Hall of Champions: Spring 2018 Sesquicentennial Profiles

Minnesota State Mankato is celebrating its 150th anniversary. Starting in 2017 the 18-month Sesquicentennial celebration will culminate on Oct. 7, 2018—a date that marks the 150-year anniversary of the day that the first actual classes were held.  This is the second post in a series of three posts about the Brock Otto Hall of Champions Sesquicentennial Profiles.  The first installment about the Fall 2017 Sesquicentennial Profiles is here.

During the Sesquicentennial the Brock Otto Hall of Champions exhibit located in the Taylor Center will have a series of rotating posters profiling notable Minnesota State University, Mankato individuals.  Profiles currently on display include Clarence L. Crawford, Jane Earley, Herb Whitmore, Georgene Brock and Marie Bruce.

Image:  Clarence L. Crawford poster

Clarence L. Crawford served as President of the Mankato State Teachers College and Mankato State College from 1946-1965.  Crawford led the college in a time of significant change.  Student enrollment grew with the end of World War II and the GI Bill.  In 1946 there were 1,017 students and by 1965 the number of students had grown to around 11,392.  Academic programs expanded with the awarding of the first Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947 and the authorization of the Masters of Science degree in 1953.  In 1957 the Teachers College became Mankato State College. The physical campus expanded from the original campus to two campuses, one downtown (lower campus) and one on the hilltop (upper campus).  This expansion also meant new construction.  The college went from five buildings in 1946 to 17 buildings on lower and upper campus by 1965.  President Crawford resigned in 1965 to teach at Florida Atlantic University.  

Learn more about Minnesota State Mankato's  Presidential history at https://www.mnsu.edu/president/history.html. 

Image:  Jane F. Earley poster

Jane F. Earley, Dean Emerita of the College of Arts and Humanities, first joined Mankato State College as an English professor in 1969. Earley became assistant dean of the School of Arts and Science in 1974, associate dean in 1975, and dean of the new College of Arts and Humanities in 1977. During Earley’s time at Minnesota State University Mankato, she was the university’s first female dean.

Earley’s accomplishments include the successful donation drive that raised funds for Andreas     Theatre, built in 2000. In 2004 the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences honored her for her long years of service as a leader and mentor of college deans across the country. She retired in 2009 after 40 years at Minnesota State Mankato and is considered one of the nation’s longest-serving arts and humanities deans.

In 2011, the Performing Arts Center was dedicated and renamed the Earley Center for Performing Arts.  The center is home to the departments of Theatre & Dance and Music, the Ted Paul Theatre and  Andreas Theatre, as well as the Elias J. Halling Recital Hall.   

Learn more about the College of Arts and Humanities at http://www.mnsu.edu/carts/.  

Image:  Georgene Brock poster

Georgene Brock served as the Director of Women’s Athletics for 33 years from 1965-1998 leading the women's athletic program from intramural status to the formation of 12 intercollegiate teams.  Brock came to Mankato State College in 1964 as a faculty member running women’s intramurals and teaching physical education.  She coached women's bowling from 1964-1969, volleyball from 1967-1980 in which she led two teams to national competition, and women's tennis from 1970-1983.   

Retiring in 1998, Brock was inducted into the Maverick Hall of Fame in 1986, the North Central Conference Hall of Fame in 1996, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Hall of Fame in 2001, and from her home state, the Tempe (Arizona) Union High School Hall of Fame in 1989.  

Learn more about the Mavericks Hall of Fame at http://msumavericks.com/hof.aspx.

Image:  Herb Whitmore poster

In 1954, Herb Whitmore enrolled at Mankato State Teachers College and became the first African-American player on the basketball team.    He also played on the tennis team and graduated in 1960 with a physical education degree.  He would go on to get his masters’ degree from Michigan State and become a teacher.  In addition, he coached tennis, football, and track before retiring in 1992.  Today, he volunteers teaching special needs students.     

Learn more about Minnesota State Mankato's Mavericks at http://msumavericks.com/. 

Image:  Marie Bruce poster

Marie Bruce, identified as the “First Lady of Mankato State” by former Mankato State University, President, Margaret Preska, came to Mankato State Teachers College in 1956 as Dean of Women.  In charge of freshman orientation, her reputation for making new students, from freshmen to veterans as well as non-traditional, feel at home on campus was remarkable.  Miss Bruce organized social programs such as Snow Week, the Charity Carnival, the Mother-Daughter Tea as well as four sororities in the late 1950s and 1960s.  

Following her retirement in 1971, Miss Bruce continued an active career of voluntary service to Mankato State University.  The Student Activities Center in the Centennial Student Union was named in Marie Bruce’s honor in 1981.

Today, the Marie Bruce Outstanding Fraternity Man and Sorority Woman award is presented annually to the fraternity man and sorority woman who most embody the characteristics of what it means to be Greek at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Learn more about Student Activities at http://www.mnsu.edu/activities/.