No ordinary college : a history of the University of Virginia's College at Wise / Brian Steel Wills.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wills, Brian Steel, 1959-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

University of Virginia's College at Wise--History.

University of Virginia's College at Wise.

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 290 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Charlottesville [Va.] : University of Virginia Press, 2004.

Summary:

"You are making history today," the University of Virginia Extension Division agent Samuel Crockett observed to a gathering of students and faculty on September 15, 1954, in Wise, Virginia. The occasion was the opening convocation of what would become Clinch Valley College of the University of Virginia, and the 109 students assembled, many of whom were Korean War veterans or women, were indeed part of something quite special. People in Southwest Virginia and friends in Charlottesville -- not the least being University of Virginia President Colgate W. Darden Jr. -- had worked tirelessly to make this day possible. A snowbound discussion at the Colonial Inn in Wise had resulted in the conversion of the local County Poor Farm into the only branch of the University of Virginia.

Since those humble beginnings, the College at Wise has flourished, growing from a two-year certificate-granting institution into a four-year baccalaureate-degree-granting college in the late 1960s. In 1999 the college completed a transition from Clinch Valley College to the University of Virginia's College at Wise. Having journeyed over uncertain ground with respect to its student population and its relationship with the University of Virginia, the College at Wise has in recent years boasted its highest historical student enrollments, garnered a national reputation as a public liberal arts college, and still operates as the university's only branch. Published for Wise's fiftieth anniversary in September 2004, Brian Steel Wills's history is essential reading for the college's alumni, faculty, and administrators, and for anyone interested in a heroic chapter in the history of public higher education in Virginia.

Contents:

Introduction: From "Poor Farm" to "The College on the Hill" 1

Chapter 1 A College Is Born 1953-1954 6

Chapter 2 The Barnyard Disappears 1955-1957 21

Chapter 3 "As Clinch Valley Goes..." 1957-1962 43

Chapter 4 A "New Team" for the College? 1962-1965 62

Chapter 5 What Does the College Stand For? 1965-1972 87

Chapter 6 Clinch Valley Swims toward the Mainstream 1973-1984 112

Chapter 7 Beyond Papa Joe 1984-1987 154

Chapter 8 From Night to Knight 1987-1992 181

Chapter 9 "Peace in the Valley" 1992-1999 200

Conclusion: New Directions for a New Millennium 1999-2004 216

Presidents during the CVC/UVa-Wise Era

Directors/Chancellors of CVC/UVa-Wise

CVC/UVa-Wise Advisory Committee/Council/Board Presidents

Governors of Virginia during the CVC/UVa-Wise Years

Student Council/Government Association Presidents

Faculty Recognitions

"Dogwood and Rhododendron"

"The Ballad of Crockett Hall"

Enrollment History of CVC/UVa-Wise by Year

The University of Virginia's College at Wise

Total Headcount by Age, Fall Semester, 2003

CVC/UVa-Wise Athletics

CVC/UVa-Wise Cavaliers Football Fight Song

Hall of Fame and Alumni Recognitions

Breakdown of Alumni by Location

CVC/UVa-Wise Alumni Association Presidents

Erroneous Names for Clinch Valley College.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [275]-280) and index.

ISBN:

0813922933

OCLC:

56732421