6. INFLUENCE THROUGH PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
And what shall we say with reference to these same relationships as
between the University and those institutions of higher learning not owned
by the State? Between the University and some of them the bonds have
perhaps not been so close or so strong as to be discerned or acknowledged;
but with regard to others the coöperation has been both conscious and deliberate.
Two examples must suffice.
In 1839 Charles Lewis Cocke, a college senior nineteen years old, determined
to dedicate his life to the higher education of women in the South.
"Inspired by the University of Virginia—opened fourteen years before—he
resolved `to give to Virginia women the same thorough mental training as
that afforded to young men.' "[3]
In 1846 he moved to Botetourt Springs,
near what is now Roanoke City, to take charge of a school. "The educational
ideals of Thomas Jefferson became the inspiration of his youth";
and throughout an eminent career he cherished them. For more than fifty
years he labored in the light of his splendid hopes; and for three-quarters of a
century, now, Hollins College has been his growing monument.
In many counties and cities of Virginia the graduates of Hollins College
have taught worthily in our public schools. Some in this capacity have
served well two generations. One of them, Mrs. Betty Chandler Snead, who
graduated in 1868, taught in Halifax, in Essex, in Northampton; had a
family; returned to the schoolroom, and in 1915 was still at the post of public
service. Another, Edwina Chandler (Mrs. Walter Jones), who graduated in
1870, taught in Fluvanna. She married and reared a large family. Then
she took up teaching again. She was one of those teachers who used the
University local examinations to "standardize" her pupils. Miss Mary
Miller Snead, now the valued principal of a Fairfax County high school,
another Hollins graduate, is one of the number who testifies to having taken
the "University locals" in "Old Flu" under Mrs. Jones.
Hollins records show a long roll of alumnæ who have served Virginia
effectively and worthily in her public schools. Many other names might be
recited, but we must content ourselves with a very few more. Miss Bessie
Randolph of Farmville, Miss Elizabeth Cleveland of Harrisonburg, Miss
Lucy Puryear of Radford, Miss Berta Miller of Lynchburg, Miss Sully
Hayward of Roanoke, and Mrs. Ellie Marcus Marx of Norfolk are all alumnæ
of Hollins. They are eminent yet typical examples of the Hollins
graduate as a vital force in the public schools of Virginia. And it was one
of them who said:
"Recalling how often we heard the name of the University from Mr.
Cocke's lips and how bracing was the constant touch with its standards, we
are not surprised to find his biographer writing: `The educational ideals of
Thomas Jefferson became the inspiration of his youth, and with astonishing
tenacity and unity of purpose he pursued them until he worked out Hollins
College.' "[4]
Hollins College, therefore, is a notable example among the so-called
private schools of the State that have deliberately aided the University in
giving to the public schools their delayed birthright.
Another school of this same class, younger than Hollins but eminent
in the same way, is Bridgewater College.
This school dates its beginnings only forty-one years ago, yet within the
period of its brief history it has sent out hundreds of efficient teachers into
the public schools of the State. And every one of them has carried to his
work some gift that is openly and generously credited to the University.
The reason at once becomes obvious when we note the fact that eighteen
different members of the Bridgewater faculties have been students here.
For thirty-three years the presidents of the college have been University
alumni. Daniel C. Flory, the founder of the school and its head for six years
was a student here two sessions. Walter Bowman Yount, president for
eighteen years (1892-1910) was a student here six years. And John S.
Flory, who was president for nine years (1910-1919), and whose entire
service at Bridgewater to date totals twenty-four years, was a student here
three years and holds from the University his degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Every Bridgewater student is able to testify that the bond between his
school and the University is very close.
This bond and source of influence upon our public schools appears not
only in the rank and file of teachers trained at Bridgewater, but also in
certain notable leaders in education and legislation. John C. Myers, division
superintendent of schools in Rockingham County, is an alumnus of
Bridgewater and of the University. William T. Sanger, who needs no introduction
to Virginia educators, is a graduate of Bridgewater. Frank J.
Wright, whose record as a distinguished teacher and as a member of the
General Assembly of Virginia is well known, is an alumnus of Bridgewater
and of the University. Jacob A. Garber, whose service to public education
in the last General Assembly was so conspicuous as to win unusual approval,
is merely passing on the fine things that he has received, at least in part,
from Bridgewater College and from our Alma Mater.
