 Memorial Service
Dr. William Earl Strickland
(November 2, 1919 - August 15, 2011)
Thursday, August 18, 2011 at 11:00am
Mulberry Street United Methodist Church
719 Mulberry Street, Macon, GA 31201
“...the effectiveness of the work a college does is not likely to be ascertainable for ten, twenty, thirty or more years when it can be seen what has happened in the lives of graduates and to the world through them.” -- from the Inaugural Address of W. Earl Strickland, 1960
Wesleyan mourns the loss of Dr. William Earl Strickland, president of the College from 1960 to 1979, who died Monday, August 15, 2011, at the age of 91. A memorial service will be held Thursday at Mulberry Street United Methodist Church with Wesleyan President Ruth A. Knox, Bishop Bevel Jones and Pastor Tommy Mason officiating. The family will meet friends at Snow's Memorial Chapel on Cherry Street in Macon from 4 until 6 PM Wednesday, August 17, 2011. At noon on Thursday, Wesleyan College will toll its carillon nineteen times, honoring each year of Dr. Strickland’s service as president.
Dr. Strickland studied at Emory University where he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy, Master of Arts, and Master of Theology. LaGrange College awarded him the Doctor of Divinity degree. He began his career by serving for twenty years as a Methodist minister in North Georgia. In January of 1960 he was elected president of Wesleyan College, in which capacity he served for nineteen and a half years, the longest term of any president in the history of the College. Respected by colleagues and beloved by students, Dr. Strickland was a passionate advocate for high quality Christian education.
Under Dr. Strickland’s leadership, Wesleyan College expanded its campus facilities to include Willet Memorial Library, Hightower Residence Hall, and Valeria McCullough Murphey Art Building plus renovated Tate Hall and Candler Alumnae Center. Two major capital fund drives repositioned the College financially, raising $5 million and exceeding campaign goals.
Also during the Strickland presidency, Wesleyan experienced increased enrollment and strengthened its faculty with the addition of several highly qualified and noteworthy professors. In the spring of 1968, Wesleyan graduated the largest class in its history. Later that fall, Dr. Strickland welcomed the first five African American students and ensured the successful integration of the Wesleyan student body. Among many honored guests to the campus, Dr. Strickland hosted Wesleyan Alumna Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, Academy Award-winning Actor Eddie Albert, Former President Jimmy Carter, and Senator Sam Nunn.
While serving as Wesleyan’s president, Dr. Strickland also served a term as president of several educational organizations including the Georgia Association of Colleges, Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges, and Southern Association of Colleges for Women. He was the recipient of a citation from the Christian Council of Atlanta for his work relative to civil rights, and also received a citation from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University for the same work.
Prior to his inauguration as Wesleyan’s nineteenth president, Dr. Strickland was an author and one of eighty white pastors in the Atlanta area to sign an anti-segregation statement published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on November 3, 1957, issuing what has been called The Ministers' Manifesto. It was an appeal for peace during the debate over integration, when the state of Georgia weighed closing its schools.
Dr. Strickland was preceded in death by his wife, Thelma Fraser Strickland. He is survived by three daughters, Mrs. Patricia Otwell of Atlanta, Mrs. Ellen Clann of Atlanta, and Mrs. Margaret Lovein (Class of 1975) of Macon, and by two grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Visit www.snowsmacon.com to express condolences.
Gifts to Wesleyan College in Dr. Strickland’s honor may be designated to the Thelma Fraser Strickland Scholarship Fund. www.wesleyancollege.edu/give |
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Gifts to Wesleyan College in Dr. Strickland’s honor may be designated to the Thelma Fraser Strickland Scholarship Fund.
Visit www.snowsmacon.com to express condolences. |
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