Abner Vernon McCall (June 8, 1915 – June 11, 1995) was a justice of the

Supreme Court of Texas The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of ...

in 1956, Dean of

Baylor Law School Baylor Law School is the oldest law school in Texas. Baylor Law School is affiliated with Baylor University and located in Waco, Texas. The school has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1931 and has been a member of the Associat ...

from 1948 to 1959, and the tenth president of

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

from 1961 to 1981.The New York Times
/ref>The Philosophical Society of Texas biography
/ref>

Biography

McCall was born June 8, 1915, in

Perrin, Texas Perrin is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated community in southeastern Jack County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 398. It is located at the intersection of US Highway 281 and FM 2210. It was ...

. After his father's death and his mother's failing health, he was sent to the Masonic School and Home in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. He gained a scholarship to attend Baylor University and graduated in law in 1938. From 1938 to 1942, he was an assistant professor at Baylor. In 1943, he received an

LL.M A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. From 1943 to 1945, he served in the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

. In 1946, he returned to Baylor to teach Law, and became Dean of the Law School in 1948. In 1959, he became executive vice-president of Baylor. From 1961 to 1981, he served as president of Baylor. During his presidency, he upheld the traditional Baptist views on dancing, card playing, alcohol, and women wearing slacks, despite the social upheaval of the 1960s. He also threatened to expel any student that posed for

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in 1980 when the magazine published the "Girls of the Southwest Conference" edition. From 1981 to 1985, he was its chancellor. He was, however, a strong supporter of academic freedom and defended the teaching of evolution. He was appointed a

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the supreme court, court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the ...

Justice in June 1956 by Governor

Allan Shivers Robert Allan Shivers (; October 5, 1907 – January 14, 1985) was an American politician who served as the 37th governor of Texas. Shivers was a leader of the Texas Democratic Party during the turbulent 1940s and 1950s and developed the lieutena ...

. He was also a past president of the

Baptist General Convention of Texas The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) is the oldest surviving Baptist convention in the state of Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance. In 2009, the BGCT began to also go by the name ...

. MacCall "was only three when his father died. Later, when his mother became too ill to support her four children, they were placed in a Masonic home". Then, he was initiated to the

Scottish Rite Freemasonry The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...

, where he was elevated to the 33rd and highest degree, and later decoration with the Grand Cross.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccall, Abner Vernon 1915 births 1995 deaths People from Jack County, Texas Baptists from Texas Baylor University alumni Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Justices of the Texas Supreme Court Baylor University faculty Deans of law schools in the United States Presidents of Baylor University University of Michigan Law School alumni 20th-century American judges 20th-century Baptists 20th-century American academics