The Purge

 

In 1930, Mississippi governor Theodore Bilbo called a meeting of the State Board of Universities and Colleges and proposed the dismissal of 179 staff and faculty members across several different colleges and universities within Mississippi. Three university presidents were terminated, including those at University for Mississippi, Mississippi A & M, and Mississippi State College for Women, who were allegedly replaced by unqualified parties that amounted to political appointments.[1] His reasons for the dismissal of so many state employees was deemed to be strictly political due to complete lack of administrative interference and lack of satisfactory causation[2]. In a three letters, MSCW newly-appointed President Sutherland defended himself against such charges, saying that his appointment as MSCW president was not the result of any political agreements.[3]

 

While SACS disapproval proved to be the most important result for MSCW due to the organization refusing to acknowledge degrees from MSCW, the college also lost all accreditation with the American Medical Association and Association of American University Professors.[4] The college also fell into disagreement with the American Association of University Women.  In a report from the committee in charge of maintaining standards for all universities and colleges enrolled in the AAUW, the following problems and resulting penalty were explained:

 

"The summary dismissal in June, 1930, by the State Board of Trustees of a large proportion of the administrative officers and teachers of the University of Mississippi and The Mississippi state College for Women without warning, without charges, without the opportunity of defense, and without action by the administrative head of the institution indicates the entrance of politics into higher education in a manner contrary to the principles and standards of the American Association of University Women. The association, therefore, under present conditions has no adequate guarantee of the maintenance within these institutions of the educational standards upon which its membership is based… The committee on Maintaining Standards therefore recommends to the American Association of University Women that its Board of Directors, that the University of Mississippi and the Mississippi State College for Women be placed on probation by the American Association of University Women for a period of not less than two years..."[5]

 

In other words, the AAUW was not claiming the dismissed faculty members to be innocent or guilty; that was beside the point. What truly went against the organization’s standards was the way in which the faculty members were dismissed. The institutions could apparently not present any satisfactory evidence on why the personnel were fired and why the employees were not given a change for defense. When Bilbo carried out the purge, the AAUW says that the institution’s administration made no effort to investigate or handle the layoffs. This was enough reason for them to believe that this was strictly a politic-driven decision.

 

The ordeal even got attention within The Spectator, with the editors giving students and faculty updates every few issues. This is a valuable source for modern audiences, considering there was very little indication of representatives meeting with the SACS committee within administrative documents. In other words, no minutes or administrative correspondence mentioned a committee of representatives created to plea MSCW’s case to SACS. The Spectator also provided information concerning the alumnae’s effort to delay the suspension for four Mississippi universities. It seemed the efforts were dedicated to postpone the suspension from SACS just long enough until legislative session of 1932 could be excluded “…when efforts will be made to change the present method of selecting members of the board of trustees.”[6] Their reasoning behind the postponement was so that they were given a chance to actually create new policies on how the board of trustees were selected, suggesting that such a thing could not be done in the middle of a legislative session. In the event that the plea of students and alumni fell on deaf ears, “…the Mississippi delegation will seek to have its executive committee empowered to return the schools' standing immediately after legislative reforms have been made.”[7] At the end of the meeting on April 4, 1931, the committee sympathized with the college’s plea, but said that they did not have the authority to lift the suspension. [8] No further documentation was found on the official reinstatement of MSCW into SACS, though this did eventually occur in 1932. However, in order to be reinstated, SACS ordered that all faculty who were fired under the Bilbo purge be given back their positions. This lead to President Sutherland’s dismissal who, in turn, was replaced by Dr. B. L. Parkinson.[9] Even though Sutherland ran unopposed and was voted in unanimously [10], he still felt it necessary to write to several prominent figures stating,

 

“In brief, I wish to say that my election as president of [MSCW] was not a political reward... I will say that I have endeavored to administer the affairs of the college on a non-political basis.”[11]

 

 

 

 

A Tight Budget

 

 

By 1931, MSCW was falling dangerously low in funds as Sutherland did his best to get answers and help from Bilbo. In a letter addressed to Governor Bilbo, Sutherland explained the funding difficulties, saying

 

"I have taken the matter up with the state treasurer, only to find that the treasury is empty."[12]

 

At that moment, the university was a full three months behind on salaries for faculty and this only seemed to be getting worse. In the same letter, Sutherland plead

 

“If you can give us an encouraging word, please send it on, as we find it difficult to satisfy people with anything short of pay checks.” [13]

 

Sutherland went on to make a statement published in The Spectator that explained the current state of the MSCW budget and state treasury as well as a warning that the college must reserve all remaining resources. He warned,

 

“In face of the present depressed condition of the state, a sizable reduction in the amount of state support for the biennium might well be expected.” [14]

 

He later goes on to put the budget drop into perspective for the students so that they may understand the severity:

 

“But since the announcement of the proposed cut in the appropriation of more than 42%, no one has ventured a prediction as to how ouch a drastic cut can be absorbed, or to what extent the present offerings of the college will be affected in the event no additional funds are secured. It is known that a drop of 33 1/3% in the appropriation would necessitate curtailment of some departments besides reducing salaries well below the minimum recommended for college teachers, but a further drop of nearly fifty thousand would be most unfortunate.” [15]

 

It seemed that the budget had been dropped well below what is needed to give faculty proper salaries, but no one is sure what else they have to do to make the budget work. According to Sutherland, the last time the allotted budget had been so low was in 1920, and they now have twice the expenses to cover as they did at that time. [16] The situation of unpaid salaries finally got so complicated that the college was forced to borrow from Columbus banks in order to get the $53,000 worth of delinquent paychecks to faculty members, The Spectator explained. [17]  The issues with salaries persisted for years.  In 1938, lips were handed out to all faculty members. By signing the slips, the faculty members agreed that they would begin the new year under the full understanding of the college’s current financial situation. [18] Though no sources were found that clarified, in detail, the reasoning behind this, the best can be done is to assume that this left the college less vulnerable to legal conflict. By choosing to continue their career at MSCW even while knowing and agreeing to the low and potential irregular pay the college was able to provide, it relinquished some liability on the institution’s part.

 

In an attempt to bring in extra funds for the college, MSCW president Dr. Parkinson offered the solution of allowing members of the community to enroll in classes. While they would not be offered the same accommodations as students such as laundry, food, cleaning, etc., both men and women from the community could further their education for the price of normal class costs plus a small fee. [19]

 

 

 

Recovery

 

In 1933, FDR’s New Deal gave birth to the National Industrial Recovery Act that in turn resulted in the establishment of The Public Works Administration. It was through this federal program made to combat the Great Depression that the college received the funding to begin massive repairs and renovations to the “Main Dormitory”, which is currently Calloway Hall. [20] In 1937, the colleges was given a grant of $49,909 and a loan of $61,000 by the Public Works Administration, totaling a total amount of $110,909 to be devoted to the improvement of Calloway Hall. [21] It is also worth mentioning that there was a letter stating that Columbus was about to receive aid from the Tennessee Valley Authority and assured

 

“Columbus will leap forward into an era of progress and prosperity the like of which she has never seen before.”[22]