Search Results

This is the transcript from the second of three interviews that Bruce Roche conducted with Dr. Flowers just prior to his retirement. Dr. Flowers (Class of 1913) was President of Southwest Texas State College from 1942-1964. In this interview, he talks about the development of general education requirements that brought the Humanities (arts and philosophy) back into mainstream course requirements. He discusses his opinions about faculty qualifications and who should supervise student teachers, about the college adopting a team-teaching approach, and the role of a college president. Flowers also talks about funding from the Danforth Foundation and the Hogg Foundation that allowed the school to implement programs it couldn’t otherwise afford. Interviewer Bruce Roche was director of the College News Service. This interview was the source material for his article “Goal: Excellence – Dr. Flowers’ Lifelong Watchword,” published in the Austin American-Statesmanon August 30, 1964.

Dr. Kissler discusses developing the teacher training program and working with student teachers in the history department. She shares her experiences in working with academic organizations such as AAUP and TACT, including serving on councils and in leadership positions. Dr. Kissler also talks about her time serving as chairwoman of the history department and serving on the San Marcos City Council.

In her second interview, Merry Kone Fitzpatrick talks about graduating from high school and attending college at SWTSTC. Along with describing her college and graduate courses and certain professors like Professor Green, Retta Murphy, James Taylor, Betty Jane Kissler, and Emmie Craddock, she discusses what the school, her first job during WWII, and her work supervising student teachers were like. She describes the then-social science division and its faculty, as well as campus buildings like Old Main and certain local characters. This interview covers the 1930s through the 1960s.