Operation Chowan
Dr. Whitaker
By JOHN C. GILL. Jr.
The American college presi
dent—1961 model—is not one
but many persons. Contrary to
popular thought, he is not a
pipe-smoking philosopher who
s'p ends his
days sitting in
some remote
ivory tower
and contem
plating the
education pro
cesses. Nor is
he an ostrich,
with head
stuck i n the
sand, com
pletely oblivi-
o u s of the
hard realities
of life in general and econom
ics in particular. An educator
he is, of course, and first of all.
But much more! Efficiency ex
pert, public relations giant,
orator par excellence, fund
raiser extraordinary, wizard of
personnel procurement and
management, doctor of diplo
matic science—these, too, the
modern college president is.
Chowan's Presidenl
And Chowan's prexy. Dr.
Bruce £. WhiteUcer, fills the
bill. Granted, he has an
adminislratlTe staff to
handle specific respoosibili-
ties in these many areas.
But a 1 w a r s, "Dr. Bruce"
must give direction and guid
ance, and bring the many
parts into a unified whole.
He must, that is, if Chowan
College is to come to the end
of each audit year with a rec
ord of successful operation,
and if the college is to ren
der creditable service as an
institution of higher educa
tion.
Those who hold the ivory
tower concept of the college
president would be amazed to
learn that Dr. Whitaker trav-
vels at least 3,000 automotive
miles every month in the pur
suit of his duties, in addition
to some travel via commercial
airlines.
Why so much travel? Well,
he attends a wide variety of
professional meetings for one
thing. Meetings of the regional
accrediting agency, the South
ern Association of Colleges—
meetings of the state accredit
ing agency, the North Carolina
College Conference—meetings
of the Southern Association of
Baptist Colleges and the
American Association of Jun
ior Colleges—these and other
similar ones are “must meet
ings” in the interest of the
academic standing of Chowan.
It is worthy of note, in this
connection, that “Dr. Bruce”
is vice president of the South
ern Association of Baptist Col
leges, a member of the Stu
dent Personnel Commission of
the American Association of
Junior Colleges, and a direc
tor of the North Carolina Con
ference for Social Service.
Many Meetings
But that’s not all the meet
ings. Chowan’s energetic young
administrator also attends
innumerable meetings of Bap
tist groups. Since Chowan is
one of the seven colleges oper
ated by the Baptist State Con
vention of North Carolina, his
attendance a t Associational
gatherings, sessions of the Con
vention, its General Board, and
its Council on Christian Edu
cation is a necessity. Also, in
this connection, he joins the
six Baptist presidents each
year in a series of “Campus
Visitation Day” programs.
Each of the colleges has an
annual special day when the
Baptist of their area visit the
campus and meet the seven
Baptist college presidents.
The college bylaws state that
the president is the official rep
resentative of Chowan College,
too. As such, “Dr. Bruce” fre
quently is required to attend
various functions at other col
leges.
Fund raising, of course,
accounts for a great deal of
his travel. While the college
has a director of develop
ment who assumes this work
as his major responsibilily.
the president often accompa
nies him, and especially in
the solicitation of large con
tributions and grimts. In
addition, two weeks out of
his busy schedule must be
given each year for the solic
itation of contributions to the
North Carolina Foundation
of Church-Related Colleges.
However, this two weeks
brings well over $10,000.00 of
annual operating capital to
Chowan as a member institu
tion of the Foundation.
Considering all of this, it is
not difficult to understand how
“Dr. Bruce” drives his auto
mobile about 36,000 miles each
year, and especially when you
f-
V*’
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NEWS BUREAU-ln demand as a speaker at churches and civic
club meetings, assistant to the President of Chowan in his many
activities, Mr. John C. Gill, Jr., is also responsible for news and
picture releases appearing In the area publications. The bulletin
board In his office shows some of the good results from the
News Bureau.
ki
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF—Here are some of the people who direct the activities at Chowan College
. . . and promote good will for its promotion. At the right Is the President, Dr. Bruce E. Whitaker;
and to his right are Dean of Men James Masters; Bursar Arella Adams; retired Director of Devel
opment Oscar Creech; Dean of the College J. Irving Brooks; Director of Admissions Ross A. Cadle;
College Chaplain, Dr. Edgar V. McKnight; Dean of Women Sybil Grimes; Assistant to the President
John C. Gill, Jr.
1.^ ^ i
REGISTRAR'S OFFICE—Always a busy place is the main office of the College Dean and Registrar.
Here the records and grades of students are kept—from way back to right now. Assistant Regis
trar, Mrs. Marjorie Lee (left), instructs student helper Brenda Taylor of Gates. Mrs. Marjorie Sew
ell, administrative secretary, is seated by student helper Charlotte Ellas of Wilson. In background
are student helpers Glenda Huffstetler of Gastonia and David Woodson of Richmond, Va.
throw in countless speeches
before schools, churches, civic
clubs, and other groups.
These away-from-home duties
would seem to be enough for
the average man; but they are
not for the college president.
Nothing has been said as yet
about his duties at the college.
Needless to say, every time
Chowan’s leader returns to his
office from a prolonged jour
ney, his desk is piled high with
correspondence. That the han
dling of this is a time-comsum-
ing chore is revealed in the
fact that he dictates from 100
to 125 letters every week.
Academic Matters
Then, there are the numer
ous academic matters which
have a claim on his time.
Of course, the college dean is
a strong right arm in these
matters. The dean’s work,
however, is directed by the
president, and the dean reports
directly to him on all matters
pertaining to the educational
process and student life. One
of the president’s major
responsibilities in this area is
to replace faculty members
who resign and to procure
additional ones when growth
in student enrollment makes
this necessary. In spite of the
fact that the college trustees
are continually trying to in
crease faculty salaries to a
completely adequate level, the
procurement of qualified and
experienced college fac
ulty persons is a hard and
often frustrating task.
And, speaking of the col
lege trustees, "Dr. Bruce"
must plan their several an
nual meetings at the college,
as well as the monthly meet
ing of the executive commit
tee of the trustees. Not only
is he required to prepare an
annual report on every facet
of the college operation for
the trustees, he also prepares
monthly reports for the ex
ecutive Committee.
Financial matters, and espe
cially the operating budget,
are an ever present consider-
(See following page.)
IN THE DEAN'S OFFICE—It Isn't always "good" when a student is
visiting the office of the Dean of the College, J. Irving Brooks,
but In this case Betty Lou Podruchny of Halifax Is being advised
on classes.
FOR FEBRUARY, 1961
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