1947-1967
In the aftermath of World War II, Western Carolina Teacher’s College underwent a dramatic transformation. As the nation’s postwar educational environment changed rapidly, so too did WCTC’s. First on the list of challenges was enrollment growth. Enrollment, at 522 in 1941, shrank to 230 in 1944. By 1950 it had mushroomed to 610. The result was the largest building program in Western Carolina’s history to date. A science building and library, a dining hall and dormitories, an education and psychology building, and a new student union were all added to the campus.
The next challenge was revision of the curriculum. An Institutional Research Committee’s document entitled “Where From Here?” argued that WCTC had become a “multi-purpose” college with its primary emphasis on teacher training. The results included a change in name, to Western Carolina College (effective 1953); bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees added to the original teacher education program; the addition of in-service education for adults in mid-career; and the first graduate program, a master of arts in education. Together these changes so altered the College’s educational direction that in 1967 the state legislature elevated its status (along with four other regional state campuses) to that of a university. Western Carolina University had begun its latest reincarnation.
Student life reflected the spirit of change at Western. The growing student body (4,000 in 1967) was more diverse. In the immediate aftermath of the War, over half of the students were veterans living in prefabricated housing nicknamed “Boodleville”, and three-quarters were male. A handful of foreign students from Cuba were recruited by Spanish teacher Clarence Chrisman. In 1957, Western accepted its first African-American student, Levern Hamlin.
This student diversity brought many long-standing customs and rules governing campus life under examination. Older veterans chafed at rules aimed at freshmen right out of high school, and complaints about a lack of social attractions grew. The Town House and the College Shop served as social centers on campus, and social fraternities arrived in 1957. But some students sought out the nearest legal sales of beer, especially at Clyde’s Restaurant in West Waynesville.
Athletics also grew after the War. Men’s football and basketball drew the largest crowds. New athletic facilities -- Memorial Stadium (1949) and Reid Gym (1956) -- were built, and womens athletics were housed in Breese Gym. In 1963 Western’s men’s basketball team played in (but lost) the NAIA basketball national championship game in Kansas City. Two years later Western again flirted with national fame when it recruited the outstanding All-American basketball player Henry Logan, the first African American to play for a white public college in North Carolina.
Under the leadership of two presidents, Paul A. Reid and William E. Byrd, Western Carolina had experienced the most dramatic changes of its existence until then. Buildings, curriculum, student body, faculty -- all had experienced extraordinary growth and development. Western was poised to enter its next phase, that of a regional university.
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