Memo from C.J. Gray to Thomas N. Pollard, Jr.

Memo from C.J. Gray to Thomas N. Pollard, Jr.

This May 12, 1971, memo is written by Thomas N. Pollard, Jr, Director of Admissions for Richmond College, addressed to Dean C. J. Gray. The memo outlines the efforts made by the Richmond College Student Government Association (RCSGA) to sponsor an Open Campus for Black Students on April 27 of the same year. Pollard, Jr. writes that his office wrote to 115 High School Juniors in the Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield areas who were believed to exhibit qualities desired by Richmond and Westhampton Colleges. Invitations were also sent out to the counselors and divisional supervisors of guidance by the Chairman for the Committee on Campus Life Steven L. Nock. Pollard notes that this was a primarily student led effort, and that University officials remained in the background during the sessions. Over 65 students and six counselors registered and attended the program on April 27th, 1971. Twenty students from Richmond and Westhampton Colleges participated in the planning and execution of the program with the help of faculty advisors Dr. Martin Ryle, Dr. Frank Eakin, and Dr. Henry H. Stewart. Mrs. Madelyn Williams, guidance counselor at Maggie Walker High School, additionally helped the advisory committee in the planning of this event. Pollard ends the memo by asserting how "genuinely impressed" he was by the enthusiasm and commitment the University students made toward this integration effort, but that he has no way of knowing how beneficial it will be in the long term.

Memo from Dean C. J. Gray to Thomas N. Pollard, Jr.,12 May, 1971, RG 6.2.5 Box 25 Folder 3, University Archives, Virginia Baptist Historical Society.

1971-05-12

English

UA6.2.5.25.3-19710512.JPG

Richmond (Va.)