Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1909-10-08
RandoIph-MacOn College With
draws From Carnegie
Foundation

Foundation
Richmond, Va, Oct. 3.--Trus-
tees of the Randolph Macon system
of colleges have been notified that
the Carnegie Foundation Board has
determined that in view of the az
ton taken by the trustees in June,
in declaring all the Randolph-Ma-
con Colleges the property of the
Methodist church, South, the
Woman's College, at Lynchburg,
can no longer be carried on the
Foundation; the resolutions hav-
ing been equivalent to a with
draWal.
The action of the Carnegie board
in Withdrawing the Woman's Col
lege from the list entitled 10 the
benefits of the Carnegie pension
fund, ends a long controversy in
which there has been much bitter
ness, and which for time threat
ened a disruption of relations be-
tween the Randolph-Macon Colleges
and the Methodist church, from
which they have always drawn
their chief support.
The Woman's College, at Lynch
burg, the male college at Ashland,
and number of academies and
preparatory schools are under the
management of one Incorporated
board of trustees, all the members
of which are Methodists, although
there is no charter provision requir-
ing that to be the case, and no test
of religious views either for mem.
bership on the board or admission
to the colleges. About three years
ago Chancellor William w. Smith,
who is also president of the Wom-
ans College at Lnychburg, much
newer institution than the male
college at Ashland, and built in the
main by public subscriptions from
Lynchburg people of all denomina-
tons, applied to the Carnegie foun-
dation. Andrew Carnegie having
set apart large sum in the hands
of an Incorporated board tor pen
sion to teachers, his two conditions
being that State institutions and
church colleges should not be eligi-
BILE, thus at once barring nearly all
Southern institutions, which either
receive state aid or are affiliated
with some church.
At a meeting of the Virginia
Methodist Conference in Peters
burg two years ago charges and
counter-charges were made, and
for several days the body debated
the relations of the. college to the
Methodist church, finally demand
ing a change in the charter which
would provide that the board, in
stead of being self-perpetuating,
should be elected on nomination
of the conference. This was reject
ed by the trustees of the colleges
the following June, and for year
the controversy rolled on, with var
ious propositions, resolutions being
offered in the conference to suspend
the annual collection in Methodist
churches for the support of the col
leges, which failed only after a
stormy debate. Meanwhile two
professors fin the Woman's College
reached the age limit, and were re-
tired on the Carnegie Foundation,
and it had been expected that 9th
er teachers as they reached the re-
quired age, would be taken care of.
This issue having been raised, no
effort was made to have the male
college at Ashland list.
Last June the board of the col
eges met at Ashland at commence
nent, and after conference with a
from the Virginia Meth
,dist Conference, and to put an
md to the discussion, passed reso-
utions declaring that the colleges
we're the property of the Methodist
;hurch, and that the trustees in
he management of the college rep
esented the church in much the ::
anne relation as did the Church
lission Board, and other church ,
gencies. +
These resolutions have been con-
trued by the Carnegie Foundation .
S equivalent to withdrawal, and '
he trustees were so notified on !.
thursday.
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