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Former LU president tells graduates to remember university's origin and mission
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By Bob Watson
bwatson@newstribune.com
James Frank, 77, didn't say Saturday if he had expected to spend 20 years at Lincoln University when he first stepped on the campus as a freshman in 1949.
He graduated in 1953, then returned in 1956 as a teacher and coach.
And in 1973, Frank returned to Jefferson City for a third time, to serve 10 years as the first - and, so far, only - LU graduate to be the school's president.
“It was here at Lincoln University, for four years, that I gained both knowledge and inspiration,” he recalled in a 20-minute address Saturday morning to LU's Class of 2008, “where I experienced the agony and ecstasy of sports competition (and) where I coached and led young men in the sport of basketball.”
The contributions of LU's “thousands of alumni” are “truly mind-boggling,” Frank said, and it's important to note and remember the past, even as one looks forward to making new history.
“First, never forget that Lincoln University was one of the historically black colleges that was created primarily to serve black Americans,” he said. “These institutions were created in response to American racism - a racism thoroughly entrenched in the national mentality and social consciousness of American life.”
Even though laws and social policies have changed in LU's 142 years, racism remains a concept that “has lingered on and continues to color and shape the contour and character of American economic, social and political life for millions of African-Americans,” Frank added. “The history of Lincoln University is, essentially, the story of the recognition of education as a critical entry path leading into productive citizenship, personal advancement and complete emancipation of blacks.”
And that role was modified - but not eliminated - when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned segregation in 1954 and LU became an integrated school.
“At last, Lincoln began to fulfill its true and complete mission as a land-grant institution,” Frank said, “the education of all students, regardless of race, creed or color.”
This year's class - as others over the past few decades - reflected that mix as well as a combination of students finishing college right out of high school and those who returned to the classroom after years of real-world experiences.
One boy, sitting near the front of the Dwight Reed Stadium bleachers, yelled, “That's my Mom!” as the graduates first walked into the Commencement ceremonies.
Frank said the land-grant role to focus on education and agricultural research helped state universities across the nation “turn knowledge loose upon this land, and opened the gates of opportunity to many Americans all across this great country.”
Still, he said, when people question the need for Lincoln's continued operation, graduates must join faculty and staff members and concerned citizens and “defend the school against unfair criticism ... extoll the values of this institution (and) speak up.”
LU graduate Rodney Boyd, a St. Louis attorney who now heads the Curators board, was one of several people urging graduates to “think back to those individuals that provided encouragement to you when you got discouraged.”
Boyce Courtney Williams, vice president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, received LU's Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
She noted every graduate's “first calling is that of a teacher.”
He graduated in 1953, then returned in 1956 as a teacher and coach.
And in 1973, Frank returned to Jefferson City for a third time, to serve 10 years as the first - and, so far, only - LU graduate to be the school's president.
“It was here at Lincoln University, for four years, that I gained both knowledge and inspiration,” he recalled in a 20-minute address Saturday morning to LU's Class of 2008, “where I experienced the agony and ecstasy of sports competition (and) where I coached and led young men in the sport of basketball.”
The contributions of LU's “thousands of alumni” are “truly mind-boggling,” Frank said, and it's important to note and remember the past, even as one looks forward to making new history.
“First, never forget that Lincoln University was one of the historically black colleges that was created primarily to serve black Americans,” he said. “These institutions were created in response to American racism - a racism thoroughly entrenched in the national mentality and social consciousness of American life.”
Even though laws and social policies have changed in LU's 142 years, racism remains a concept that “has lingered on and continues to color and shape the contour and character of American economic, social and political life for millions of African-Americans,” Frank added. “The history of Lincoln University is, essentially, the story of the recognition of education as a critical entry path leading into productive citizenship, personal advancement and complete emancipation of blacks.”
And that role was modified - but not eliminated - when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned segregation in 1954 and LU became an integrated school.
“At last, Lincoln began to fulfill its true and complete mission as a land-grant institution,” Frank said, “the education of all students, regardless of race, creed or color.”
This year's class - as others over the past few decades - reflected that mix as well as a combination of students finishing college right out of high school and those who returned to the classroom after years of real-world experiences.
One boy, sitting near the front of the Dwight Reed Stadium bleachers, yelled, “That's my Mom!” as the graduates first walked into the Commencement ceremonies.
Frank said the land-grant role to focus on education and agricultural research helped state universities across the nation “turn knowledge loose upon this land, and opened the gates of opportunity to many Americans all across this great country.”
Still, he said, when people question the need for Lincoln's continued operation, graduates must join faculty and staff members and concerned citizens and “defend the school against unfair criticism ... extoll the values of this institution (and) speak up.”
LU graduate Rodney Boyd, a St. Louis attorney who now heads the Curators board, was one of several people urging graduates to “think back to those individuals that provided encouragement to you when you got discouraged.”
Boyce Courtney Williams, vice president of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, received LU's Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
She noted every graduate's “first calling is that of a teacher.”
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