m
U. s. POSTAGE
PAID
Permit No. 217
Rocky Mount, N. C.
Non-Profit OrganizatioD
^^Keep The Lamp Of Learning Burning
VOLUME XVI, NUMBER 7
ROCKY MOUNT, N. C.
FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1975
NCWC To Open Doors This Fall!
Yes, North Carolina Wes
leyan College will open with
full steam ahead next fall
and will also have some type
of Summer School Sessions.
Judge J. Phil Carlton,
Wesleyan Trustees Chair
man, reported to the student
body, faculty, staff, and
friends with extreme elation
on May 16, 1975 in Everett
Gymnasium. The text of
Judge Carlton’s remarks are
stated below.
On April 17 we told you of
our new determination to
save Wesleyan as a private
senior college. We reported
that a minimum of 1 1/4
million dollars would have to
be raised in order to insure
the future vitality of the
college. Since then, we have
formally invited the Rocky
Mount community and the
United Methodist Church to
launch immediate campaigns
to raise this money. In both
instances, we explained that
one-half of this money would
have to be raised in cash by
September 1 of this year,
with the remaining one-half
in pledges during the years
1976 and 1977. An additional
condition was that we be
assured of a minimum
student body of 400.
We also reported to you
on April 17 that the board of
trustees would today eva
luate the progress made in
the campaigns, if they were
accepted, and report that
evaluation to you. We
realized then that it would
be impossible to raise all of
the required money by
today, but we did feel that
we would be in a position to
judge the community and
Church response and deter
mine whether we could be
assured of the ultimate suc
cess of the campaigns ac
cording to the stated time
table. We have made that
determination, using our
best judgment, and report
our findings to you now.
The admissions office,
with the help of many
students, faculty and staff,
has worked diligently during
the past several weeks and
Mr. Garlow advised the
board this morning that 426
students have given their
firm committment to attend
Wesleyan next fall. In
addition, off campus pro
grams, new programs to be
announced soon, and new
applications normally re
ceived during the summer
months should assure a
much larger enrollment. We
are satisfied that we will
exceed the minimum requir
ed student population. (This
comment was received with
hardy applause from stu
dents’, faculty, staff and
friends.)
With respect to the
campaign to raise 1 1/4
million dollars, we submit
ted our formal request to a
special session of the North
Carolina Annual Conference
of the United Methodist
Church in Raleigh on May 3.
The Conference voted to
launch a campaign to raise
$400,000 of our total goal,
one-half by September 1 of
this year and the remainder
during 1976 and 1977. The
committee in charge of
planning that campaign will
meet in Raleigh on Monday,
May 19 to formulate a plan
to be presented to the
Annual Conference on June
2 and we look forward to a
successful effort by the
Church during the summer
months to meet the Septem
ber 1 deadline. The Metho
dist Church has already
invested over 3 1/2 million
dollars in North Carolina
Wesleyan College and I
believe they are going to
preserve their investment.
On April 27, over 800 area
residents met in the audito
rium of Rocky Mount Senior
High School at the invitation
of the Mayo.r of Rocky
Mount and the Chairmen of
the Boards of County Com
missioners of Nash and
Edgecombe Counties and
enthusiastically accepted
the challenge to raise the
balance of $850,000 of the
total goal. Immediately fol
lowing that meeting a
Campaign Cabinet was or
ganized under the direction
of Mr. Leon Dunn, Jr.,
President of Guardian Cor
poration and Subsidiaries,
and one of the most vigorous
drives for money ever con
ducted in the Rocky Mount
area was begun. By yester
day afternoon pledges total
ing $500,678.60 had been
received. When we consider
that this drive has taken
place in a period of slightly
more than two weeks, this is
an almost unbelievable ac
complishment.
In summary, we are satis
fied that we will exceed the
required minimum student
enrollment. We are also
satisfied that the campaign
to raise 1 1/4 million dollars
will be successful. We are
now confident that the
Rocky Mount community,
the Methodist Church and
everybody who now has or
has ever had anything to do
with Wesleyan College are
determined to keep this
institution alive.
I now gladly report that
the board of trustees voted
this morning to keep North
Carolina Wesleyan College
open and operating. We will
be open this summer, we
will be open in September
for the 1975-76 academic
year and we believe that
North Carolina Wesleyan
will remain open in the years
ahead.
This is a great day for
North Carolina Wesleyan
and the board wishes to
thank everyone who has
played such a major part in
making this announcement
possible. They are too num
erous to mention.
There is a necessary word
of caution. While we are all
justified in celebrating to
day’s announcement, we
must not fall into the trap of
assuming that the task is
completed. We still have a
long way to go and a lot of
hard work to do. The first
money raised in a campaign
is the easiest to raise. The
hardest part of the campaign
will be during the next few
weeks and months. New di
visions of the campaign will
become operative in the
coming days and weeks. We
must join with those camp-
(Continued on Page 5)
Wesleyan President Thomas A* Collins Resigns
Wesleyan’s first and only
president, Dr. Thomas A.
Collins, tendered his resign
ation to the N.C.W.C. Board
of Trustees on May 16,1975,
to become effective on or
about June 15. (The text of
Dr. Collins’ remarks appears
on page 2.)
Board Chairman J. Phil
Carlton announced the pre
sident’s resignation to the
student body, faculty, staff
and assembled friends in a
meeting on campus April 17.
Judge Carlton praised Dr.
Collins’ contribution to Wes
leyan over the past 16 years,
saying, “Dr. Collins has
given his total energy and
intellectual ability to N. C.
Wesleyan College. He is one
of the most energetic and
brilliant men I have ever
known, and has nurtured
this institution from in
fancy.”
Judge Carlton also stated
that Dr. Collins tendered his
resignation for only one rea
son: “It is Dr. Collins’
opinion (and the board of
trustees respects that opin
ion) that his action is in the
best interest of Wesleyan.
However, as one of Dr.
Collins monuments, he lea
ves Wesleyan with a repu
tation of academic excel
lence unparalleled by any
college so young.”
Dr. Collins spoke to the
assembly and announced
that he would request
Bishop Robert M. Black
burn, of the North Carolina
Annual Conference, The
United Methodist Church, to
appoint him to a pastoral
position in the Conference.
Dr. Collins said, “As you
know, the pastoral ministry
is my first love and my
permanent commitment. I
shall happily return to that
endeavor.”
A native of Wilmington,
N. C., Dr. Collms was
graduated from Asbury Col
lege and Asbury Theological
THOMAS A. COLLINS
Seminary in Kentucky and
from Candler School of
Theology, Emory Univer
sity, Atlanta, Ga. He was
awarded an honorary doc
torate by High Point Col
lege, High Point, N. C.
He has served as a
Methodist pastor in Atlanta,
Gatesville and Raleigh, N.
C., and for a time t&ught
school and was a high school
principal in Gates County
and Gatesville. In March
1959, Dr. Collins was elected
the first president of Wes
leyan, which opened in Sep
tember 1960.
He was elected to “Who’s
Who in America (Marquis)”
for six years, to “Who’s Who
in Methodism” in 1954, and
to “Who’s Who in American
Education” in 1961. Dr.
Collins holds a number of
memberships and has held
official positions in state and
national educational asso
ciations, as well as in The
United Methodist Church,
including the Board of Edu
cation, the Board of Mis
sions, and the Long Range
Planning Commission.
Dr. Collins has also
devoted his energies to civic
affairs and has held promi
nent positions with the
Kiwanis Club, the Edge-
combe-Nash Mental Health
Center, the Rocky Mount
Chamber of Commerce, and
the United Community Ser
vices, in additioij to accept
ing numerous other volun
teer community assign
ments.
He has published many
articles and sermons in both
state and national periodi
cals, and served for twenty
years as sermon editor for
the Carolina Cooperator.
Dr. Collins is married to
the former Anna Golloway
of Whitehall, New York, and
they are the parents of four
grown children.