The Texas Standard, Volume 29, Number 2, May-June 1955 Page: 13
27 p. : ill. ; 29 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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TEXAS STANDARD
Huston-Tillotson Dedicates New Building
Huston-Tillotson College, now in
its third year of operation as a
merged institution of the former
Samuel Huston and Tillotson Col-
lege, dedicated its first new build-
ing, a $500,000.00 modernly con-
structed and equipped Science
Building, on Sunday afternoon,
March 6, at 4:00 o'clock with ap-
propriate services. The services were
conducted in the Mary E. Branch
Auditorium.
Dr. Edmund Heinsohn, pastor of
the University Methodist Church,
Austin, and chairman of the Board
of Trustees of Huston-Tillotson, pre-
sided over the dedication services,
and Bishop Alexander P. Shaw,
Resident Bishop of the Texas Con-
ferences of the Methodist Church,
was in charge of the Act of Dedica-
tion. The invocation was offered by
Dr. Robert L. Rowe, minister of the
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Austin,
and the benediction was said by the
Reverend D. H. Hansboro, District
Superintendent of the Austin Dis-
trict of the Methodist Church. The
College Choir and Concert Band,
under the direction of Nathaniel G.
Williams, head of the music depart-
ment at the college, furnished the
music for the occasion which con-
sisted of several Negro spirituals and
the anthem, "All Hail The Power of
Jesus' Name."
Greetings from the American Mis-
sionary Association, one of the spon-
soring bodies of the college, were
brought by Dr. Philip M. Widen-
house, general secretary of this or-
ganization. Other greetings were Dr.
Marvin S. Vance for the Methodist
Board of Education, co-sponsor of the
college; Mayor C. A. McAden for the
city of Austin; Dr. Robert S. Mosby,
minister of the Wesley Chapel Meth-
odist Church, Austin, for the city
pastors, and a representative from
the Texas Education Agency; greet-
ings from the United Negro College
Fund, the organization that gave the
half million dollars for the erection
of the new Science Building, were
read by President Matthew S. Dav-
age of Huston-Tillotson in the ab-
sence of Dr. William J. Trent,
Executive Director of the United
Negro College Fund.
In addition to the general greet-
ings brought by sponsors and friends
were "five minute" greetings from
three distinguished graduates of the
college, who majored in science—Dr.
Ray F. Wilson, who was the first
Negro to earn a Ph. D. degree from
the University of Texas; Dr. Herman
A. Barnett, who was the first Negro
to earn an M. D. degree from the
University of Texas School of Medi-
cine, and Mrs. Alice Jean Alexander,
the first of her race to complete
work as a Medical Technician at the
University of Texas medical school,
and who taught for one semester at
this institution during a leave of ab-
sence of the teacher regularly in
charge of the work she was assigned.
Greetings were also extended by Dr.
James S. Thomas, Jr., Associate Di-
rector of the Methodist Board of
Education, Nashville, Tennessee.
The dedicatory address was deliv-
ered by Dr. L. D. Haskew, Dean of
the College of Education and vice-
president for Development Services
at the University of Texas. Dr.
Haskew said in part: "There will
continue to be college serving Negro
students in this region. The only
questions are how unique and how
efficient can it be in service. It is
clear that only high quality and
above normal service can entitle a
college of this character to the right
to service. The competition of the
future will not be at the ordinary
mediocre levels. It will be at the top
levels.
We must hasten the day when the
word "Negro" in the title or descrip-
tion of a college ceases to denote
its quality, and describes only the
origin of its interest in affording top-
notch educational opportunity for its
students.
The field of Natural Science offers
to Negro youth today their most
wide-open opportunity to achieve
their birthrights as citizens of the
United States. The demand for tech-
nically trained man-power is of tre-
mendous proportions and continues
to grow by leaps and bounds. In
scientific fields racial barriers are
extremely easy to surmount. Within
the past year, employment officials
of many large corporations have
told me that their doors are wide
open to Negroes who have the neces-
sary qualifications. The scientific
fields offer a golden opportunity to
those with ability and determination.
We should remind ourselves that
education, not legislation, is the
basic American way. Legislation can
give concrete form to the majority
conscience, but at best it can only
lay out the rules of the game. You
can not legislate qualifications into
people but you can educate them
there. That is what this building is
for—to educate, to qualify. If it
serves its purpose, people will
emerge from it qualified to take
their places as key citizens in build-
ing a better state and nation.
TEXAS STANDARD
THIRTEEN
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Reference the current page of this Periodical.
White, Leslie J. The Texas Standard, Volume 29, Number 2, May-June 1955, periodical, May 1955; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth193778/m1/13/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Prairie View A&M University.