Alumni J-TAC, June 1982 Page: 2 of 12
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P.g.2Alumni J-TAC
ULTRA dedicated to DavisThe 18-foot high outdoor
sculpture ULTRA was officially
dedicated to the late Dean J.
Thomas Davis in ceremonies on
the Tarleton campus April 4.
The sculpture, by artist John
Gregg, was given to Tarleton by
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Wolfe of
Stephenville and is located on an
earthen berm in the mall of the
Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center.
Dedicatory remarks were
made by Wolfe with responses
by the Davis children, Dorothy,
J. William, and Willson.
Approximately 150 people
attended the dedication program
where Wolfe told of the close
ties between the Davis and Wolfe
families over the years and said
"Dean Davis had a profound
influence on my life."
TSU president Dr. W. O.
-. Trogdon presided at the
dedication ceremony and
introduced members of the
AT DEDICATION - J. William Davis, Dr. W O. Trogdon, Dorothy Davis and Wolfe families
Davis Green, and Willson Davis stand at the memorial plaque at the base attending the program and Clyde
of the outdoor sculpture ULTRA. The sculpture was dedicated to Dean Wells representing the Texas
J. Thomas Davis by Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Wolfe with the dedication A&M University System. He also
acknowledged by the Davis children.
Committee seeks nominationsAssociation president Bob
Ross has appointed an
anonymous committee to
consider nominations for
Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna,
Distinguished Faculty, and
Distinguished Friend for
1981-82. The committeerecommendations will be
presented to the board of
directors at the September
meeting with those selected to
be honored at Homecoming on
Nov. 6.
A form for submitting
nominations is included in thisedition of the Alumni J-TAC.
Forms should be submitted to
the Alumni Association office
no later than Aug. 15.
Persons nominated for
Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna
must have attended Tarleton as a
full time student at least two
semesters as a junior college, or
four semesters as a senior
college, or be a graduate of
Tarleton.
There is no special
requirement for selection as a
Distinguished Faculty member
or Distinguished Friend.
Persons selected as
Distinguished Friends in the past
have been those who have shown
a particular interest in the
university and have provided
special support for a specific
area or for the university as a
whole.
Three finish
at seminary
Three former Tarleton
students, Carl W. Overstreet,
Gary Wayne Parnell, and Larry
B. Wesson, received degrees at
the Southwestern Baptist
The ological Seminary
commencement on May 14 in
Fort Worth.
Overstreet is a 1975 graduate
of Tarleton with a B. A. Degree.
Parnell is a 1965 graduate with a
B. A. and received an M ED. in
1973. They both received Master
of Divinity degrees.
Wesson received a B. M. E.
from Tarleton in 1973 and was
awarded a Master of Church
Music at the May
commencement.introduced Bob Ross, president
of the Tarleton Alumni
Association, and his wife Joy
from Brownwood, and Morton
P. Brooks, former president of
the Alumni Association fromJ. Thomas Davis was born
in Heard County, Georgia,
May 2, 1880, the son of W. J.
and Elizabeth Smith Davis.
His once prosperous family
had been left destitute by the
Civil War, and in 1894 the
father bundled his family and
meager worldy possessions on
an immigrant train and
migrated to Texas, settling on
a farm near Grapevine. Dean
Davis attended North Texas
Normal College (North Texas
State University) and received
his first degree in 1904. He
taught Latin in the Honey
Grove school where he met
and married Uta Willson.
They had three children,
Willson, J. William, and
Dorothy.
Dean Davis later taught at
Navasota and was county
superintendent of Grimes
County. In 1917, the Texas
Legislature accepted the
assets of the almost-defunct
John Tarleton College and
made the college a part of the
Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Texas. Dean Davis
was offered the position of
Dean of the college. Feeling,
however, that he was not
adequately trained to lead an
agricultural institution, he
attended Texas A&M where
he graduated with a degree in
agriculture.
Dean Davis then began his
tenure at Tarleton in 1919Dallas. Several board members
of the Association also attended
the dedication.
Following the outdoor
ceremony, a reception was held
in the Fine Arts Center.4g/
Dean J. Thomas Davis
and retired in 1945 after 26
years as head of the
institution. Dean Davis served
as president of the Southern
Association of Colleges and as
president or an officer in the
Texas State Teachers
Association, Texas Junior
College Associationsand the
American Association of
Junior Colleges.
In addition to his
accomplishments in
education, Dean Davis was
highly active in civic and
church work. He served two
terms as president of the West
Texas Chamber of Commerce
and was an organizer of the
Stephenville Lions Club. He
was a deacon of the Baptist
Church and taught Sunday
school 33 years.
At the time of his death
May 12, 1950, Dean Davis
was Dean Emeritus and
Professor at Tarleton.Home Ec certification
Teacher Certification in
Vocational Home Economics has
been approved for Tarleton
State University byrthe Texas
Education Agency, according to
Dr. Dolly I. Thiem, head of the
TSU Department of Home
Economics. The certification
program will be offered at
Tarleton starting with the Fall
semester.
"I feel the program will fill a
particular need for students
from small schools who want to
teach in rural areas," Dr. Thiem
said in announcing the program.
"It will be comparable to the
nursing program at Tarleton that
is highly successful in training
nurses who have a desire to
study and remain in the rural
areas of the state."
Three new Home Economics
Education courses will be
required under the program
including Curriculum and
Instruction of Vocational HomeEconomics, Methods of
Teaching Vocational Home
Economics, and Student
Teaching in Vocational Home
Economics. Two of the courses
will also be offered at night
starting inbthe Fall for persons
who desire to complete their
certification.
"Our goal now is to have one
of the best programs in Texas,"
Dr. Thiem concluded. "We have
a low student-teacher ratio,
excellent new facilities, and a
young faculty."
Additional information on
the program may be obtained
from the Office of Adnissions at
Tarleton or from Dr. Thiem in
the Home Economics
Department.
The Tarleton certification is
the first to be approved by the
Texas Education Agency since
1963, according to Dr. Thiem.Dean J. Thomas Davis
Nomination
Selection Committee
Tarleton Alumni Association
I wish to place the person listed below in nomination for:
() Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna
()Distinguished Faculty
() Distinguished Friend
Name
Address
City
State/Zip
(Please attach any pertinent information on your
nominee that you would like to include with your
nomination)
Signed
Address_
Mail to: Tarleton Alumni Association,
Box T-188, Stephenville, Texas 76402.Page 2
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Tarleton State University. Alumni J-TAC, June 1982, periodical, June 1982; Stephenville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1040227/m1/2/: accessed May 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Tarleton State University.