[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 19 (Thursday, February 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  A TRIBUTE TO CONCORD COLLEGE, ATHENS, WV, 125 YEARS OF EDUCATIONAL 
                               EXCELLENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 1997

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, on May 10, 1875, 70 students arrived at a 
rough frame building for the first session of classes, under the 
leadership of Capt. James Harvey French as princiapal--a result of 
action taken by the West Virginia Legislature to establish a branch of 
the State Normal School at Concord in the county of Mercer.
  On February 28, 1997 Concord College will observe its 125th 
anniversary--celebrating one and one-quarter centuries of excellence.
  This expansion of higher education was motivated by the educational 
reform movement of the 1870's and the need for producing qualified 
teachers for elementary and secondary schools. The enabling legislation 
provided that no State funds were to be used in the construction of the 
school building. Residents of the town raised over $1,700 by 
subscription to erect the first building on land donated by William 
Harvey Martin, at the site of the present Athens Elementary School.
  By 1885, the State Legislature, impressed by the service given to the 
State by the school, appropriated $5,000 for a new brick building, 
which was completed in June 1887.
  But fire was to claim the downtown location of the Normal School in 
November 1910, rousing a determined faculty and students to hold 
classes the very next day wherever they could find space throughout 
town. The current campus was selected as the new site, and it was 
purchased by the people of Athens from the Vermillion family for that 
purpose, only to have a second fire in 1912 that was even more damaging 
than the first--but again, a determined faculty and residents of the 
local community banded together to rebuild and rededicate Concord 
School.
  The college awarded its first baccalaureate degree to three graduates 
in June 1923, and in 1931 the institutions' name changed to Concord 
State Teachers College.
  Today, under the current leadership of President Jerry Beasley, 
Concord has grown to a comprehensive State college of 2,400 students 
studying in Athens, Beckley, and other southern West Virginia 
locations. The town in which is has always been located even changed 
its name to Athens in 1896 in recognition of Concord's role as a center 
of education.
  Concord College, under previous Presidents such as Cap. James Harvey 
French, whose early title was ``Principal,'' to President Joseph 
Franklin Marsh, to President Meredith Freeman, to the excellent 
administration of its current President Jerry Beasley, has expanded far 
beyond its original teacher preparation mission--with programs of study 
offered in business, social work, the arts and sciences and the other 
pre-professional fields.
  The college believes strongly in the advantages that a broad liberal 
arts education can add to the job preparation skills which the public 
now demands. In an era in which job change and career shifts are on the 
rise, the value of this fundamental education--learning how to learn 
for a lifetime--is even more pronounced.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my high honor to represent the people who live in 
southern West Virginia--the State's third Congressional District--where 
Concord College was established and where it is now a thriving campus.
  I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Concord College, to its 
faculty, students and to its many friends as it celebrates its 125th 
anniversary on February 28, 1997. At 11 a.m. on that date, a full 
academic processional will enter the Alexander Fine/Arts Center of the 
Athens campus for a program commemorating the college's beginning--and 
its future.
  I join with the officials of Concord College, the newly elected 
Governor Cecil Underwood, the State College System board of Directors, 
the local delegation to the West Virginia Legislature and 
representatives of Concord's constituent and support groups, in 
congratulating Concord College for this enormous success in serving 
family and student needs in Athens and surrounding areas.
  Mr. Speaker, it is through these kinds of lasting efforts continued 
down through centuries and more, that we continue to be able to improve 
and enhance higher education for all our people. From its inception, 
the local people of Athens, the students and faculty, and the 
enormously talented Presidents named above who served Concord from 1872 
to 1997, all sharing their ideas and their ideals and acting upon them 
for the common good--have culminated in the highly respected and 
greatly loved Concord College that we pay tribute to today.

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