Inflation hurts; bids
on dorm rejected
The inflationary spiral is affect
ing and influencing Chowan’s Deve
lopment Program and educational
expenditures on every hand. Develop
ment has always cost a lot, but
now it costs much more.
Dormitory Bids
College officials recently received
bids for the proposed dormitory for
men with three major contractors
bidding. All bids were well above the
anticipated budget and were sub
sequently rejected by the college’s
trustees.
Dr. Bruce E. Whitaker, President,
indicated that the plans for the dorm
will be re-studied, along with other
influencing factors, and the college
will again receive bids for the dorm
project within a period of from 30 to
Phil Royce joins
college staff
Phil Royce, who has been di
rector of the Baptist Student Union
at Troy State University in Troy,
Alabama, will begin work as Director
of College Relations at Chowan on
April 1.
The new director of college rela
tions will come to Chowan College
with a wide field of experience and
education. At his home in St. Peters
burg, Florida, he attended St. Peters
burg public schools and received the
Associate in Arts degree from St.
Petersburg Junior College. He holds
the Bachelor of Arts degree in journal
ism and public relations from Florida
State University and the B. D. degree
from Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminary in Wake Forest. His
parents are Mr. and Mrs. L. S. Royce
of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Mrs. Royce is also a native of
Florida and is a registered nurse.
The Royces have two children, a
son John Thomas, six-years old.
and a daughter Karen Elizabeth,
three-years old. Royce has served
with the United States Marines on
active duty and in the Marines
Reserve.
Royce has served as sports editor
of the St. Petersburg Junior College
paper, sports reporter for the Florida
State University paper and sports
correspondent for the St. Petersburg
Times. He directed the News Bureau
at Southeastern Seminary where he
wrote routine news and feature
stories which appeared in papers
in several states and in many Baptist
state papers. While at Southeastern!
he was Wake Forest correspondent
for the Raleigh-Times and worked
weekends with the Raleigh News
and Observer. He has also served as
minister of education and youth at
the First Baptist Church, Crestview,
Florida from 1964 to 1967.
The new director of college relations
will handle the News Bureau, Speakers
Bureau, sports writing and public re
lations program for Chowan College.
60 days. The dormitory was to have
been a nine-story facility to house
288 men with approximately 60,000
square feet. The college previously
anticipated use of the dorm by the
fall semester of 1970.
Columns Renovation
The McDowell Columns building,
Chowan’s historic landmark cons
tructed in 1851, is proving to be one
of the most expensive buildings on the
college’s campus. The college has al
ready spent twice the original cost
of the building on minor renovations.
Currently, the entire ground floor
is being renovated with new walls,
floors and ceilings. Already, a new
sprinkler system for fire protection
has been installed. With the east
wing now removed, the college
administration is faced with the res
ponsibility to repair the east side
of the building where the east wing
was connected. This continuing pro
ject is supported by friends and
alumni, as well as the college’s regu
lar budget, and by a grant, on a
matching basis, from the Richard
son Foundation. No date has been
given or anticipated for the com
pletion of renovation projects on
the building.
Recreation Area
Since the college’s gynasium
facilities are completely inadequate
for the physical ^ucation program
and as a result of the needs of the
more than 1300 students at Chowan,
a new recreation area is being plan
ned for the southeast side of the
campus, adjacent to the present
football field. This will provide com
bination courts for tennis, basketball,
volleyball, and an area for other
recreational activities such as horse
shoes. The entire area will be full
lighted and completion is expected
within the next 60 days. The college is
already using a new track which
has recently been constructed adja
cent to the baseball field which is
only two years old. The latter two
projects are located on the southeast
side of the campus.
hi
Chowan’s President, Dr. Bruce E. Whitaker, is shown holding draw
ings related to two important projects on the Chowan campus. In his
right hand is the layout for the new recreation area and in his left
hand is the architect’s drawing of the proposed dormitory for which
the first round of bids were rejected.
Science-Engineering Facility
Hopes have been high on the Cho
wan campus for a new science-
engineering facility for the past few
years. The present building was
constructed in 1956 for a student
body of about 300. Advances in pro
grams for science-engineering, as
well as the increase in enrollment,
make it mandatory that the college
complete the science-engineering
facility. However, plans are virtually
complete, but funds are not in sight.
While funds are not available
for every need that the college has,
official sources have pointed out that
many projects are under way and be
ing planned in order to undergird
Chowan’s educational program.
Special appropriations have been
made for new books for the Whitaker
Library, salary increases for faculty,
new equipment and additional student
services. All of these projects are
more expensive than when originally
envisioned. The inflationary spiral
is making Chowan College feel the
pinch.
Report on festival
PHIL ROYCE
By PROFESSOR EDITH LARSON
Teacher of English and Drama
In the summer of 1968 the first
American College Theatre Festival
was organized and sponsored by the
American Airlines, friends of the
J.F. Kennedy Center, and the Smith
sonian Institution. The number of
colleges entering the nationwide
Festival was 176. Only three schools
from North Carolina enrolled: the
North Carolina School of Performing
Arts, Catawba, and Chowan.
On December 7, at Greensboro, the
N. C. School of Performing Arts
presents “She Stoops to Conquer.”
It was an outstanding performance!
The setting was modeled after authe
ntic eithteenth century furniture;
the music was selected and played by
students of their music department;
a dance routine formulated by special
dance students was used for the
curtain call, and the costumes were
designed and made by drama majors.
Then on December 30 the N. C.
School of Performing Arts moved to
a Regional Meet and won. In Feb-
urary they were selected again as
one of the ten best college drama
companies in the United States.
As a result, they will perform May 8
and 9 in the newly renovated Ford
Theatre at Washington, D. C.
The Chowan Players, who saw this
prize winning play by a North Caro
lina school, were spellbound with the
beauty, the smoothness, and the
characterizations of the cast. One
of our Chowan students exclaimed,
“Watch that David Wood, who played
the part of Mr. Hardcastle. He’ll
soon be on Broadway.” The entire
project was a memorable event for
the 18 Chowan students who made the
trip to Greensboro.
For March, 1969
PAGE SEVEN