Dr. Paul L. Boynton said he had “no phenomenal remedies” for SFA, but, he did pledge “to carve a place for myself as the years go by.” He did this during the troubled years of the 1940s. His determination to have SFA “do its part in training men for the armed forces and students for the maintenance of democracy” was not always easy to execute, but by emphasizing in his words, “those phases of our work that will conform to the national needs,” Boynton did carve out a place for himself.

The challenges of World War II, while different, were as great as those of the Depression. Dr. Boynton, an intellectual from a very different background than Dr. Birdwell, met the demands of the war as if he had been trained for the task. Boynton’s reserved, scholarly manner did not prevent him from going after things, even though, as his wife said later, he had to make repeated attempts before something would work out. This was the case with the famous WAAC school at SFA. [For interviews and a discussion on the WAAC school, see the article by Dr. Bobby Johnson.]

With every solution to a problem, came more problems. The presence of the WAACs on campus displace almost every other program. The entire first floor of the Austin Building, the first two floors of the Science Building, Gibbs and Wisely dormitories, the Music Building, and the WRC were all given over to the use of the army units. Boynton had to find alternatives for everyone. Additionally, he had trouble collecting the money from the government and reported to the Board of Regents that the school was operated “at considerable cost to the school [SFA].” He had to have the Board tell the federal authorities “that the school was glad to cooperate with the government in the WAC or other war program, but could not do so at a loss.“

Searching for ways to keep SFA alive

At the end of Boynton’s first year, in the summer of 1943, the largest number of men left for service. As a psychologist, he knew how to address the guilt of those left behind; he charged them to stay in school to prepare themselves “for greater usefulness.” The students promptly elected their first woman student body president: Miss Beth Williamson.

Coping with plummeting enrollments, however, was more difficult. Boynton put together alternatives like the WAAC school. To get new students, the President created a new publicity group. Headed by Dr. J. T. Richardson, the committee put out thousands of posters , billboards, postcards, and ads to keep SFA’s name before the public. To keep expenses down, the group turned to public service programs on the raid to help with the war effort and keep the SFA name ever present. Through a series of radio programs in Shreveport, Beaumont, and Longview, with Boynton in the lead each time, many hours of information went out to the public. the Nacogdoches the Chamber of Commerce also placed ads. [The Heritage Series discusses the efforts to keep in touch with SFA servicemen in a separate article.]

Boynton’s fascination and later obsession with the procurement of temporary housing for SFA began in 1943. When the war made superfluous some buildings south of Nacogdoches owned by the Farm Security Administration, Boynton snapped up the buildings to provide low-cost co-operative housing units for students, but he also saw an opportunity to expand the programs at SFA. He immediately got busy with a plan to secure a transfer of farm property to the US Forest Service. This was the beginning of the process which led to the formation of the Department of Forestry at SFA which opened in the fall of 1945.

Boynton’s first three years were quietly productive in other areas, too. With no money and few students, he concentrated on improving the organizational structure, dividing the administration into Junior and Senior Divisions; on providing a more comprehensive system of student guidance; on adding correspondence courses; on a revision of the curriculum to eliminate overlapping courses and to provide descriptive outlines of courses in the catalogue; and, on establishing a curriculum committee to review new courses. Boynton was particularly interested in increasing faculty participation in the governance of the school. He established a large number of committees, 17 of which were comprehensive ones for the whole college. His emphasis on the Office of Public Relations has already been addressed.

An impressive ceremony

In 1944, in a special convocation held on the Vista, SFA conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Law on Col. W. B. Bates of Houston and Nacogdoches. Bates was only the third Texan to receive such a distinction; Oveta Culp Hobby had received on from Sam Houston State, and Sam Rayburn one from East Texas State, both in 1943. While the degree came jointly from the Seven Teachers Colleges, SFA’s President Boynton had initiated the naming of Bates, was the one to pay tribute to Bates at the convocation and to conferred the degree in the name of the Board of Regents.

A memorandum from Dr. Boynton to the faculty, dated July 13, indicates how important he thought the occasion was for SFA. He saw it as an opportunity to show what the college could do; he saw it an important step in the gaining of prestige before the Board of Regents, the public, and in the academic community statewide. He was very conscious of the fact that the entire Board and the President of Southern Methodist University, Dr. Umphery Lee would be present and watching SFA. Boynton’s memorandum said attendance by the faculty was mandatory, “without exception” in full academic costume. “This is going to be one of the most beautiful academic exercises one can find in any institution.”

The program opened with an academic processional to music played by a string quartet from the Houston Symphony. The platform was banked with magnolia. Many leading educators of state were present. Bates received the degree in recognition of his numerous contributions to the cultural advancement of education in Texas. Afterward Bates wrote to Boynton that he was “impressed with the dignity of the whole affair” and that one of his most valued friends had said: “that he had attended a number of such affairs but that he had never attended a more impressive one.” Colonel Bates 81 year old mother, a lifelong resident of Nacogdoches County, was one of the honored guests.

Post-war plans

While national support for education predated even the Constitution, having been initiated in 1787 in the form of land grants, the Serviceman's Readjustment Act, or “GI Bill® of Rights” passed by Congress in 1944 was a relatively new step in education in the United States. It enable veterans to continue their education practically in any school or college. President Boynton immediately saw in the legislation a new day for SFA.

Information about the bill appeared in the Pine Log at the opening of the fall semester in 1944. Boynton immediately sent out a questionnaire to former students who were GIs; he asked T. E. Ferguson to write a pamphlet on the subject, explaining the benefits, and this was sent out to all who responded with requests for information. Boynton knew from these responses what was coming was more than just returning students. These students would be more mature and less likely to put up with an academic structure which was not modern and at least attentive to their need. [See the separate article on Boynton’s work with the returning GIs.]

The Legislature in July of 1945 did finally released some funds for improvements on the SFA campus. The $60,000 provided: steam tunnels running from the power house to the Main and Rusk Buildings, drainage ditches, sidewalks around all buildings all the way down to Gibbs Hall; the painting of the main classrooms and the sanding of their floors, sewer lines, a new boiler for Gibbs Hall, and the purchase on one new piece of property, approximately four acres of land across from Gibbs Hall to complete the natural contours of the campus.

Boynton had been working on a “Master Plan” for SFA before the war ended. Working with the Texas Highway Department, his first step was the development of a contour map showing the possibilities of developing future roadways, underground conduits, and drainage pipes. None of the projects in the Ten Year Plan of the later 1930s were a reality.

Boynton’s search for temporary buildings for veterans is detailed in another essay this week. As enrollments increased, this search also extended to temporary classrooms and offices for Forestry, Music, Business, and Agriculture. Perhaps the most crying need in 1946 was seen as a student union building. “WE NEED SOME TYPE OF STUDENT UNION BUILDING NOW!” screamed one headline in the Pine Log. The “SUB” was needed to solve the eternal conflicts which had occurred since the building of Aikman between the demands of athletic events and social events on campus. The WRC combined with the cafeteria in the Boy’s Dorm had solved it for a time, but the flood of GIs made the problem critical. For this, Boynton did not want to take a temporary route.

“In May of 1946, Boynton secured Regent authorization, developed plans, and selected a location. It was to be located on the recently acquired property across Clark Boulevard from Gibbs Hall, east of Griffith Park. Boynton even got the approval from the Civilian Production Authority to go ahead with the project.

This SUB was not to be, however. The bids came back much higher than expected; the Board would not authorize a higher expenditure. Boynton had no choice but to go the temporary building route again. The SUB, located in the area where the new Cole Music Hall now stands, was completed in 1948, and it served for many years as the center of student extra-curricula activities until it was renamed had to Birdwell Annex and was given over into faculty offices, student publications, and the Stenographic Bureau.

In February 15, 1947, C. E. Ferguson resigned as Dean of Men and Bob Shelton as Basketball Coach; Shelton became Dean of Men, and Ferguson went back exclusively into Math. Ed Gaston in the Pine Log called this: “The End of a Golden Era.” The early years of SFA were coming to an end, at least in terms of personnel. J. H. Hines died in the war, Ruth Mays took retirement and moved to Dallas, and J. H. Wisely died suddently. SFA was undergoing profound changes.