HOW IT ALL STARTED
Seeing men on campus attending classes wasn鈥檛 unusual. It had been the norm since 1922, when the acclaimed John C. Hardy had served as president. He created the 鈥淐ampus Boys鈥� program, a select group of 12 upstanding young men who lived on campus and worked in exchange for tuition. Throughout the years, other male 鈥渄ay students鈥� were allowed to attend class颅es and obtain up to 90 hours of coursework. When the male students reached 90 hours, however, they had to finish their degrees elsewhere, and the nearest schools that offered bachelor鈥檚 degrees were in Austin and Waco.
In the spring of 1968, the board of trustees recog颅nized that it was a hardship for men to leave Belton to finish their schooling, especially when many of them were married and starting families. The board decided to allow men to be granted degrees 鈥渁s a community service.鈥� Men were finally allowed to finish their de颅grees at Mary Hardin-Baylor!
However, because of the resistance, male gradu颅ates were not allowed to walk the graduation stage to receive their diplomas with their female classmates, but instead had 鈥渟pecial arrangements.鈥�
The first male graduate, James P. Smith, a soldier from Fort Hood, quietly received his diploma in 1968. In 1969, the male graduates received their diplomas at a baccalaureate ceremony the day before the women walked across the stage. Two years later, the males were allowed to be in the chapel for the graduation ceremony, but not to march across the stage.
鈥淲e sat on the left side of the auditori颅um and they brought our diplomas to us on the side,鈥� said Bill Elliott 鈥�71. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 feel bad. I sort of chuckled. I knew every颅body in the class and we were all togeth颅er, so it didn鈥檛 matter at the time.鈥�
According to Carol Younger鈥檚 biog颅raphy, The Parker Years: A Bridge to the Future, the board of trustees knew that the current practice of graduating men (but not permitting them to participate in any campus activities like graduation ceremo颅nies) was 鈥渘ot only wrong but illegal.鈥�
In July, trustees realized they had to make a decision. Faced with breaking federal regulations concerning accredita颅tion, the board was forced to either return to the status of an all-women鈥檚 school (which would have led to bankruptcy) or embrace the idea of going coed. To make matters even more complicated, Dr. William Tanner, who had served as president the last three years, had just left to serve as president at Oklahoma Bap颅tist University. In his absence, Dr. Bobby Parker, who had worked as vice president for the last two years, was named interim president until trustees could find a new president. Even though Parker was known for wearing a proverbial 鈥渂lack hat鈥� during his tenure as vice president, faculty, staff, and others wrote letters to the trustees in support of Parker taking the helm during this tumultuous time. He was named president, effective Aug. 1, 1971, just eight days after the college had gone coed.
鈥淚f it hadn鈥檛 been for Bobby Parker, we wouldn鈥檛 have a university,鈥� said Bobby Johnson 鈥�76, who worked under Parker鈥檚 administration as director of alumni development.
Even though Parker bore the brunt of those who were opposed to going coed, he forged forward with a new vision and new ideas to help the school stay open.
It wasn鈥檛 an easy path by any means, said Parker鈥檚 wife of 53 years, Marietta Parker, who is now 96. Just like it was yesterday, she remembers serving alongside her husband those first few years after going coed.
鈥淚n (Younger鈥檚) book, it sounds like everyone was just thrilled to death that he was named president, but that was not so,鈥� Marietta recalls.
鈥淗alf the faculty was aggravated, many of the alum颅nae were opposed to it, and we were a million dollars in debt,鈥� she said. 鈥淓veryone said they wouldn鈥檛 blame Bobby for going coed, but they did.鈥�
The Parkers received threatening letters and calls, but trudged ahead. 鈥淚 have told people that I was the mother of coed of Mary Hardin-Baylor and it was a long and painful birth!鈥� Marietta said with a laugh.
According to Gayle Crain, who served as interim alumni secretary during the first year after going coed, 鈥淒r. Parker saw the direction that the college needed to go and led in that direction鈥攁t great cost to himself. He endured a great deal of opposition and criticism from opponents, but he stood fast and provided lead颅ership that led to the development of a university that serves hundreds more students per year than we ever dreamed possible just a few years before.鈥�
Younger wrote that Parker's presidency 鈥渨ill go down in future history books as a time of healing, growth, expansion, and significant stretching toward the goal of academic excellence.鈥� Forging a new path under Parker鈥檚 leadership, the almost bankrupt college鈥檚 financial condition began to improve and by the early 1980s found itself standing on solid financial footing.
