The College:

History of Oconee College

In 1918, the state legislature granted 200 acres in the northeastern part of the state for a college in River City. Sixty miles southwest of River City is Benjamintown, the largest city in the state and the capitol, which has a current population of 800,000.

Founding

The first governing board was appointed, and the charter for Oconee College was adopted. The college was founded primarily due to the need for a regional normal school to provide a two-year preparation program for school teachers. Normal schools were prospering during this time period as the primary approach to training teachers. Approximately 95% of normal school students were women.

In 1919, the first president of Oconee College, Henry Houston Baehr III was named and charged with the selection of faculty and staff, the supervision of construction, and the admission of students. Two years later 400 female and 15 male freshmen arrived on campus. The college opened with three classroom buildings, five residence halls which housed all female students, an administration building, and a library. The men boarded with local families or commuted from home.
Baehr died in 1937 after serving 18 years as president. He was followed by Warren Richard Heatherday, the Dean of College, as the second president. Oconee College continued as primarily a normal school with mostly women students(about 95%); the men who enrolled at the College continued to be "locals."

Post World War II

In 1947 with the return of veterans, Oconee became a four-year liberal arts college and reached an enrollment of nearly 1,400. By 1950, men made up nearly 40% of the student body. In 1947, President Heatherday resigned after a nine year tenure in office. During his tenure as president, he improved relations between the college and the Oconee School District which provided greater student access for practice teaching in the schools. Due to the increase in enrollment, Avery Hall opened to house 150 females, and the first male residence, Baehr Hall, housed 150 men. Because of the GI Bill which greatly increased enrollment, there was a sudden need for campus housing for married couples. In 1950, a 35-unit apartment complex was completed to house married students and their families.

Shane Walter Ansley, who was named the College’s third president, presided over the first baccalaureate commencement of 285 students in 1949.

The decade of the 1950’s saw the opening of the Marostin Student Union in 1954. Katherine Marostin, a widow of a local businessman, served as the primary financial contributor to this building. President Ansley resigned suddenly in 1955, and the fourth president Gregory Stafford was named one year later. The continual demand for on-campus housing was lessened with the opening of two residence halls in 1958: Daddona Hall, a 150 bed male residence and Badal Hall, a 100 bed female residence. The decade closed with enrollment reaching 2,500, the opening of a new physical plant facility, and the election of Alanna Morningside, the first student council president, in 1959.

The 1960s

The Oconee College baseball team won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship in 1966. Oconee College's women's tennis team was also highly regarded, winning six conference championships during the 1960s.

In 1966, the first seven African-American students were admitted to the College. President Stafford accepted the position of president at a larger public institution in the state and resigned in 1967. He was remembered for his support for intercollegiate athletics. However, his major campus contribution was the golf course. He was instrumental in raising money to purchase a recently bankrupted private golf course located on the campus perimeter. Stafford was replaced by the fifth and first woman president of Oconee, Gwen Alice Parkington one year later.

The 1970s

The Vietnam War resulted in a leveling of enrollment to about 2,800 students in 1970. Construction of the new Cooperstin Library was completed, and it opened in 1972.

At age 69, Gwen Alice Parkington retired in 1973. Academic Dean Zane Rostin served as acting president until a new president was selected. One year later, Brown Residence Hall Complex opened to house 400 students in coed halls. In addition, the Stafford Physical Education and Recreation Center and a new classroom building were constructed.

It was time to begin renovations of some of the earlier buildings. Two of the original residence halls were converted into a health center and pubic safety building; the original library was converted into a classroom building. After the completion of this new wave of construction, Wilhemena Stout was named the sixth president in 1975.

The 1980s and 1990s

The 1980’s brought enrollment to 2,900. Stout accepted the position of president of a private liberal arts college and resigned in 1987. President Ryan Darryl Pederson was appointed one year later. The first campus building named after a woman, Sapphella Hall was the new College of Education building which opened in 1988.

The most recent campus housing project was completed in 1990. Oconee Village, which houses 365 students in apartment style buildings, was eagerly awaited by students as an alternative to the traditional residence hall.

Recent Developments

In 2004, President Pederson retired after 16 years of service. In his honor, The Oconee College, the School of Business was named The Pederson School of Business.

Dr. Meredith Chapman-Wright was appointed as President at the beginning of 2005 by the Board of Trustees. Dr. Chapman-Wright’s first initiative was to increase the recruitment and retention of a student body more reflective of River City and the surrounding counties. This joint effort with the local school districts has led to an increase of the student body and a current enrollment of 4,100 in 2008.

Currently, the campus is composed of 23 buildings. There are ten residential facilities, six classroom buildings, a student union, administration building, library, physical education & recreation center, health center, public safety building, and a physical plant. It is approximately one-half hour from a community college and one-hour from a branch campus of the State University of Franklin.

In this state, each public college or university is governed by its own board of trustees. There is a state coordinating board for Higher Education. (See Higher Education in the State of Franklin: An Overview for details about the other public colleges and universities in the State.)