History of Piedmont College - The 30s, 40s and 50s

The 30s, 40s and 50s

Just months after the fall of the Stock Market on Black Tuesday, Jenkins resigned the presidency back to Newell. Because the economy was bad for most of the nation, Piedmont only barely survived the first few years of the depression. Newell brought the college through those tough years leaving it in 1936 in the hands of George C. Bellingrath, the sixth president of Piedmont.

Because of the depression, funds were not available to acquire new buildings. No other major construction projects took place on the campus. The 1930s found years unprecedented heights in enrollment numbers. Also during this time, Piedmont increased its number of degree programs from three to five: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Science in Home Economics and a Bachelor of Music.

In 1939, Belligrath’s contract was not renewed and the board of trustees appointed Malcolm Boyd Dana as president. Dana was the first president of Piedmont College to have been born in the 20th century. Throughout his five years at Piedmont, Dana focused primarily on keeping his ideals of Piedmont being a Christian college a reality.

Another major part of his presidency was devoted to updating the curriculum to more modern educational theories. The program he created to do this aimed “to equip each student with those facts and theories, social skills, and Christian attitudes, essential for constructive citizenship and joyous living."

Before his term ended, Dana made a point to equip the school with six buildings, including a gymnasium that would be shared with Demorest High School. He acquired the funding that Piedmont hand not been able to acquire due to the depression of the ’30s. Many of these buildings were set up to be used for physical fitness, something that Dana thought was crucial for college students. With physical fitness came a renewed desire for athletics on the college campus. Dana resigned in 1944 and the current dean, Albert Ray Van Cleave took his place as president for the remainder of the 1940s.

Van Cleave weathered through the rough years that were during World War II. Although the war did have a great effect on the enrollment of Piedmont, it was not the worst crisis Van Cleave had to deal with. The worst crisis was that Piedmont had not been accredited and needed to be or it would be forced to close. This meant the college had to meet the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ requirements: $500,000 endowment, faculty with appropriate degrees and sufficient income to meet current expenses. Piedmont had no luck finding resources in the south, so Van Cleave had to look for funds in the north. Unfortunately Van Cleave was not able to secure the funds necessary in the time allotted.