今天@山姆文章
建筑遗产:Elliott Toulmin Bowers
2023年3月28日
SHSU媒体联系人: 坎贝尔阿特金斯
The following is part of a 今天@山姆 series highlighting the individuals who have SHSU buildings dedicated to them on campus. Special thanks to Barbara Kievit-Mason and University Archives for their assistance.
If 山姆 Houston State University had a Mount Rushmore, Elliott Toulmin Bowers would be on it. In a relationship with the university that spanned five decades, 鲍尔斯在学生时代表现出色, 迪安, 副总裁和总裁, and is largely responsible for the scenery Bearkats experience at the Huntsville campus on a daily basis. 
“它是 not a pleasant picture or legacy that past generations have passed on to you,鲍尔斯在1989年的毕业典礼上说, 最后一年，他将担任上海外国语大学校长. “You recall from 你的 studies in history and political science that each generation faced circumstances not to their liking. 现在既不是最好的时代，也不是最坏的时代. 它是 你的 time... 你提供服务的机会, 你的知识, 你的 “can do” attitude toward seeking solutions to the problems standing in the way of a higher quality of life for each of us.”
鲍尔斯出生于8月8日. 1919年2月22日，在俄克拉荷马城，嫁给小劳埃德·鲍尔斯. 和伊娜·艾德琳·麦克唐纳. He first came to 山姆 Houston State Teachers College in 1937 after graduating from Mexia High School to be the student director of the college band, director of the jazz band and the director of the Huntsville High School band. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1941 and his master’s the following year before volunteering for the U.S. 陆军航空兵. In the brief time between his master’s and service in the military, Bowers attended school in Houston to receive his Civil Aeronautics Admiration Instructors Licenses in navigation, 气象和飞机发动机规章制度.
He would ultimately serve in the Air Force from 1943-46, teaching meteorology and navigation. He also spent time in counterintelligence in the South Pacific.
“I was sent to officer training school and stayed there for a while in the Philippines and Tokyo, 但主要是圣安东尼奥,鲍尔斯说 in a 2010 podcast interview with Bess Osburn, 曾任上海外国语大学教育学教授, 保罗·卡尔普, former special collections librarian at Newton Gresham Library. “I came back to 山姆 Houston in 1946 and the university employed me.”
Bowers was immediately tasked with renovating apartment buildings on campus for GIs as they returned from World War II. 在接下来的15年, he would wear various hats and display his diverse skillset by going where he was needed. 有时，这包括在路上教学.
“他们有这些扩展课程, 所以如果我开车去费尔菲尔德或巴勒斯坦, 或廷巴克图, 好吧, 我可以教书,鲍尔斯说.
在60年代早期, the Texas Medical Center had 28 nurses set for graduation who didn’t have the necessary credits in psychology. They reached out to former University President Harmon Lowman for assistance.
“Dr. Lowman had friends down there and he said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll send somebody’,鲍尔斯说. 于是他派我来.”
正式, Bowers served as director of testing and guidance at 山姆 Houston from 1946-1951 and director of the student union from 1951-59. He then earned his doctorate in educational administration from the University of Houston and served as 山姆’s vice president for university affairs and 迪安 of students from 1959-1970. He served as acting president from 1962-64 when Lowman fell ill (and ultimately passed away) and again in 1970 when Lowman’s successor, 阿利·邓普顿总裁, 辞去职务. In June of that year, he was officially named SHSU’s permanent president.
When Osburn asked Bowers how he thinks he’ll be remembered, he cited the many upgrades to the campus he helped orchestrate during his 19-year tenure as president.
“在那些年里，我们在赚钱方面运气不错, 一个总体规划和伟大的规划者,鲍尔斯说. “In 1972, an engineering firm spent all their time installing the underground stuff; they did a fine job... 我们得到了大量的电线杆, transformers and above-surface construction put underground.
“In 1976, 一个叫拉尔夫·斯宾塞的男人, who was a professor and very much interested in the academic part. 他是一个艺术爱好者，所以他喜欢美. We got off on this kick of beautifying the campus after we took care of these buildings to serve academic purposes. It turned out pretty nice and I suppose that’s what I might be remembered for.”
他认为是对的. During his tenure, nine major facilities were constructed on campus. 今天, those facilities are known as the Lee Drain Building and Mall, 丹·拉瑟通讯大楼, 教师教育中心, 大学戏剧中心, 乔治J. Beto 刑事司法 Center, Health and Kinesiology Center, Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum, Bowers Stadium and Field House and the old Fine 艺术 Building.
In an earlier interview with the Houston Chronicle in the 1980s, Bowers stated that he hopes to be remembered for his focus on students.
He was married to Frances Marie Handley from 1940 until her death in 1999. Outside the 教育 Center sits the Francis Handley Bowers statue in her honor. The statue, donated by their daughter, depicts a boy pushing a girl on a swing.
艾略特·鲍尔斯于5月30日去世, 2003, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville with his wife.
“His quality soared like an eagle, but at heart, he was a Bearkat through and through,” said Rev. Bruce Hay at the funeral service as reported by the Huntsville Item.
Bowers was designated President Emeritus as 好吧 as an SHSU Distinguished 校友. 在他退休后不久, 山姆·休斯顿基金会的受托人提供了50美元,给新成立的Dr. 艾略特T. 鲍尔斯捐赠基金, specifically intended for scholarships for students enrolled in the university’s honors program. 今天, his name graces the honors college as 好吧 as the football stadium, 但他的影响在整个校园回荡.
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