Holbert, Gentry

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epublications@Marquette

Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 49 Jesuit Higher Education in a GlobalContext Article 50September 2016Spring Hill College: Jesuit Educational ExcellenceSince 1830Gentry HolbertFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationHolbert, Gentry (2016) "Spring Hill College: Jesuit Educational Excellence Since 1830," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol.49 , Article 50.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol49/iss1/5040 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION                                                                                                                                          Spring Hill College, Alabama’s oldest institution ofhigher learning, was founded in 1830 by MichaelPortier, Mobile’s first Catholic bishop. Spring Hill isthe first Catholic college in the Southeast, the thirdoldest Jesuit college, and the fifth oldest Catholic col-lege in the United States. In a letter dated February17, 1830, Bishop Portier requests 400 acres of publicland from the city of Mobile to establish an institu-tion that “will be eminently Catholic, yet it will beopen to all denominations and no influence is to beexercised on the minds of the pupils for a change ofreligious principles.”This included a provision to board and in-struct one orphan for every “half section” of landgiven; some of the first students were from theMobile Orphan Asylum. In the 1930s Spring Hillbecame one of the first Jesuit colleges in the UnitedStates to request permission from Rome to admitwomen as students full time. That request was de-nied several times but became reality in 1932. In itstradition of educational excellence to persons of allfaiths and backgrounds, the college has remainedtrue to its mission to form students to become re-sponsible leaders in service to others.Spring Hill College and the Civil WarSpring Hill College remained open throughout theCivil War. In 1861, Fr. Francis Gautrelet, S.J., visitedConfederate president Jefferson Davis and askedthat recruitment of lay faculty and students bestopped. Many students were too young to enlistand enrollment increased in 1864 with familieshoping to keep their sons out of military service.Union solders camped on the college grounds, butthe college was not harmed. In the tough economictimes following the Civil War, students from Cuba,Central America, and Mexico replaced southernboys. In 1866 and 1867, Spring Hill had moreCuban students than Alabamans.AN HISTORICAL MOMENTSpring Hill CollegeJesuit Educational Excellence Since 1830By Gentry HolbertAbove: Stan Galle Field “The Pit” – Stan Galle Field is the oldestcontinuous collegiate baseball field in the United States. Intercollegiate baseball started in 1889, though Spring Hill had unofficial baseball clubs in the mid 1800s.Inset: In 1924 Babe Ruth visited Stan Galle Field to demonstrate his mighty swing in an exhibition game.1Holbert: Spring Hill College: Jesuit Educational Excellence Since 1830Published by e-Publications@Marquette, 2016Racial IntegrationSpring Hill presidents Patrick Donnelly, S.J., and An-drew Smith, S.J., brought landmark changes to the col-lege after World War II. Both viewed racial segregationas an ethical and moral dilemma. “So far I hear only si-lence. Let Spring Hill College break that silence! Letthe College that was the first institution of higherlearning to raise the torch of education in Alabamaalso light and lead the way to full democracy in Ala-bama and the Southland.” So wrote Fr. William PatrickDonnelly, S.J., in World Citizenship and the UnfinishedBusiness of Democracy, 1948.In 1954, Father Smith presided over the enrollmentof nine African-American students. For 10 years SpringHill was the first and only integrated college in theDeep South.Spring Hill College was the first desegregated col-lege in Alabama and one of the first in the Deep South.Sociology professor Albert Foley, S.J., aggressively op-posed the Ku Klux Klanin Mobile, using stu-dents to infiltrate Klanmeetings and record li-cense plate numbers. In1957 Klan members setup a kerosene-soakedcross in front of a cam-pus dormitory, but stu-dents chased theKlansmen out beforethey could light it.Father Foley andMartin Luther King met several times between 1955and 1963 to discuss the civil rights movement, some-times disagreeing on tactic. Recorded conversationsbetween them from May 4, 1963, were discovered inthe school’s archives, and transcriptions were madepublic. In April 1963, Doctor King cited Spring HillCollege for its leadership in the civil rights movementin his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: “I commend theCatholic leaders of this state for inte-grating Spring Hill College severalyears ago.” In 1956, Ms. Fannie Motley be-came the first African American grad-uate of the college. She was one ofonly two Mobile area students tograduate with honors that year. Gentry Holbert is the Director of Library& Instructional Resource Services, BurkeMemorial Library, Spring Hill College. Avenue of The Oaks – This year marks the 166th anniversary of the Avenue of the Oaks that RogerStewart, a Scottish cotton merchant, planted in1850 leading to his Greek revival home known asStewartfield. The college purchased the houseand property in 1903 from Stewart’s oldestdaughter Annie Stewart Field. For more than 65years, the avenue has been the traditional site forthe college’s commencement ceremonies, andthousands of graduates have processed under thegiant oaks flanked by azaleas.Then and Now2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 49, Iss. 1 [2016], Art. 50http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol49/iss1/50

Spring Hill College: Jesuit Educational Excellence Since 1830

Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 50 Article 24September 2016Spring Hill College: Jesuit Educational ExcellenceSince 1830Gentry HolbertFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationHolbert, Gentry (2016) "Spring Hill College: Jesuit Educational Excellence Since 1830," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol.50 , Article 24.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol50/iss1/2440 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION                                                                                                                                          Spring Hill College, Alabama’s oldest institution ofhigher learning, was founded in 1830 by MichaelPortier, Mobile’s first Catholic bishop. Spring Hill isthe first Catholic college in the Southeast, the thirdoldest Jesuit college, and the fifth oldest Catholic col-lege in the United States. In a letter dated February17, 1830, Bishop Portier requests 400 acres of publicland from the city of Mobile to establish an institu-tion that “will be eminently Catholic, yet it will beopen to all denominations and no influence is to beexercised on the minds of the pupils for a change ofreligious principles.”This included a provision to board and in-struct one orphan for every “half section” of landgiven; some of the first students were from theMobile Orphan Asylum. In the 1930s Spring Hillbecame one of the first Jesuit colleges in the UnitedStates to request permission from Rome to admitwomen as students full time. That request was de-nied several times but became reality in 1932. In itstradition of educational excellence to persons of allfaiths and backgrounds, the college has remainedtrue to its mission to form students to become re-sponsible leaders in service to others.Spring Hill College and the Civil WarSpring Hill College remained open throughout theCivil War. In 1861, Fr. Francis Gautrelet, S.J., visitedConfederate president Jefferson Davis and askedthat recruitment of lay faculty and students bestopped. Many students were too young to enlistand enrollment increased in 1864 with familieshoping to keep their sons out of military service.Union solders camped on the college grounds, butthe college was not harmed. In the tough economictimes following the Civil War, students from Cuba,Central America, and Mexico replaced southernboys. In 1866 and 1867, Spring Hill had moreCuban students than Alabamans.AN HISTORICAL MOMENTSpring Hill CollegeJesuit Educational Excellence Since 1830By Gentry HolbertAbove: Stan Galle Field “The Pit” – Stan Galle Field is the oldestcontinuous collegiate baseball field in the United States. Intercollegiate baseball started in 1889, though Spring Hill had unofficial baseball clubs in the mid 1800s.Inset: In 1924 Babe Ruth visited Stan Galle Field to demonstrate his mighty swing in an exhibition game.1Holbert: Spring Hill College: Jesuit Educational Excellence Since 1830Published by e-Publications@Marquette, 2016Racial IntegrationSpring Hill presidents Patrick Donnelly, S.J., and An-drew Smith, S.J., brought landmark changes to the col-lege after World War II. Both viewed racial segregationas an ethical and moral dilemma. “So far I hear only si-lence. Let Spring Hill College break that silence! Letthe College that was the first institution of higherlearning to raise the torch of education in Alabamaalso light and lead the way to full democracy in Ala-bama and the Southland.” So wrote Fr. William PatrickDonnelly, S.J., in World Citizenship and the UnfinishedBusiness of Democracy, 1948.In 1954, Father Smith presided over the enrollmentof nine African-American students. For 10 years SpringHill was the first and only integrated college in theDeep South.Spring Hill College was the first desegregated col-lege in Alabama and one of the first in the Deep South.Sociology professor Albert Foley, S.J., aggressively op-posed the Ku Klux Klanin Mobile, using stu-dents to infiltrate Klanmeetings and record li-cense plate numbers. In1957 Klan members setup a kerosene-soakedcross in front of a cam-pus dormitory, but stu-dents chased theKlansmen out beforethey could light it.Father Foley andMartin Luther King met several times between 1955and 1963 to discuss the civil rights movement, some-times disagreeing on tactic. Recorded conversationsbetween them from May 4, 1963, were discovered inthe school’s archives, and transcriptions were madepublic. In April 1963, Doctor King cited Spring HillCollege for its leadership in the civil rights movementin his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: “I commend theCatholic leaders of this state for inte-grating Spring Hill College severalyears ago.” In 1956, Ms. Fannie Motley be-came the first African American grad-uate of the college. She was one ofonly two Mobile area students tograduate with honors that year. Gentry Holbert is the Director of Library& Instructional Resource Services, BurkeMemorial Library, Spring Hill College. Avenue of The Oaks – This year marks the 166th anniversary of the Avenue of the Oaks that RogerStewart, a Scottish cotton merchant, planted in1850 leading to his Greek revival home known asStewartfield. The college purchased the houseand property in 1903 from Stewart’s oldestdaughter Annie Stewart Field. For more than 65years, the avenue has been the traditional site forthe college’s commencement ceremonies, andthousands of graduates have processed under thegiant oaks flanked by azaleas.Then and Now2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 50, Iss. 1 [2016], Art. 24http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol50/iss1/24

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Spring Hill College: Jesuit Educational Excellence Since 1830

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