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History of Kappa-Omega Zeta |
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History of Kappa-Omega Zeta |
Georgetown College likewise benefited from the boom times of the 1920's. Enrollment nearly quadrupled,
a new gymnasium was built, and the athletic program
jumped from obscurity to state-wide dominance. The college
was lead by
M.B. Adams, president from 1913 to 1930.
As with most colleges, the boom at Georgetown began almost unexpectedly with a dramatic increase in student enrollment, from just over 100 students to more than 400 within eight years. Increased enrollment naturally meant a significant increase in funding (tuition dollars). With the realization of the potential, President Adams and the Board of Trustees embarked on an agressive fund raising, recruitment, and campus expansion plan.
The administration realized the importance of alumni in such a great endeavor and so began to implement activities to more actively involve them. City-based alumni clubs were founded and an annual Homecoming event was instituted. In all these activities, alumni were encouraged not only to donate to the college, but to also become recruiters and advisors, a relationship that continues today.
The twenties also saw Georgetown's athletic teams jump from relative obscurity to state-wide
dominance. Neither the NCAA nor the NAIA had yet been founded, and most intercollegiate competition
was in-state, with tournaments and championship crowns awarded in each state similar to
high school athletics today. The difference in size of colleges was much less in those days
as well, so the Tigers triumped over the Wildcats of UK and the Cardinals of Louisville as
well as teams from Centre, Transylvania and Kentucky Weslyan. Such a winning program led
to competition with out-of-state teams as well, including Rose-Hulman and the University of
Tennesse at Chattanooga, amongst others.
With all the success, the administration developed an ambitious campus expansion plan, including a new gymnasium, dorms, and science facilities. Their goal was to become one of the largest and pre-eminent Baptist colleges in the nation. With the success of the athletic program, most agreed a new gymnasium was needed first, and so it was completed in 1926 and named Alumni Gymnasium in honor of the newly-invigorated alumni support.
However there was a more pressing and realistic need: dormitories. While enrollment
boomed, the only two permanent dormitories on campus were small Pawling Hall for men and the
larger Rucker Hall for women. Many students, especially the men, had to seek housing off-campus.
As at many other colleges, "homeless" male students grouped together to rent houses
near campus. These groups naturally evolved into social groups, and would eventually
become fraternities. Not to be left behind, the women would follow, the first group
moving off campus in 1933, a group that would eventually become Kappa Delta sorority.
As with the rest of the country, the boom would come to an end at the end of the decade with the onset of the Great Depression. Adding to the problems would be the Great Chapel Fire of 1930. The only other building successfully completed was the Arts and Crafts Building in 1931, which was later used as a library, student center and finally an art building before being razed in 1994 to make way for the new Ensor Learning Resource Center (the new library). Other new buildings would have to wait twenty years or more before bricks and mortar would be used.
[Photos: President M. B. Adams; new Alumni Gymnasium; Rucker Hall women's dorm. All
taken from Georgetown College online archives]
