Evening star., 1955-01-17
BY George Kennedy

II
hope that be win not have to.
revise his idea as to which was
the tough period.
Its hard to believe that he
ever was d football player be-
cause he is only 5 feet 5 inches
tail and weighs 100 pounds.
Yet he played at that weight in
the backfleld of three Texas
teams while he was working his
way to q degree on an athletic
cholarship.
At Post Since September.
Dr. Elkins has been on the
job since September, long enough
to encounter most Of Its diff
lculties, expected and unexpected.
When meeting visitors he sits
behind the big desk Id the pIesi-
| dents Office. d walnut -paneled
room as large as those designed
Tor Cabinet officers, crosses his
legs. leans back and makes hiln-
self comfortable as he talks. He
has q winning caridor and q
l wide smile that spreads FREE
Quently.
While his movements are
quick, be is far from q nervous
type. At As his hair is receding
at the temples and his face Is
somewhat lined. He is as willing
to listen as to talk. Once In q
while d pleasant Texas draWl
more Western than Southern
becomes evident.
The windows Of the Office give
/ Ia fine view Of the long stretch
Of campus lined with new build
Iings. all of them reminders Of
his predecessor, Or. Harry Glif-
ton f'sCurley.'l Byrd, the man
who built Maryland up from q
small college To large univer-
sity.
Big school: Big Job.
The size Of the institution
alone is one OF the difficulties.
There Is the $25 million budget.
Enow being readied for the 1866
school year. There is the matter
lof selling the current session
of the Legislature on granting
more than sos million in capital
improvement funds for. additions
considered necessary to the $40
million plant which includes
the buildings at College Park.
In Baltimore and on the Eastern
Shore. The principal items are
| q library building at College
Park to cost about SIS million
and q medical library: at Balti-
more to cost about ST million
There Is the matter of meeting
as ilaaAy as he clIf of the faculty
| which totals 1900 The cata-
log of education wares Of
| fered is more than 1000 pages.
! bigger than Sears Roebuck's
annual. He will never see all Of
| the $4,000 students. More than
| 5 1000 of them are taking military
science courses at Air Force and
Army bases in Greenland, lee
| land. Europe and Africa.
AS the head Of land-grant
college, DR.. Elki11s Is responsible
for efforts to increase agricultu-
raj yields. to eliminate tobacco
diseases, to improve breeds Of
dairy and beef cattle. to devise
more nutritious feeds for chick
ems grown on the Eastern Shore.
| to combat the japanese beetle
and to encourage beekeeping.
AS everyone wants to hear
from the new president Of the
university, he must leave his
4 institution frequently to address
Maryland 4-H clubs, meetings
Of nurserymeTl, llorticulturists.
the Farm Bureau and the
/ Grange. And he must leave
| the State for meetings such as
I q recent one In Nashville. Tenn.
Il Of tobacco growers concerned
about the decline In sales due
| to the cancer scare.
rs Applied for Post.
OF DR.. Elkins 1t can be said
that the job sought the man.
/ The first he knew about 1t was
4 d telephone call he received
while president Of Texas West
ern, q branch Of the University
OF Texas, at Ell Paso. It was
from Federal Judge r. Ewing
Thomason Of the Western Dis
trlct of Texas. He asked:
What's this about you being
under consideration for president
of the University Of Maryland r.
It seems that after Or. Byrd
announced his intention To re-
sign at Maryland. there had
been about rs applications for
the position. The task of select
ing his successor largely fell To
william r. Cole. ir., chairman
of the Board Of Regents and an
associate judge Of the Court Of
Customs and Patent Appeals
Another judge on that court was
Eugene Worley, q former merlI-
her Of Congress from Texas
who had been at the university
1 when DR.. Elkins was starring on
i the gridiron. He suggested DR.
4 Elkins and wrote Judge Thoma-
son q letter asking II he thought
the educator would be available
The board sent q man to Texas
to inquire about Or. Elkins. Tht
prospect looked very good.
He was asked 10 come q
Maryland and meet the regents
which he did. He also met q
fellow saiunnus Of Texas Uni
yersity. Deputy Secretary oi
Defense Robert B. Anderson.
Mr.. Anderson was familiar
with Or. Elkins' career rs .
III ln -