University status 1-17-17

Rep. John Miller of Melbourne on the House floor reads from an editorial in The Arkansas Traveler, the University of Arkansas student newspaper, endorsing university status for Arkansas State College.

Push for university status reached victory 50 years ago

By Roy Ockert Jr.

Fifty years ago today (Jan. 17, 1967) then-Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller signed a bill designating Arkansas State College as a university. The legislation consisted of only three sections of one sentence each and on its face did nothing more than change the name of the institution. Yet it remains a milestone in ASU history because of the doors it opened.

University status culminated a political struggle of more than 10 years and represented a victory for a small college on the verge of a growth spurt. During its 50th year, 1959, A-State had sought university status, but the bill ran into significant opposition and was defeated.

That opposition came from the University of Arkansas, as well as the state Commission on Higher Education and the Arkansas Gazette. Opponents claimed that Arkansas could afford only one great institution of higher learning.

After that bitter loss A-State officials laid the groundwork for another effort, lobbying legislators and other political leaders for support. The issue became an important one in the gubernatorial election of 1966 between the Democratic nominee, former state Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson, and the liberal Republican, Rockefeller (yes, there was such a thing back then).

Johnson promised to sign a university status bill, but Rockefeller, who won the race, did not. That made things less than certain for the legislative session of 1967. A-State President Dr. Carl R. Reng felt comfortable that the bill would pass both houses, but the governor kept his cards close to his chest.

Identical bills were introduced in the respective houses on Jan. 10, the first day of the session. House bill 9, which had 51 co-sponsors, moved quickly and gained full house approval by an 83-17 vote within a couple of days. A key point in the debate came when Rep. John Miller of Melbourne read excerpts from a UA student newspaper editorial endorsing the bill. The opponents called for a public hearing before Senate consideration, and that was set for Jan. 17.

At the campus in Jonesboro we had been preparing for the legislative action since early December. The student newspaper, The Herald, was faced with a dilemma of covering a historic event during a time we weren’t scheduled to have another regular edition until Feb. 10 because of the semester break.

As co-editors, Pat Montgomery (my future wife), and I decided to publish a special edition if and when university status was achieved. That was no small feat in the days of hot-metal composition and letterpress printing. In effect, we had to prepare more than half of the 4-page edition in advance, then scramble to get the rest done when the time came.

When classes resumed Jan. 4, we enlisted help from many members of our staff to do the stories that would fill most of three pages without knowing when they’d be published.

On that Monday we organized a 4-man coverage team to go to the Capitol — Thomas Victor Dickson, a journalism student from Jonesboro; Joel Gambill, in his first year as a journalism instructor and adviser to The Herald; Tom Manning, director of the A-State News Bureau and yearbook adviser; and me. Tom was not only our photographer but also our designated driver, a position that would become critical. Pat stayed on campus to see that other preparations were done.

About the same time we received conflicting reports as to whether Rockefeller would sign or veto the bill.

A delegation of about 65 A-State supporters crowded into the gallery at 1 p.m. that day when the Senate convened. Special consideration was granted to deal with the ASU bill immediately, and a succession of 10 senators rose to speak in favor. By the time Sen. Clifton Wade of Fayetteville took the floor to oppose it, he knew his cause was hopeless. Saying he felt like “an unwanted child at a family reunion,” he didn’t bother to read the 11-page text that he carried to the podium.

The bill was passed by 29-5, and minutes later HB 9 was also passed to speed the process. That’s what went to Rockefeller, and the governor’s office was opened to the press and the A-State delegation for the bill signing at 4 p.m.

That was the easy part for our coverage team. By the time we hit the road for home, it was almost dark and snowing.

Because of the day’s technology — or lack of it — we had to make it back to get the special edition finished that night. Joel, Victor and I were to write one story each, and in theory we could have commandeered a phone somewhere and dictated each to someone at the Journalism and Printing Building. But Tom’s rolls of black-and-white film had to be carried back, developed and printed, or we’d have no pictures.

So into the night we went, Tom maneuvering his car through the snowflakes while trying to keep us from sliding off the 2-lane road (from Cabot on). In the back seat I used Pat’s portable manual typewriter to compose most of the lead story, while Victor held a flashlight over my shoulder.

I don’t recall what time we got back, but it was late and we still had plenty of work to do. Sometime after midnight, though, the first edition of The Herald of Arkansas State University started rolling off the press. We printed 15,000 extra copies, and The Jonesboro Evening Sun later inserted copies in its edition.

What a great ride it has been for ASU since that day 50 years ago.

Roy Ockert is a former editor of The Jonesboro Sun. He may be reached by e-mail at royo@suddenlink.net.