The David Mathews Administration of The

IS THERE A LONG ARC OF LEADERSHIP?: THE DAVID MATHEWS ADMINISTRATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN THE 1970s by EDWARD J. WALDRON, III KARRI HOLLEY, COMMITTEE CHAIR CLAIRE MAJOR WAYNE URBAN NATHANIEL BRAY DAVID HARDY A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Technology Studies in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2018 Copyright Edward James Waldron, III 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT The new spirit, which asked serious questions of American democracy in the 1960s, turned into the actions and deliberations of the 1970s. Within Alabama, tectonic shifts in culture, economics, and politics – but especially civil rights - underpinned much of the Alabama experience in the 1970s. How would a 33-year-old president of a flagship university in the Deep South respond? The ethos guiding the Mathews’ Administration was a product of his times, which sought, in the words of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the "dignity of man, and the destiny of democracy." Two questions dominate this period in University history - First, what large issues confronted the University of Alabama during the 1970s, and what philosophical bases formed President Mathews’ decision making in confronting them? Second, what policy and political shifts existed in Alabama in this era? As Mathews quietly pushed the University of Alabama forward from desegregation toward full integration, many external factors began to weigh on the presidency of the University. Once an office of high autonomy, the presidency shifted as increasing pressures changed the University’s sense of identity and its relation within the state's political, economic, and social structures. Utilizing analytical essaying, this dissertation addresses the public flagship’s role to the public it serves while also understanding the implications a wider environment can have on a university’s mission. Ultimately asking whether this institution is a university in Alabama or the University of Alabama, Mathews saw education—more specifically the University's graduates and thus the University itself—as the best option toward improving the general welfare of Alabamians. ii DEDICATION Hattie Elizabeth Southall Williams May 1, 1917 - January 30, 2012 This dissertation is dedicated to Hattie Elizabeth Southall Williams. Born in the mountains of North Carolina, she became a daughter of Southwest Alabama. “Murrs” initially attended Tulane University to pursue her degree in education, but she later left the university to become a teacher in the Mobile County Public School System. In the 1930s, she rode an open-air train through the sweltering heat of summer and the cold rains of winter to teach the young children of rural Mobile County. Some of the children she taught came to school tired, hungry, and in ragged clothes; these children came from poor home situations in communities with names like Chunchula, Citronelle, and Gulf Crest. Despite numerous obstacles, many of those children went on to become a successful part of Mobile County’s story in the 20th century, and some even entered careers education—because of her dedication. Her love for the Lord shone though many deep professional and personal chasms to inspire many children—including those in her own family, where she brought them together with the soft yet strong bonds of sharing, despite the personal difficulties surrounding her. As someone who loved the land, rural Alabama, history, and Mobile Bay, she fought constantly for their preservation, protection, and advancement. May this project be added to the history of Alabama in the same spirit that she embodied. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people to thank for their support, encouragement and even love throughout this chapter in my life. Many are close by, some are far away, and one is even in heaven. To Hattie Elizabeth Southall "Murrs" Williams, who had an impact on my educational journey from the beginning and carried on this impact though the annual ritual of purchasing multiple packs of college-ruled paper at the beginning of each academic year, even into the PhD: you are greatly missed. No sunset has ever touched my heart and mind more than the cool evening when I stepped out of Lloyd Hall and crossed the quad to the news of your present distance while I am a poor example, your passion for education and the land of Alabama has had a great impact on my own life and on the lives of a new generation born in 2016. I am grateful to my wife, whose example of strength, poise, personality, and professionalism shine in my own life. She personifies the very idea that love knows little bounds. Indeed, strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. I thank you for the countless sleepless nights of conversations, ideas, and encouragement. That was no requirement, and it was sourced from nowhere but true love. My parents have given so much that it is impossible to put it in words, all so that another generation of our family could rise and serve others: the church, our fellow Alabamians, and the glory of God. Thanks to you, I have limitless opportunities to serve others. To Dr. Karri Holley, your knowledge, wisdom, and guidance throughout my education and time at the University of Alabama have been a tremendous blessing to me. Your enthusiasm iv and understanding have energized my desire to push forward, to become better, and to hone myself and my mind as I seek to serve others through the avenue of higher education administration. Lastly, I thank Dr. Wilton Bunch, the priest from the Church of England who, in 2007, rose to give two masterful dissections of Holy Writ. Covering the Second Chapter of St. Mark, your mastery did not come from your vast years spent as an MD Pediatric Orthopedist or from your PhD in Ethics. Your sermon, that the young men mentioned in the first five verses were old enough to be strong and resourceful but young enough not to understand barriers, sounded familiar to the person sitting in the pew – myself. The second sermon pierced through a cold, rainy November day: that the need for justice compels us in Alabama this day to discuss men and women, and black and white. In your discussion of Saint Paul's third chapter to the Galatians, beginning with Sojourner Truth's “Ain't I a Woman?,” you crescendoed with a Greek exegesis which changed the course of my life: "Those of us who believe that it is binding in our time, must teach God's word to all people... This is not a history from which we can retreat, and this is not what our text says it means to be baptized into Christ... as we consider the distinctions mentioned herein, we are able to see the thread of sin that runs through all distinctions: excessive pride, the first of the deadly sins." For this reminder - thank you for letting me glimpse the truth that is God's glory unto His whole creation: that indeed that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Coram Deo et Veritas v CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND OF MATHEWS .......................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................................ 32 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 33 Primary Sources and Evidence .................................................................................................. 33 Literature Overview ................................................................................................................... 35 CHAPTER 3: MATHEWS’ EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY .................................................. 62 Philosophies: The Effect of Mathews’ Educational Past .......................................................... 63 Jacksonian Feist meets Jeffersonian Polish ............................................................................... 66 Integration: Of not In ................................................................................................................. 70 The Institution as a Force… for Community............................................................................. 78 Style of Leadership: Encouragement ......................................................................................... 86 In Practice: New College - Personalized Formality in Collaboration ....................................... 88 Continual Questioning ............................................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER 4: WISE MEN NE’ER SIT AND WAIL THEIR LOSS ......................................... 103 Background .............................................................................................................................

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