University of Virginia Library

MR. VINCENT SHEA ABSENT

MARY WASHINGTON COLLEGE MATTERS

LEAVES OF ABSENCE

The Board adopted the following resolution:

RESOLVED by the Board of Visitors of The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
that the following faculty members be and they are hereby granted leave of absence without pay.

Dr. Kurt F. Leidecker, Assistant Professor of Philosophy in Mary Washington College, for
the session of 1955-56, in order to accept an assignment in Bangkok with the State Department.

Dr. Charles H. Frick, Professor of Mathematics in Mary Washington College, for the session
of 1955-56, to work at the U. S. Naval Proving Ground at Dahlgren.

RESIGNATION

The following resolution was adopted by the Board.

RESOLVED by the Board of Visitors of The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
that the resignation of Dr. Thomas N. Stritch, Instructor in Psychology in Mary Washington
College, to take a position at East Carolina College, be and it is hereby accepted. We wish
for him the highest success in his new undertaking.

PROMOTIONS

The Board adopted the following resolution.

RESOLVED by the Board of Visitors of The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
that the following promotions in rank be and they are hereby made.

Alan Stanley Peirce, from Associate Professor to Professor of Biology in Mary Washington
College, as of September, 1955.

Alice S. Brandenburg, from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of English in Mary
Washington College, effective in September, 1955.

Gaetano Cecere, from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Art in Mary Washington
College, effective in September, 1955.

Raiford E. Sumner, from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of History in Mary
Washington College, effective in September, 1955.

Kurt F. Leidecker, from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Philosophy in Mary
Washington College, as of September, 1955

Anna Scott Hoye, from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Physical Education in
Mary Washington College, as of September, 1955.

Mark R. Sumner, from Instructor to Assistant Professor of Dramatic Arts in Mary Washington
College for three years, beginning in September, 1955.

APPEAL OF WILLIAM HOUCHINS

The President reported that in obedience to the Board's request of April 8th, he had
caused a hearing to be conducted in Fredericksburg into the case of William Houchins, who had
appealed for reinstatement in his position as an employee of the Buildings and Grounds force of
Mary Washington College. Laying before the Board the detailed report submitted by Mr. Paul
Jenkins, the University's Director of Personnel, who had conducted the hearing, President Darden
summarized Mr. Jenkins' findings and supported his recommendation that the appeal of Mr. Houchins
be denied

The Board resolved accordingly that the appeal be denied.

SALE OF MENDEL MUSEUM AUTHORIZED

President Darden having recommended the sale of the Mendel Museum at Mary Washington College,
the Board resolved, after discussion, that the President be authorized to proceed in this
matter at his own discretion.

BURSAR AUTHORIZED TO SIGN CONTRACTS

The following resolution, drafted by the Special Counsel, and revised, at the Board's
request, by President Darden and Mr. Howard, was adopted by the Board

RESOLVED, that the Rector, the President of the University of Virginia, the President of
Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, and the Bursar of Mary Washington College of
the University of Virginia be, and each of said officers is hereby given full and complete
authority to execute, in the name and on behalf of The Rector and Visitors of the University of
Virginia, any instrument pertaining to said Mary Washington College or its affairs, which may
hereafter require the name of this corporation to be signed thereto, except that the Bursar of
Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia shall not have the authority to execute
any instrument pertaining to land or to the construction of buildings or other improvements, and
the secretary of this corporation is hereby authorized to affix the seal of this corporation to
any and all such instruments upon which such seal is or may be required, and to deliver such
instrument or instruments to the party or parties entitled to receive the same.

CHANGE OF TITLE OF PRESIDENT

In a discussion regarding the proper title for the administrative head of Mary Washington
College, the Rector quoted the opinion of Mr. C. O'Conor Goolrick that the administrative head of
the College in residence at Fredericksburg ought not to have the title of President. There was a
general concurrence in this opinion, and the Rector said that in view of this fact he felt that Mr.
McWane's special Committee ought to warn prospective candidates for the post that the Board will
probably propose a change of title to the Legislature. After further discussion, the following
resolution, on motion of Mrs. Smith, seconded by Mr. Berkeley, was adopted:

WHEREAS, Title 23, Section 88, of the Code of Virginia now provides that the chief local
administrative officer of Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia shall have the
title of President of the College, and

WHEREAS, the President of the University of Virginia, under the terms of said statute, is the
principal administrative officer of the University of Virginia, and for all of its branches, including
Mary Washington College,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That in order to properly indicate the rank of the chief local
administrative officer of Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, and the relationship
of that office to the office of President of the University of Virginia, that the chief local
administrative officer of the College be called "Chancellor" of Mary Washington College of the
University of Virginia

AND FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED, That since the President of the University of Virginia is designated
in said statute as "Chancellor" of Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, and
since it appears that the title of "Chancellor" in so far as the President of the University of
Virginia is concerned, is superfluous and unnecessary, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, That the designation "Chancellor" in so far as the President of the University
of Virginia is concerned, be eliminated from the statute, and that the Rector be directed to appoint
a committee of the Board to petition the Legislature of Virginia, at its next session, to change and
amend said statute in the respects above mentioned, so that the section will read as follows:

DR. COMBS' ILLNESS - USE OF BROMPTON

President Darden informed the Board that Dr. Combs had been seriously ill and confined to a
hospital in Richmond, that Mrs. Combs had been with him there, and had therefore been unable to
proceed with plans to vacate Brompton early this month and move from the house those of the furnishings
that are the personal property of Dr. and Mrs. Combs. He added that the Bursar of the College,
Mr. Woodward, had assisted Mrs. Combs by providing an inventory of the items at Brompton owned by
the University. Mr. Darden said that, in view of the circumstances, he hoped the Board would be
lenient in regard to a moving date for Mrs. Combs.

There were general expressions of sympathy for Dr. and Mrs. Combs, and the Secretary was instructed
to convey these expressions to Mrs. Combs, and to advise her that a moving date later in the summer
would be satisfactory to the Board provided that the move should be made prior to September 1st. The
Secretary was also directed to write to the College Bursar, Mr. Edgar Woodward, authorizing and requesting
him to lend to Mrs. Combs the assistance of the Buildings and Grounds force and their
equipment for the removal of her furniture from Brompton at any date that might be mutually convenient
to him and to Mrs. Combs, provided only that this work should be completed prior to September

PROFESSOR HILLDRUP'S LETTER

The President read to the Board a letter from Professor R. L. Hilldrup recommending the promotion
of Professor Zoe Black, whose name had been signed to the so-called "Petition" of March 8th.
President Darden said that he was inclined to give serious consideration to any suggestion from a
professor of such distinction as Mr. Hilldrup, but that the time seemed inappropriate to him for the
action proposed (and recommended also by the Dean's Advisory Council), even though he shared
Mr. Hilldrup's optimism that the ill-feeling arising from the Petition was subsiding. Members of
the Board strongly seconded the President's opinion, and Mr. Howard was requested to inquire further
into the circumstances of the Petition and its signing.

BUDGET ADOPTED

Mr. Howard, as Chairman of the Visitors' Committee on the College, laid before the Board revised
and corrected copies of the proposed Budget of Mary Washington College for 1955-1956, recommending
its approval and adoption, with the following modifications.

• 1. Creation of a new instructorship in Spanish at a salary of $3,240.

• 2. Deferment of the promotion of Zoe Black.

• 3. Deletion of the names of Morgan L. Combs and Ruth E. Jenkins, with the retention of their
  salaries

• 4. Adoption of the proposed Student Aid fund, but on an experimental basis in the amount of
  $1,500 for the present instead of the $5,000 proposed.

• 5. Mr. Woodward's salary to be advanced to $7,500, instead of the $7,298 proposed, as a mark
  of commendation to him.

• 6. Mrs. Harris to be retained as Acting Dean of Women for the 1955-56 session, at President
  Darden's discretion, but without change in salary.

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• 7. Policy on Faculty travel to follow the practice of the other schools of the University
  located at Charlottesville and elsewhere, which is essentially that the necessary expenses of
  travel by a professor to a conference or meeting are paid only when he reads a paper, presides
  over a session, or in some other manner actually participates in an active way on
  the program of the conference or convention.

The Board resolved that the Budget, as amended by the foregoing provisions, be approved and
adopted.

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On motion the meeting was then adjourned.