff. Rural schools then differed greatly, as a rule, from the

observe
on her

 

BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION 51

“special charter” schools in the towns and cities, and training for
teaching one grade only and for several grades forming a unit
required different preparation. A rural three-teacher school in
Pitt County, the Joyner School, selected as the type in which it
was thought many of the girls would teach, was also used as a
practice school for several years until the era of consolidation
pushed out schools of this type. Practice teaching was then
transferred to the Winterville school, a typical consolidated
village-rural school. Finally, the county schools ceased to be used
as practice schools. When the Training School was built all
teaching in the elementary grades was concentrated in that. The
high school work was taken care of in the Greenville High School.
The superintendent of the city schools had been added to the
faculty in the early years. The critic teachers have been members
of both the city and college faculties. This close relationship
between the two has been largely responsible for the success of
the cooperative plan.

A unique feature highly commended by leaders in Education
was a “follow-up plan” for supervision over the graduates in their
first year of teaching. This was very successful for the few years
it was attempted. The primary supervisor of one year followed
up her students by becoming a field worker the next year. She
observed the girls in their own classrooms, helped solve the
problems they submitted to her, and held conferences with their
principals. The plan was excellent, but when retrenchment of
expenses became necessary this was one of the first things that
had to go. This plan was cited by at least one teacher in a large
university as one of the most original contributions made by all
the State teachers colleges.

SUMMER SCHOOL NEVER A TEACHER’S HOLIDAY

Summer schools have been a boon to teachers already in service
and nowhere more than in North Carolina.

Evolution of the summer school from the institute and the

“teachers holiday” of “campus courses” is one of the most in-

teresting chapters in the history of the period. In this East

Carolina has played an important part.

Institutes requiring only two weeks of attendance have been
lengthened into a full term or quarter of twelve weeks for which
college credits towards a degree are earned. Libraries are filled
with earnest seachers for information once handed out from the
rostrum by droning lecturers. Frantic efforts to fill notebooks
with devices and ready-made plans sufficient to last through the
year have given way to intelligent selection of ideas that can be
assimilated and efficient methods of finding sources and materials.

Activity and participation have outmoded passivity. Listless
audiences no longer sit patiently while speakers propound theories

 
 

 

52 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

above their heads. Now bulletins, read, digested, and kept f
reference, contain instructions as to routine matters on ys an
out orally by supervisors and representatives from hi h ve a “g
Propagandists can no longer use assemblages of ii ba rel
as convenient agencies for publicity. Contrasts are avbae ; ;
every campus. Reflections of the changes in educational chousitie
err ena have been shown nowhere more than in the summer
Seriousness marked the first summer school of Fast Caro];
Teachers Training School, which came in at See pegs
popularity of the “campus courses.” President Wright adv 4
tised that he wanted only those who were in earnest. He r rd
that his campus had never been a “summer ley gronid ; 5 ne
plaints that too little attention was paid to entertainm t sand
recreation did not disturb him. Facilities for these vis
were soon added, but social attractions were not eis sai el
ducements. ae oe
Much of the work in the early years had to conform to that of
the institutes which were incorporated in the summer gs h 1
until the county summer schools took their places. Two os a
at a summer school was allowed as substitute for attendan se :
an institute, so Pitt and the surrounding counties bent ‘their
teachers to the Training School. Continuous dropping ts and ie
of classes that would have ensued was prevented Ewe cas ei
having the schedule arranged in units of two weeks As’ :
group passed out, another would take its place in dormito ie
dining room, and classrooms. Credit for attendance onl gums
given to those who did not remain the full term of eight a been
required for completion of an entire course. The institute :
classed with other emergencies that would pass, go as
“teachers’ courses” were in demand at first, such as th 5 gid
formed the one-year classes. ‘ pee Seat
_Emphasis was put upon the regular work. Teachers gs
discovered that the series of courses in the two-year Fe ta peg
work, taken in the proper sequence, would lead to a di shay
These classes began to be filled. After years and by etree
process of elimination, only those courses given during the = te "ith
year leading to diplomas vr degrees were offered durin a
summer. East Carolina Teachers College was one of he a .
in the State to take the stand that only the regular work gs =
be given in the summer. should
“Summer term” or “quarter” and not “summer school” h
been insisted upon by the administrative officials as the corr a
designation. It has never been a separate entity. See all pd
its work has been the same us that done in the regular y rie

three quarters. ear of

BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION 53

Length of the summer term has varied, at first eight weeks;
then twelve weeks, a straight quarter equal to that of the terms
in the regular year; ard finally, the twelve weeks divided into
two terms of six weeks, in conformity with other summer schools
in the State.

Realizing they could progress without having to give up their
positions, many men and women have attended from summer to
summer and completed the whole series leading to a diploma or
degree. Girls and boys have found they can shorten their college
course from four years to three by attendance all the year around.
Graduates of the two-year class have returned to continue until
they completed the four years, some attending three summers
and then taking a year’s leave of absence. One courageous soul
was the woman who came for ten summers, first getting a
diploma but not stopping until she received her degree. Her
daughter was a classmate at one time, but dropped behind, satis-
fied with the diploma. Age has not mattered. Grandmother and
granddaughter have been in the same class; teachers and their
pupils have worked side by side.

August graduation was an innovation in North Carolina in
1911, when four members of the first senior class completed their
work at the close of the summer term and were given diplomas.
Hardly a summer has passed without a graduating class. Formal
graduation exercises have been held since 1918.

Conferring of the first degrees was in August 1922, when two
young women completed the four-year course. President Wright
himself usually delivered the August commencement address.
An alumnae luncheon was given in later years.

Vacations have been salvaged for teachers by summer schools
which have opened up opportunities undreamed of at the begin-
ning of the century. Degrees, higher certificates, larger salaries,
and better positions have been the rewards. Savings of the year
may have been spent in one summer, but the financial gain in the
end has been compensation. No loss of time has been entailed.

East Carolina Teachers College, President Wright believed, has
done its greatest work for the teachers already in service through
its summer school. Stretching the appropriation for maintenance
over four quarters must have been one of his most difficult tasks ;
even in the worst years he would not consider dropping it and
his staff supported him.

Director of the summer school for five years, Dr. Wright
studied the problems from every angle. He stood ready after-
wards to advise his successors, but turned over to them the
administrative work of the summer school while he was free to
give his entire attention to the larger affairs of the institution.
C. W. Wilson was the director until his death in 1922, when Leon

¢

 
 

 

 

54 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

R. Meadows became director. He has served in this capacity ever

since. Better training for the presidency he could not Bias
in any other position. have found

FACULTY COOPERATION BROUGHT UNITY IN SPIRIT AND EFFORT
Freedom to propose the adoption of new plans and ideas was
given members of the faculty and staff. One of the joys me
teaching here has been that teachers are left free to work out the
details of a course with no interference with their classes No
doubt was left in their minds as to the purpose of the course or
the way in which it was to function, but this did not ham ,
them. Purposeful direction in the selection and use of Hens
they felt added something dynamic, vital, to their work Ther ;
was nothing dead or dull about it, no rigid routine. Pahoa cns
teaching was not to them firing the imagination of students sn
stirring their emotions by glittering generalities or im ossibl
abstract ideas. Showmanship was not attempted, no ee
courses were given, but each course was developed on the ‘eck
of its genuine value to the students. Faculty and students aise
thus constantly advancing along progressive lines.  Ceutaos it
pace with new ideas and demands. ce at
The strength of the school, especially in its formative year
was in the intensity with which everything was focused on the
one purpose. Personalities were not submerged but were, in :
way, merged together so that president and faculty became re
in purpose and action. ¥
Some called this a “one man school.” Others cited it as
example of an institution run by a faculty. The truth lay betw m
the two. Dr. Wright was too modest perhaps when Sorvockiny
the remark of someone who called it his college, he said: “Dh ie
not made this college. Faithful teachers who have given the a
of their lives have given to this institution the spirit that “es
permeated the student body and it is that spirit that has done the
great work.” But it was Wright himself who built up this s init,
and gave it direction and effectiveness. It was, in a ver pod
sense, his college. Ma
In a university class as late as 1923 a member of t
heard a great educational leader cite East Carolina as aap
few schools successfully managed by faculty control, in which i
matters of importance were settled by “faculty action” or Ofenaae
recommendation,” and remarked that it would be interesting e
know how this was done. The answer could have been “by ‘a
president’s control of the faculty,” accomplished not by dictati
but by the gentle art of persuasion and mutual understanding ie
Faculty meetings were not called merely to adopt some ‘iat
and-dried program or ratify some decision already determin d
upon. Reports and proposals were discussed item by item, ri

 

BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION 55

quently fought through, referred back to the committee for re-
visions and not allowed to rest until both president and faculty
were satisfied. Discussions were often heated, especially when
some department had been “robbed” of hours or of a course, to
make room for others in another department. This was not envy
or jealousy, but conscientious objection for the general good.

“Railroading measures through” was rarely resorted to. Such
methods were obnoxious to Dr. Wright, who was never autocratic
in manner or disposition. Firmly he held control not by force or
dictation but by milder methods which were equally effective and
did not antagonize his co-workers.

New teachers, accustomed to mapped-out routine or handed-
out rules, to lock-step methods in departments, those accustomed
to prohibitions or inhibitions, must at first have found the free-
dom given them rather bewildering. As a rule they liked it. The
few who did not, and who hesitated to assume the accompanying
responsibility, finally dropped out.

Teachers were not engaged with the idea of placing them under
the domination of others, so far as their own work was concerned,
so there was no feeling of inferiority or subordination. Time and
again Dr. Wright said he wanted every student to feel that her
teachers were as good as any, in the lowest as well as the highest
elasses.

While the earlier plan seemed to newcomers a rather loose or-
ganization, it was by no means loose in its actual operation. It
accounts in part for the unity and harmony that prevailed, and it
left the leadership entirely in the hands of the president. He kept
in touch with all, and each teacher saw the institution as a whole.
Personal ties were strong and interests closely knitted together.
There was little danger of sharp divisions and misunderstandings.
In faculty discussions there was sometimes disagreement, and
many differences of opinion, but airing of these cleared the
atmosphere and the final decision, whether by vote, by reference
to committee with power to act, or by leaving the matter in the
hands of the president, was accepted as final. :

Efficiency, however, was Wright’s first requirement. When
growth of the institution, increase in faculty and student body,
and complex problems of administration made the old system
unwieldy and somewhat impractical, it was supplanted. In
making the change, he sought to retain, so far as was possible,
the best features of the old and to adopt the best of the new. One
thing he did not wish to lose was the spirit of cooperation, the
sense of educational freedom and individual responsibility, the
combination of independence and interdependence that had been
so largely responsible for the harmony and united effort which

had distinguished his whole administration.

 
 

 

56 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Departments were cooperative groups until college complexities
and interdepartmental problems made it necessary for each de-
partment to have a responsible head. “Advisors” were named
whose chief function was to advise students majoring in a depart-
ment about schedules. Finally these representatives were given
greater powers, and were called “Directors.” Meetings of these
directors largely superseded the faculty meetings, as all matters
that concerned the different departments reached the teachers
through the directors. While they were not for some time
Officially called ‘“‘heads,” they were, in fact, but Dr. Wright did
not seem to like the suggestion in the word. They were officially
“Directors of Instruction.” Many matters he still considered
faculty-wide, regardless of departmental lines, and to consider
these, committees were appointed or elected because of personal
fitness and not according to departmental distribution.

This change in organization was gradual in keeping with other
transitions, and Wright acted true to form in adopting new
methods in order to meet new conditions, but retaining that part
of the old which could be used to advantage.

Despite the administrative advantages gained by having a
smaller group with delegated powers, he must have realized that
something was lost by the change, but found, undoubtedly, that
the gains offset the losses. The wonder is that he kept the whole
faculty functioning as one unit for so long a time.

Cooperation with county, city and town authorities, aid to
public schools and civic enterprises has been not only a policy but
a constant practice. Full schedules, service on committees, ad-
visorship of campus activities have never prevented East Carolina
teachers from taking an active part in community life.

Close relations have always been maintained with the county
schools. S. B. Underwood, who succeeded Mr. Ragsdale as county
superintendent, was a member of the faculty and always felt free
to call upon his fellow members or anyone in the school for any
service they could render. Leading study groups, appearing at
county teachers’ meetings, holding conferences with those who
had special problems, going into the schools for observation and
giving demonstrations in classrooms were examples of such
service. This has not materially changed with the years.

This institution has made a vital and continuous contribution
not only to schools of county, town and city, but also to the civic
life of its community and State.

Dr. Laughinghouse, who resigned in 1921 to become Seeretary
of the State Department of Health, felt it was of vital importance
to make students health-conscious. State-wide surveys made
in the second decade of the century were of momentous jim-
portance. This school co-operated in these by allowing it to be

 

BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION 57

used as a centre for the work in this part of the State as the
student body furnished a cross-section of the population.

Dr. Stiles, in the Winter of 1910, conducted some of his hook-
worm study through the school. Revisiting the place twenty
years later, in reviewing with great satisfaction the line of hun-
dreds of students entering the dining room, he commented on the
great improvement in health and appearance as typical of that in
the State at large.

Dr. Von Erzdorf, a few years later, in his survey to find the
extent of malaria, gave the test to all the students and staff and
based some of his conclusions on the findings from the study of
the results. One surprise was that there were very few carriers
and one of these was from a distant state.

The College has been headquarters for various conventions and
the host for meetings of numerous organizations. Its president
and members of its faculty, whenever called upon, have been
ready to carry out the school motto “to serve” and the calls have
been many.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES AND CAMPUS LIFE

Student government in campus life came into effect in 1920-21,
the year the training school became a college. This was a decided
contrast to the arrangements for more than a decade. Patrons
were not ready at first for such a radical innovation, as it was then
considered, and Dr. Wright had to wait twelve years to carry out
the plans he originally had in mind. a

One of the first things that demanded attention when the new
president took charge was the establishment of the boarding
department. That had to be ready when the first students ar-
rived. The conventional arrangement for girls in boarding
schools of that day was used, the pattern which originated,
perhaps, in the convent school, but this was greatly modihed.
“Lady Principal” was the title adopted for the member of the
staff who was at the head of the home. It was not until sixteen
years later, sometime after student government was inaugurated
that her title was changed to Dean. The staff by degrees was
augmented by a housekeeper, an assistant dean, and two others
in charge of dormitories.

That the teachers should have no dormitory or chaperonage
duties or any of the supervisory tasks at that time usually im-
posed upon teachers in boarding schools was the one oer tere a
the conventional plan which was decided upon by Mr. Wright. He
emphasized the fact that he wanted his faculty to be teachers,
first and last, to be free to give their best efforts to their teaching.
The women teachers were given the privilege of living on the
campus, for the first year in the dormitory with the girls, but as
soon as it could be conveniently arranged, in their own quarters.

 
 

 

58 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Home life and school life were kept as separate as possible. Since
the second year, separate dormitory facilities have been provided
for them.

Health was given primary consideration at the beginning, as
was shown by the fact that a physician was one of the charter
members of the staff and a superintendent of the infirmary was
the second person added to the administrative staff. She was
given an assistant after a few years.

Nothing received more careful attention from the lady principal
the first year than the supervision of the health of the students
and her vigilance was unabated in the years to follow. The dean
of women and her staff, as those closest to the girls, have con-
tinued this watchful care.

The physician, one from the town, gave only part of his time
to the school, making regular visits for general office cases. re-
sponding to emergency calls, and giving the routine hostile
examinations, inoculations, and check-ups.

As the president had his residence in one section of the dormi-
tory in which the boys lived, for one year he had general] oversight
over them. The next year L. R. Meadows relieved him of this
supervision.

While at first he followed the conventional scheme, it did not
measure up to his ideals, but he was willing to bide his time. He
had worked out a plan of student government in the Baltimore
high school that had been very successful, and is going strong
today. In this he was one of the pioneers among school execu-
tives. In coming to North Carolina, he realized, however, that
self-government could not be imposed upon students, that it could
not be successful until they called for it themselves. Not until
1920-21 did the students petition for it, but when they were ready
and eager for the new system it was promptly established.

There were few rules, and most of those for routine matters,
even when this school began. In the first catalogues under the
head of “Discipline,” Wright’s ideas are given. One can catch
in the very wording his attitude towards having rules and regu-
lations that are arbitrary and ironclad imposed upon those who
were “about to assume the responsibilities of so serious and
dignified a profession as teaching.” He felt that each “student
should attend promptly and faithfully to every duty and have due
consideration and regard for the rights and privileges of others,”

Individuals found unworthy of trust were dealt with individ-
ually. Only general headings covered all cases, such as “falling
off in his studies,” “neglecting his duties or exerting an unwhole-
some influence.” A few sentences show Mr. Wright’s feeling
about a teacher’s conduct: “If he does not show some disposition
to conform to high standards he can hardly be considered good

 

BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION 59

material for a teacher,” if a student does not have the proper
attitude toward his duties he would be “requested to resign from
the school.” The closing sentence is this: “In the spirit of the
institution is found the discipline of the school.” The same para-
graphs were printed in every catalogue until student-government
was introduced.

This system that threw more responsibility upon the students
themselves was inaugurated during the year 1920-21. A Student
Government Association was organized which is in fact a co-
operative plan, with the students taking the initiative in formu-
lating rules and making regulations and with the president, the
dean, and a committee from the faculty, elected by the faculty,
as an advisory board. In the set-up provision is made for both
dormitory and campus supervision through house presidents and
committees composed entirely of students elected by their peers
in mass-meeting. These, together with the officers, form the
Student Council, which meets regularly, discussing school prob-
lems, initiating new policies, making investigations, passing on
minor violations of rules of conduct, trying minor cases, and
making recommendations to the faculty as to penalties when
there are serious cases of discipline. In every catalogue since
1920 there has appeared in addition to the section headed
“Discipline,” a section headed “Student Government,” as follows:

“To promote a sense of personal responsibility in the students
of the College a Student Government Association has been in-
augurated, subject to the approval of the president of the College
and an advisory board. This organization adopts such regulations
as concern the entire student body. The association has so
administered its duties as to merit the approval of both faculty
and students.” The handbook, issued each year, jointly by the
Student Government Association and the Y. W. C. A., contains
the constitution, by-laws, and current regulations. At the begin-
ning of each school year, as a part of Freshman Week activities,
upper classmen meet groups of first year students, who with the
hand-book as a guide, familiarize themselves with the code by
which they are to live, have a chance to ask questions, and get a
clear understanding of what they must do in order to conform to
the regulation code of campus law and order. At once they feel
as if they are participants. According to a decree of the Board
of Trustees, only the faculty has the power of expulsion. When-
ever severe cases of discipline are turned over to the faculty, care-
ful consideration is given to the recommendations, the evidence is
reviewed, investigations made, and whenever the action is con-
trary to the recommendation reasons are given for the change.

President Wright’s principle in dealing with serious cases was
that the extreme sentence, expulsion, should not be imposed

 
 

 

 

60 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

except on evidence that would hold in a regular courtroom. When
the offense or delinquency was such that it would make a student
undesirable as a teacher, but did not affect personal integrit

withdrawal was permitted, to which no stigma was attached de

“The attitude of the school towards organizations is to en-
courage those that are intended to preserve health, develop
character and the spirit of democracy” was in the first catalogue
issued under Dr. Wright’s regime at Greenville and the same in
the last, except that a phrase was added, “and advance the edu-
cational welfare of the students.” This wording is still in every
catalogue.

The Young Women’s Christian Association, which is the oldest
organization on the campus, began to function early in the fall of
East Carolina’s first year. This commendation appears in the
first catalogue: “The Association has done a great work in
fostering the religious spirit of the school.” The next catalogue
has the phrasing changed to “it has done very effective work in
promoting high ideals among the students.”

It was a great advantage to students in a new school to have
an organization that was part of a large national or world-wide
movement highly efficient and so well organized that the local
unit could follow instructions and slip into the scheme giving
them a feeling of solidarity and permanence. In the first years
practically all of the girls joined the Y. W. C. A. and there were
years when the membership of those living on the campus was
one hundred percent. Bible and mission study classes and groups
for the study of the Sunday School lessons were popular. The
annual series of services and conferences on religious problems
held by some minister or religious leader noted for guiding young
people has been of vital importance in the spiritual life of the
school. The Y. W. C. A. vesper services have throughout the
years been held on Sunday night, the weekly services on Friday
night, and the morning watch the fifteen minutes before break-
fast.

On the first Sunday night of every fall term, President Wright
made a talk to the students in which he would strike a keynote
for the year that would help new students especially to catch the
spirit of the school. He made them feel that religion was a part
of right living.

At the first Saturday chapel hour every fall he spoke to the stu-
dents, encouraging them to find a church home for the time they
were in college, and to go to Sunday School. Ministers early in
the year were introduced and extended invitations to attend their
churches. Always there have been large college classes in the
churches of Greenville.

BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION 61

Dr. Wright himself followed the Sunday School lessons, and
most of the time taught a men’s Bible class, but whether as
teacher or member of a class, he enjoyed the sustained study,
following a theme, a character or a book through the whole
series. He would base many of his chapel talks on the lessons.
He loved to take a situation from the Bible and draw parallels
with the times, or interpret one of the patriarchs. The Book of
Job was his favorite. Reading the Bible, two songs, the Lord’s
Prayer, and then a short talk composed the chapel exercises when
he had charge of them, and he usually conducted these exercises
daily when he was on the campus. He felt that was his one direct
contact with the student body as a whole, the one way he could
reach them. When he had attended a meeting, he culled the best
thought and shared it with his students, or explained the pur-
poses of organizations, and introduced them to policies. He gave
his opinions on current problems and developments, interpreted
the trends of the times as he saw them, making a surprising
number of prophecies that have come to pass.

Many of his most profound thoughts, best turned phrases,
happiest interpretations and his quaintest bits of humor, he gave
in those chapel talks that can now be found in the files. He would
talk from a few notes on a small card or perhaps with no notes;
but he would have his secretary take down what he said and type
it so he could see it afterwards. In these talks were often found
the genesis of a full speech he delivered later. Thinking his way
from point to point, he would then bring them together into a
unified whole. While much of this may have fallen on barren
ground, many of the students appreciated it, and followed these
talks from day to day. At times he would startle them into
attention, especially when he felt some outrage had been com-
mitted and he gave warning to the culprits. He frequently began
in a personal way—‘I want to talk to you this morning about
leadership,” or responsibility; “I want to tell you the kind of
teacher I want my daughter to have”; “I saw in the papers this
morning—”. “I believe that this generation of boys and girls, of
all people in the world, are the most lonesome folks, distressingly
lonesome,” he once began, and then proceeded to express his faith
in youth—and this was in the prosperous twenties, when so many
were impatient about young people. “Powder your nose, rouge
your cheeks, apply the lipstick—to your thoughts” was typical
of advice he would give.

He was punctilious about observing anniversaries, especially
Oct. 5, if with only a few words, calling attention to the signifi-
cance of the day which marked the opening of the institution.

Entertainments were sponsored by student organizations, such
as classes, societies, and the Y. W. C. A. until a more satisfactory

 
 

 

 

62 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

plan was adopted in 1925. To mention only one, the visit of Miss
Keller and her teacher, Mrs. Macy, was a never-to-be-forgotten
event. Nobody enjoyed that day more than did President Wright
It was agreed that he should carry on the conversation with her.
By pressing two fingers on his throat so they could feel the
vibration of his vocal chords, and on his lips, Miss Keller could
understand what he said, and great was his delight when her
answers would come back. They had a good time together. One
thing particularly impressed him and the audience. In the midst
of potted plants banked on the stage in front of the reading desk
was an Kaster lily in bloom. When Miss Keller came on the stage
walking briskly, she went without hesitation straight to the
flowers, leaned over, ran her fingers delicately around the petals
of the lily, without fumbling or disturbing the plants, and ead
“How beautiful!” When the audience applauded something she
said, she stopped until the applause subsided, and then said, “I
thank you. I heard you with my feet.” :

The literary societies, two of which, the Poe and Lanier, had
been organized in the second year of the school, and the third the
Emerson, some years later, for years made contributions to the
entertainment or cultural program, sometimes jointly, and again
separately. Among the musical attractions they sponsored were
recitals by a Baltimore singer who had been a pupil of Mr
Wright’s, a harpist from Washington, a pianist from Peabody
Conservatory, and recitals by other musicians. Most of those
were secured through some personal connection with the Presi-
dent or some member of the faculty. A concert by a glee club
from some other college in the State was the favorite contri-
bution from the Senior Class, and the precedent of having a glee
club annually has been followed consistently. One of the societies
sponsored lectures of a literary nature. Dr. C. Alphonso Smith
was one of these lecturers.

The societies worked continuously on some project for making
money so as to leave gifts to the school. They gave together a
performance of “The Mikado,” and a very beautiful performance
it was, and with the money raised had painted the portraits of
Governor Jarvis and Mr. Ragsdale, two of the founders. They
gave the money for campus improvement, the planting of the
whole of the front campus. One society gave the first moving
picture machine, and the other the stage curtain that was used
for fourteen years.

Senior classes have each year left gifts to the school. The very
first planting of the campus was that in front of the Austin
Building done by the second class to graduate, and most of the
classes have added something of value or interest. A magnolia
tree, a row of sixteen lombardy poplars, which later had to be

 

BUILDING UP A GREAT INSTITUTION 63

sacrificed for buildings, a mimosa tree, each adding something if
only a speck on the landscape, until the class of 1930 made a great
gift in the lake project. A later class started the Wright Circle
and others planted units or contributed to the planting scheme on
what was called the new campus. ;

Loan funds were left by the earlier classes, eleven of the first
twelve classes leaving a total of $5,765.70. One class gave the oil
portrait of President Wright that hangs in the Library. A num-
ber of smaller gifts were made, among them several pictures.
“The Reading of Homer,” given for Dr. Wright’s own enjoyment,
hung in his office for years, and then in the new office building,
where he could see it frequently. The funds for many of the
larger gifts were raised by the presentation of class plays.

The senior plays have been the chief dramatic contribution
from the students each year. The senior-normal class did not
miss giving a play a single year. The first four-year Senior play
was in 1925, and each class has followed the lead.

A plan by which an entertainment program could be presented
each year and high grade attractions guaranteed was worked out
by a joint committee from the faculty and the Student Govern-
ment Association and was inaugurated in 1925.

Great musicians, artistes, lecturers, and plays have been pre-
sented in these artist courses and the school has become the center
for eastern North Carolina for high class attractions. President
Wright enjoyed watching the crowds file into the auditorium, and
would look around the gallery and notice the various faces, noting
those who came from other towns and counties. _These events
formed a distinctive contribution to the cultural life and enjoy-
ment of eastern North Carolina.

Students voted for a fee which would entitle them toa season
ticket for the entertainments, moving pictures, the Senior plays,
subscriptions to the two student publications, and later, athletic
games. By eliminating separate fees the activities included among
the beneficiaries were assured of support with little increase of
cost to students. They increased the original sum set. When
the Board of Trustees, who had to sanction the plan, reduced the
amount the students asked that it be restored to the higher
figure. There has been abundant proof of the success of the
plan. :
A budget committee composed of students and faculty erlang
a budget office run as a student bank, with a student treasurer as
cashier and teller, managed the business. All personal financial
affairs of the students were finally handled through this office
which is in fact, a student bank and clearing house through which
their personal checks are handled, also.

 
 

64 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Two student publications, the Tecoa n, the
Echo, the newspaper, have flourished since
“Tecoan”, formed from the first syllables
Annual, was suggested b

The Training School Quarterly changed to Teachers
Quarterly, published from 1914 to 1923, was,
professional magazine featuring articles on vari
problems, with some depart

College
in the main, a

ous educational
ments of a professional

ck of financial] Support was the

others covering campus events. La
reason for its being discontinued.

ements.

the students show initiative and rise to e

Entrance of America into the World War brought new de-
mands, and East Carolina’s war-time activities are well worth
remembering. All kinds of labor that would help out in the labor
shortage were needed. Cotton-picking became one of the major
sports in the fall of 1917, and it was a sport rather than a chore.
Picking did not seem drudgery when it was organized in compe-
tition with others.

Contracts were made by groups of students to handle an entire
cotton crop. There were then cotton fields on the ou
town that could be worked on in the afternoons.
several miles out sent a truck in ever
taking picnic lunches with them, spent their
ton on the farm. In the five-day week
was the day off.

Classes, societies, Y. W.

e girls,
day off picking cot-
Monday instead of Saturday

A., all organizations, pledged con-
nds and had to find ways and
means of meeting these pledges. They were well paid for their
labor. The students were enthusiastic workers.
declared they had sent Red Cross
organized classes in first aid. r Red Cross work was
carried on throughout the war period. Patriotism was satisfied
in two ways: by taking the places of the regular laborers go they
could be released for military duty, and by making money which
could be spent for Liberty bonds or Red Cross supplies. s
of the bonds added a third philanthropic element, as the bonds
were left as gifts to the school as part of the student loan fund.

gians and

S 65
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

‘ rmenian
A little French girl was supported by one group, and an Armer
a hed retell real contribution in war pans re rues
it set in economy of materials and the use of er “on pPie a
made soap was largely used in the kitchen, and Oe a
expedients were resorted to in the efforts - i tele cing
order that supplies might be ample for t a "
America and the civilian population of our apogee ee
Citing the zeal, initiative and ingenuity ot a a nut do-the
the war years as examples of what they could do sae
test, President Wright held fast to his faith in a aii ‘s all
“There’s nothing wrong with the young peop “ae shin abeaials
right’’, he said when he faced his first argos es ae
body and with individuals in 1909, the last ae deat thiek
of the century. As “today” shifted, through a _ as oe
and into the fourth decade his declaration of fai Ss
bon . : acency of the
: Rising to emergencies superbly after the ag Aa
beginning of the second decade, young people abi up of ld
proof to support his faith. Post-War revolt, ne na: Ragga
patterns of behavior, apparent lawlessness in Pk ee a
third decade, did not shatter his faith; young ig tthe pi
blame, he thought, they were seeking a way ou “0 ie dala.
for which they were not responsible. Ushered ee ~ a gy
sion, the thirties, the fourth decade, found = . — es Saas
victims, and he saw them bewildered, atic —
they would fight through and triumph, aan hs ee tet
tuition he said the world is entering an era when y
the lead.

ALUMNAE AND THEIR ALMA MATER

‘ rj remained mem-
Alumnae and ex-students to President Wt ney yunt th hat
bers of the college family. He had a pecu

ati ass, implied
peo nae back,” his invitation to every satire
far more than the suggestion from the aaa ie esa
loyalty to alma eosin oe pt warara mar parting

ing occasions. “Go forward, te tue aae
pores a implied going forward in the gaan yee nit but
studies somewhere, whether at his ne - i vouched, if thay
never stopping until the top of nt cts” 6 waver coliel
were going to remain in it. “Finished products
2 Ned oapatrs ee of them, returning to fill the a
eats coming in the regular terms. The tot aaa: on
time and again on the rolls over a ene oe bate “ih ae a
section of the rolls of most of the past years ¢

 
 

66 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

many a summer school roll.
an absence of several years.
faces, as married women kep
leaving it for years.

ating classes, without taking
story as these could do if the
out its history.

Alumnae who returned for annual reunions
were usually the graduates and formed the
Association”. President Wright’s name was annual

aker on the program, whic
anquet-like lunche
in the auditorium. Happy occasions these were

and alumnae.

“Fellow teachers” and “fellow citizens”
the latter were as warmly welcomed as *P
challenge those who were no lon
training they had receiv

New names appeared with f

ly

were his greetings and
he former.

more TA | l L ; 8, rising to an
inspirational climax, showing new horizons.

Their success had
made the reputation of the school; the brand of teacher it sent

out was the trademark of the school; the product it turned out
was the test of its work. “Your school,” he said, when Speaking

to them. He took just pride in pointing out the Successful
teachers in classrooms all over the State, in the larger

in the big consolidated schools which had replaced the s

mall rural
schools.

Local alumnae chapters in central towns frequently had him
as the guest of honor at their annual dinners. He loved to meet
them on their home ground. Invitations to deliver the commence-
ment address in schools in which they taught were never declined
if he could possibly arrange his schedule so that he could accept.

Projects undertaken by the alumnae met with his approval, and
he appreciated their contributions to the student loan fund and
their other gifts, They had no paid secretary, either on the
campus or in the field, and had only voluntary workers to depend
upon. He looked forward to the time when they Would have a
paid secretary who would bring the alumnae together in a closer
organization, find out more about what they were doing, and help
the school to keep track of a larger number of them. Mass

Some of these would reappear after

at commencement
official “Alumnae

h was pre-
on and sometimes
for both president

 

67
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

; as a rope of sand, he
alumnae are difficult to handle, as a whole, as a rope ,

i - how scattered they were he felt
ening li a-ee os did wean oie the corgi te reat
die not seen at alumnae meetings were reps opera eat me
their schoolrooms and homes. He could —- ws ae ae
State that he did not meet them or hear of W . rnin Moe

“T wonder if you realize what you have = 1 ie SS
section”, a Home Demonstration agent or” eee ee
“You do not go in the homes that I do. Sato ate oe
opportunity to see the changes which have bee

by the graduates from your Teachers College.

D EXPANSION
DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH SHOWN BY FIGURES AN

OF THE PLANT

_five vears, including

The number of graduates, for the twenty en s diskoal was
both those with the A. B. degree and those ho nat prose
4,431. Diplomas for graduation from Ms yg Hedin cata
school, course were presented to 3961 in ca a ouak 168, The
The first class, 1911, numbered 18 and in 1934, “i cal renee
A. B. degree was conferred upon 470, et ~! <a
August of 1922. The highest number, 123, w pre ns

In the summer of 1921 a group of hen ete bata class of that
a “college Class” of Juniors. Before the Jie ance rrvalien Pne g
fall had graduated, which was in the sane agent wave tooens
fourteen had received the A. B. degree. rua years of study
graduates who had returned to complete anf slr pipe tag sed
needed for the degree. The size of that pit aie elem
continuous years of college work was the sa ibe Pm the firet
1912, the second to receive diplomas, and one m haipertine stost
class. Numbers in the A. B. graduating oad ant rs
closely parallelled those of the first two-ye
period.

August graduates numbered 665

d
27, degrees. In December an ila earned.
—_ pont et 133 diplomas and 40 degrees had been

as been held.
Beginning with 1918, an August ee wot ett eer
Only one had received the M. A. rests digger Bere died.
end of the summer term the year before Dr. ata eg
The staff that numbered thirteen when rs goal nen
numbered 90 at the end of the twenty-five ahaha representing
fold increase. These were vee 9 -ganrstan sing requirements
forty-two colleges and universities. The a ee “ tensa
in terms of degrees and special training had kept p
in institutions. ee ones
aan ele taught the first year had g1 er aa “se
departments, many of them with sub-divisions. 50 J

receiv iplomas
ho had received dip 1
es the end of the fall

 
Physica] Education be-

e to college. Athletics

pervised by members of the staff in-

terested, but there had been no regular instructor. French had
been added.

The catalogue issued the last year of Wright’s administration,
which records the number of students for twenty-five years with
the exception of the last summer term, gives the total e
as 21,843. summer increased this to 2‘ 2

3 students, counting no name twice in

he regular year of three terms in 1934
, 1,013, when the registr,
spring term closed, less than a month before Dr.

The total enrollment for the twenty-five regular years of three
terms each was then 13,205, an annual average of 528.2. Total
enrollment for the twenty-four Summers of Dr. Wright’s ad-
ministration was 10,361, making the average 415. Figures alone
fail to record fully the institution’s rea] growth and progress.
That can be revealed only by a knowledge of causes of plateaus

and fluctuations, of changes in course or the dropping

of one and addition of anoth ns therefor and
effects. raci ri ri

been steady.

Lack of dormitory space has limited the attendance at several
periods. Whenever the figures show a sudden increase in enroll-
ment after a plateau it has invariably meant that more dormitory
room has been provided. The increase the second year was 35
percent, and the dormitory capacity had been reached. 3
year the boys’ dormitory was taken from them and given to the

girls and this made room for the six percent increase the third
year, but this was not enough, as som i

admission. In the fall of the elev
only 282 students, but 250, enou
turned away because of ‘

were pro-
In the fifteenth
bled in another
a little ahead of

then the enrollment

One of the interesting stories told i
students. There were twenty-two t

69
BUILDING Up A GREAT INSTITUTION

. ~
The proportion of men to women wa

: Fession i e State.

rhaps no less than in the teaching ee a aieiiall
It is likely also that men’s colleges were er nee ‘oral there
for men teachers. However that may be, i f * years to come.
would not be a large number of men veaee: ad paluchy coe:
It was deemed poor business to aonb us peowatotiys
who did not need it, while the girls ed ; bse scat $i, domes With
deprive the boys of a dormitory temperses A t, when the charter
admission to the school. The result was t ve f Trustees was
of the school was revised in 1911, the — phe mis when,
ranted the right to refuse to let them : llege may be pro-
g ir judgment, “the best interest of the co ege sn Att poe
tie wan * "The effect of this was that boys vse = 8 Hits
septa ype in summer terms, until during the w J

“ ’ « boy
- e red U il in 1 )26 one
0 I letely di appear ed and none reapp a int

; , il in the last
nrolled and he was the forerunner of remedied and were
iain f Dr. Wright’s regime they were 107 sti stay, entering
iat for a dormitory. They were hore ai pores 4
directly from the high schools and transfert . scone sed
leges. All who could find lodgings in _, sheds Meee We
board in the school dining room was so pepe adore Pare
thought it was a girls’ school were startle s

i i school.

i that it was a co-educational sc ae é én staal
a orate Wright would smile when he was ur ytd mista that
the school. He would point to the er oe Sak debts. “Te
proved it had always been co-educational by
believed the boys were here prone

The boys of later days could poin : cision ies te
ey teadacuiere had started. The cuneate eg au
campus was the “Jarvis Debating me bree cn tert
baseball club, both started in the very firs be of the twenty-five

The number in the ese wget ye president on that

S i s i ht-fo d since i ie ly small
first snobidig, Cone 5, 1909, had faced that eniegten. we
group of “104 females and 19 males”. oar one-sixth of
Oe at eae So igi is bis tat biennial report
what it'wasin 1096, ee ssible to care for 1,500
s t possible te
S ans that would make i d a ae
aimee, xs auntie he predicted would be reached
si He mpl ie a et Corel Teachers College to
astly different was the East © + the “grandchildren”,
sistent es oad as students a number of ee ML paged
the children of the graduates of East Carolina
eehool . in size, spread out over a hun-
S : an doubled in size, sprea gies
acane ar ere ant cal been turned into a lawn stretching
cres.

of only two over the first.

t with pride to two things

 
70 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

out for a third of a mile along the street.
of shrubs and plants, walks laid out, a fount
the background of the original woods filled

of dogwood and holly, made one of the mo
in the State.

The artistic grouping
ain in the circle, with
with its undergrowth
st beautiful campuses

buildings, which were complet g& to the blue prints, into
seventeen buildings. 1,” “Cotten Hall,” and “Rags-
dale Hall,” : 2 Ww achers occupied were the new
dormitories. The dining room and kitchen facilities had been
greatly increased. A new dining room was connected with the
old by the kitchen, with the old laundry and power house ab-
sorbed, making lobbies, a room for informal social life, and a
postoffice, all under one cover.
far removed from living and
spur of railroad track for hauling coal, w

A new infirmary had been built and

ers, reached by a
as a plant within itself.

The center of the campus had moved eastward and a circle of
buildings built around this. arge cam

taining an auditorium, with capacity for 2,300, used as a gym-

nasium, later named the “Wright Building,” face Cotten Hall
across the “Wright Circle.” The library and
building for the science departments faced each other,
proof Administration Building, “Ragsdale Pralle:
dormitory, and beyond that, the Training School fac

Tangible evidence that Robert H. Wright had,
five years, built up a great inst

A fire-
the teachers
ed the street.

schools of the State, the influence these have
munities, and in the lives of the children they
give truly the story of his work and influence,

Only the tangible and intangible taken together can show how
well East Carolina Teachers College has fulfilled the purpose for
which East Carolina Teachers Training School was established:

“to train young men and women to teach in the public schools of
North Carolina.”

CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS
AND THOUGHT er ree
ressed more rapidly in peptone we
Gass Shy ee ae riper Bier ater en knowledge
years in its history. No man otf his ape bicep ny ieabe OF
or Rear understanding of educational p perrascnged nee than did
worked more earnestly and steadily to further p
Dr. Wright. nee ai
East Carolina Teachers C é per’
leadership in teacher training, which w - sso
tribution. It would be unfair to let tha « 7
invaluable services he rendered in othet io goer east
Neither his thinking nor his activities “ oy panies Seige aim
limits of his campus or the classrooms - aera Regret
While he believed the improvement of teac ce fi yh caauaticdal
importance, he was not blinded to other p . ce Prcmypeonrs
work. The nature of his activities in nationa
ee viabeedh Lads» National Educational EN
sar Wiles Siac He was a familiar figure at ar beast ae
that of the Department of Super oan Sens 100K ad
tended the general meetings. He served Villanes was on the
president of the Department of bien Sires Biagio
Legislative Commission for ten years, ee oh tha teogcats
from North Carolina for twelve years, appea
occasionally, and served on committees. seca ad tg thie Wak
“The American Progress of Education a ‘eine Tnstitutlowle”
of Teachers Normal Schools and Teacher pe take City th the
was his subject at the meeting of 1920. ar = the Normal School
summer of 1921 he delivered an address be Sadiictte Institu-
Division on “Religious Education in Teac! eid sipon wkiels he
tions”. “Character Education” was the sub)

spoke at the Superintendent’s pec a eeidians Bibaks
Elected by the N. E. A. as a de

: i in Edinburgh in
ation of Educational Associations 1 he ge praca a
1930, he was unable to attend. His name ~~ a pr het
Ny. E. A. minutes as having favored a Departm

with a cabinet member at its head.

tb atta banat = He sae prisantle the center of
chamber than on the platform. g

: i ies, around the
informal groups that gathered in et ned a real work
luncheon table, or in the smokers on Pullman 7 ‘ x" groups. The
of a convention, he would say, was done vd adie. He was a
North Carolina delegation looked to him as bly, later, the N. C.
leader in the North Carolina Teachers Assembly,

North Carolina prog

ge is concrete evidence of his

as his chief con-
ly overshadow

er known in the council

 
ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Movements started during his term as president had far-
reaching effects. “Standardization” was the theme of the meeting
of 1916. The Legislative Committee had worked throughout the
year on a report to present to the Legislature the need for a
systematic and thorough study of the schools of the State, and
urging that a commission be appoin
school situation in the State so tha
be made for needed changes.

In his presidential address Wright voiced the idea and strength-
ened the cause by giving in concise form some of the obvious
deficiencies of the public school system and outlining briefly some
of the steps he thought should be taken before a good system
could be established. The time, he believed, had come for con-

structive action. S he indulged in no heroics, no
, but went

The Educational Commission was appointed, first for a period

of two years, with Wright as chairma
successive legislatures, utilizing the period of time the study
covered in six years. Lack of funds retarded the work, but in
1920 a bulletin giving a complete report of the extensive research
work and surveys was presented. Codifying the existing public
school laws and making recommendations for new laws was their
task the last two years. Wright had said that no one knew what
the laws were, new laws had been passed without the repeal of
old laws, which were scattered and hard to find, and law
more or less directly the public schools were not easily
causing unnecessary conflicts, so that no one could say
what was the law. The old laws were assembled, atten
to those that were dead letter laws or duplicated or con
other laws. Revisions were suggested,
made for new laws that were needed.

Just how much of the report finally was incorporated into
recommendations and how much went into bills that were enacted
into laws later it would be difficult to say without long and careful
comparative study of documents buried in out-of-the-way places.

Even then, tracing through the ramifications of changes, amend-
ments, and revisions, would be a

n, and reappointed twice by

S affecting
accessible,
positively
tion called
flicted with
and recommendations

seem to have been the basis of later legislation.

Ss 18
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

idati st certainly
standardization, certification, and a eng Ses oA
set in soon after the survey was made, and t ? i 9 At aol
the forces at work, helping to bring about me i it would still
a single item had been adopted as recommen fedtinwretic v
have been worth while. In the code passed by : a
1923 can be seen at least the reflection of the ae laa
At the same time Dr. Wright was working “ ’ tsen In 1920
he found rich material which he utilized in ot 7% be ‘eens au
he delivered a series of ten lectures at se pen Mtoe as of
Teachers, five of which were on the subjec i a ae oleh
Normal Schools and Departments of ges Sam Schools”.
five on “The Preparation of Teachers of seg Bie is a
In collaboration with A. C. Monahan, Dr. Ari Sate Sia
bulletin on “Training Courses for Rural ia rs AE beg
issued by the United States Hue ah ated introductions
Manuscripts of addresses, lectures, vie ae les . orkid POTS
to reports presented at meetings of organiza aan of hia ideas
tings, fragments, are the chief sources of the = caer huicher ee
and principles. Little besides bulletins, cigar s
published in minutes did he leave in printe sivas i ea
Equality of Educational Opportunities, pete A ceicer oe
guard to Progress, Education for Leisure, “rat f vital importance
Teachers’ College are four subjects that baby bs a laleied “Gana
te him and they reappear time and again in mv “ee other topics.
times as central themes and again in relationship

TIES
EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNI

re consistently
No man in North Carolina strove harder ee my togrein did
for educational opportunities for the eet ated equality in
Robert H. Wright. In season and out os saute In his esti-
educational opportunity for all children - te as well educated
mation the farm boy and the farm girl should ‘d the rural popu-
for their problems as are the urban youths, operon phon
lation should have the same school facilities aly and educational
He made an extensive study of the ig sor perenne as com-
achievements of pupils in small towns and > Viet ailidveh were
pared with the cities and found that mS orm children of
distinctly in advance of rural children. aaa cities, he found
the same chronological age in the country an prince ptt ar
that the urban children were a number of : olution achieve-
children both in intelligence quotients and in educe
ment. ee said: “Our democracy
‘ the above findings, he said: So ‘iat
is ree inode intelligence of citizenship. PP pe Beng
tends to develop classes, whether it be the i vlan tn Indiatvles
known as the peasant class, or whether it be fo

 
74 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

such as manufacturing or transportation, is a direct blow at the
fundamental principles of democracy.”

Mr. Wright believed that every child has the right to an equal
educational opportunity with every other child in America. This,
he said, is one of the basic laws of a democratic society. But of
course he knew that all children are not born equal, and he recog-
nized the fact that there are biological predilections called
inherited tendencies over which the teacher has only limited
control. ‘The wise teacher,” he said, “will recognize these, and
not condemn but strive to help and mend. When all efforts fail
she will not emphasize these so-called short-comings, but will
overlook them and strive to help develop the child along the lines
of his native talents.” He offered as the chief challenge to

teachers to help every child use to the maximum the talent or
talents with which he was endowed.

His theory may be summed up in his own words as follows:
“For education to become most effective, it is necessary
teacher and parent to discover the natural
vidual and to make the mos

: all alike and this
fortunately for human society, is impossible.

teachers should study children more an
that education and training that will fit
society.”

In 1928, when the state-wide eight-months’ school term was
uppermost in the minds of North Carolina educators, Mr. Wright
fought vigorously to get the measure providing an 8 months’ term
passed by the General Assembly. He argued that as long as the
rural child does not have an equal educational opportunity with
the city child, ambitious parents will continue to move from the
country to the city, thus draining the rural districts of their most
ambitious and intellectual citizens.

“The form of government that we have places no handicap on
a child because of birth or social standing,” he said, “but gives
him a chance to work out his own plans and make the most of his
life. The state of North Carolina owes it to her citizens to offer
them the best educational opportunities, and she owes it to her-
self to give her young citizenship that form of education that

will enable each individual to become the greatest possible factor
for good in the state.”

’

Parents and
d try to give to each child
him for his place in human

‘of civilization was inseparably linked with e

Ss 75
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

bring up its youths so they will fit into ~ ch oper eet bier
peculiar people, and it is the business of the schoo s ae pdigprsne
to acquaint its youth with their own form of ee a possible.”
they may fit into organized society with as litt. e jar ™ sonore
That function of the nation and the state to him wae 2 shh
for the preservation of society and for the stability of g
ment. a

“But,” he further explained, “while governments i. —
schools for this form of adjustment, the proper dey i. ‘s only
the individual must not be lost sight of, for human portite jer
individuals that make up the society. The more efficent at"
individual becomes, if he realizes his social pe ser pegccsied
the type of society which is developed. This t = it agi
itself felt in our schools and among our people. rier seek te
longer an ornament for human society, but it of W  cauciaa
the hands of human beings. As Joe, the Book wg chs ss
it, ‘there isn’t any more sense in packing a lot of useless .

’ 99
ste in a wagon’.
around in your head than in hauling it about in a wag

EDUCATION AS THE SAFEGUARD TO PROGRESS

No educator in recent years believed more a Bei
humanitarian doctrine that education was —? ae order
fectionability of mankind and that progress toward a ig am
ducation than e~

- progress is
H. Wright. In season and out he was an apostle Oe a the
philosophy of progress is probably no better —. sear tone opt
following quotation from his innaeee address as pres
East Carolina Teachers Training School.

“Every nation that has ever been upon earth has sage rs
ideal. Civilization has advanced by the cries c Pe vo
ultimate confluence of these ideals. The ideal that “peste Pasi
contributed to the stream of human civilization 1s pe 1 a pase
dom. We are the most individualistic people a ha t sien pana ges
as long as our present ideal dominates, we oT ae now rules
national or state religion. So long as the ideal _ alba
lives, we, as a nation, are secure and will be until t is 1 ae
and another takes its place as the ace ee a oe a
this ever happens, and God forbid that it mserrara ge yl
follow the new ideal until it, in its turn, is emptied into

stream of life.” : ae ane See
About two weeks before his death, President Wright referred

to the foregoing quotation and said: ie

“T have lived to see this come to pass. We agent ne on aa
a new era. Collectivism, as a new ideal, nas trie fee maid
stream of civilization. Collectivism is ae a nos! ett
and adjusting itself to the machine age. It does stro)

 
76
ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

individuals; in fact it does exact]
individ ‘ y the o site—dey indi
oe eee the individual SE tl a —
eae aera Sa get the greatest freedom sake cage
sor an ee wee to others. We are at the da sh ie -
aap iy . t — freedom the world has ever ~ me
ite cay phd St ization of human interdependence ae
— om s e form of what I call collectivis —o
7 working together for the common good ee
Ww P - E e,.e P
Beit, i ad rik pi atalanigs freedom, if the civilization of
tee : ighest type ever known, what is n ; to-
fae oe ” sine Through long ages human ‘ais ~bs
— al ~— and selfishness have been mills ae
a Sete progress. Intelligence has at last sera
id, carry on in this new er 38 ppg.
cooperative endeavor. B nnless ‘we educate for
“At last we are beginnin
replenished from the bott
the feet of the children. The quickening of th
orgs has caused people to realize that all me
e enlightened. Therefore we have th ‘
for universal education. atiat.
“Tt is said that an archeologist in excavat;
pring “~~ found that three tee ‘hd ses a mea soli
= ee an epoch in the world’s history nie — —o
pei tte 7 ie a tablet that bemoaned the fact that i ae
pried = ia — not like they used to be. Six tho. teens
at > e > owing Inscription was carved on a Chaidenn
rae eal is becoming degenerate in thes ] a
slap se longer obey their parents.’ ae
'o dou t men lived in the second cit 7 wh
San be pe changed. And it ana Be eaoat the tact
pr “— upon this site did not have people in it tin if the
re yy cette tis! times have changed, and conditi ; bg
“Civilizations ae sir h sek fics
is RAUONS ¢ and civilizations go, building str
ae ge ae higher and higher, but “1 pe pid Rat a
ape eb — Conditions are not as they used ; ~
pga Ree > ba: civilization ; it makes up the strat tc
pc “ sie i re the future. Weare passing out aan 7
eee tao ay to the more glorious life of ny ear i
ena ce ‘ign slowly sinking and the new city of H apes
Prine Hogs fess ac The stone that the builders of y i :
— - Asef placed at the head of the corner, The in
Fae ele ee must be an intelligent one, for this ct a
Pa ie ane €ss In proportion to what each gen by es
succeeding generation. Each anaes a
ion

erywhere should
-wide movement

CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

must come into the total inheritance of all preceding generations
before it can build its structure of civilization. ‘I am all I have
inherited plus what little I can add to this inheritance’ is not only
true of the individual, but it is true for each epoch in human
progress.

“Tt is manifest to every thinking
midst of a great change in the structure of human society, and
what the outcome will be, no one has been able to forecast with
any degree of certainty. The youth of today will no longer accept
the traditions of yesterday, but they are seeking light through
education as they have never sought it before.

“One cold winter when I was living in Baltimore I saw the

harbor completely frozen over. I saw an ice boat slowly making
its way up the channel into the harbor, smashing this ice into
1 the ice-bound boats in the

small fragments. This kept up unti

harbor were liberated. Then pilot tug after pilot tug led the big
ships out of the harbor through the narrow channel and into the
open water. I sometimes think civilization was frozen over by
the chill of tradition until youth could not move from its mooring
and then the great World War came and smashed all of civili-
zation’s traditions, thus liberating youth. Education stands by
as the pilot tug to direct youth through the narrow channels of
early life and into the open waters of maturity. Shall we give
our children a chance? If so, we must have pilot boats of edu-
tation for our sons and daughters, some one to guide the youth
from the home moorings, through the dangerous channels of early
life, and out into the free waters of maturity. Already too many
misguided youths are stranded and are blocking the channel, thus
handicapping others in their efforts to attain life’s open sea.”

In the fall of 1932, President Wright addressed the student
body at East Carolina Teachers College as follows: “Young
people, I am sorry for you in one way, because the civilization
that we have worked out pretty well has been broken up literally,
and many of the standards that we have adhered to are being
discarded. On the other hand, I am not sorry for you but con-
gratulate you on being young in this particular time in the history
of the world, when all standards of civilization are being ques-
tioned. Every standard is being questioned, and if it cannot
stand up and justify itself, it will be discarded. You are truly
living in a critical period in t
one of the things we should
essential if we are to go through this perio
may order your life in keeping with the t
while in this new civilization when many
have held to will pass and new thin
less of what the rest of the world may say,

person that we are in the

he history of the world. Justice is
hold to and character is absolutely
d successfully. You
hings that are worth-
of the things that we
gs take their places. Regard-
may think, hold to

 
78 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

your ideals ; ring true to the best there is in life. What a glorious

civilization we are coming into, if this generation of young folk
can hold to their ideals! And what a mess the world will be in if

they cannot!

“If we are to go forward, we must have an educated citizenry ;
we must have the highest character that it is humanly possible
to build. Education of tomorrow must carry with it character,
intelligence, and a realization of our human obligations to one

Only in this way can we make the needed adjustments
in this changing civilization.”
EDUCATION FOR LEISURE

Robert H. Wright showed his educational] statesmanship no-
where more clearly than in his ability to correlate his theories and
practices of education to practical problems.
saw clearly the problem growing out of the
machinery in industry and realized that people must be trained
to make wise use of what is generally referred to as leisure time.
His insight into human nature led him to understand that the
average individual has little inclination to leisure. His real
philosophy of education for leisure was that training should fit
people to fill that time which has been released from the grind of
toil with the activities of real living. He deplored the recent
trends in education towards the elimination from the curriculum
of the so-called “frills”, such as appreciation of music, industrial
and fine arts, and other cultural subjects. “The children,” he
said, “should be trained in the activities that
living and the worthy use of leisure.”

In 1933, he expressed the fear that “the utilitarian trend in
education all over the country would eliminate many of the things
that people need most for full living.” His idea was that we must
train the youths of today to appreciate the finer arts and to en-
gage in the activities that are sportsmanlike and upbuilding to
character.

Mr. Wright was concerned over the changes that hay
about as the result of increased use of machinery,
his students constantly that industries are shortening the working
hours and increasing the “living” hours. “A few years ago,” he
said, “people worked fourteen hours a day six days a week; today
they work eight hours a day only five days a week in many places,
When laboring fourteen hours each day, only two hours open
time were left, allowing eight hours for sleep. Today there are
eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep, and eight hours free
time. That has been brought about by the increased use of
machinery.”

Here is the outlook for the civilization of the future. “A gri-
culture will be so organized as to give more freedom to the men,

For instance, he
Increased use of

go to make up real

€ come
He reminded

19
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS

q re time i ich to
women, and children who live on the farm—mor ya Sen Ho
live. It means that we are going to be wht 7 living, and we
perhaps forty hours a week while we are ma ing a —
are going to have forty hours a week when batt, as oat aa
live. During the slave time when we puis me cas last point
obligation to our fellow-workers.” He emp wor ak due aa
by the following example: “Take an assem A the track to
mobiles: There may be fifty men working nag ” a ana ee
be in place on time and to work as long as they rerislaes yee
each has an obligation to the man who employs - to ae factory.
the working day, he is free until time to age: ck Mens if
If he is of artistic temperament, he can work pu ys ha
he has a taste for good literature, he can read _ ieee ay “i his ri
a free man with time for recreation, growth, - Hoes
going to give the human being the maximum 0 Py gong ae

To him this condition meant that people pasate rking hours and
that they can give concentrated effort to the pe areas weg a
then know how to spend the living hours; - gp its Working
spent away from the drudgery of labor was at ae cae
hours meant keeping time with a ws tig Iving
being reasonably free for self expression. ir.

Ons of the greatest individual problems gear De ig ra
Wright was teaching the youth how to make en . pag Sy
leisure. To serve this generation of children be 6: oe eal
the task of each instructor to teach the children ab gi wt
time to advantage, to give them a realization bn : an
things in life, to give them a realization of the thing:
and ennobling. a ae

Quoting from one of Mr. Wright's addresses, ler, a
are to have planned human activity and pas snes. pats
people, then, of necessity, we must have an enlig pane pan
We must have an educated citizenry, and not pened 185
teachers, lawyers, and ministers alone. Even ” = pomponyenee
ness men are realizing this. If we are to go forw 1 Md tar t is
an educated citizenry, we must have _ ee Haye soar must
humanly possible to build. The education © ako chal
carry with it the three R’s plus; it must reauid ke Bri Reacts 24
intelligence, and a realization of our human om ee pa ion
another. The children must be educated for bia , a aaa
be educated for leisure. It is up to the teachers to the new
youths so that they can render the maximum serv oat clare
civilization, which is going to be the most glorious in .

‘ EGE
HIS CONCEPTION OF THE FUNCTION OF A TEACHERS’ COLL

ialization i ini f teacher

rj S alization in the training 0 ach :

as oe er ae among American teachers colleges
wiser tment and make their original

s, it

has been a co
to institute a liberal arts depar

 
80 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

purpose subsidiary to what is commonly considered a higher in-
tellectual aristocracy. During his long tenure of Office as Presi-
dent of East Carolina Teachers College, Wright fought off
vigorously every attempt to swerve the college from its primary
aim.

His philosophy of teacher-training was to fit the teacher
definitely for a specific task. He believed that in training a
teacher we were potentially educating a community,
teacher’s work is essentially with the group.

Therefore, the

ve to be high, for if they are
ic school system will be like-
yorthy ideals and purposes

an integral part of the
, Some ten, twenty, or thirty
years in advance of their time, because the teachers must train

the children for their future lives. If the boys and girls are to
be trained today to meet responsibilities of if
when they :

ai:

, se x

x

primary and a by-product. The primary product was the ability
to teach; the by-product was good citizenship. He often com-
mented on the importance of this by-product. He used the fol-
lowing illustration to make this point clear:

“Some years ago I was in the cam ‘
told that the by-product in silver Was sufficient to pay the expense
of the operation of the mine, and the gold was clear profit.”

The by-products of a teachers’ college were to him what the
silver was to the gold mine. “There ig training in the teachers’
college”, he pointed out, “for good citizenship, which is absolutely
vital in the teaching process and essential for every rightminded
citizen. There is training in homemaking, for the
that is necessary for
building of a home.
community workers,
relationship betwee

“Then,” he concluded, “I sum it all up by saying that this kind
of training makes a person an efficient worker in every usefyl
occupation. I feel that the by-products in teacher training are

i things our graduates carry away with
he final analysis the big work the State

Ss 81
-ROGRESS
CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATIONAL PROG

: in East Carolina Teachers College is

‘ North Carolina is doing in East Carol mee type of

: ‘caer cane homemakers, good citizens, and beri rig tne

uct who makes the world a better oreo es life worth-

“s quickens the lives of the children and who makes
who ‘ “

while.”

 
ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Rosert H. WricHrt IN THE Mip-YEArRs

“HE STOOD FOURSQUARE TO ALL THE WORLD”

Except for his thick wavy black hair gradually graying and
then whitening through the years, and his face gradually be-
coming etched with lines of character, there was remarkably little
change in either the appearance or the manner of Robert H.
Wright from the days of the boy teacher to the veteran leader in
education.

He stood 6 feet 3 inches in his stocking feet, slim almost to
thinness. Forty years after he had left Stanhope he was re-
membered as the young man who had to stoop in order to get
through a doorway without bumping his head—which may ac-
count to some extent for the slight stoop which was characteristic
of the Lincoln-like young man—like Lincoln without his rugged-
ness.

His mouth was mobile, flexible, but settling firmly in a straight
line when his mind was made up on a policy or a principle. There
was an arresting quality in his voice with its touch of soft
Southern drawl. His manner was mild, deliberate, calm, self-
possessed—not aggressive nor argumentative. His willingness
to hear the other side, his ability to listen with interest and in-
telligence, gave him almost a conciliatory air which tended to
disarm opposition. There was something of the judicial in his
manner of listening or waiting—not hesitant or wavering, but
détached, free from prejudices, allowing all the evidence to be
placed before him before passing judgment. He could even accept
setbacks and temporary failure with outward equanimity. The)
never discouraged him or weakened his determination to achieve
the goals he had set for himself and: for the institution he headed
Where the differences were of opinion or method rather than
principle, he often bowed to the will of the majority. Especially
was he not a crusader, at least in the violent upsetting of every-
thing which happened to be in the path of his ultimate objective.
He believed there was a better and more effective way than
headlong assault.

His method was not to impose his ideas or present them for
rubber-stamp approval, but he frequently knew beforehand what
direction he thought a course should take, so he led his co-workers
on to think through and arrive at the same conclusions he had
reached. If by superior knowledge or fuller grasp of the subject
others convinced him of a better way, he would yield, but he was
not easily changed. Sometimes when he himself had arrived at
conclusions before the matter came up he would not reveal his
stand. In the end the conclusions arrived at might be the same
he started with, but the effect was not the same. His position
had been strengthened. Instead of a servile corps of assistants,

 
84 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

carrying out orders from a chi
was an intelligent group of co-
lems, until principles,
of action agreed upon

ef, or a lock-step system, his staff
workers who fought through prob-
and procedures were determined and a line

faculty.
rship of student activities was that the
person of maturer judgment should be at hand to help when help
was called for, to make suggestions when desired but not to take
the initiative or step into the leadership. If the group were
foundering or divided, the adviser should manage so tactfully

that the girls and boys would not know they were being managed.
A law-abiding man who believed

letter, Wright acce

As long as

S were laws governing con-

majority or by a majority, and he
believed they should be followed. Dead letter rules should be

taken off the books. So long as they existed, it was his duty as
i iti to obey them. A stude iti

When the student council, which handled minor cases
pline, petty violations which could be antic
ties attached, would encounter difficult case
advice. Culprits brought before him w
spirits had led them into scrapes or whose
able to any of the common varieties of ps
period of transition from adolesence to m

thetic hearing. In the days before t

council when discipline was managed by the faculty these con-
ferences were more frequent. In those that were confidential he

must have proceeded almost as a psychoanalyst would have done.
Fatherly admonitions and advic

€ saved many an offender from
nothing more than a
corrigibles who showe

of disci-
ipated and had penal-

S he was ready to give
hose excess of animal
delinquency was trace-
ychological state at the
aturity found a Sympa-
he student-government

E 85
“He STOOD FOURSQUARE TO ALL THE WORLD

is eted out
and he would have liked to have had the penne ne os
4 h r rather than to their daughters and sons. ws “ong:
stent thak be sul bie can een lieu of the parents and
chastisement was sometimes necessary aS a paler sh ee
He gave serious consideration to ee core cay, tu
student council. At the annual meetings of the gt ae
school council, of which he and a faculty comm1 vor ica a
bers he carefully followed every item in the gery yte aN
regulations, penalties, ee requested, and a
“eiadakuc ss al uur ae difference between or amg
governing matters of conduct that epg Pci ee oe
those that involved moral questions. When un eae
liberal elements in the council would not see oye : then we
matter he would ask that cases causing dissension ey pgs
to him. An instance of this was cases of smoking ho eaeere
he handled so there was never a serious conflict eg te re sw
A text he used in talks to the student-body was, i
make my brother to offend, I will eat no meat. Pes Pm pid
would say, must not defy public opinion, ae greet
conventions of the community, or she will be socia “i 2 eal es
was his business to see that they would make accep a 7 soni
so he would give advice on behavior. After all the bee “¥ oot
hair he liked to recall a chapel talk he had made agair : B sgprioss
hair when superintendents and the majority of ot ee é ste
prejudiced against it. Lip-sticks, dancing, car yi oe
tabooed, he would show no longer offended public seni ee
He never lost faith in youth. The question, W hat s “ .f _
with the young people?” he would answer by citing one ae
generations all the way back to David and Absalom, pen hee
was no new problem. He would not stop until oer as _—
of examples showing how the terrible young people 0 _ Lond
ration had managed the affairs of the world the next. 5 at 5a
of all periods in history had faced new worlds, he would say, ¢
Ss ve the forward look. i
pected of homes the students came from he oe: =
“homefolks,” and their manner Oy Ml crete unk ane
im s etic understanding of bo the pe ‘ iren.
mage poke of nostalgia that afflicted Ags capone ie
bose ighiowmagp awe ince Mpeg Rg want Taniakk:
would have been disappointed i y was oe essen
“Don’t write all the bad news or pour out your engi a at
our home people excited ; when the aympatneite . ie Pen
en will be Pree ae fine and then you ver ie - pitty st —
i n phone messages and letters c *
pe a Boer seriously students’ letters had been taken.

 
 

 

 

86 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Dr. Wright was not a fluent or easy writer or speaker. One of
his most difficult tasks in his earlier career was that of facing the
public and giving an explanation of his purposes and policies. He
avoided fine phrases, grandiloquent climaxes and all the tricks
of oratory either in speaking or writing. He depended on clear,

logical statement, embellished only with apt illustrations from his
own experience.

It was not hard for him to talk informally to individuals or
small audiences. His chapel talks were perhaps his best utter-
ances. Also, he could write personal letters easily and fluently.

A trick of his to get start-

Esi,—T / ed on formal addresses or
. articles was to have a

Geb apulinr Mus. stenographer take down
be an informal talk, such as

his chapel talks, or a let-

ter, and later for him to

work it over into an ad-

dress or article. He had

to have the free and in-

formal atmosphere to get

his thoughts down easily.

He would speak from a

brief outline on a small

piece of carboard which
he held in his hand.

Because of the nature
of his position, he was in
constant demand as a
speaker and finally grew
used to it and felt at ease
on the platform. But he
never made any attempt
to develop into an orator
of the conventional type.
Besides addresses, he did
little writing except that
which was in the form of

reports. He was a faith-
ful attendant at meetings of the N. E. AS INE IG, ARR geAC toa

similar organizations and considered himself a
of his institution. As one of his official duties
full accounting of educational meetings, digests of speeches, sum-
maries of discussions, which he presented to faculty or student
body in clear and concise form. Such reports were well organized,

S a representative
he brought back a

\ id 87
“HE SToop FOURSQUARE TO ALL THE WORLD

ings ause he

logical, comprehensive. He attended such meetings because
liked to get into movements at the sour ae Oe

Dr. Finnegan, State Superintendent of Se oe s ppl rag Meir

id of the report of the Educational Commission 0 ipqpenstiae 2
a hairman: “I have just received a report 0 r “ tg tion
North Carolina that is the finest thing of the kind av
yan frequently on the platform, he was ced pra sentir
and more effective in the council chamber. It was a pipers
gatherings that he did his best work and built up his

i i ings done. ee

ph ney t_stamgeid St into leadership — en
ree Thirties, who became State Cannes —— arr
and later president of the pwd of oe fe) e

i s after Wright’s death said: i
a the greatest following personally among school men
of any man in the State. They listened to him. ar sae ia

Dr. Charles Crabtree, secretary of the Nationa waste

Association for a generation, said virtually the — ‘=
calling the roll of national educational leaders * _- pier
Wright’s close friends, he said that Wright = tly og 4
informal groups in hotels, at luncheon tables, adi i pi a
man smokers or diners—in his quiet way questioning :

probing problems, analyzing situations, presenting plausible

theories, or laying down sound principles. Dr. ghana
he got more value from such contacts than from forma i ee se
or programs at conventions. Speeches and reports cou ~ —
but reactions and criticisms con to oH sa i in perso
rsation and informal interchange of ideas.
ides his public addresses, he took as much care ~~ out
small and apparently unimportant audiences as in Pe a
dresses to large conventions. He rarely refused wih — Tee
speak to small schools when his schedules permitted. thane
time his name appeared on a program was for a vege seayens .
address scheduled for April 25, 1934—the day of his gen te
Meadows, who succeeded him as president, went direc : “1 a
funeral to the school and oer the no te instead, as he
. Wright regarded such engagements. se
or wee aa his favorite study next to i a
in this field tended to give him a basis for his tra swage A .
torical point of view, for his broad comparisons, - be miogg
look far back for causes and for judgment of t xe stoned Ro
found a parallel in the Bible and modern life and sometimes
rophetic powers. :
are rSgatrepree tare that “somehow good will be aga =
of ill’ The World War was a shock to him, although he had by

 
 

 

88 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

no means been blind to the conditions that brought it about. He
had faith that some means would be found to avert war, but when
it came he faced the inevitable and did what he could, encouraging
the students in their war activities and in development of their
initiative and resourcefulness; he served on committees, and
made patriotic speeches, but the World War and its aftermath
did not destroy his faith in the ultimate good of humanity.

Of a deeply religious nature, he at one time considered the
ministry as his calling. He was a strong believer in affiliating
with religious organizations and encouraged church and other
religious activities. His first talk of each year was to the
Y.W.C.A. But he was careful to leave the leadership of this and
other student organizations in the hands of the students them-
Selves. He had a Sunday School class of his own—the room not
being large enough for those who came to hear him—and he
encouraged his faculty to be active in Sunday School and church
work. He thought there was no better medium for rendering
service.

Besides the church, he was active in fraternal work, being a
Mason, and in such civic and humanitarian organizations as
Rotary. As a trustee he had worked hard to cancel the debt that
had been hanging over his church for along time. It had been at

last paid off, and the Sunday before he died he took pleasure in a

ceremony when he, with others, burned the notes.
he ever made out was for his church.

Not by nature a politician nor a “mixer,” Wright did not know
how to “pull wires,” strike bargains, make compromises, or to
gain his objective in devious ways. His outstanding charac-
teristic, perhaps above all others, was his uncompromising
honesty. This was shown in his biennial reports with their exact
estimates for permanent improvements worked out to the odd
cents, without the least indication of padding for “trading
purposes.”

Part of this phase of his character was his almost entire lack
of showmanship or the dramatic instinct, either personally or
professionally. So detached was his point of view that he almost
shrank from doing or Saying things which made newspaper
headlines.

Another characteristic was his policy
about the school which the public had a

there was a case of smallpox on the ca

The last check

of suppressing no facts
right to know.
mpus, for instan

7 D” 89
“Hg STOOD FOURSQUARE TO ALL THE WORL

“stunts” for gaining publicity and would

He knew none of the “releases” and

have scorned to use them. He - sgt apt Ba wad oc
ver had ¢ ss agent for himselt or ‘ eaber-s gg ie
of y amg big ting news tracks, not near meee ren nity
caulies so the reporters did not often find pg coir oe ae
, The members of his faculty, individually, bial 7 i a heey
their teaching and for their work in saucanene org agen gi
They have been in demand, especially in the eas saiek bape
state, on programs of clubs or civic erate SOE dl ae
eek. Dr. Wright encouraged their participa gi A ganas
munity activities or accepting any invitations. ;
ressed themselves in print. oy aie
Little writing has been done by the meen ag agai
and few reports of researches have been — —, iC
and dissertations necessary for degrees. 3 re 5 ahgueanse
schedules, heavy committee work, Bag ie
zations or for activities, have left scant time for + a“ gph
in shape for publication. There has been ee ne
material for textbooks, articles, and books, but ‘ ° oat ae
busy with other things, did not seek publishers anc )
not discovered by publishers. ee
Disclaiming the oft-repeated remark that he rat me
college, he gave credit to the alumnae, to his adminis ra a
his supporters, the Board of Trustees, friends of epee ei
in the community and throughout the State—to all w
helped in any way. ; oe
Work of another that appealed to him — pr lgpeating
: is files was found a car Op)
creator of that work. In his files was founc e te
letter to Henry Turner Bailey nen I apse se
thi Says, stand why s
inging.’”’ In this he says, “I do not understa y ”
ote still believe that the youth of today is headed in the wrong
Wright's sense of humor was his own. He found some epee
amusing that others did not get at once. He yl . a Att
for which his name furnished countless opportuni les. . 8
sometimes be wrong,” he said on more than ie" ar belied t
I o watt 7 4 i that I am always Wr :
ave the satisfaction of knowing ie oii
tie eee raconteurs, he realized that ea a ee —
wa i i j ; just for the sé
S é vas not given to telling jokes just fe me's
— ‘He rn emphasis to his points frequently with _—
Eastrations from his own rich es Red ey ——,
; stories es whic ;
him. The flavor of the stories and jo wa peg ic ty
acai and of the moment, apt to be ea in = piaceng OO
‘or ji se, an incinerator salesman was
e, for instance, an incineratc ¢ - 8 ingee
fi = on the low cost of disposing of garbage with so pi
pr eta Wright solemnly told him that he had a garbage

 
 

90 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

disposal system that made money for the school. When the
salesman demanded proof, Wright led him to the pig pens which
composed his “incinerating plant.”

“Frazier’s Mule,” one of his apt illustrations, be
by-word. This mule of Frazier’s, he s
do—go straight down the furrow.
to get started in the right direction, and keep going.

Homely illustrations he delighted to use. He knew the people
of eastern North Carolina, their folklore, superstitions, old
sayings, weather signs, cures, and provincialisms. Errors of
structure and corruptions of language were offensive to his ear,
but not the old forms of speech, the idioms or pronunciations.
It did not seem unnatural to his ear for the first syllable of
“forward” to rhyme with “how,” and “put” had a right to rhyme
with “but.” The response “It’s been a-being so” had a subtlety
of meaning that made literary form seem circumlocution. He
could fraternize with the guides with whom he “went a-fishin’ ”
or “a-huntin’”’. His advice to the students was t

to put aside their old-fashioned ways or they w
stood. Fashions in speech were

He hated to see any
sure of the ways and
plan that is workable

came a college
aid, knew just one thing to
The mule had sense enough

hat it was wise

ould not be under-
as binding as those of dress.

thing go off “half-cocked,” and wanted to be
means before startin

done for a long time. After the fr

the new part remained for somet
field until finally he was

ont campus was doubled in size,
ime an unsightly stretch of old
d it was unnecessary to wait for
d planting scheme. Shown ways
n small units over a long period,
de. He lived to be justly proud
one of the most beautiful in the

convince

and means of getting this done i
he allowed a beginning to be ma
of the campus, which he thought

“On time every time,” was
bit ahead of time” someti
to such advice as this:

move; be in your seats in the clas

a lifetime motto, with “if not a little
me attached. Students were accustomed
“Step when the bell rings for you to

sroom when the last bel] stops

i ave it when the bell rings at the
ng 7 hae ie ey inten nae eon
Saal pion reas ‘ti was restless 1 '
ore er ge gene aaa ee or a ak a
= aim pt li soon found they would miss the fir - =
tpt f songs if they did not arrive at the grosnct oe :
attrib + en one occasion when the students ypc —
—_ ti to a church reception arrived en sia Se
pry So officials in line to receive them. He — ce
ne . the seniors arrived so early that they had had nb aoa
ng the dressing room while the line formed for a recep
in their honor by the president and his wife. ee MESS

He was as punctilious in meeting ec my weet pete:
obligations. After he was stricken, he gav diane bees giranner pn
ting scheduled for the next day. He was conce naa ed
ee oe for a commencement address on the follow ~~ “ae
arson Dr. Meadows promised to fill the “gg ween Pomeslie .
his promise, leaving oe after Dr. Wright's
o reach the place in time. ae
eee are sensitiveness to minor matters wae aaa
likes and dislikes. Certain small things eng ill siete
or annoyed him, although he was not an poh real tat pe
liked dainty flowers such as white hyacinths ei wees rb mpems
éalled them by the folk nickname of “old mai s
even when improved, they were still old maids. sstiieanena aie
Voices affected him. ‘What would my girls do i ie Sere :
listen to that voice every day ” he said in vega See alee
Jeo rhon mop anootes rhe sree pared ecw those he
her clothes?” he asked abou another. 4 nes Seated
was considering for positions he insisted upon cmahat
i important in his mind as well as records - oe
Yaa ae hae of his faculty, he said, was age 0 peat
for teaching and not for ability in any other la, > Pisoni
frequently called upon to act in wrap eg 8 Sys em
and as advisors of various student wepranseh smd aes te midln
markable coincidence that most of these rteongee ; pace
could be met by some member of the faculty, . usher
journalistic, athletic, or whatever type of aid — a ong is
. Tolerant as he was about young people and —_ * meg
make allowances and even excuses for them, some reine en
asy ways annoyed him. He could not see why gfeeveh
pclae ws zeae a girl’s door and announce his arrival by ring! e
oe a ee his automobile horn. When he went AoE es"
. ‘his mule “Molly” to an open buggy, if the mule “~
pie nae blown for the girl, he would never again had the
sn

 
92 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

chance to drive up to her door, he

Lizzie blew, and girl came running.”
Fishing and hunting were his favorite s

sportsman. A three da

slough of despair i

him.

said; but now “a boy’s old

xt 1in a fishing trip
he would write inquiring about the fishing. A wire from his

favorite guide saying “the fish are running” would be the signal
for him to get his party together for a trip. Golf was another

sport he enjoyed, and he was a charter member of the Greenville
Country Club.

Vacations he did no

t take, except these short fishing and
hunting excursions.

For the last three Summers he had a place
antic Beach might be called his “summer
His family moved down for the season and he spent
much of his time there, but keeping in constant touch with his
office and holding to the management of affairs. He loved the
Sweep of the seabreeze, long strolls along the strand, the surf,
and the advantage of getting these without the hurry of the trips

to the beach. His family thought that the time spent at the
beach had much to do with him fit. And he did seem to
keep physically fit.

r only a short time.
It enabled him to

get first-hand understanding of things
especially interested in as there Ww

family, a son, a brother, and a brot
over the w

ere three physicians in the

her-in-law. He philosophized
onders of surgery and anesthetics that enabled a man
to watch an operation on himself without feeling it. He enjoyed

the social features of his convalescence. Seeming to keep in good
condition, he broke suddenly when he was finally stricken.

heart, as if too tired to go on, stopped functioning normally. The
terrific strain of the years of the depression, work, cares, worries,

piled up, were too much for him.

He had been the rounds of the plant, checking up here and
there, at the beginning of another week, seeing that everything
was in working order. Passing through the Austin Building, he
greeted the members of the faculty and students as they were
going to the first classes of the day, entered his office, went

through his mail, and had just begun a conference with the dean
of men, when, without warning, he fell across his desk.

wg 9%
“Hk STOOD FOURSQUARE TO ALL THE WORLD 3

“T had much rather carry the load as a = ss —
st” yrote to one of his collez Ss §
suddenly and go West’, he wro ae ee ee
years before, “than to turn the burden ov er O § me '
ack dss clearly where the load is to be carried. as ee
i ” she r traci mward line wi is i :
s way’, slowly tracing a downwar E net ee
aig ‘to a friend, and then as he suddenly gav oD gag mente
' “this is ray I’ll go”. And so he :
ard gesture, he added, “this is the way | shrine :
. antral presenting in dramatic form the history _ =
school was to be the feature of the twenty-fifth ee
Plans were completed and rehearsals soon to begin. The eae :
students, the two hundred children in the Training School, - : id
and officers, representative alumnae from each class, and . om re
people whose names were associated with its founding, W ag
to take part in scenes to be enacted in an out-door setting, wet :
lake. Suddenly, midway, the elaborate preparations were ha !
“Go on”, the leader might have said, but the light and soul ac
gone out of the undertaking. Without him, the central figure os
the scenes that gave life and meaning to the pageantry, it seg
impossible to do so. It would have been difficult to keep the wai
of lament for the lost leader from drowning out the joyous song
of achievement. So ad
Facing an audience of students, faculty, alumnae, relativ “ =
fellow-citizens who had gathered to honor the memory o r.
ight, Dr. Frank Graham said: ;
bare much is crowded in that quarter of a century between
1909 and 1934! What hard work, what dreams, what frustra-
: bY , (ag
ions, and yet, what glorious fulfillmen a
per’ we a asked ‘Where is his monument’, wouldn't we say
as was said of Christopher Wren, ‘If you ~— “ss sy —
; it is’?”’ Throug Yast Car é
ment, look about you—here it is’? Th :
Teachers College, “he will work,” he said, for the youth and wed
the commonwealth through all generations of youth that are to
me.” . “fo . . .
» This brick and mortar monument in its beautiful setting, W =
the eye can see, is only a sign, a symbol, of his life Wort, —
colleagues, students, and fellow-citizens, having caught the gi
of their leader, have raised to his memory such a eo <
he would have chosen, not one of stone, but one that canno nea
raised with hands, one that will give more girls and boys re
chance to carry on his work—“The Robert H. Wright Memoriz
Loan Fund.” a a
Thus through East Carolina Teachers College, he will ween
on for the youth and for the commonwealth through all gene-
rations of youth that are to come.”

 
 

 

ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

Fs TRIBUTES FROM HiS FELLOWMEN
a per eres i the character of the man, appraisal of his work
‘ ‘ o humanity and society, sun i his ac
. nity ‘ y, Summaries of his achiev
rape sha 1d Ss achieve-
ae interpretations glving some analysis of his gifts ahs
areaweatitne te te at the memorial Services held by the virions
; ns, Mm the resolutions spread j i ir
aks S spread in their minutes, in edi-
‘ “WSpapers, and in telegrams
Me tea P g 8 and letters. A sheaf of
Hig he from these would make a beautiful ecru
ieee tens phe ae vik concerned with the reasons why
‘ S were paid rather than with i ni ;
sitet pea 1th collecting them
¢ “cho many of these ar
J se are preserved ; i
a ies - i d and int 2-
tgs i stew bial been used in their right Selatan
. Fran ranam, president of th i : |
; ; s e University
saa > d ersity, "
~% paket at the Memorial Services held by the Coll AP Bae
er 16, commented on the n i rani * et santo tc
aga honoring his memory and passe H
“5 es as evidence that each group felt “something d pe
ad gone from their midst.” eee

Strong testimonials of his leadership in eastern North Carolin
a

es to be, and, as he Saw before him e le a t er ed
f % e e oO nizatioy NI from mar ] Ss e eas e

man of bread cast

said: “It is but a natural coming back to the

upon the waters!”
First in the series of services

speaker, instead of eulogizing directly Dr. Wild cen ee ie
Bi e

qualities of leadership he f i i
qualities of Moses. : en paralleled certain

“Alumnae Day” F
ay program at Commencement, on which his mes

aati ethan high spot year after year, was devoted to a

sympos sowing various aspects of Dr. Wright’. 1;

char acter presented by those who knew him well nape “its ee

Ship ell In each relation-
Jarvis Memorial Sunday §S

y School held a beautiful servi ri

young and old assembled to honor the man who had ape ee a

roll for sO long a tim ’ ars as tea her of on
e for ye é c

Cc
Bible classes in the East.

lutions praised the virtues o
most efficient of their number for
The Rotary Club devoted a me
ex-president whom they he
Bankers, in session ina
resolutions of respect for
citizen.

many years.

eting to this charter member and
Id up as a “true Rotarian”.

distant section of the state, passed
the man they considered a leading

“HE STOOD FOURSQUARE TO ALL THE WORLD” 95

Sincere expression of appreciation emphasizing the quality that
each group had felt had been of special benefit to it, characterized
the tributes rather than perfunctory resolutions usually spread
on minutes.

Telegrams and letters from the Governor, Supreme Court
Justices, the member of Congress from his district, from most of
the college presidents in the state, and national and state leaders
in Education, and many others in positions of leadership put high
estimates upon his services to the State and Nation. But none
were more illuminating than those from E. C. T. C. graduates and
old students from the first one to register to members of the last
class.

Impressions left upon his classmates and fellow-students should
be added to the record from the files to give the true place a man
held on his college campus. Those who have known him later in
other relationships also can see the enduring qualities displayed
both early and late.

Three members of the Board of Trustees who were also on his
Executive Committee in 1934, had been College mates of Dr.
Wright’s.

A. B. Andrews, who had been on the Board for years, had
this to say of his reputation on the campus:

, “At college he stood out individually as a student and an
athlete; playing on the University football team demonstrated
his ability to work with others, and subordinate himself and his
personality when it would advance the cause. His four years on
the campus of the University of North Carolina was typical of
his life work in the world, and his manner of dealing with affairs
and men.”

F. C. Harding, who was appointed in 1915 as the successor of
ex-Governor Jarvis, and has the longest record of service on the
Board, speaks of his first meeting with Bob Wright. “One misty
gray day in November, 1894’, he says, ‘“‘in the late afternoon, I
first met Robert Wright, when as a freshman at Chapel Hill, he
came into the library asking assistance in finding books.” He
was deeply impressed with the natural simplicity of his manner.
The two did not meet again until in Greenville in 1909. “It was
here as President of the College and as a citizen of Greenville,
through a quarter of a century of service, his constructive genius,
radiated an influence not only in North Carolina, but throughout
our whole country.”

“There was a strong tie of friendship between us. I knew him
well, I knew his personal traits, which gave added strength of
character of his individualism. He did not copy any man. He
was content to be himself. He had ideals, and they all led him to
one common end, the fulfillment of his mission in life—the uplift

 
 

96 ROBERT HERRING WRIGHT

of humanity. He gave to the college the best he had in mind and
soul. He made it what it is. His business standards had in them
a note of sympathy for our common humanity. He lifted the
level of human ideals and achievements a little higher than he
found them.” ;

A. T. Allen, who, by virtue of his position as Superintendent of
Public Instruction, had been for eleven years chairman of the
Board, wrote the following: “As a student he gave promise of
developing into the kind of man we all learned to know go well.
He was thoroughly reliable in all his dealings with his fellow-
students. No one ever questioned the righteousness of his pur-
pose ; he did not cater to popularity, but seemed to be directed at
all times by the promptings of his conscience. His meticulous
care in doing only such things as his principles of right would
approve, made him a leading character among all of the students
of his day.”

“He believed fully in the accurate workings of the processes of
his own mind. While he was not quick to make up his opinion
about new questions, when he had thoroughly examined all of the
facts and made up his mind it resulted almost in a conviction.
After having given expression to the results of his deliberations,

only additional evidence would change his mind and attitude on

these points.

“President Wright was patriotic. He believed in North Caro-
lina. He was willing to undertake any enterprise that gave
promise of being helpful to the people of the state. No personal
sacrifice was too great for him to make freely in his effort to
serve the State in every relationship in which he found himself.

“It was a part of his faith that public education had the power
gradually to raise the level of civilization. He further believed
that the success of public education was dependent upon the
training and attitude of the teachers in these schools. His life
work, therefore, was the training of teachers. He was not satis-
fied merely with technique, skills and information. He thought
there should be something more. Persona] character and the
individual attitude towards the work were characteristics which
he felt should dominate the life of every teacher who went out
from his institution. This faith of his and this effort of his, and
the power to transmit them to those who came under his tuition
represent his great contribution to the life of the State.”