Newspaper Page Text
VOL. XXIV, NO. 2
SPELMAN COLLEGE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
NOVEMBER, 1967
Spelman
Joins
Board
Spelman has become one of
ten southern colleges and uni
versities voted into member
ship October 26 at the annual
two-day meeting of the College
Entrance Board and the Col
lege Scholarship Service. 14
secondary schools were also
received into membership. This
election increased southern
membership in the College
Board to 176 colleges and uni
versities, and 245 secondary
schools.
The College Board is a na
tional association of 782 pub
lic and independent colleges
and universities, 238 second
ary schools, and 88 associa
tions. It was established in
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French House Residents
Top Row: (L to R) Carolyn Anderson, Luella Nichols, Faye McElroy, Katherine Petroletti, Jean
Shipp, Jacqueline Brown, Patricia Roberts, and Cheryl Birchette. Front Row: Janice Hale, Wilma
Williams, Willie Mae Smith, Sneryl Summers, Cassandra Taylor, Melody Quinn, and Rosina Rajan.
French House Honored
Sunday, October 22, 1967
was not only Open House but
was the celebration of the 50th
Anniversary for the residents
of Bessie Strong Dormitory or
La Maison Francais.
The building which, during
the presidency of Miss L. H.
Tapley was built to accommo
date students for nurses’ train
ing, then called Bessie Rocke
feller Strong Nurses Home in
honor of the oldest child of
J. D. Rockefeller—first oc
cupied in October, 1917.
In the years following, Spel
man Seminary developed into
a strong liberal arts college and
the dorm served as a faculty
residence.
In 1964, at the suggestion
of students majoring and min-
oring in French and their
French tutors, Bessie Strong
emerged as a dormitory for
students pursuing their AB
degree in French. The goal has
been to promote proficiency in
speaking French within the so
cial and cultural framework of
dormitory life.
In marking the 50th An
niversary, the residents took
charge of the Vesper hour.
The highlight of the pro
gram was a most enlightening
speech delivered by Mrs. Ros-
alyn Mitchell Patterson, class
of 1958. Included in her
speech was mention of some
Spelman sisters: Mrs. Ella
Barksdale, Dr. Georgia Rooks,
Dr. O’Neal, Mrs. Ethel W.
Rugsdale, and Marion Wright
—thus basing her speech on
concrete data. Dr. Patterson
infused a new sense of pride
and identity in the entire stu
dent body.
Dormitory Presidents were
also installed. They were:
Mary Commack, Abby Aid-
rich Rockefeller; Cassandra
Taylor, Bessie Strong; Jacque
lyn Matthews, Chadwick; Mar
seille Miles, Manley; Camilla
Smith, Morehouse North; Ann
Hill, Morehouse South; Sylvia
Morgan, Morgan; Marjorie
Duncan, Packard; and Delsie
Whited, Representative of the
Commuting Students.
AU Center Mourns
President's Death
Pianists Give Concert
Dr. Rufus E. Clement,
president of Atlanta Univer
sity for 30 years, collapsed
and died of an apparent
heart attack at a hotel in
New York. The longtime
Negro educator was 67.
Dr. Clement was in New
York to prepare for the fall
meeting of the college’s
board of trustees.
The first Negro to serve
on the Atlanta Board of
Education since Recon
struction days, Dr. Clement
was elected to the board in
1954.
College officials said the
educator had been planning
to retire in the near future-
probably at the end of this
year.
Dr. Clement received his
Bachelors’ of Divinity at
Garrett Bibical Institute in
1922; his M.A. at North
western University in 1922;
his Ph.D. in 1930.
Prior to coming to At
lanta University he was an
instructor at Livingstone
college, 1922-1925; profes
sor of history and dean
from 1925 to 1931 before
becoming dean of Louisville
Municipal college for Neg
roes, a part of the Univer
sity of Louisville, from
1931 to 1937.
Among board and com
mittees he served on were
A splendid morning concert
in Sisters Chapel on Thursday,
October 12, was presented by
the remarkably capable Aus-
tralian-American duo-pianists,
Nelson and Neal. This event
was a welcomed return engage
ment of this world-renowned
ensemble to Spelman College,
and understandably so. As the
enthusiastic audience so ac
curately anticipated, the hus
band-wife team of pianists re
warded the Spelman College
family with a skillful—nearly
flawless—display of sparkling
clarity, contagious exhuber-
ance, and brilliant technique at
the keyboards.
The program consisted of
six works from the nineteenth
and the twentieth centuries,
none of which were from the
avant-garde of the present. The
works were performed in this
order: Shostakovich’s “Con
certino for Two Pianos,” Op.
94; Schubert’s “Fantasy in F-
minor,” Op. 103; Debussy’s
“The Afternoon of a Faun”;
Milhaud's “Scaramouche
Suite”; Chopin’s “Variations in
D-major”; and Rachmanin
off’s “Fantasia for Piano, Op.
5. Interestingly enough, Nelson
and Neal gave the American
premieres of the Chopin and
the Shostakovich works.
In short, Nelson and Neal
presented a stirring perform
ance. They overwhelmed their
delighted audience, and the
grateful listeners responded
with their best — a standing
ovation.
the trustee board of Living
stone, Morehouse, Spel
man, President’s Confer
ence of Presidents of Negro
Land Grant Colleges, 1952-
53; member of the execu-
Dr. R. E. Clement
tive committee of the South
ern Conference on Human
Welfare; vice president of
Southern Conference Edu
cation Fund. Vice chair
man of the Georgia Confer
ence on Interracial Cooper
ation 1937-44; National
Council of YMCA, and
many more.
He became president of
Atlanta University in 1937
succeeding the late John
Hope.
Students observe pianists in action.