INAUGUR A TI ON
ISSUE
THE TWIG
Newspaper of the Students of Meredith College
SPECIAL
E D I T I □ N
\Jol. XLl/II
MEREVITH COLLEGE, RALEIGH, hi. C,
SeptembeA 21, 1972
hlo. 3
SIXTH INAUHl'RATION TOMORROW
At 11:00 A.M. on Septem
ber 22, ceremonies for the in
auguration of Dr. John E.
Weems as President of Mere
dith College will commence,
presided over by C. C. Cam
eron, chairman of the Board
of Trustees. After a presen
tation by the Meredith College
Chorale, Dr. John M. Lewis,
minister of the First Baptist
Church, will read a selected
scripture, to be followed by a
prayer of invocation by Dr.
O. L. Sherrill, Executive Sec
retary of the General Baptist
Convention. Various groups
and associations will then ex
tend their greetings to the
new president in three-minute
talks to be given by the follow
ing persons: Carolyn Carter,
SGA President; Alyce Epley
Walker, Jr., President of the
Meredith Alumnae Associa
tion; Dr. Allen Burris, Vice-
president and Dean of the col
lege; Seby B. Jones, Chair
man of the Board of Asso
ciates; Thomas M. Freeman,
President of the N. C. Bap
tist State Convention; Dr.
Ben C. Fisher from the Sou
thern Baptist Convention; and
Thomas W. Bradshaw, Jr.,
Mayor of Raleigh. Dr. Mary
Lynch Johnson, Professor E-
meritus and Historian of the
college, will speak on “A
Goodly Heritage,” giving the
chief contributions of past
Meredith presidents to the
school. Presentation of the
special President’s Medallion
will be made by Dr. Luther
M. Massey, trustee for whom,
together with his wife, the
new president’s home will be
dedicated. Dr. Perry Crouch,
General Secretary - general
of the Baptist State Conven
tion, will lead in an inaugural
prayer, followed by the major
address of the morning by Dr.
John E. Weems. Dr. Weems
selected his title, ‘‘Upheld by
the Affections of a Great Peo
ple,” from a chapter in Dr.
Johnson’s HISTORY OF
MEREDITH COLLEGE. The
inaugural ceremonies will be
closed with a benediction
from Dr. T. Robert Mullinax,
Executive - Secretary of the
Council on Christian Higher
Education of the Baptist State
Convention.
Trustees To Meet
Combining their semi-an
nual meeting with the fes
tivities of Dr. Weems’ inau
guration, the Meredith College
Board of Trustees have a busy
weekend ahead of them. Arriv
ing on campus by noon Friday,
the trustees will join Dr.
Weems for lunch, then pro
ceed with students to the dedi
cation ofthe president’s home.
Following this, the trustees
will meet in committee to pre
pare for Saturday’s meeting.
Friday evening at 7:00 in the
dining hall, a dinner will be
held for the Trustee Asso
ciates, an advisory group of
past trustees and people in
terested in the college. The
Student F’oundation, a sixteen-
member committee of Mere
dith students, will try to help
the Trustees and Associates
see the school from the stu
dent’s viewpoint. At this time,
the Harris Bell award, the
highest honor bestowed by
Meredith College, will be pre
sented to the person — other
than officially connected with
the college — who has con
tributed the most service to
Meredith throughout the year.
He will receive a chair bear
ing the school seal and a pla
que explaining the honor. Also
on schedule for the dinner is
the Ensemble, sure to bring
a lighter note to the program,
Saturday, the Trustees will
start the day off early with a
continental breakfast provid
ed by the Home Economics
Department. Hollowing this,
the trustees are to begin the
real work of the weekend at
9:00 when the official meet
ing is to be called to order.
Remaining in session until
noon, the Trustees will con
sider committee reports and
recommendations, study the
official audit, and evaluate
financial conditions.
Meredith’s first family: Dr, Weems; David Van, 13; his wife, Frankie; Nancy Carol, 11; and
John Mark, 18.
NEW MEDALLION DESIDNED
Dr. Weems comes to Meredith with varied educational exper-
Rmce as he assumes the sixth presidency.
The keypoint of the inaugu
ration Friday will be the cere
mony of investiture during
which Dr. Weems will receive
the medallion of Meredith Col
lege — the symbol of presi
dential authority. In honor of
this event, Meredith has pur
chased a new medallion of
cast silver to be worn for
the first time by Dr. Weems.
John Kanipe, Executive Di
rector of Development, de
scribed the medallion as being
very similar in design to its
predecessor. The new medal
lion, as the former one, is
circular and bears the offi
cial seal of Meredith. The new
one, however, is surrounded
by a filigree of oak leaves,
acorns, and twigs.
Kanipe stated several rea
sons for having a filigree of
this design, ‘‘Raleigh,” he
pointed out,’ ‘‘is called ‘The
EDUCATIONAL
BACKGROUND
MARKS WEEMS
Friday, September 22,
Meredith College inaugurates
its sixth president, Dr. John
Edgar Weems, at 11 a.m. in
the amphitheater. He was
elected president of Meredith
in October, 1971, and assum
ed the position on January 1,
1972.
Born in Nashville, Tennes
see, Dr. Weems was educat
ed at Hillsboro High School
and George Peabody College,
both in Nashville. He holds
the B.S., M.A., and D. Ed.
degrees from George Pea
body. Dr. Weems’ undergrad
uate majors were business ad
ministration and economics.
His master’s degree majors
were administration of public
education and business edu
cation. His doctorate degree
major was administration of
higher education.
Having earned his under
graduate degree. Dr. Weems
joined the Proctor and Gam
ble Company as one of seven
men throughout the U. S. se
lected to enter their Execu-
(Continued on page 2)
City of Oaks,’ and the Mere
dith campus is known for its
many hardwood trees, espe
cially the oaks.” Also, the
fact that Meredith’s three pub
lications bear the names of
the three designs adds a great
deal of sentiment to the medal
lion and its significance.
The new medallion is four
inches in diameter and will be
worn around the president’s
neck on a wide maroon and
white ribbon. Work began on it
in June by the Medallic Arts
Company in New York. The
medallion was made by means
of a sculptor’s modes. This
method required a hand-en
graved replica which was
stamped into the cast silver
under tremendous pressure,
creating a perfect reproduc
tion.
Meredith obtained its first
medallion for the inauguration
of Dr. E. Bruce Heilman in
the spring of 1967 upon his re
quest. It was made from a
non - precious metal and
covered with a ceramic glaze.
When asked why a new medal
lion was purchased, John Ka
nipe replied that the college
wanted a medallion that re
flected the quality that Mere
dith has always stood for.
The new medallion, which
will be worn only for formal
academic occasions, will be
presented to Dr. Weems by
Dr. L. M. Massey, former
Chairman of the Board of
Trustees, and Chairman of
the Presidential Selection
Committee.
THE INAUGURATION OF
JOHN E. WEEMS
as
SIXTH PRESIDENT OF MEREDITH COLLEGE
September 21 and 22, 1972
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Thursday, September 21
6:00 p.m. Student Dinner for the President, Belk Dining Hall
8:00 p.m. Organ Recital, Jones Auditorium
W. David Lynch, Chairman, Department of Music,
Meredith College
Friday, September 22
7:30 a.m. Buffet Breakfast for Hostesses, The President’s House,
North Campus
8:30-10:15 a.m. Registration of Guests, College Center, West Campus
8:30-10:00 a.m. Coffee Hour for Visitors, Mae Grimmer Alumnae House,
West Campus
Wake County Chapter of the Alumnae Association
10:15 a.m. Concert, Elva Bryan Mclver Amphitheater
Triangle Symphony
11:00 a.m. Inauguration, Elva Bryan Mclver Amphitheater
Reception immediately following in Bryan Rotunda
12:30-1:45 p.m. Buffet Luncheon, Belk Dining Hall
2:15 p.m. Dedication of the President’s House and Open House follow
ing, North Campus
(Buses will be available for the North Campus beginning at
1:30 p.m.)
Speqal Exhibits
History of Meredith College Carlyle Campbell Library, West Campus
Exhibit of Work by Meredith College
Faculty of the Department of Art College Center, West Campus
Exhibit of Work by Meredith Art Students Gallery, Joyner Hall, West Campus
Exhibit of Paintings by Claude Howell, Bryan Rotunda, Johnson Hall
Chairman of the Department of Art,