Board of Visitors minutes :: October 7, 1959 :: University of Virginia Library

RESOLVED by the Board of Visitors of The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
that the following persons be and they are hereby elected to the faculty of Mary Washington College

Mrs. D. J. Kilby as Instructor in Mathematics, for one year, as of September 1959, at a salary
of $5,000.

Mrs. George E. Luntz as Visiting Associate Professor of Modern Foreign Languages, Part-Time,
for one year, as of September 1959, at a salary of $4,400.

Mr. A. Ray Merchent as Registrar and Instructor in Education, for twelve months, as of
September 1959, at a salary of $5,760.

Mrs. George Brown Oliver as Instructor in Art, Part-Time, for one year, as of September 1959,
at a salary of $3,000.

Miss Josefa Rivas-Crespo as Instructor in Modern Foreign Languages, for one year, as of September
1959, at a salary of $4,400.

Mr. Robert Harrison Shaw as Visiting Associate Professor of Mathematics, Part-Time, for one year,
as of September 1959, at a salary of $3,000.

171

COLGATE W. DARDEN, JR. AWARD

Chancellor Simpson stated that former President Colgate W. Darden, Jr., had indicated an
interest in establishing an annual award for the outstanding academic student at Mary Washington
College. Mr. Darden, the Chancellor reported, had given permission for the award to bear his
name. In addition to the monetary award, estimated to be no less than $100 annually, the student
would also be presented with a medallion to be paid for by the College. The Chancellor reported
that a design for the medallion would be presented for review by the Board if the award was approved.

After expressions of gratification for the generosity of Mr. Darden, the Board adopted the
following resolution

RESOLVED by the Board of Visitors of The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
that the Chancellor of Mary Washington College be and he is hereby authorized to negotiate with
former President Colgate W. Darden, Jr. for the establishment of the Colgate W. Darden, Jr. Award,
and to prepare a design for a medallion to be presented for approval.

NAMING OF NEW DORMITORY

Mr. Greear, Chairman of the Mary Washington College Committee, reported on behalf of the
Committee that the new dormitory which had been completed should now be named. During its discussions,
the Committee considered the question as to whether buildings either at Charlottesville
or elsewhere should be named after living persons. It was brought out in the discussion that the
custom at the University had been for no buildings to be named for living persons, but that one
building at Mary Washington College had been named for a person who was living at the time and is
still living.

After considerable discussion, the Board decided to defer the matter of naming the new dormitory
until a later date.

CONVERSION TO GAS

The Chairman of the Mary Washington College Committee, Mr. Greear, stated that the College
had received a letter dated 1 October 1959, from Mr. William J. Gibson, of the firm of Coleman and
Gibson in Fredericksburg, emphasizing the embarrassment that had been caused by the failure of the
College to fulfill its commitments to the Natural Gas Service Company for the partial conversion
from coal to gas for heating purposes as authorized by the Board of Visitors at its meeting on 13
December 1958. Mr. Gibson pointed out that the College had been counted on as the principal single
customer of the gas company, that the project was approved by the State Corporation Commission on
the strength of a letter from the College dated 17 December 1958, reporting the Board's actions, and
that the College's participation had been a primary factor in obtaining the financing of the project
by a New York banking firm. Mr. Greear asserted that the contract for the conversion had not been
entered into because of a ruling by the Director of the Budget that the project was of such a
magnitude that it required the prior approval of the Governor.

After considerable discussion of both the specific problem at Mary Washington College and the
relationships between the State Budget Office and the Board of Visitors in the government of the
University, the Board adopted the following resolution

RESOLVED by the Board of Visitors of The Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia
that the Rector is hereby directed to appoint a special committee of the Board to confer with the
Governor concerning the relationships between the State Budget Office and the Board of Visitors in
the government of the University, including the appropriate functions of the Budget Office and the
Board respectively with regard to the proposed contract with the Natural Gas Service Company.

LETTER FROM MRS. MORGAN COMBS

President Shannon read a letter from Mrs. Morgan Combs, addressed to former President Colgate
W. Darden, Jr. under the date of 18 July 1959, expressing her gratification for the naming of the
new science building at Mary Washington College as the Morgan Combs Science Hall and asking Mr.
Darden to express her deep appreciation to the Board.