1960s
1970s
1964 Dr. Norma Rose spoke at the first Faculty Distinguished Lecture, and Class Day, which began in 1901, was held in the new McIver Amphitheater.
1971 President Heilman resigned. According to Carolyn Robinson’s The Vision Revisited, he increased faculty salaries and the number of faculty with doctorates, began offering faculty sabbaticals, and increased student enrollment by 44 percent.historstnt
1966 President Campbell retired, leaving a legacy of seven new buildings – Joyner Hall, Jones Auditorium, Mae Grimmer Alumnae House, Ellen Brewer House, Hunter Hall (now Martin Hall), Carroll Health Center, and Poteat Residence Hall; plans for a new library; a larger campus; and a nearly doubled enrollment (to 983 students). 1968 The first two African-American students enrolled at Meredith. 1969 Carlyle Campbell Library was completed. On a day called “Book-In,” students moved the books from Johnson Hall to the new library. The first edition of A History of Meredith College was the first book moved to the new library. That fall, students moved into Heilman Residence Hall, nicknamed “the Heilman Hilton.”
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1972 Dr. John E. Weems became Meredith’s sixth president, and the Massey House President’s Residence was built. Barefoot Residence Hall opened. The Cate Student Center opened, with Weems calling it “a visit to the 21st century.” Under the leadership of Anne Clark Dahle, ’54, Meredith’s continuing education program began. 1974 Meredith appointed its first female vice president, Dr. Sandra Thomas, and Meredith students in earnest took up the cause of women’s rights. An editorial in the Twig addressed Thomas: “You have set one precedent already, and, who knows, perhaps one day someone will follow you to the never-before-achieved accomplishment of becoming Meredith College’s first woman president.”
1971 Gwendolyn Matthews Hilliard, ’71, made history as the first African American student to receive a degree at Meredith.
Meredith offered its first study abroad program, with Dr. Roger Crook as the director. 1978 Sir Harold Wilson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, gave the first Lillian Parker Wallace Lecture. Since its inception, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, among others, have spoken as part of the series.
1966 Dr. Bruce Heilman was chosen as the fifth president.
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1979 Meredith began the paralegal program. Today, Meredith’s program is the only one in the Triangle approved by the American Bar Association.
1972 Dr. John E. Weems became Meredith’s sixth president, and the Massey House President’s Residence was built.