On the morning of March 6, 1948, Dr. John Decatur Messick (1897-1993) was formally installed as president of East Carolina Teachers College. The installation ceremony, held in Wright Auditorium, climaxed a week of events including a Founder’s Day Celebration the day before. One writer for the News and Observer declared Messick’s inauguration “one of the greatest campus celebrations in the history of the college.”
As ECTC’s fourth president and its third since 1944, Messick quickly provided stability and integrity in leadership, guiding the school out of a period of administrative turnover that began with the resignation of Pres. Leon R. Meadows (1884-1953) in scandal in 1944. Dr. Howard J. McGinnis (1882-1971) then served as acting president, only to be followed in 1946 by Dr. Dennis H. Cooke (1904-1982), who soon resigned to take a position at Woman’s College in Greensboro. Cooke’s departure left East Carolina again leaderless at a critical juncture in its postwar growth and development: 1947, the year Cooke resigned, was East Carolina’s fortieth, and should have been a time for celebration of the school’s new growth, especially in enrollment and faculty numbers.
The ECTC Board of Trustees led by Clyde Erwin (1897-1952), state superintendent of public instruction, moved quickly, and offered, in the summer of 1947, the presidency to Messick. Messick, a native of eastern North Carolina, had earlier applied for the position in 1944, following Meadows’ resignation; clearly, he remained interested in it: he promptly resigned from his post as dean of instruction and special assistant to the president at State Teachers College, Montclair, N. J., to accept the offer, optimistic that he could restore harmony at East Carolina. A News and Observer editorial soon confirmed as much, noting that with Messick “dissensions at the institution” seemed “a thing of the past,” and that ECTC was well positioned to take “its rightful place in the educational life of North Carolina, a higher place than it has ever held before.” Even with years of administrative flux, ECTC had grown rapidly in the postwar years to become, as of 1947, the largest teachers college, the third largest overall, and the fastest growing campus in the state.
The Saturday March 6 inaugural ceremonies in Wright Auditorium began with musical performances by the College Band, the College Singers, and the College Choir. The formal installation was itself followed by a luncheon for 275 guests in the College Dining Hall, concluding the five-day program of events. Harry A. Sprague (1885-1977), president of the State Teachers College, Montclair, N. J., where Messick had served as just prior to becoming ECTC president, was the principal speaker.
The day before, Friday March 5, included a Founders’ Day program marking the fortieth anniversary of the school. Organized by the Alumni Association, it featured remarks by Robert Lee Humber (1898-1970), a native of Greenville and then a leader in the World Federation peace movement, on East Carolina’s history. Messick also spoke on the school’s future. On Thursday March 4, the ECTC Chi Pi Players staged various children’s plays in Austin Auditorium, providing a sampling of the school’s teacher training program for guest educators and dignitaries attending. On Wednesday, March 3, the festivities included an evening of musical performances, “A Night in Old Vienna,” in Austin Auditorium featuring talents from the ECTC Department of Music, including the College Choir, the Women’s Chorus, and the College Singers, plus instrumental performers and soloists. The first day of the inaugural events, Tuesday, March 2, included a black-tie reception for Dr. and Mrs. Messick in Ragsdale Hall, to which 400 guests were invited.
Plans for the ceremonies were initiated by a Board of Trustees’ committee chaired by Henry Belk (1898-1972), Goldsboro, including Arthur Corey (1891-1950) of Greenville and Ruth Moore Johnson (1893–1972) of Raleigh. The Alumni Association and school faculty assisted, with former acting president Howard McGinnis (1882-1971) serving as the faculty chair of planning. Dr. Clyde A. Erwin agreed to conduct the installation ceremony, to be attended by leading educators throughout the nation as well as prominent political figures, editors, and board members. Reportedly, presidents from 20 colleges and universities accepted invitations to attend.
In his acceptance speech, Messick addressed the challenges facing educators as the postwar period transitioned into the Cold War. He remarked,
“Many inventions have revolutionized the industrial world but no invention has been effected which approaches the prophetic changes predicted for the future with the development and utilization of atomic power. During the recent war, the schools had to gear their curriculums overnight to the scientific and social aspects of mechanized warfare. We don’t want to be forced into another cataclysm; therefore, education must take on the aspects of a world order. Its concepts have to undergo rigorous transformation…. We want universal education with a soul. We must have a sound body with impeccable character in a trained mind which is saturated with the essence of the golden rule.”
The keynote speaker was Frederick Zook (1885-1951), president of the National Council on Education and chair of President Truman’s Commission on Higher Education. Zook called for “nearly 1,000,000 new teachers” in the decade ahead while questioning whether Americans, as things stood, were sufficiently educated to ensure “the preservation and continued development of the democratic way of life to which the nation is dedicated.” Gov. Gregg Cherry (1891-1957) similarly emphasized the need for teachers to overcome ignorance statewide, declaring “illiteracy … ‘Public Enemy No 1’ in North Carolina.” At the time, only five states had illiteracy rates higher than North Carolina’s.
Messick’s inaugural ceremonies, the grandest since those for East Carolina’s first president, Robert H. Wright (1870-1934), in the fall of 1909, and far more than those for the second president, Meadows, held in 1935 during the Great Depression, marked the dawn of a new age in East Carolina’s history as it moved into a period of sustained, unprecedented growth in student enrollment, faculty numbers, and physical structure, leaving behind the trying years of WWII and the administrative upheaval that had coincided with them. While Messick’s resignation a dozen years later, in 1959, shocked the campus briefly, he by that time was able to leave the school in the well-trained hands of its next leader, Dr. Leo W. Jenkins (1913-1989). Jenkins had accompanied Messick in the move from New Jersey higher education to become ECTC’s new dean of instruction. By 1959, Jenkins, although a New Jersey native, was a born-again North Carolinian, and provided for a seamless, even energetic continuation of the progressive leadership initiated by Messick.
Sources
“Box 1: Inauguration Materials, 1948.” Records of John Decatur Messick. University Archives # 02-05. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University, Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/ua02-05
“Cherry to Speak on ECTC Program: Governor to be One of the Chief Speakers for Inauguration of Dr. John D. Messick.” News and Observer. February 11, 1948. P. 7.
“College Celebrating for New President.” Charlotte Observer. March 2, 1948. P. 9.
“College Gets New President: Dr. John D. Messick of New Jersey Chosen for East Carolina Teachers.” Charlotte Observer. July 2, 1947. P. 10.
Conner, Carl. “Today is 41st Founders’ Day Anniversary.” Teco Echo. March 5, 1948. P. 2. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38153
“Dr. John D. Messick Inaugurated as New President of East Carolina: Leading Figures in Education Speak at Installation.” Greensboro Daily News. March 7, 1948. Sect. 1, page 8.
“Dr. John D. Messick to Assume Presidency at ECTC Saturday, March 6.” Roanoke Rapids Herald. March 4, 1948. Sect. B, p. 1.
“Dr. Messick to be Inaugurated Tomorrow: Music Department Participating in Inauguration.” Teco Echo. March 5, 1948. Pp. 1, 4. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38153
“Full Program to Precede Inaugural of Dr. Messick: Reception Today Will Open Series of Events, Installation Saturday.” Greensboro Daily News. March 2, 1948. P. 10.
Greene, Mary H. “East Carolina College Likes Its New President.” Greensboro Daily News. March 7, 1948. Sect. 2, page 1.
Greene, Mary H. “ECTC, Now 40 Years Old, In Flourishing Condition.” Greensboro Daily News. October 2, 1949. Women’s Section, p. 14. https://www.newspapers.com/image/938489778/?terms=John%20D.%20Messick&match=1
Kirkland, Jimmy. “John D. Messick.” 1958-1959. East Carolina Manuscript Collections. Identifier: 55.01.00.1890. East Carolina University Digital Collections. J. Y. Joyner library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/16334
“Mamie Jenkins with John D. Messick.” 1948 (mislabeled as 1947). University Archives # 55.01.1893. East Carolina University Digital Collections. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/17154
“Messick and Pirates Club.” 1950-1959. East Carolina Manuscript Collections. Identifier: 0741-b21-fc-v21.c.40. Daily Reflector Negative Collection. 0741-b21-fc-v21.c.40. East Carolina University Digital Collections. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/4270
“Messick Elected to College Post: Beaufort County Native to Succeed Cooke as President on September 1.” News and Observer. July 2, 1947. P. 1.
“Messick Theatre Arts Building.” Joyner Library Special Collections. East Carolina University. Greenville, N. C. https://library.ecu.edu/specialcollections/archives/building-histories/#anchor52
“New Jersey Educator Will Speak at ECTC.” News and Observer. February 27, 1948. P. 17.
“Taking Its Place.” News and Observer. March 8, 1948. P. 4.
Whitfield, James. “New President Inaugurated at ECTC: Dr. J. D. Messick Honored in Big Campus Celebration.” News and Observer. March 7, 1948. Pp. 1, 13.
Additional Related Material
Citation Information
Title: President John D. Messick’s Inauguration
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 1/23/2024