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 | Board of Visitors minutes April 8, 1955 |  |
A STATEMENT BY THE BOARD OF VISITORS OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA REGARDING THE PRESIDENCY
OF MARY WASHINGTON COLLEGE
8 April 1955
In late November 1953, serious reports about conditions at Mary Washington College came to the
Chairman of the Mary Washington College Committee of the Board of Visitors of the University of
Virginia. It was reported to her by reliable sources that the students were highly disturbed and
that a student riot against the Administration had been narrowly averted. In accordance with her
obvious duty, she consulted the Rector, Mr. Barron Black, and with his approval, the Mary
Washington Committee proceeded to investigate the situation, and reported to the Board of Visitors
at its meeting on December 11, 1953, that complaints had been made against Dr. Morgan L. Combs,
President of Mary Washington College. Upon receiving this report it was the conclusion of the
Board that Dr. Combs should be notified of the charges against him and that he be given a full
opportunity to explain them. By letter of December 12, 1953, Mr. Black wrote Dr. Combs as
follows
"The Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia, through its Mary Washington
Committee, has received complaints regarding the administration of affairs at Mary
Washington College, which are particularized as follows
"1. Supression of free expression of opinion at the College, insofar as any
criticism of the administration is concerned
"2. Unjust and unfair action in the disciplining of students
"3. Autocratic attitude of the President in regard to the administration
of affairs at the College, with the resultant practical disappearance of any form
of student government.
"4. Arbitrary exercise of authority on the part of the President, accompanied
by threats of reprisals if any deviation occurred in obedience to these arbitrary
orders
"5. Violent outburst of temper on the part of the President when reprimanding
students, and on other occasions, during which the President is said to have used
profanity and other epithets and language not proper from a person in his position.
"As a result of these actions, the Board's Committee has been told that a great
amount of indigantion and tension exists in the student body and among the parents of
the students, and that the College and its students are being harmed by this situation
"Parents of two of the waitresses who were recently punished by the President
have complained directly to the Committee, and have stated their intention of
taking the matter up with the Governor or members of the Legislature in the event
they do not receive satisfaction from the Board. Other complaining parties have
appeared before the Committee
"It thus becomes the duty of the Board to inquire into these matters in order
to ascertain the truth or falsity of these charges
"The Board has every intention of reaching no decision on these matters until
a full and complete opportunity is given to the President to place before the Board
his position in regard to these complaints. It, therefore, has decided to hold a
special meeting in the President's Office at the University in Charlottesville, at
10 A.M. on December 22, 1953, in order to give the opportunity to the President
to be heard, should he so desire
"I am directed specifically to request of you that the status of no person
concerned in this matter shall be changed in any way at any time because of his
or her appearance before the Committee or the Board, or because of having made
statements in connection with these complaints, and that no reprisals be visited
on him or her on that account."
On December 22, 1953, the Board met at Dr. Combs' request at Mary Washington College, and
Dr. Combs was afforded an opportunity to make a full statement. Dr. Combs presented a written
statement to each Visitor, and addressed the Board for more than two hours. A court stenographer
was present and recorded all testimony of Dr. Combs and other witnesses during a session which
lasted from 10:00 A.M. until after 6:00 P.M. After hearing the statements of Dr. Combs and the
statements of seven other persons on this occasion, it was the opinion of the Board that the investigation
should be continued. Arrangements were made for the Board to meet again at Mary
Washington College on February 12, 1954, and to hear the statements of all persons whom Dr. Combs
wished to make statements in his behalf, as well as the statements of others
On January 23, 1954, Jere Willis, Esq., an attorney at law of Fredericksburg, wrote to
Mr. Black, the Rector, stating that he had been engaged as attorney for Dr. Combs. At the
request of Mr. Willis for a conference with Mr. Black in Richmond, a conference was held in
Richmond on February 10, 1954. Mr. Willis, his law partner Mr. Garnett, Mr. Thomas B. Gay of
Richmond, then a member of the Board of Visitors, and Mr. Black, participated in this conference
Mr. Willis suggested in the interests of Dr. Combs and of Mary Washington College, that the investigation
of the charges against Dr. Combs be discontinued, and that if this were done, Dr. Combs
might be willing to relinquish the administrative duties at the College provided he could continue
in charge of new construction, fund raising and related matters, and retain the title of President
At the meeting of the Board at Mary Washington on February 12, 1954, the suggestion of
Dr. Combs' attorney, Mr. Willis, was reported to the Board by the Rector, and the Board, deeming it
to be in the best interests of the College, agreed to his proposal. Numerous persons were present
prepared to make statements to the Board, but since the proposal made to the Board by Dr. Combs
through his attorney had been accepted, it was deemed unnecessary to hear further statements, and
accordingly none was hrd.
A Committee of the Board drafted a resolution, incorporating certain suggestions made by
Dr. Combs through his attorney, which was adopted by the Board as follows
"WHEREAS, for several months past, the Rector and Visitors of the University of
Virginia has been engaged in a careful investigation of substantial complaints concerning
the administration of Mary Washington College by Dr. Morgan L. Combs in a manner
adversely affecting student discipline and morale and proper faculty relations, and,
"WHEREAS, the Rector and Visitors is of opinion that a rearrangement of responsibilities
for the administration of Mary Washington College is both necessary and desirable, and,
"WHEREAS, the Board's investigations have demonstrated the fact that administrative
responsibilities heretofore assigned to President Combs are presently more than he is
physically able to discharge in justice to himself and to the best interests of the
College
"NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED (1) That in the discharge of his duties as the
principal administrative officer of Mary Washington College, the President of the
University of Virginia shall have and exercise in respect to Mary Washington College supreme
administrative authority,
"(2) That in pursuance of this authority the President of the University of Virginia be
and he hereby is authorized to delegate the performance of such duties in respect to construction
and development, solicitation of funds, and related matters as he in his discretion
shall determine, to Morgan L. Combs, who shall retain the title of President of Mary
Washington College until his retirement or so long as his performance of such duties is
satisfactory to the Rector and Visitors,
"(3) That the President of the University of Virginia is further authorized to delegate
all other administrative functions of Mary Washington College, including faculty relations,
student relations, curriculum, internal budget, and control to such other administrative
official or officials as shall be designated by him with the approval of the Rector and
Visitors."
Following the adoption of the resolution, Dr. Combs signed and delivered to the Board the
following letter.
of the UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Fredericksburg, Virginia
February 12, 1954
THE RECTOR AND VISITORS,
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
"I have read the resolution today adopted by the Board. It has my full approval
and the implementation of it will have my full cooperation. In so doing I will
"1. Give my full and complete cooperation to any person or persons who are
selected by President Darden to function in the manner contemplated by the
resolution, and will so state publicly to the faculty, student body, and
alumnae of Mary Washington College.
"2. I will address suitable letters, in form to be agreed upon between my
attorney, Jere Willis, and representatives of the Board, to all persons who
wrote the Board regarding the recent investigation (a list of which will be
furnished me by the Rector), stating that I agree with the action this day taken
by the Board and that I am satisfied with the Board's disposition of the matter
and its consideration and treatment of me
"3. That I will write suitable letters of apology to the parents of those young
ladies who appeared in my office for disciplinary action in regard to the disturbances
in the dining hall, in form to be approved by my attorney, Jere Willis,
and representatives of the Board
"It is understood that the administrative dean or other officer or officers designated
by the President would require and occupy the office facilities now occupied by me
"I further understand that at some time prior to my retirement, the Board will expect
to pursue the matter of securing a suitable successor as President of the College
Five weeks later, Dr. Combs wrote the following letter to some of those who had expressed
interest.
THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
Fredericksburg, Va.
March 22, 1954
"I am deeply grateful to you for the letter you wrote to the Rector and Visitors of
the University of Virginia in my behalf. Your confidence in me has done much to reassure
me and to keep up my morale.
"I am very glad to be relieved of many administrative details and other responsibilities
at Mary Washington since the load I had been carrying for many years was too great for any
one person to continue to carry. Many colleges half the size of Mary Washington have, in
addition to a Dean of Instruction, a College Dean to take care of many of these matters,
which we did not have
"I want you to know that the administrative changes were made with my
knowledge and consent, after thay had been discussed at some length, and I
hope in spite of unfortunate newspaper speculation, that they will work out
to the satisfaction of all parties concerned.
"With warmest personal regards, I am,
On December 9, 1954, Dr. Combs delivered to the Mary Washington Committee at its meeting in
Fredericksburg a letter charging that five members of the Mary Washington College faculty and
staff had a conspiracy against him and that the then chairman of the Mary Washington Committee had
given the alleged conspirators sympathetic support. These charges are completely unfounded
In the same letter, Dr. Combs charges his attorney, Mr. Willis, with acting on February 12th
without his permission, and alleges that he, Dr. Combs, on February 12, 1954, acted under duress.
Mr. Willis has positively denied that he, or anyone else, subjected Dr. Combs to duress or
coercion of any kind, or that he effected a compromise without the full permission and knowledge
of Dr. Combs
At to the scurrilous document recently circulated, entitled "The Whole Story at Mary
Washington College", the Board of Visitors has no knowledge of its authorship and has made no
effort to discover who wrote and circulated it. However, the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star did
conduct an inquiry respecting purported signatures thereto and reported the results of this
inquiry in an editorial of March 23, 1955
"The results of our inquiry were surprising. All of the persons we could
contact had signed some sort of petition - but they had signed petitions that
varied considerably from the mimeographed one on which their names appear now.
Some signed a petition they were told requested that MWC not be made a junior
college. Others signed only a simple request for a new hearing for Dr. Combs.
We could find only one man who said the 9-page paper being distributed under
the title, `The Whole Story at Mary Washington College', was the document that
he had originally signed. The other 32 persons apparently were listed on the
mimeographed document without their knowledge or consent."
Dr. Combs has not openly admitted authorship of this composition but he has stated to the
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star that he was aware of its circulation and familiar with its
contents. It is not without significance that one of the signers of the paper stated to the
press that he had signed the petition in Dr. Combs' office and at Dr. Combs' request. While the
Board feels impelled to its present conclusions independently of Dr. Combs' part in this
publication, it does wish to express its resentment of the completely false charges therein
directed against the Rector, certain past and present Visitors, and members of the faculty and
staff of Mary Washington College.
The Rector acted throughout this entire proceeding as an agent of the Board and with the
full support of its members, with whom he was in constant communication
It now appears that the Board has been overly patient with Dr. Combs and mistaken in
its reliance on his promises. In its efforts to bring harmony and constructive force to bear
in the administration of the affairs of the College the Board has heretofore left him with his
title, with responsible duties to perform, and with his salary and other emoluments of office.
He was asked in return only for cooperation with the plan of administration, to which he
subscribed his full consent. He has now not only repudiated his agreement, he has gone to the
length of bitter attack on important members of the College faculty and the administration. He
is now completely at odds with the governing body of the College and with its Chancellor. It is
clear to the Board that continued retention of Dr. Combs in any active capacity at Mary
Washington would be against the best interests of the College. Accordingly, the Board has today
unanimously adopted a resolution removing him from office, effective immediately
Provision has been made for continued payment of his salary from private funds of the
University until June 11, 1956, at which time he will be eligible for retirement. The affairs
of the College will be directed by Chancellor Darden pending election of a President in the
place of Dr. Combs.
The Board resolved by unanimous vote that the foregoing statement be approved and adopted,
that the Secretary be directed to prepare and to release copies of it to the press, but not
earlier than 3:00 p.m. and in no case until Dr. Combs had been informed of the Board's action
| Board of Visitors minutes April 8, 1955 | |