Centennial Book

East Central University 1909 - 2009

Celebrating 100 Years

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

East Central University - Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Celebrating 100 Years This publication is a collection of memories from the past combined with a look toward East Central University’s future.

This book touches on some of the major aspects of life at East Central University over the past 100 years and is not all-inclusive. Narrowing down the selection of topics and information was a difficult task as the university’s history is so rich.

It is our hope that both alums and friends of ECU will be inspired to reflect on their own memories of East Central University and be encouraged to get involved in ECU’s next 100 years.

As ECU looks forward to embarking on its second century, we honor all of those who have gone before us. Encompass the past. Enrich the future.

Class of 1915 East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 1

East Central University - Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Graphic Design/Layout and articles written/arranged by:

Susan Ingram Except: •

100 Years of Living at ECU written by Cathie Harding & Susan Ingram

•

What Happened to East Central’s Elephant? written by Dr. B.J. Tillman, reprinted from East Central University’s Public Service Program schedule, 1983

•

Funding to Support Research Opportunities written by Jill Frye

•

ECU and the Arts Go Hand In Hand written by Amy Ford

•

Looking Back 100 Years - Tiger Athletics written by Brian Johnson & Gerald Williamson

Written content contributed by: Diane Berty, Amy Ford, Jill Frye, Cathie Harding, Brian Johnson, Kathy Johnson, Gina Smith, Ryan Wetherill & Gerald Williamson

The content of this book has come from a variety of sources including: • A History of East Central State College, 1909-1949, by John Gillespie & Dale Story, edited

by W. Harvey Faust • East Central State College, 1949-1969, by W. Harvey Faust • The East Central Story – from Normal School to University, 1909-1984, by Palmer Boeger, Casper Duffer, Marvin Kroeker, Bill Tillman, Lynda Stephenson, Don Stafford, Margaret Lewis, Orville Robbins, Stanley P. Wagner & Tom Wood, edited by John A. Walker • East Central University, 1969-1989, by Palmer Boeger & Davis D. Joyce • The East Central University Story, 1980-2005, by Alvin O. Turner • Articles from ECU’s newspaper, The Journal • Articles from Ada Evening News • The Pesagi Yearbook • ECU presidential reports • Self-evaluation reports for North Central Accreditation • Countless individuals who have shared their memories and/or gathered information to make this collection of memories possible • The 2009 ECU faculty & staff

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Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Features 4 6 Dr. Duane C. Anderson Interim President East Central University On behalf of the faculty and staff, both current and former, I welcome you to East Central University!

It is a privilege at this point in history to serve as the Interim President of East Central University.

Although I’ve been at ECU for 19 years as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, to assume the Presidency during our centennial year is an exceptional honor.

East Central University is steeped in riveting history and tradition that echoes through the halls and across campus. ECU has come from its modest beginnings in 1909 when the first classes were held in local churches to the beautiful campus of 2009 that boasts many venues for educating the 21st century student, including the newest addition, the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center. This $27 million complex will become the home for the arts on the ECU campus and a venue to share many exciting events with the community and southeast Oklahoma.

We treasure the history and traditions of East Central University, but we also strive to change, update and move into the 21st century with ever more technology that expands the classroom walls to encompass the whole world. As we discuss the past 100 years, current students may be as amazed at the ECU of 1909 as the 1909 students would be amazed at the world of 2009. All students who enter East Central University today are connected to our storied past. Just as the students of long ago came to East Central Normal School desiring more for their lives, students today come with the same desires. They may access their futures with different technologies, but the desires are very similar.

We invite you to join in celebrating the history and tradition of our first 100 years and to anticipate with excitement the changes that the next 100 years will bring. As we commonly say on campus, “Once a Tiger, always a Tiger!

East Central State Normal School The beginning 100 Years of Living at ECU A look back at residence life

10

Fight On Tigers Roary the Tiger, ECU’s fight song and alma mater

12 14

The Great Depression East Central struggles through the depression years The Rock Garden

16

Looking Back 100 Years - ECU & the Automobile The timeless issue of cars and parking on campus

20

War Brings Change to ECU A look at the effects of wartime at ECU

26

Through the Years A pictorial history

32 38 39

100 Years of Student Life A look back at student activities on campus

40

What Happened to East Central’s Elephant?

Separating the myth & fact of ECU’s popular legend

42 44 46 48

A Pictorial History Academics

The Pesagi Yearbook Horace Mann Training School

ECU & the Arts Go Hand In Hand A Pictorial History Faculty & Staff Looking Back 100 Years Tiger Athletics

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 3

East Central University

East Central State Normal School, students and faculty on the front steps of Science Hall, 1914

The Beginning Summarized from The East Central Story, from Normal School to University, 1909 – 1984 The citizens of early Ada aspired to see their town become a thriving community that offered plenty of opportunities for incoming families and businesses. They felt that one way to accomplish this goal was to secure a state-sponsored college.

After statehood in 1907, Ada was up against five other towns, all of which were larger, to be chosen as one of three sites for a normal school. City leaders worked together to plan a strategy to secure the normal school and the Ada promoters agreed to keep a delegation of citizens at the state capital in Guthrie in order to influence the first state legislature.

The people of Ada worked together to raise funds for the delegation by hosting band concerts and dinners. Otis Weaver, editor of the Ada Evening News, used the paper to help raise the needed funds for lobbying. He even listed the names of the individuals who had contributed and how much money they had given. If he didn’t feel that an

EAST CENTRAL UNIVERSITY began as the East Central State Normal School and throughout its 100-year history has had five different names, marking ECU’s evolution from normal school to college to university.

4 Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

individual had given enough money he would write that they should “exhibit greater civic pride.”

Unfortunately, the citizens of Ada were not the only ones who had this idea and delegations from the competing towns swarmed the legislative session.

Competition for the normal schools became so heated during that first session that a fist fight erupted on the floor between Pontotoc County’s Sen. Reuben Roddie and Sen. J.S. Morris of Booker. The first Oklahoma Legislature adjourned without establishing any new normal schools for the state.

During the second legislative session, approval came for three normal schools to be established – one at Tahlequah, one at Durant and one at Duncan. At the last minute, some of the Ada delegates persuaded a member of the legislature to replace Duncan’s name with Ada’s.

The bill eventually made it through both the House and the Senate after much additional political maneuvering.

On March 25, 1909, Gov. Charles N. Haskell signed the Ada Normal School bill. When word reached Ada every mill and factory in town blew their steam whistles in celebration of the creation of the East Central State Normal School.

• 1909 - 1919 East Central State Normal School • 1919 - 1939 East Central State Teachers College • 1939 - 1974 East Central State College • 1974 - 1985 East Central Oklahoma State University • 1985 - Present East Central University

For the first 11 years, East Central State Normal School served as both a high school and a two-year college. Classes began in September 1909, despite the fact the new college did not have its own buildings.

Classes were held at various churches throughout the city and eventually moved to the high school.

Most of the land for the original campus was donated

by Dan Hays, a Chickasaw Indian. This was to be the beginning of a long-standing partnership with the Chickasaw Nation.

East Central’s first building, Science Hall, was built by Texas Building Company for $94,700 and was completed by the summer of 1910.

The second building on campus was a wooden gymnasium built in 1913. The gym was located just southeast of Science Hall.

The Board of Normal Regents named the first president of ECSNS as Rev. E.N. Sweet of Lawton.

However, Sweet refused the job and the board named Charles W. Briles, Muskogee school superintendent, as East Central’s president. Briles had graduated from the University of North Carolina and taught in Texas for nine years before becoming a member of the faculty at the University of Texas.

Briles served as ECSNS’s president for seven years, surviving much political turmoil. The shaky politics of the new state greatly affected the normal schools, all of which went through two presidents during Briles’ seven-year term.

Throughout the summer of 1915, Oklahoma Gov. Robert L. Williams removed several of the normal school presidents and on May 20, 1916, the state board dismissed Briles as the president of ECSNS. Briles moved to Stillwater and taught at Oklahoma A&M College.

Briles’ successor was James Marcus Gordon.

Did you know . . .

That while students have always paid various fees to attend East Central, tuition was free for in-state students through the 1940s.

• 1934 - Out-of-state students charged $25 tuition fee per semester.

• 1951 - Graduate students charged $8 per hour tuition.

• 1953 - Undergraduates charged a fee of $3.25 per semester hour.

• 1980 - Undergraduate tuition was an average of $15 per hour.

• 1991 - Tuition had more than doubled to $35 per hour for undergraduates.

• 2000 - Tuition for undergraduates was $50 per semester hour.

• 2009 - Average undergraduate tuition costs are $139 per hour.

Gordon, who was the dean of Trinity University in Waxahachie, Texas, became the second president on May 20, 1916.

During homecoming activities in the fall of 1916, the East Central Alumni Association was formed. Ola Davis, a 1913 graduate, was elected the first president.

In 1918, ECSNS added commercial courses as part of the curriculum and started to expand its influence beyond the campus. The faculty began sponsoring debate clubs, literary societies, extension classes and correspondence courses.

Also in 1918, the president’s home was built on East Central’s campus. Today, the president’s home is used for meetings and receptions. It now adjoins the Sterling Williams Foundation and Alumni Center which serves as offices for the Alumni Association and the East Central University Foundation Inc. By the beginning of the 1920s, East Central had achieved a sense of stability and permanence.

East Central State Normal School library, 1917

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 5

LOOKING BACK. . .

100 Years

Living

East Central students spend free time away from their studies in the Knight Hall Lounge, 1948.

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Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

at ECU

From skating parties and weekly dances to panty raids and hanging out at the union, throughout the years residence life at

ECU

has extended learning beyond the classroom.

Story continued on pages 8 - 9

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 7

If home is where the heart

is, then the heart of East Central University is in its residence halls.

In the early days, although President Charles Briles fought to build housing on campus, some Ada residents initially opposed construction because they liked to rent rooms to students. Some townspeople housed as many as eight students at a time. Rates ranged from $5 to $7.50 a week for room and board.

Before housing was built at East Central, students would gather in the homes of their favorite professors.

Alfred Fentem’s house was always open. “Dad” Fentem liked students and they liked him, twice voting him most popular professor on campus. Later the men’s dormitory would be named after Fentem to forever symbolize those early gatherings.

Residence hall construction began on campus in the 1930s with the completion of both a men’s and a women’s dormitory in 1937. Knight Hall, named for original faculty member Kate K. Knight, housed 178 women, an activity center, a kitchen and dining area and a laundry facility. Fentem Hall was smaller and housed 112 men. In 1937 room and board was the biggest expense facing students. Rates began at $21 per month. Monitoring student conduct, particularly male/ female relationships, was the biggest task facing the institution.

The first dorm residents held skating parties at the local skating rink and had weekly dances in the Knight Hall Lounge. The Knight Hall Lounge was also home to several tea parties, music recitals and the yearly Christmas party.

If not for the military training programs that took place on campus during World War II, East Central would have closed due to lack of students. Both Knight and Fentem Hall were filled with young men involved in the training program.

After WWII, with the passage of the G.I. Bill, East Central, like most colleges, experienced high enrollment once again. This time, however, the student population had changed. The young men who returned from war to finish their education were older, more experienced and many had young families that came to campus with them.

East Central obtained barracks from military bases and converted them into apartments for married

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Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

students. These apartments were located where Kerr Activities Center is now.

In the mid-1950s a legend was born in Knight Hall. It all began with unusual thumping sounds heard throughout the building, especially at the north end of the third floor and in the lounge. Cool bursts of air would sometimes follow the sounds and strange odors and other noises were reported.

Oddly, the phenomenon seemed to occur when residents gathered to socialize and gossip instead of study.

Some women even reported that during those times a cold, soft

1950

1942

hand would sometimes brush the back of their necks.

Despite added security and attempts to explain away events, the rumor developed that it was the dorm’s namesake Kate K. Knight herself haunting Knight Hall.

A ghostly aura could be seen floating around her portrait that was hanging in the lobby. Terrified women slept six to eight to a room and finally after 20 years of rumors and legends, they approached President Stanley Wagner for help. He had the picture removed from the dorm and life returned to normal.

Also during the 1950s, the newly completed Memorial Student Union was the hottest spot on campus.

The building was built and dedicated to the students who made the supreme sacrifice during WWII. Even if students missed class for the day, they’d still go to the Union at night. There they could dance, play cards, shoot pool, eat or just lounge.

At the time, Highland Street was an open thoroughfare that ran in front of Knight Hall and the Memorial Student Union all the way to Fentem Hall. Cars would cruise past the Union looking for parking on the already crowded campus. Other students would sit on the benches and survey the campus activity.

In the 1960s enrollment exploded with the arrival of the Baby Boomers.

To make room for them, Briles Hall was built in 1962, Pontotoc Hall in 1964 and Pesagi Hall in 1965. Six apartment buildings were built from 1963-68 to house married students.

1959

Panty raids and reverse panty raids were popular in the calm of the early 1960s. When housemothers got wind of one, they flipped a switch that turned on a light at the top of Science Hall to signal the dorm night watchmen.

The only flaw in the system - students would remove the light bulb.

During the 1970s high gas prices and shortages forced commuter students to move into the residence halls.

By the end of the 1980s, the average age of the student body was 26. East Central University became a commuter campus and residence halls no longer shaped the college experience.

In the 1990s apartment style living became the trend for college residence life and Tiger Commons was built to keep up with the times, reviving the residential college experience. The new apartments featured two bedroom and four bedroom units.

Living-and-Learning Communities were introduced in 2007. Focusing on housing students with common academic interests, Knight Hall became the Honors Hall and freshmen were grouped in Pesagi, Briles and Pontotoc Halls. The majority of freshmen are now required to live on campus. Along with the addition of Living-andLearning Communities, a convenience store was opened in the lobby of Pesagi to further meet students’ needs.

Residence Life. . . 2009

• Room and board costs for a student in 2009 range from $800 to $2,000 per semester.

• ECU has four residence halls plus two apartment areas Tiger Commons and Adult & Family Housing • Occupancy rate for campus housing is close to 90 percent.

2009

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 9

ROARY THE TIGER Once a tiger, always a tiger!

The Tiger has been transformed, and almost eliminated, over the years, but Roary has triumphed to lead ECU into the new millennium.

Orange and black have been East Central’s colors for as long as anyone can remember. According to The East Central Story, from Normal School to University, 1909 – 1984, “Orange and black were the school’s colors almost from the beginning. It appears ‘Dad’ Fentem together with R.G. Spears and W.D. Little chose these colors largely because Fentem liked the orange and black.”

It’s not known specifically when the tiger became East Central’s mascot. Like the colors of orange and black, it has just always been a tradition.

East Central University 1969-1989 states that, “Betty Roper, 1952 alum, was the first to don the mascot’s garb. Betty went on to be a prominent teacher in Enid and elsewhere, and president of the Oklahoma Education Association.”

In 1970, there was discussion to change the mascot from the tiger to the thunderbirds, in honor of East Central’s association with the prestigious 45th Infantry Division of Oklahoma and the state’s Native American heritage.

However, the tiger roared on and staked his territory as East Central’s mascot.

In September 1976, The East Central Journal interviewed the current tiger mascot of the time, Mark Liddell. Liddell was very enthusiastic about wearing the tiger outfit.

“I take pride in wearing the tiger suit and representing the university at all official functions,” said Liddell.

Liddell earned the nickname “Tigger” amongst his friends and had the name added to the back of all of his

Phi Kappa Tau t-shirts.

At the time, wearing the tiger costume also meant having some talent in costume construction. After spraining his ankle at the first football game because he couldn’t see very well, Liddell had to re-build the tiger head. According to the article, Liddell planned to build the mouth open in a roar position, thus being able to yell and see out of the mouth.

Since the mascot uniform appeared in the early 1950s, it has undergone many revisions. The official number of tiger suits the university has gone through is unknown, but since the late 1960s there have been at least five different “tigers.”

In 1981, Dr. Margaret Lewis worked with the Martin Hauan firm of Oklahoma City to reinvent the tiger’s image as a recruitment tool.

According to The Journal, “This Tiger is an uptown Tiger, smart and full of class. He’s smiling, happy and proud of who and where he is!”

The only problem left was to name the tiger. A contest was held from Sept. 22 – Oct. 14, 1981, with the winning name being revealed during Homecoming festivities on Oct. 17. Sue Wood won the contest with the name Roary.

The current tiger mascot, Roary, is part of the cheerleading squad and attends ECU’s home games and pep rallies. He even tossed his hat in the political arena during East Central’s 2008 Homecoming. The Homecoming theme was Vote for Roary!

In 2006, the tiger logo underwent yet another transformation. Dr. Richard Rafes, ECU president, called for a new branding of ECU. Jacob Snovel, the ECU library’s audiovisual assistant, created the tiger’s new look.

The spirit logo is an oval surrounding a side profile of the tiger’s head.

1984

2008

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Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

ECU FIGHT SONG & ALMA MATER ECU Fight Song Fight on East Central, Fight on for your fame, Fight on East Central Tigers, win this game.

We’re cheering for you, Cheering to the end.

Fight on East Central Tigers, Win, win, win.

ECU Alma Mater

Hail, oh hail, our Alma Mater Loyal, brave, and strong.

To thee with voices ever ringing Comes our victory song.

Love and honor, strength and courage, These we pledge anew.

Hail, oh hail, our Alma Mater.

Hail, oh hail, to you.

“Fight on East Central” has been a tradition at East Central for close to 50 years. Before the adoption of the While “Fight on East Central” is the university’s spirit fight song, the band would play a marching song called song and is played at athletic events and pep rallies, “On the Mall” and “The Tiger Rag,” but in 1962 East the Alma Mater is used at more serious occasions and Central band director Don Gant penned the words to the ceremonies such as commencement. now legendary ECU spirit song.

ECU’s Alma Mater is commonly used by many other The university’s administration requested that Gant universities. The tune was originally a melancholy ballad, come up with a more moving and exciting fight song to “Annie Lisle,” written by Boston musician H.S. Thompson play during athletic events. He pulled the tune from a in the late 1850s. The song was adapted in 1870 by two Lutheran hymn that also had been adapted in the 1930s Cornell University students as that university’s alma mater by the Nazis as a marching song, “Heil Deutschland.” and it has since become a classic.

While most didn’t realize

the tune was

used by the

Germans in WWII, the same cannot be said for East Central’s fifth president, Dr. Stanley Wagner, who had served behind enemy lines in the war.

The first time he heard the song at East Central he reportedly recognized it immediately and was Excited East Central fans cheer on the Tigers during a football game. horrified, but he never requested that the fight song be changed.

1950

E C U

T I G E R S

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 11

East Central struggles through the

Great

Graduating Class of 1932

Throughout East Central

University’s 100-year history many world events have created significant challenges for the institution from political interference and budget cuts to two world wars and the population explosion of the baby boomers. The Great Depression of the 1930s was no exception.

fall enrollment was 1,412, which was 404 more students than the fall of 1929. This number was also an all-time high in enrollment up to that time.

According to The East Central Story, from Normal School to University, 1909 -1984, the lack of jobs probably contributed to the increase in enrollment combined with the relatively low cost of attending East Central.

Tuition was free for in-state students and fees ranged from $5 - $11 per semester. The greatest expense for students was room and board. Prior to the first dormitories being built on campus, out-of-town students rented rooms from local Ada citizens.

In the early 1930s, some students who couldn’t afford room and board lived in tents where Knight Hall now stands.

The New Deal programs came to both East Central and Oklahoma with the election of Ernest Marland as governor in 1935. The biggest benefit to the campus was the construction of two dormitories through the Public Works Administration. The project provided jobs for 165 men.

Construction began in 1936 and the two new dorms, Knight Hall for the women and Fentem Hall for the men, were opened in 1937. The buildings were named after original faculty members Kate K. Knight and Alfred L. Fentem. Both were still teaching at East Central in 1937.

While students had enjoyed “campus life” activities since the school’s beginning, with the opening of residence halls, campus life quickly came into full swing.

The school newspaper, The Journal, began to dedicate space to gossip columns that centered on those living in

The administration of East Central, along with faculty and staff, struggled during the 1930s to continue to provide quality education while facing drastic budget cuts from the state and, oddly enough, at the same time a surge in enrollment.

Salaries for faculty members dropped 30 percent during the Depression.

President Adolph Linscheid made the decision to not cut the number of faculty and staff, but to distribute what funds the university did have among all the employees.

The rise in enrollment at East Central placed more strain on already heavily burdened faculty. Normal class size went from about 20 students The Pride of Tigerland - East to more than 50 crammed Marching into a classroom. In 1931,

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Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Central State Teachers College Band, 1930s

Depression the dorms. The hottest topics tended to be who went on a date with whom, or which girl received a phone call from a certain boy.

The telephone operators even got into the spirit of things by having their own column, “Switchboard Gossip.”

Some advice included, “If Knight Hall and Fentem Hall students must cut classes, it would be wise to remember that at mealtime you are likely to see Miss Keller, Mr. Davis, Miss Mitchell and Miss Walker. Also at the noon meal there will be Miss Knight and Miss Hoover.”

They also offered suggestions: “Something to invent: a telephone for Lucille Farris to put in her car so her ‘public’ can talk to her.”

Despite the serious economic times facing the school, students still managed to enjoy themselves and experience a sense of normal youthfulness.

Dances were held weekly in Knight Hall Lounge which was furnished with a radio. Card games were a popular pastime. Music recitals and tea parties were common and at Christmas, the lounge was decorated with a Christmas tree and artificial snowballs were hung from the ceiling.

The students had a Christmas dance and gift exchange that sometimes featured an appearance by Santa Claus.

Also during the Depression years, a great milestone in the school’s history was marked. In 1934, East Central celebrated its 25th birthday. On Thursday evening, May 17, a dinner was held by the Ada Chamber of Commerce at the Aldridge Hotel to honor the pioneer citizens of Ada who worked hard to bring East Central to the city.

Many smaller celebrations were held throughout the week in conjunction with the Kiwanis Club, the Rotary Club and the Lions Club. There was also a gathering of the “old

timers” to share memories of their school days at East Central.

By the end of the decade, the worst of the Great Depression had passed and East Central had survived despite drastic cuts in state funding. The school still managed to strengthen its curriculum, improve academic preparation of faculty members and introduce new degree programs that would pave the way to a brighter future.

DID YOU KNOW. . .

During the Great Depression needy students could apply for small loans from a fund that had been established by the college in the early 1920s. Money for the fund had accumulated from contributions by several graduating classes and from life membership dues to the Alumni Association.

By the Depression, the fund was a significant source of emergency money for students. In addition, individual faculty members helped students with food and other necessities.

East Central has come a long way since the 1930s. The university and the ECU Foundation now offer over 300 different types of scholarships to help students fund their education.

In addition to scholarships, federal and state financial aid plays a critical role in helping ECU students. ECU has participated in financial aid programs since their creation. In the most recent award year, ECU provided $31 million in federal, state, institutional and private sources of aid to 4,470 students.

Newly constructed Knight Hall, 1937 East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 13

Students visiting in the Rock Garden, 1955

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The Rock

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

D

uring the 1930s, East Central gardener Roy “Pop” Harris was busy improving the appearance of campus. With the help of student workers through the National Youth Administration, Harris reclaimed the hilly slope that runs north to south through the campus. Rock terraces were built on the hill along with water ponds and a colorful array of plants and shrubs were added.

The Rock Garden soon became a favorite hang-out for East Central students, especially those looking for a romantic rendezvous. It remained a popular meeting place throughout the decades, with its popularity tapering off in the 1980s. The construction of the Instrumental Music Building, built in front of the terraced hillside in 1980, changed the view of the Rock Garden.

Today, the terraces and steps of the Rock Garden are crumbling and in great need of repair. Funds are currently being raised for the restoration of the beautiful hillside that contains special memories for many East Central alums.

East Central University Foundation Inc.

The East Central University Foundation Inc. was organized in February 1970, when five alumni W. Harvey Faust, R. Burl Harris, James A. Thomas Sr., Hugh Warren and Oscar L. Parker - filed the Articles of Incorporation with the State of Oklahoma. These five plus Dr. Stanley P. Wagner, then president of East Central, contributed a total of approximately $2,000 with which to begin operations.

For the first 20 years the ECU Foundation Inc. experienced slow and steady growth. By 1990, the endowment had grown to approximately $2 million. The income from the investments was used almost exclusively to fund scholarships to incoming freshmen at ECU. In the early 1990s, spurred on by a declining state economy due to the oil and gas “bust,” of the 1980s, the Foundation decided to begin its first aggressive attempt to raise funds and to expand its service in a significant way to assist with the needs of the university in addition to scholarships.

The “Foundation for the Future” campaign set an ambitious base goal of $1.2 million and a challenge goal of $1.75 million. By the close of the campaign in 1996, the campaign had exceeded all expectations, raising over $3 million.

As ECU looks toward its future, the athletic department and each college within the university has committed to raising $15,000 in order to establish an endowment for student scholarships.

These include the College of Education and Psychology, the College of Health and Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the School of Business, the School of Graduate Studies and the ECU Athletic Department.

GIVING TO ECU Opportunities To Give • President’s Circle • Annual Fund • Rock Garden • Tiger Club • Callixylon Society • Horace Mann Society

• •

Deferred or Planned Gifts • • Bequests • Charitable Lead Trusts • • Charitable Remainder Trusts • Life Insurance

Athletics Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center - Seat Naming - Room Naming Charitable Gift Annuities Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s)

Gifts In-Kind Tangible property includes works of art, books, real estate, equipment, collections - virtually all physical objects in your possession. If the gift is accepted by the University for its use, transfer of ownership to ECU with a written statement of fair market value of the gift at the time of the donation will be provided to the donor.

Gifts to Endowments Endowments may be unrestricted or restricted as to purpose, depending on the donor’s intent. They may fund student scholarships, faculty chairs, professorships or lecture series.

Endowments are a great way to double an ECU investment.

The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education match qualified professorship, lectureship and chair endowment gifts.

Currently ECU has 25 endowments totaling nearly $9 million (including Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education match).

Garden

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 15

LOOKING BACK. . .

100 Years

ECU & the 16 Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Automobile East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 17

“It seemed as if each student of the 1960s had a

car and the strong urge to drive it.”

- The East Central Story, from Normal School to University 1909-1984.

F

ord’s famous Model T and assembly line technique At the time, Highland Street was open across campus, of building automobiles came along about the same time running in front of Knight Hall and the newly built Memorial as East Central was born. While the early-day founders of Student Union on the south side to Fentem Hall on the the school had many problems to consider, it’s safe to say, north side of campus. It was a pastime of students to sit parking was not one of them. on benches outside the dorms and check out new arrivals It wasn’t and watch other students cruise around looking for parking until the spaces.

1920s that As the baby boomers came to college in the East Central’s 1960s, East Central’s enrollment sky-rocketed and the students and administration struggled to accommodate the influx of their cars new students and their cars. While three new dorms were became a built along with new apartments for married students, the challenge. struggle for adequate parking continued.

Some older In an attempt to help regulate parking, the East Central citizens in Ada State Honor Court was assigned the duty of holding traffic viewed cars court. During the first eight weeks of traffic court there as houses of were about 17 cases a week of improper parking. prostitution The dean of students suggested the parking problem on wheels would be solved if those students who lived within walking and felt that distance actually walked to class instead of driving. students An editorial in East Central’s school newspaper, The shouldn’t be in Journal, states, “Why is there still a parking problem on a car together campus? Ask any student who drives a car and see the in mixed reaction. Be prepared for an answer something company. like this, ‘What good are parking rules and their As a enforcement if there isn’t enough room for all the Students enjoy result, the visiting after class in cars.’” popularity of their cars in the late the automobile teens and 1920s. created more work for East Central’s faculty. Beginning in the 1920s and lasting through the 1930s, all male faculty members took turns monitoring the streets surrounding campus. If male and female students were caught in a car together after dark without a chaperone, they faced a one-week suspension from school.

During the war years of the 1940s, cars and fuel were so scarce that air cadets training at East Central would drive four miles to Abbott’s pasture airfield in an old car with a faulty fuel pump. One of the cadets sat on the front fender and poured gas into the carburetor. It was said the drive to the field was more dangerous than the flying.

By the mid-1950s, America’s love of the automobile was in full swing and the campus of East Central was not exempt. Not only were students coming to school, they were bringing their cars with them.

The administration took more drastic measures by the To try to regulate parking and ease some of the traffic mid - 1970s to deal with 250 more cars on campus than congestion, the school erected parking meters in 1956 parking spaces. The school began issuing parking decals and at one point a city patrolman was stationed at the and stepped up the consequences of illegal parking. intersection of 10th Street and Francis during the noon According to The Journal, “The first violation is a hour to direct student traffic. warning. If a second violation occurs after a week and

18

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

before the first violation is taken care of, the security office will attach an immobilizer to the vehicle. It isn’t removed until the citations are taken care of.”

In the 1980s students favored newer, sportier cars and the campus turned into a commuter campus with many choosing not to live in the dorms and in the 1990s, administrators said there was plenty of parking available to students. The only flaw was a majority of it was at Norris Field. After parking there, students would face a steep climb to get to class.

In 2007, to alleviate overcrowding and the popular practice of residence hall dwellers driving to class, parking permits were issued with slight restrictions. Students could only park in the areas designated on their permits.

If a student lives in Pesagi Hall, they can only park at Pesagi Hall without facing the possibility of a parking Cars line the road ticket.

ECU Police Chief Bert Miller in front of the An illegally estimates that the campus police Memorial Student parked student write 20 – 30 parking tickets a day.

receives a ticket, 1975.

The highest fee is $150 for parking in a handicapped space, which is set by a state mandate. Most other fees range from $10 - $35 depending on the type of parking violation.

“The first couple of weeks of each semester we just give out warnings unless someone’s parked in a handicapped or restricted zone, such as a fire lane. We want to give new students the opportunity to become accustomed to where they can park and where they can’t,” said Miller.

Union, 1969.

Students can still appeal to the ECU Honor Court if they feel the ticket was issued in error.

Miller said that he has seen a decrease of cars on campus with the high gas prices and in the fall of 2008, ECU started a campus-wide car pooling system that involved linking commuting students via the internet.

Alleviating parking problems comes at a price.

In 2006, each new parking space cost $3,000. The price covered asphalt, striping and upkeep. Building a parking garage, which some have suggested over the years, would cost approximately $14 million.

The university has added several new parking lots over the past couple of years and to date has just over 2,900 parking spaces, of which 1,600 are located on the “upper” portion of campus compared to a student enrollment of 4,000 plus.

As student population grows during ECU’s second century, the issue of where to park and where not to park will continue to be a popular issue with the students. It could even be considered a “tradition” among East Central’s students and alums alike, whether their graduation year is 1959 or 2009. All can share stories about finding a parking place on campus that won’t lead to the inevitable parking ticket.

Students embrace their cars, 2006.

Did you know that cars did not have . . .

• • •

• Four wheel drive & airbags until the 1970s Radios & heaters until the 1930s • Remote keyless entry Turn signals until the 1940s & hybrid cars until the 1990s Seatbelts, electric windows, power steering & disc brakes until the 1950s

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 19

WAR

brings change to

ECU

20 Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

From WWI to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the men and women of East Central have always played an active role during wartime. Each conflict has brought both major and minor changes to campus that have in one way or another left permanent reminders to future generations.

Story continues on pages 22 - 25.

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 21

Shortly after James Marcus Gordon

became the second president of East Central State Normal School, he, along with the school and the country, had to face the effects of U.S. involvement in the First World War.

The male students on campus disappeared as they A member of the wwi satc receives attention enlisted in the war effort. Fall enrollment for 1917 showed from the Normal School women, 1918 a 19 percent drop from the previous year. The students and faculty who remained on campus participated in commemorate those from the school who had given the Liberty Loan drives and planted victory gardens north of ultimate sacrifice.

Science Hall.

World War II affected campus in much the same way A Student Army Training Corps (SATC) unit was as WWI. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. assigned to the campus as part of a nationwide student 7, 1941, East Central’s students, training program that faculty and staff alike enlisted was headed by the War ore than 400 students and in the military. If it were not for Department. Students could military training programs once stay in school until it was time former students of East Central again being placed on campus, for them to go on active duty. Normal served in WWI, with five East Central would have closed They received 13 hours of due to lack of students. military instruction per week. dying in the line of duty.

A training unit for the Army The SATC unit consisted Air Corps was stationed on campus to provide both of about 100 young men. In preparation for this program, military and East Central transformed its newly built wooden gym into military barracks. Cots were moved in and additional bath facilities were built as part of a temporary structure.

More than 400 students and former students of East Central Normal served in World War I, with five dying in the line of duty. President Gordon oversaw the construction of a memorial gateway at the end of Main Street in front of Science Hall to

M

WWI Student Army Training Corps, 1918

22

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Members of the WWII Army Aircrew Training Corps, 1940s

Sixty-six men from East

Central died in WWII. The Memorial Student Union was completed in the early 1950s and dedicated to those students who died in the line of duty. academic training for 300 men.

According to The Journal, “It is not anticipated that this arrangement will overtax the facilities of this institution.

Displacement of enrollment here through military service and other forms of war work has been well in excess of the 300 new campus inhabitants.”

The remaining female students were glad to see an influx of men on campus. In a popular gossip column in The Journal the staff wrote, “The war is affecting the girls in more ways than one. Not only does the new defense plan take the sheer silk hose that lead to glamorous legs, but the draft system has made girl’s tag dances more or less a necessity than a novelty.”

The curriculum at Horace Mann, East Central’s

teacher training school for kindergarten through high school, was changed to prepare young men and women for the war effort. In the high school, young men took part in a ground class in aviation, while a course in basic nursing was added for the women.

Sixty-six men from East Central died in WWII. The Memorial Student Union was completed in the early 1950s and dedicated to those students who died in the line of duty. Their pictures are displayed in the lobby.

The Korean War and Vietnam War did not have the same impact on campus as the two previous World Wars.

While students and former students were called to duty, there was not the mass exodus from East Central as there had been previously.

While unrest and protest were taking place at many college campuses across the nation during the late 1960s and early 1970s, East Central’s campus didn’t see the

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 23

and carrying weapons. A rifle range was constructed under the west bleachers at Norris Field for ROTC use as well.

ROTC was a mainstay on campus until the late 1990s.

In 2006, the Oklahoma Army National Guard established its first-ever Guard Officer Leadership Development (GOLD) program at ECU. Through the GOLD program, students can minor in military science and earn 10 hours of college credit and earn commissions as officers in the OANG. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ECU has made use of technology to assist students serving overseas. When the local Oklahoma National Guard Charlie Company 1-180 was mobilized and deployed in 2006 to Afghanistan, the university established three online classes that soldiers could take while on active duty.

However, once the unit arrived rotc members raising in Afghanistan, its mission changed the flag, 1984 and they were moved to an area that saw heavy combat. As a result, same action. There were some protests, many who had enrolled in the but overall, students were calm about the online classes were unable to finish situation. Some East Central students the course work. did publish an independent newspaper For 100 years students, known as The Shadow that was critical of faculty and staff of East Central America’s involvement in Vietnam. have joined the call to arms when Due to hostility at other schools, needed. From serving in the the army contacted East Central about military to providing a place for placing a Reserve Officers Training Corps military training to planting gardens rotc student rappelling (ROTC) unit on campus. The first classes on campus, or most recently, off one of the buildings on in military science were held in the fall developing online classes and campus, 1970s semester of 1971. organizations sponsoring care The Journal recounts watching the package drives – East Central members of the ROTC unit rappelling off of Briles Hall and University’s history would not be complete without the swimming in the pool at McBride Gym while in full uniform telling of its efforts during times of war.

ROTC Students, 1990s 24 Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

VeteransUpwardBound is a federally funded TRIO grant program at ECU that is designed to prepare eligible veterans to enter or re-enter post-secondary programs, whether it is a technical or vocational school, or a two - or four - year college, anywhere in the United States.

The program offers classes, workshops and individualized instruction. In addition to the academic preparation, VUB offers information about programs of study and careers, assistance with admissions and financial aid applications, individual counseling, and referrals to other veteran services.

Sgt. Dewayne Riley and Cpl. Mark Kosemund, ECU’s Veterans Upward Bound program.

participants in

2009

Veterans Workforce Investment Program

is a federally funded program at ECU that is intended to meet the workforce investment needs of veterans and to perform outreach activities to develop and promote employment and job training opportunities.

The GOLD PROGRAM at ECU allows students to minor in military science, earn 10 hours of college credit and earn commissions as officers in the Oklahoma Army National Guard.

Pictured at right are officer candidates David Young, Keith Jones, instructor Sgt. 1st Class Joe Zook, officer candidates Michael Hill and Rashena Smith.

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 25

Through the Years

Looking back

1970s

1923

1990s

26

2004

Interpreter Service Program for deaf and hard of hearing students began at East Central in 1974 as the only program of its kind in Oklahoma.

Its purpose was and still is to provide support services to students who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The program began with one interpreter and four students.

In conjunction with the Interpreter Service Program, ECU offers the only degree in Oklahoma in Counseling Services for the Deaf and is the only university in the state to offer residential living facilities that are equipped especially for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Science Hall

President’s Home

Horace Mann

Administration

1910

1918

1919

1926

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

McBride Gym

1927

The Office of International Students & Programs was dedicated in the spring of 1994 with the office officially opening in October 1994.

The number of students and the diversity of the international population at ECU made it one of the fastest growing new programs in the National Association of Foreign Student Advisors history.

In four short years the program grew from nine students from four countries to 74 students from 23 countries. In 2009, the program has 70 students representing 32 countries.

International students have brought wonderful diversity to the ECU campus. Since 1994, the campus has enjoyed many multicultural fairs, dinners and fashion shows. The Ada community has been very welcoming and has partnered with ECU in hosting students and working on campus projects.

1962

1984 Norris Field

1930

1990s

1996

2007 East Central’s Human Resources Club has served Thanksgiving dinner to the Ada community for approximately 30 years.

What began in the 1970s with members of the Human Resources Club cooking turkeys in their own ovens, peeling potatoes and serving approximately 200 people, has grown to a university and community event, serving meals for almost 4,000 people with approximately 300 volunteers.

The club raises funds from activities such as bake sales and soliciting donations from the community.

Fentem Hall

1937

Knight Hall

Linscheid Library

1937

1949

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 27

Continuing Education began in the fall of 1974. Its humble beginning showed an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students and the program offered 122 classes its first year. Today the Center boasts an all - color schedule, offers more than 300 classes each year and has increased its enrollment to more than 20,000 in 2008.

1938 ECU’s Collegiate Officer Program was the first one implemented in the state.

It is a collaborative arrangement between the State of Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) and ECU that allows students to fulfill Oklahoma police officer certification requirements while completing their bachelor’s degree.

2008

1984 Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union (1985 to 1991) spoke to a capacity crowd in ECU’s Kerr Activities Center on Oct. 25, 2005.

Gorbachev’s visit to ECU was organized by a committee chaired by Dr. Mara Sukholutskaya, associate professor of English and languages and was funded by gifts from Ada businesses, organizations and individuals.

2006

Memorial Student Union

Horace Mann/Faust Hall

Education

Boswell Chapel

1951

1953

1957

1957

28

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Briles Hall

1962

1920s

1974 A program to remove architectural barriers and modify facilities to accommodate handicapped students was put into place for the campus of East Central in 1966 using funds from a federal grant. East Central became a national model for other institutions in being a barrier - free campus.

ECU’s Office of Disability Services currently serves approximately 90 students by providing readers and scribes, note taking, individual testing, student advocates, adaptive equipment and resource referrals.

1990s

1916 Pontotoc Hall

1964

1950 Family & Adult Housing

1964

Pesagi Hall

1965

Kerr Activities Center

1974

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 29

Homecoming

Looking back at

1959

1950

Elvan George Athletics Building

1980 30

1965

1962

Instrumental Music Building

1980

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Physical & Environmental Sciences

1991

University Center

1997

The Alumni Association was formed during Homecoming, 1916. Ola Davis, a 1913 graduate, was the first president.

The association continues to preserve ECU’s history and acknowledge the accomplishments of alums.

The Alumni Association also helps current students by funding several scholarships each year.

1940s

1984

Linscheid Library

1950

Tiger Commons

Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center Future buildings. . .

• Pat O’Neal Strength & Conditioning Center • Wellness Center Expansion • Conference Center

1997

2003

2009 East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 31

LOOKING BACK. . .

100 Years

Student

32

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

East Central Normal School students spend time outside the classroom on the front steps of

Science Hall, 1916

Life East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 33

While academics have

been the primary focus of East Central University throughout its 100-year history, it is inevitable that when a large group of students come together, a culture of student life will develop outside the classroom, helping to shape the overall college experience.

Students on campus playing in the snow, 1957

East Central Students Bowling, 1950s 34

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

As early as 1910, when Science Hall, the first building on campus was completed, students would gather on the front steps before and after class to visit.

In 1913, a group of rambunctious students procured three elephants by paying the trainer $5 the night before East Central was to play a football game against Edmond. The elephants belonged to a circus that was camped in Ada for the winter. As many students as possible climbed onto the elephants and proceeded to parade through the streets of Ada shouting and hollering about the upcoming football victory.

During the late teens and early 1920s, students enjoyed hanging out at Wintersmith Lake and Byrd’s Mill as evidenced from school yearbooks of the time. Students would also gather at the homes of popular faculty members.

By the 1930s, East Central had begun to feel the effects of the Great Depression, but this did not stop students from enjoying a social life.

Dating, as always, was a popular pastime. The College Shop stood on the corner of Francis and Main streets where the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center is now. Housing a juke box and soda fountain, it was a popular place to meet before heading out on a date.

With the completion of the first two dormitories on campus, Knight Hall and Fentem Hall, campus life took on a whole new role.

There were now students on campus 24 hours

a day.

Up to this point, East Central’s student newspaper, The Journal, had been completely devoted to academic news not only about A look at the Beatles,1976 East Central, but that of the surrounding grade school districts. East Central was, after all, originally a teacher training college and the newspaper reflected that.

Once the dorms were opened, The Journal began to devote space to gossip columns detailing who was dating whom. There were also articles about official dorm gatherings, parties and dances.

As World War II changed the student population on campus, it also changed student life. The women left on campus still held social activities including all-girl dances and card games. Female students also planted gardens on campus and participated in Liberty Loan drives.

Post WWII changed the student population of campus as well. When men returned to campus they were older than traditional college students and many of them brought their families with them.

Like the construction of residence halls on campus, the completion of the Memorial Student Union in 1951 brought major change to student life at East Central. It became the official place to “hang out” on campus.

The Union offered students a place on campus not only to socialize and relax, but to play games - from cards to pool to eventually pinball and other arcade games.

Jeannie Bell Acker Denton recalled in The East Central Story from Normal School to University 19091984, “Everything was centered in the Union. When you were sick, you missed class, but you went to The Union anyway. In fact, students often missed class to stay in The Union and dance or to play in the poolroom upstairs.”

Greek Service Saturdays, 2008

GREEK LIFE

Greek organizations have played an important role on East Central’s campus by contributing leadership, service and scholarship opportunities. Although Sigma Tau Gamma was chartered in the late 1930s, most chapters formed in the 1960s with the arrival of the baby boomers.

Since then two local chapters were formed in the 1990s. Only one of the local chapters continues today. Every Greek chapter has a home away from home at Pesagi Residence Hall.

Today’s Greeks are very diversified and carry on the traditions of those before them by presiding over Student Senate and other student organizations, and participating in community and national service.

Greek “Bunny” Party, 1976 ECU established national chapters on these dates: • Sigma Tau Gamma, Tau Chapter - 1938 • Pi Kappa Alpha, Epsilon Omega - 1963 • Chi Omega, Phi Theta - 1964 • Zeta Tau Alpha, Zeta Theta - 1966 • Phi Kappa Tau, Gamma Xi - 1966 • Alpha Gamma Delta, Epsilon Xi - 1968 • Zeta Pi Lambda - 1990

Mud Olympics, 1993 East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 35

The popularity of the Memorial Student Union continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Prior to the Union, the most popular “hang-out” on campus was the Rock Garden. The terraced Rock Garden was built on the eastern hillside of campus in the 1930s. Its popularity continued through the 1970s as well.

In the 1960s East Central’s population exploded with the arrival of the baby boomers. With the boomers came an aggressive building program to house the new students. Three new residence halls, Briles, Pontotoc and Pesagi, were added in the mid-1960s. There were now more students than ever on campus 24 hours a day.

Panty raids became popular and were conducted on a regular basis. In one edition of The Journal a photo titled “Spring came early to the E.C. campus” shows an Ada fire truck with its extension ladder leaning against the top of the flag pole once centered in front of Science Hall.

The caption reads, “Pictured above are Dale Tinsley on ground and Herman Wilhite on ladder, as they remove a brassiere and pair of panties from the campus flagpole. Some unknown pranksters had hoisted the ‘flags’ and then cut the hoist cable.”

Student life in the 1970s closely mirrored that of the 1960s. The national political and social unrest during the Vietnam era didn’t really affect East Central. Some mild protests against the war were held at the Quad, a popular gathering place behind the former Linscheid Library, now Danley Hall. The Quad has since been taken over by the James Plaza and “the mall.”

During the 1980s and 1990s East Central became a commuter campus but social opportunities were still in abundance for students both on and off campus, including going to the movies and bowling.

In 1986 ECU held its first Mud Olympics. Students competed in a variety of events, including wheelbarrow racing, tug of war and spoon relays. Competition was open to all students and turnout was huge.

Some say students fell into a pattern of entertainment in the 1990s that included: Mondays - going to the movies, Tuesdays - going bowling, Wednesdays - attending church, Thursdays - partying and Fridays - going home.

The University Center, completed in 1997 to host special events, initially intimidated students who described it as a place to store couches. Now it has evolved into the new campus hangout.

Pool tables, ping pong tables, big screen plasma TVs and Xboxes have been added to bring and keep students in the center. Students can choose from a wide variety of foods in the snack bar including the popular college favorite, Starbucks coffee. They can also workout at the Tommy Hewitt M.D. Wellness Center.

ECU’s student programming board, CREW, was formed in 1994. After attending a national conference on student government, Student Senate proposed the idea of a volunteer student board to plan and implement traditional and new events for all students.

36

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Students on the front steps of Science Hall, 1916

Students listening to music at the Student Union, 1959

An East Central student plays an arcade game at the Student Union, 1981

The first CREW chair was Emily Ray Fletcher. Several former members have gone on to become directors of student activity offices at other institutions of higher education.

CREW hosts many events throughout the year and all are free. In addition to traditional Welcome Week and Homecoming events, Spirit Week and Orange Crush, one of the most popular events takes place the last day of classes and is known as “The Greatest Day Ever.” It’s a day of stress-relieving events and is capped off by the annual Mudstock Volleyball Tournament.

Trends and fads come and go and East Central has seen many throughout the century, as well as serious times and carefree times. No matter what, one thing has always stayed constant and that is the ability of students to socialize and have fun outside the classroom. No one can predict the future of ECU’s second century, but it is safe to say students will always find entertainment, be it hanging out on the front steps of Science Hall or interacting with friends via Facebook or MySpace.

East Central University - 2009 Our Focus As ECU continues on its current path of examining and seeking different ways to advance the university, these are areas of focus: • Student-centered experiences • Quality instruction and improved student learning • Grant funding • Enrollment, retention to graduation rates • Economic development and community stewardship • The university’s state and national reputation • Fundraising and donor development Quick Facts • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Undergraduate enrollment - 3544 Graduate enrollment - 816 States represented - 20 Countries represented - 30 Out of state students - 5.5% Student/faculty ratio - 18:1 Male/female ratio - 4:10 Undergraduate degree concentrations - 69 Graduate degree concentrations - 17 Student organizations - over 70 Athletics - 13 sports at the NCAA Division II Level Mascot - “Roary” the Tiger School Colors - Orange & Black • •

2.8% Hispanic 3.4% Other

Sliding on the hill, 1969

Student Senate

Student gathering and pep rally at the Quad, 1965

Professor of Government Charles F. Spencer (later to be named ECU president) was designated to act as faculty counselor for the first formal beginning of student government.

On May 6, 1947, the first election of officers was held. They outlined the purpose “to bring about a closer relationship between the college administration, faculty and student body, to further unity and cooperation among the students, and to promote the objectives for which the College exists.”

Student Senators serve on key university committees that help to shape campus policy.

Senate representatives are also leaders in areas of academics, with several being members of the Honor Society.

Student Senators work in conjunction with the student body and university administration to better the quality of student life on campus both inside and outside the classroom. The purpose adopted more than 60 years ago still governs Student Senate today.

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 37

Pesagi Yearbook

East Central University’s Pesagi Yearbook is a tradition almost as old as the school itself. “Pesagi” is a Chickasaw word meaning teacher and was chosen as the name for the East Central Yearbook by the senior class of 1913, the first year the school published a yearbook.

That first book was dedicated to Charles W. Briles, the first president of East Central. The greeting read, “To all who may be interested, we, the class of 1913, present this, the first number of the Pesagi. In it are portrayed the various activities of the student body of the East Central Normal. In regard to the faults of the book we ask you to temper your criticism with mercy, but in regard to the commendable parts, be as extravagant as you like.

“While the Senior class has been responsible for the Pesagi, credit is due no less to the other classes that have so faithfully aided us both through their representations and by contributing material.

“To the Faculty we extend our thanks for the kindly aid and advice.

“Finally, if this Annual succeeds in arousing greater devotion and school spirit among the students of E.C.S.N. (East Central State Normal School) and a stronger sense of loyalty among the Alumni, the class of 1913 will feel that the real purpose of this issue has been accomplished.”

The book was bound in a soft, chamois material. In the following years the books were bound in bukrum, a soft leather. By the mid 1920s the yearbook was bound in the traditional hard cover.

The early yearbooks contained sports, clubs and class photos for all of the normal school from the twoyear teacher accreditation program to the preparatory classes to the classes of grade school children that were held within the normal school to assist in teacher training.

The grade school eventually had its own building, Horace Mann, but was still a part of East Central through the 1950s.

The early yearbooks also contained class jokes and class prophesies. The 1915 Pesagi contains a prophesy for then student Robert S. Kerr, a prophesy that held much truth as Kerr went on to be governor of Oklahoma and a powerful United States senator.

38

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

“Everybody knows Bob, but not everybody likes him,” the prophecy read. “He knows this, but is not worried about it in the least. ‘Fair-minded men will differ on important questions,’ Kerr says. He likes to fight, and this spirit is likely to lead him into politics. Once in, we venture that he will not stop before adding to his name U.S.S.” There were 11 members on the first Pesagi Yearbook staff in 1913 compared to three students who currently produce the book.

“For many years students designed the pages on paper layout sheets and sent them, all the photographs, the typed copy and other graphics to the publishing company which did all the technical work,” said Jill Frye, current advisor for the Pesagi.

“Then we began doing the layouts

and entering text on computers.

“Today, the book is produced online. Everything goes to the publisher electronically, camera ready,” she said. “Everything you see on the pages was designed, written, measured and placed on the pages by students via the computer.

So they actually do more work than yearbook staffs did several years ago.”

From 1929 – 1947 the Pesagi was discontinued because of the Great Depression and then World War II. The yearbook was brought back in 1948 with a title change from Pesagi to the Tiger.

There was yet again a break in yearbooks from 1952 – 1955. In 1958, the decision was made to change the name back to the Pesagi in honor of the original yearbooks and East Central’s original purpose, training future teachers.

The first yearbook to have a color cover at East Central was in 1961 and in 2008, the first-ever all color yearbook was produced.

The 2009 Pesagi Yearbook, titled “Then and Now,” is a special edition that will feature a centennial theme.

“Yearbooks often contain a section about the year’s events, fads and pop culture. They are a great historical reference not only for the school, but to record current trends of the time,” said Frye.

Horace Mann Training School

1916

1923

Pesagi - Teacher From the beginning, East Central’s main purpose was to train teachers. When Science Hall was completed in 1910, classroom space was reserved for the “training school,” whose students were elementary and junior high age.

In 1919, funds were approved for the second classroom building on campus. Originally called the Education Building, its name was later changed to honor famous educator Horace Mann.

The new building, which was located where the current Physical and Environmental Science Building is, housed the teacher training school headed by John Zimmerman.

In 1925, Horace Mann became an accredited four-year high school in addition to the junior high and elementary divisions of the school.

In 1953, the new Horace Mann building was completed and still stands today. The training school was moved to this building and remained there until the program was discontinued in 1960.

HORACE MANN BUILDING, 1959

1954

1956 East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 39

What Happened to

East Central’s Elephant?

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article first appeared in the Public Service Program schedule, dated 1983 by Dr. B.J. Tillman, East Central Executive Vice President.

East Central University isn’t located in the grassy plains of Africa, nor is it in the tropical rainforest of South Asia, but it certainly is one of the few colleges in the southwest that can lay claim to its own pachyderm – a very large and very dead one.

ECU came into possession of its elephant through a fluke of geography and history. As many East Central alums and long-time residents can attest, in an earlier era, Ada, Hugo, Ringling and certain other towns in southern Oklahoma were used as wintering places for circuses.

Certainly southern Oklahoma isn’t Florida or California, but the area did have plenty of hay and a mild climate which provided convenient, if not ideal, wintering quarters for carnivals and small circuses that were so popular before the automobile and movie theatre became common.

Ada wasn’t as popular with showmen as Ringling or Hugo, nor was it very successful in the shows it attracted.

However, it did have one regular winter resident. Ada was selected for the wintering site by Honest Bill Newton’s Country Circus for several years.

History was to show that Honest Bill’s entertainment enterprise didn’t have the promise of other area circuses, such as Ringling Brothers, who gave a name and some fame to Ringling, Okla. Not much is remembered about Honest Bill’s Circus except that it had an elephant and that the bandmaster was named James, the father of Harry James, the famous big band conductor of the 1940s.

40

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Local residents mostly remember Honest Bill as being a colorful, energetic person and the elephant as being big, friendly and named Diamond. However, events that transpired indicated something else about Diamond. She must have been very old with bad lungs because she died while in winter quarters in north Ada in late 1919.

Undoubtedly, Diamond’s death created serious problems for Honest Bill. He lost the principal animal performer of his circus and, furthermore, he had the costly problem of disposing of a very large and dead elephant.

Records don’t indicate if Diamond had a successor in the circus but they do document what happened to her remains. Honest Bill “generously” gave the pachyderm to East Central’s science department which solved his problem but created one for East Central.

Professors Hatchett and MacMillian and student Gilmon Mackin saw the elephant’s demise as an unexpected, unusually promising opportunity to accomplish two goals. One, they could offer anatomy students a chance to expand their anatomical experience far beyond the typical laboratory regimen of rat and frog dissection; and second, the elephant’s skeletal remains would, when properly displayed, provide an interesting item for East Central’s fledgling museum.

The elephant project called for moving the expired pachyderm to the campus for fitting entombment in a carefully built box, and after a carefully calculated interval, to uncover the remains for reassembly of the skeleton for study by students and admiration by museum visitors.

The elephant project plans were easier formulated than followed. First, few in Ada or East Central – then as now – had any experience in moving and disposing of a dead elephant; second, in the 1900s, moving a ton-plus of rigor mortised pachyderm from North Broadway to the campus was no small task.

East Central faculty and students were equal to the task. Mr. Hatchett and his anatomy students enlisted the aid of Hugh Norris and the Industrial Arts Department. Together, they formed a transport team and a carpentry crew. All faced a challenge, for dead elephants don’t keep long in Oklahoma, even in winter.

Needless to say, plans were quickly carried out.

First, the elephant was moved to the campus in a wagon and then placed, with a hand winch, in an air tight, waterproof box, custom made by the industrial arts students for the occasion. The institution didn’t have “work study” in those days, but a great number of students volunteered their services. In those simpler

times, before TV, Star Wars and E.T., the elephant project provided much excitement to the campus community.

The entire elephant was placed in the box and covered with quicklime to hasten decomposition. All went well for a few days, but it soon became embarrassingly apparent that the vault designed to protect the remains of the elephant wasn’t protecting the olfactory senses of the campus and all of east Ada. To further complicate the problem, chickens near the campus were dying of the “limberneck.”

College administrators and faculty called an emergency meeting to literally bury the problem. However, to realize something from the experiment, the elephant’s head was removed and the remainder left in the box for quick and deep burial.

With student, faculty and community cooperation, the elephant was quickly decapitated and buried along the hill that marked what was then the east edge of campus. The burial site was carefully remembered by those involved, for plans called for opening the grave in three to five years.

Time passed, campus events increasingly called for faculty attention, and students graduated, leaving few who were directly involved with Diamond’s burial. To further delay completion of the elephant project, the Great Depression hit and cuts in college appropriations caused the museum plans to be shelved.

Next, World War II accelerated normal attrition of both students and faculty. Even though normal operation of the college during those times called for much faculty attention, the elephant for the museum was never completely forgotten, because Mr. Hatchett, Gordon Harrell and Hugh Norris were still on the faculty and very interested in a natural science museum.

Eventually, World War II ended and brought a flood of students and new prosperity to American campuses, including East Central. East Central, in an effort to serve its students, reactivated its plans for a library to provide study and research space for students with an area to house the long delayed museum space for the skeletal remains of Diamond.

Unfortunately, 25 years had passed and members of the college community who had been involved with Diamond’s dissection and burial were hard to find.

Searches were launched, probers were used and a great many shafts were sunk, all to no avail – Diamond’s grave was lost. The search went on for a few years, but gradually, space in the library was needed for students and research material, and interest waned, but never completely died.

In recent years an updating of East Central’s history by Harvey Faust and a new book about Ada

by Roy McKeown have regenerated interest in the elephant project. Countless questions have been asked of those familiar with Diamond’s demise, but the best information available locates the grave site in a number of places, varying from under the Education building to beneath Briles Hall to Wintersmith Park. It seems that East Central’s greatest anatomical effort has led to the campus’s oldest and biggest question, “Where is Diamond?”

Funding to Support Research Opportunities

During the 2009 fiscal year, ECU will receive $20 million from grants and other external funding, not including donations.

These funds will provide on average nearly 75 full-time jobs that contribute about $3 million to the economy, as well as several part-time jobs that provide an additional $1 million.

In fact, $20 million in external funding is more than ECU receives annually from state funds ($18.8 million in fiscal year 2009) - making ECU one of the nation’s leaders in grant receipts when compared to similar institutions, not including institutions which are considered health, medical or engineering schools or are historically black colleges.

Challenges in state funding have become a current theme in Oklahoma and across the country, requiring institutions to find more of their own funding. ECU would not be able to provide many academic enhancements, cultural events or other activities without this funding.

Looking toward the future it appears that there may be growth opportunities linked to undergraduate research. ECU plans to increase funding for undergraduate research by $3 to $5 million over the next five years.

ECU has 75 to 90 grant projects in operation on an annual basis including: • Federal TRIO Program - support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds • Teaching American History - professional development for area teachers • Math and Science Partnership - professional development for math and science teachers • Nursing Department - ECU’s nursing program expansion to Durant and Ardmore • The Tribal Policing Program - training for law officers from about 85 entities across Indian Country • Two USDA grants also made possible the beginnings of the Arts District of Ada Although ECU has experienced tremendous success in securing grant funds, from a variety of sources, the need for external funding continues.

Unfortunately, grant funding does not address all facility and programming needs and the institution has a very limited ability to subsidize these unmet needs.

If ECU is to truly achieve its potential in many areas, but most especially in that of undergraduate research, the institution must secure additional funding from the private sector.

As East Central University celebrates a past rich with the scholarly achievements of our students and faculty, we look to the future – a future bright with promise – made possible through the generosity of our current and future funding partners.

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 41

Academics

Looking back at

In 1971, new technology enabled East Central to expand its course offerings to off-campus sites.

Talkback TV was introduced. Students saw black and white broadcasts and listened to the audio through telephone. This technology was known as televised instructional service.

In 1995, interactive television was adopted with full-color, interactive capabilities that brought the traditional classroom to new levels.

Now in 2009, via OneNet, ECU offers classes at locations in Ardmore, McAlester, Durant, Shawnee, Idabel, Alva, Duncan, Edmond, Enid, Goodwell, Lawton, Poteau, Seminole, Talihina,Tahlequah and Wilburton.

History Class, 1920s

Environmental Health Science, 2000

Industrial Arts, 1950

East Central began as a twoyear teacher college and by 1920 had been given permission to grant bachelor’s degrees.

Throughout the years the curriculum has expanded and changed to keep up with changing trends in the workforce.

Of ECU’s 69 undergraduate degree programs the current top majors include:

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Business Administration Biology Nursing Elementary Education Human Resources Counseling Kinesiology Criminal Justice Early Childhood Education Physical Education Teaching Mass Communications History

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Library, 1980s

Classroom, 1969

Education, 2008

Nursing, 2003

In the late 1990s ECU completed reorganization of its academic departments into five academic schools and a center providing professional and continuing education to the public.

In 2007, four schools became known as colleges.

Currently, ECU’s academic departments are organized as the: • College of Education and Psychology • College of Health and Sciences • College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences • School of Graduate Studies • School of Business

Chemistry Lab, 1920s

Computer, 1981

The first computer came to the East Central campus in 1965, an IBM 1130, which the university rented for $972 a month.

The computer was surrounded by glass windows so people could see it. Open houses were held for community viewing.

The first computer course was offered that fall.

In 2009, ECU students have access to 30 computer labs, student e-mail, an online learning portal called the “blackboard,” online courses and campus-wide Wi-Fi.

Cartography, 1990s

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 43

East Central and the Arts Go Hand in Hand Since the early days, faculty and staff in the Communication, Music and Art Departments have been resourceful when it comes to securing supplies and equipment.

It has been said that Dr. Dorothy Summers, a theatre professor who began teaching in 1955, purchased a surplus of World War II supplies and created costumes and props for East Central’s early theatre productions, and some of these items remain today.

The Art Department has a working printing press from 1797 that has been in use at East Central for many years.

Some of the first mass communication classes’ equipment consisted of a small reel-to-reel recorder which was recently retired.

During the late 1950s the original Horace Mann Building was renovated to house the fine art programs.

Prior to that time the departments were scattered across campus, some in make-shift military barracks from WWII. When the original Horace Mann Building was torn down in the early 1970s, the departments were once again scattered.

In 1975, the Art Department moved to the east side of the Education Building.

The Instrumental Music Building was completed in 1980, giving the department much improved facilities. For decades the vocal music groups have been performing in local churches for their acoustical properties. In 1981, East Central’s then-President Wagner submitted plans to for an Arts and Letters Complex featuring three buildings centered around an elevator tower, located behind the auditorium of Science Hall and the northeast side of the Education Building. Funding however, did not come through for the new complex.

The dream of combining and building a fine arts facility on campus did not fade away. In 1989, new President Bill Cole embraced the idea of a fine arts building and began seeking funds.

Alumna Hallie Brown Ford became the long-awaited answer to East Central’s vision of a fine arts facility. In April of 2004, Ford made a $5.25 million gift to the ECU Foundation. To date

44 Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

this is the largest private gift to benefit the university.

On Oct. 1, 2005, ECU broke ground on the largest construction project in its history - the $27 million Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center.

The 85,000 square-foot facility will open in 2009 and will combine ECU’s art, music and communication departments.

The facility will be home to a 1,000-seat performance hall, an art gallery and the Chalmers Herman studio theatre plus rehearsal and academic space for the departments.

The center’s performance hall will accommodate a full orchestra, off-Broadway productions, dance performances and large conferences. The Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center will be equipped with the newest and latest technologies available, including a completely digital television studio and two radio studios. These include video and audio equipment that will record lectures and performances that occur in the theatre.

Naming opportunities are available for theatre seats in the fine arts center and other areas in the building to help meet the demands of rising building costs since the project started.

With the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center as the ‘anchor tenant,’ ECU was able to obtain a USDA grant to research and develop the Arts District of Ada. With community support it is envisioned that Ada will develop new businesses and jobs and become a prime tourism destination in Oklahoma.

2009

Mass Communications, 2007

Orchestra, 1927

Art, 1950s

Choir, 1976

Dr. Dorothy Summers, 1975

Theatre, 2007 East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 45

FACULTY PAY

2nd Year Faculty, 1910

When the state of Oklahoma passed the bill creating East Central State Normal School, the only funds provided were for the construction of Science Hall.

The citizens of Ada lobbied the legislature for $16,000 - enough money to pay the faculty and cover other administrative costs for one year.

In 1958, full-time faculty earned an average of $5,300.

By 1970, the average annual pay for East Central faculty was $12,000.

By 1980 faculty pay had doubled to an average of $24,000.

In 2009, the average annual salary for ECU faculty is $53,500.

East Central University has only had five Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs over the years: Dr. Edward W. James 1953 - 1972 Dr. Bill J. Tillman 1972 - 1980 Dr. C. Gene Stephenson 1980 - 1990 Dr. John Bulman 1990 - 1994 Dr. Duane C. Anderson 1994 - present

Presidents of ECU

Charles W. Briles 1909 - 1916

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James M. Gordon 1916 - 1920

Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Horace Mann Faculty, 1940s

Adolph Linscheid 1920 - 1949

Charles F. Spencer 1949 - 1969

FACULTY FACTS As education standards have changed over the years so have faculty requirements.

In 1958, 33 percent of East Central’s faculty held a doctoral degree.

By 1982, 44 percent of the faculty had doctorates.

In 2009, 68 percent of ECU’s faculty have earned a doctorate.

When the first classes began at East Central, there were fewer than 25 professors and staff employed.

Today, ECU employs 320 full-time faculty and staff.

East Central Faculty, 1920s

ECU Faculty & Staff, 2008

Stanley P. Wagner 1969 - 1988

Bill S. Cole 1989 - 2006

Richard S. Rafes 2006 - 2008

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 47

LOOKING BACK. . .

100 Years

Since the institution’s beginning in 1909, East Central University athletics has been synonymous with success as football and basketball have led the way.

FOOTBALL

The Tigers have a storied tradition in football with 16 conference championships and one national title in 1993.

Laying the groundwork for that success in the latter part of the century was legendary head coach Elvan George, who guided the Tigers to a 13 - season record of 88-44-5 from 1959-1971. That included five consecutive conference championships (from 19641968) and four bowl appearances with one bowl title.

George not only excelled as East Central’s head coach, but did so at the high school level at Ada as his career coaching record was an impressive 253-86-14.

Pat O’Neal continued that success as he took over the Tiger program in 1972 and posted a 97-87-2 career mark as head coach with eight conference titles in 18 seasons. He picked up three straight league crowns from 1978-80 and four straight from 1984-87.

Perhaps one of the Tigers’ greatest seasons came in 1984 when the squad went 10-2 behind quarterback Brad Calip, who still holds several school records, including touchdowns in a game (seven in 1982 against Northwestern Oklahoma State), touchdowns in a season (19 in 1984) and touchdowns in a career (49). He holds the career record for total yardage (3,246 rushing and 3,406 passing).

Because of his career efforts, Calip was named to the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., in 2003. He is the only small college player from the state of Oklahoma to be enshrined into the prestigious hall.

Following the 1989 season, Hank Walbrick took The first football game was played against Southeastern Oklahoma State Normal School (now Southeastern Oklahoma State University).

Tiger fans took a special train from Ada to Durant to watch the game.

The first home games were held by the Katy railroad tracks between 12th and 14th streets.

The playing field was eventually moved to the lawn next to Science Hall where wooden bleachers were constructed for the crowd.

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over as head coach for the next eight seasons with 1993 being the pinnacle season in East Central’s classic history.

The Tigers, behind the running of fullback Tyler Jack, went 10-3 and captured the NAIA national title while rolling to victories in three straight playoff games over Western New Mexico (24-22), Arkansas-Monticello (27-0) and Glenville State (49-35).

Walbrick guided the Tigers to a conference championship in the previous season of 1992.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Men’s basketball has experienced a century of success with Mickey McBride being the mastermind behind 12 conference championships in the early years and Wayne Cobb continuing the winning tradition with eight league titles.

McBride not only steered the East Central ship to the slew of conference titles, but also made nine national tournament appearances along the way.

One of McBride’s greatest runs came during the 1949-50 season in which the Tigers went 33-3 and reached the national title game before falling. That squad was led by two All-Americans in Claudell Overton and Stacy Howell. In fact, Overton was a four-time all-conference selection during his East Central career.

McBride had another All-American and four-time all-conference player in Bart Carlton who played from 1928-32. Carlton achieved his All-American honor during his senior year of 1932.

Under McBride’s guidance, the Tigers placed third at the national tournament in 1930, advanced to the Elite Eight in 1930-31 and 1941-42, and reached the Sweet 16 in 1942-43 to go along with a finals appearance in 1949-50.

East Central State Normal School Football Team, 1911

In 1909, women’s basketball was a popular sport and as a result, by 1910 the new normal school had a women’s team. East Central did not have a men’s team until 1913. The women’s uniforms consisted of bloomers and pullover sweaters. For five years East Central had one of the best basketball teams in the state, losing only to OU. The high point for the women’s team came in 1914 when they won the state championship. The following year, women’s basketball at East Central was discontinued due to the belief by public health authorities that intercollegiate competition in female sports was not appropriate. It was not until 1956 that East Central had another official women’s basketball team.

Cobb coached East Central Men’s Basketball for 24-plus seasons (1978-2003) and posted a 417-251 record.

His accomplishments include eight regular season conference titles, six 20-win seasons, four NAIA National Tournament appearances and two post-season conference tournament championships.

He led the Tigers to an NAIA national tournament runner-up finish in 1989 and saw his ECU squads advance to the Elite Eight twice in 1996 and 1998.

Cobb coached six All-Americans including Marvin Gaines (1983), Vernell Kemp (1989), Jay McAdams (1993), Len Cooper (1996), Chuck Liston (1997) and Roland Miller (1998, 1999).

Miller, ECU’s two-time All-American, is the school’s alltime leading scorer with 2,491 points and holds numerous other school records, including most points in a game (44) and season (849), along with field goals in a game (19), season (328) and career (931). Miller was the only NCAA Division II player invited to participate in the USA Men’s Basketball National Team Trials for the Goodwill Games in 1999.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Women’s basketball at East Central has enjoyed success, particularly in the late 1990s, behind head coach Kent Franz.

Franz guided the Lady Tigers to three straight appearances in the NAIA national tournament in 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98.

The 1995-96 ECU team posted a school-record best

East Central State Normal School Women’s Basketball Team, 1911 30-5 record, won 15 of its first 16 games and reached No. 5 in the national rankings, behind the play of All-Americans Gina Farmer and Rebecca Cotton.

Farmer is second on ECU’s all-time scoring list with 1,631 points while playing only two seasons from 1995-97 while Cotton is fourth while playing only two years from 1994-96.

The early years of Lady Tiger basketball began in 1956-57, under the direction of head coach Mary McPhee, who posted a 229-111 record, before giving way to Eldon Flinn in 1982. Flinn went on to coach East Central for nine seasons and led the team to back-to-back conference championships in 1988-89 and 1989-90 while coaching AllAmerican Kaye Wilkinson, who is sixth on the Lady Tigers’ all-time scoring chart.

BASEBALL

The 2004 baseball team, under head coach Ron Hill, went 30-21 and won the Lone Star Conference North Division title after being picked low in the preseason. Five players off that team – Brandon Hurst, Matt Brooks, Kevin Wilkett, Tim Fatheree and Jeremy Roy - batted over .300 and one – Corey Hall – was named LSC North Pitcher of the Year after posting a 10-2 record and a 1.91 earned run average. Hurst was named LSC North Player of the Year after making only nine errors from his hot-corner, thirdbase slot and hitting .316.

East Central’s rich baseball history stretches back to the early years as National Baseball Hall of Fame members and the brother combination of Paul ‘Big Poison’ Waner and Lloyd ‘Little Poison’ Waner spent some time as

Tiger Athletics

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 49

has experienced continual success in cross country. since those programs began.

The ECU Men’s Cross Country team, behind the running of Koby Styles, qualified for the NCAA Division II national meet in 2005 and eventually placed 11th. Styles finished 27th in the national race to capture All-American honors. Styles went on to capture another All-American award in 2006.

Individuals from the men’s and women’s programs have also reached nationals via qualifying basis throughout the years.

East Central Men’s Basketball Team, 1933 NAIA National Championship, 1993 students on campus.

Paul Waner, inducted into Cooperstown in 1952, hit .333 with 3,152 hits, 113 homers, 104 stolen bases and 1,309 runs batted in during his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1926-40), Brooklyn Dodgers (1941, 1943-44), Boston Braves (1941-42) and New York Yankees (1943-44).

Lloyd Waner, who was enshrined in 1967, batted .316 with 2,459 hits, 27 homers and 598 RBIs in his career with the Pirates (1927-41, 1944-45), Boston Braves (1941), Cincinnati Reds (1941), Philadelphia Phillies (1942) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1944).

SOFTBALL

Softball came onto the ECU sports scene in the late 1990s as the team shared a LSC North Division title in 1999 under head coach Ron Miller and posted five straight winning softball seasons, despite being an upstart program.

Perhaps the greatest player in the team’s short history is Cherene Hiesl, who was a three-time LSC North Player of the Year. She holds the school record for highest batting average in a season (.517) and is in the LSC record books for triples in a season (17) and career (35).

Hiesl was named a Louisville Slugger NCAA Division II Third Team All-American in 1999 and later went on to be the starting centerfielder for the 2000 Canadian Olympic Team.

CROSS COUNTRY

The Lady Tigers first Women’s Cross Country team, under the direction of Susan Payne, promptly won the 1994 conference championship and the men’s program was started by Payne in 1997. ECU

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Women’s Soccer was started in the mid 1990s and the Lady Tigers have made two playoff appearances since, reaching the LSC Tournament finals in 2000 and advancing to post-season play in 2004. Coach Heather Beam has led the program in all but the first year of its existence.

TENNIS

Tennis, under coach Charlie Hibbard’s leadership, has produced winning players such as Dasha Segenchuk, a three-time ITA national qualifier in 2004-06. The Men’s Tennis teams won conference championships in 1983 and 1987. The Lady Tigers and Tigers have enjoyed national team rankings in recent years.

MEN’S GOLF

In 2005, the ECU Men’s Golf program received notoriety when Andrew Bishop won the 2005 LSC Championship. He was the first individual Tiger to win an LSC title.

The Men’s Golf program won conference championships in 1985, 1990, 1994, 1995 and 1997. ECU also won an NAIA Southwest Region Championship in 1998 and earned a District 9 title in 1993.

TRACK & FIELD

Though the sport of track and field is gone at ECU, there were periods of success and one of the most notable athletes is Ryan Ade (1993-97). Ade is the Tigers’ only two-sport national champion after winning the 1997 national title in the high jump. Ade, a threetime conference high jump champion and two-time national qualifier,

East Central faculty & staff enjoy playing tennis for recreation in 1913, long before tennis became an official sport at East Central.

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2009 ECU’s men and women compete in 13 sports

ATHLETICS FUNDING Student fees along with individual and corporate donations have all served as funding sources for Tiger Athletics. During the infancy years of East Central sports, students were assessed a “term activity” fee. A portion of these proceeds was used to buy equipment and cover travel costs for athletic teams as well as defray the costs associated with drama, vocal and instrumental music programs.

The practice of partially funding the athletics program has been in place since the university’s inception. Supplementing the athletic budgets has been accomplished via generous support from alumni, booster groups, Ada community leaders and coaches.

was also a member of ECU’s 1993 national championship football team where he was a three-time all-conference safety.

WOMEN’S GOLF & VOLLEYBALL

In the past two years, Women’s Golf (2007) and Women’s Volleyball (2008) have been added to ECU athletics for a total of seven women’s and six men’s programs.

Running of the Ball This has been an East Central tradition since the fall of 1968 for the football game against ECU’s 100year rival, Southeastern.

If the game is in Durant, the East Central chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity runs the ball to the Southeastern field the night before the game, arriving in the morning. The tradition was started under PIKE president Ralph ‘Butch’ Turner to honor their philanthropy.

When the game is at East Central, the Southeastern chapter of Lamda Chi runs the ball to Ada. In recent years, the fraternity has raised as much as $3,500 with one run to benefit the community.

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Mayhue Tennis Courts – 1928 George and Rachel Mayhue gave property to East Central Norris Football Stadium – Land donation from the Norris family & Gerald Philpot provided the materials for the track Kerr Activities Center - mid 1970s the Kerr Family and ECU Foundation raised the funds Elvan George Building - ECU football coach Elvan George’s former players and friends raised funds for a new locker room in his honor Pat O’Neal Strength and Conditioning Center – Scheduled to open in 2009, it was made possible by donations from friends of Tiger athletics.

Generous private donations, student fees and university funds made the following possible: soccer field, softball diamond and a women’s sports complex

As ECU embarks on its second century of existence, additional efforts are needed to continue the growth in competitive sports.

Athletics Director Brian DeAngelis established a group, the Tiger Club, with the goal of augmenting resources for all 13 ECU sports. The Tiger Club solicits donations from individuals and corporate sponsors alike.

Through the efforts of this initiative, bleachers for football, soccer, tennis and baseball, the renovation of the lobby of Kerr Center, along with the aforementioned Pat O’Neal Center, are dreams that have become realities.

Paramount to the future success of ECU athletics is creating partnerships with corporations and financial donors so that budgets can be enhanced. To paraphrase the popular African adage about raising children, “It will take a collaborative effort of multiple constituencies to sustain a successful athletics program.”

East Central University - Celebrating 100 Years 51

OKLAHOMA STATE REGENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION Ronald H. White, Chairman Bill W. Burgess Jr. Julie Carson Marlin “Ike” Glass Jr. Jimmy D. Harrel Cheryl P. Hunter John Massey Joseph L. Parker Jr. William Stuart Price Glen D. Johnson, Chancellor REGIONAL UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF OKLAHOMA REGENTS Joe Anna Hibler, Chairman Jan Gordon, Vice Chairman Sandy Garrett, Co-terminus (State Superintendent) Ann Holloway Belva Howard Harold Jackson Michael Mitchel Connie Reilly Mark Stansberry Sheridan McCaffree, Executive Director EAST CENTRAL UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION Dr. Duane C. Anderson, Interim President East Central University’s mission is to foster a learning environment in which students, faculty, staff and community interact to educate students for life in a rapidly changing and culturally diverse society. Within its service area, East Central University provides leadership for economic development and cultural enhancement.

East Central University will be recognized both within the state and nation as Oklahoma’s premier comprehensive student-centered regional university, offering outstanding academic programs and experiences for its students and contributing to the betterment of the region and beyond.

Dr. Scott Barton, Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Diane Berty, Vice President for Student Development and Interim Vice President for University Advancement Dr. Steve Turner, Vice President for Administration and Finance Mr. C.J. Vires, Associate Vice President for Sponsored Programs and Research

In compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other federal laws and regulations, East Central University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, handicap, disability, or status as a veteran, in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes, but is not limited to, admissions, employment, financial aid, and education services. This publication is printed and issued by East Central University as authorized by Title 70 OS 1981, Section 3903. 1,000 copies have been printed at a cost of $3,650 03/09

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Encompass the Past. Enrich the Future.

Dr. Delma Hall, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs

www.ecok.edu - 580-332-8000