February 1980
Compass
page 6
We've Come A Long Way
February has been
declared, “Black History
Month,” by the government
of the United States.
Celebrating the
declaration, the COMPASS
staff along with Leonard R.
Ballou, University Archivist,
have prepared the following
information about our first
University President and our
first University Chancellor.
President-Enneritus Moore
It fell to a young Shaw
University alumnus with
teaching experience at
Plymouth (North Carolina)
Normal School, to nurse to
adulthood the new
educational creature sired by
Hugh Cale. Peter Weddick
(also spelled “Wrederick”
and “Wreddiah”) Moore
actuallu may not have been
the original choice of State
powers-that-were: a local
newspaper (Summer, 1891)
announced John Henry
Manning Butler, like Moore a
Negro, as head of Cale’s
normal school for the
‘‘Colored Race.’’
Nonetheless, Dr. Moore
became .chief executive; Mr.
Butler, his assistant. On
January 4, 1892, Messrs.
Moore and Butler, con
stituting an administration
and faculty of two persons,
opened the brand-new in
stitution.
Principal Moore had a nine-
hundred dollar budget,
legislatively sheared from
budgets of other extant
normal schools, including
that of his former place of
employment! Nineteen days
after his school opened, he
began the unending task of
fund-raising-a task inherited
by each one of his successors.
Initially, Dr. Moore and
Mr. Butler had an enrollment
of twenty-three and a “rented
little frame structure on the
campus of Roanoke In
stitute” (Elizabeth City), as
the 1925 Yearbook put it some
decades later. Next, he and
his fledging school moved to
an improved site in town,
“the Old Normal Building.”
Quite probably, this was a
structure which local Black
citizens had erected nearly a
quarter of a century earlier,
under the prodding of their
civic and educational con
sciences and that of Professor
Thomas Cardo*© (Negro)
and a white physician-
became newspaper-*
publisher. Dr. Palemon John
(who became Trustee
Chairman for the new school,
1896-1898).
Principal Moore saw* his
shool grow and could note
memorable milestones as the
decades passed. When he held
his first Commencement in
May 1892, enrollment had
grown to 69 students (some
sources say 64). Thereafter,
he witnessed his first
graduates (1896)-six persons
for the“Normal Depart
ment”; his first summer
session (1899); organization
of an alumni association
(1903); the decision to retain
and thus maintain the in
stitution in Elizabeth City--
acute turn-of-the-century
“merger nerves”; his move
in 1912 from the rented
Elizabeth City quarters to a
permanent site in Nixonton
Township in Pasquotank
County, complete with a
permanent building (erected
1909).
He saw enlargement of
institutional personnel,
programs, resources and
4iistoricity, including the
school’s 25th Anniversary
(1916) and what appear to be
various “firsts” besides his
1892 Catalogue: formal
athletic squad(1914);
Yearbook, the “Normal
Light,” which was dedicated-
to him (1925); and student
newspaper, the
“Magnet”(1927). He also
came to know the distinctions
of laudatory press notices and
being awarded honorary MA
and LLD degrees.
When D. Moore retired in
1928, after 37 years of
unrenting toil, the Trustees
reflected the sentiments of
many people in formally
recognizing that he had
carried forward from an idea
to ail institution. As evidence,
they conferred upon him the
first title of President-
Emeritus in a North Carolina
state-supported institution of
higher learning, according to
existing reports. He was also
given a home on campus
(which building still exists)
and from there he viewed
Voices Through The Years
The General Assembly of “Subject matter is
North Carolina do enact that
it shall be lawful for the State
Board of Education to
establish a normal and
training school for the colored
race in the town of Elizabeth
City, County of Pasquotank in
the State of North Carolina,
for the purpose of training
and teaching young men and
women.’’-Hugh Cale,
January 26,1891
subordinated to the ends to be
served; not learning for its
own sake, but learning that
leads to better living, to self-
improvement and to greater
social and personal com
petence. This, in reality, is
the meaning of functional
education.”-Sidney D.
Williams, June 18,1950.
“The State of North
Carolina and the cause of
education, and the good will
of mankind have greatly
benefitted. The challenge is to
continue the ideals of the
school in order that the state
and nation may continue to
receive valuable service.”-
John H. Bias, August, 1934.
“The institution itself now'
seems to have begun to grow
into the main structure of its
future...and there now
emerges something of the
shape of things to come. This
is not to say that there is
perfection or com
pleteness... We must continue
to strengthen if we would
reach our goals.’’-Walter N.
Ridley, June 29,1965.
“We must be determined to
continue to find the correct
way in a world of conflicting
ideologies, economic strife,
and social controversy. This
is the river that flows from to
Hugh Cale, bringing with it
past thoughts and deeds of
other great people on whose
shoulders we stand, gaining
the fortitude wo weather
these times and to enter a
new era.”-Marion D. Thorpe,
March 3,1978.
It is our hopes that through
the efforts of past, present
and future administrators,
faculty and students, our
school will continue to move
m the right direction.
The COMPASS staff would
also like to thank Leonard R.
Ballou for his assistance in
this edition.
more growth of the school,
until his death in 1934.
Many persons mourned his
passing including mayor
Jerome B. Flora, who asked
local merchants to close their
businesses at the time of Dr.
Moore’s funeral and former
Trustee Chairman William 0.
Saunders.
The latter, as editor of the
Elizabeth City “In
dependent,” gave Dr. Moore
an extensive eulogy which
included calling the school “a
silent monument to the quiet
strength and influence of a
gentle soul...”
President-Emeritus Moore
(born in Duplin County, North
Carolina, 1856), according to
the recollection and
assessment of many people,
had wisdom far beyond many
of his contemporaries.
He obviously learned
throughly and practiced in
superior fashion people-to-
people relationships during
his forty years of dealing
from prominence with fellow
human beings. Peter W.
Moore could not be other than
signally recognized by all as
one of the institution’s
Founders.
Effective July 1, 1968, the
Trustees elected the youngest
chief executive since 1891-in
fact, then one of the youngest
in the nation. His name was
not well known locally, but
that situation was removed
with atomic speed.
Marion Thorpe is a native
of Durham, North Carolina
(born 1932) and there com
pleted per-collegiate
education and his bachelor’s
and master’s degrees, both of
the latter with honors.
President Thorpe became
the first chief executive to
arrive with his PhD and
brought to the school both
depth of education and
breadth of experience, in
cluding military service.
Interestingly enough, the
major field for him and his
predecessor was psychology.
Dr,. Thorpe came from the
vice-presidency of an Ohio
institution, among many
other professional ex
periences. One of the latter
was his having been an
assistant director of North
Carolina’s once extant Board
of Higher Education and thus
one of the highest ranking
Black officials in the State’s
governmental complex.
From that vantage point, he
came to this school in 1966 for
its 75th Anniversary to speak
of its future. While on campus
then, he communicated with
Presidents Trigg, Williams
and Ridley (the latter then
incumbent). Those were
portentous and historic
meetings. Perhaps never
before and perhaps not soon
again will as many chief
executives of the institution
meet together.
Administratively,
President Thorpe addressed
“excellence”and “ac
countability”; the “com-
muniversity”concept;
“change”; budget; and
improvements needed, self-
origninated or in anticipation
Chancellor Marion D. Thorpe
of future exigencies.
Spectacular expansion and
enrichment in all insitutional
quadrants have resulted,
from computerization, to
added majors, to national
athletic prominence-not to
mention establishment of a
Foundationin 1971 to help
support the school nor to
exclude the largest
enrollment to date (including
its interracial and in
ternational aspects) and
largest employee total and
diversification-from vice-
chancellors and lab
technicians to the school’s
first female property guard.
As another example, the
school now has its largest
federal/private support since
inception as it has moved
even more so from “state-
supported” to “state-
assisted.”
Also, Dr. Thorpe has moved
it even further into in
volvement with the local,
state, regional and national
educational complex not to
exclude Congressional and
White House interaction.
Further, ECSU became a
“Bicentennial Campus” with
official ceremonies in 1976,
and in the same year
designated the first
professoremeritus in its
history.