Harmon White Caldwell (January 29, 1899 – April 15, 1977) was President of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(UGA) in

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from 1935 until 1948 and Chancellor of the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates general ...

from 1948 to 1964. Caldwell was born in the Carmel Community of

Meriwether County Meriwether County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,613. The county seat is Greenville, home of the Meriwether County Courthouse. The county was formed on ...

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, in 1899. He earned an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from UGA in 1919 after only two years and was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity and the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Founded in 1820, the society continues to meet every academic ...

. Upon graduation, he taught public school in both

Sasser, Georgia Sasser is a town in Terrell County, Georgia, United States. The population was 393 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Albany, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office called Sasser was established in 1881. The Georgia Gene ...

and

Taylorsville, Georgia Taylorsville is a town in Bartow and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population was 211 at the 2012 census. History Taylorsville was surveyed circa 1870 by Edward G. Taylor, and named for him. The Georgia General Assembly incorpor ...

. In 1921, Caldwell entered the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and graduated with the degree Bachelor of Law (

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

) in 1924. That same year he became a part-time

assistant professor Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...

of law at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, in addition to practicing law at the firm of King, Caldwell and Partridge. Five years later, Caldwell assumed a professorship at the UGA School of Law. He returned to the law practice and part-time duties at Emory in 1932; however, he returned to UGA as the dean of the law school in 1933. Caldwell's accomplishments as president include: * Reorganization of the Graduate School in 1937 * Stewarding the purchase of the DeRenne Library of Georgianna, which formed the nucleus of the present day Department of Special Collections at University Libraries * Creation of the

University of Georgia Press The University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is the university press of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia. It is the oldest and la ...

* The Navy preflight school * A rise in attendance from 2,468 in the fall of 1945 to 6,643 in the fall of 1946 The following buildings were opened during Caldwell's presidential tenure: * Mary Lyndon Hall (1936) * Four Towers (1937) * Hoke Smith Building (1937) * Clark Howell Hall (1937) * Forestry Resources Building (1938) * Baldwin Hall (1938) * LeConte Hall (1938) * Park Hall (1938) * Rutherford Hall (1939) * Dairy Science Building (1939) * Snelling Hall (1940) * McPhaul Child and Family Development Center (1940) * Payne Hall (1940) * Founders' Memorial Garden (1941) * Fine Arts Building (1941) * Alumni House (1943) * Stegeman Hall (1943). Caldwell also served as a trustee of the Berry Schools and

Callaway Gardens Callaway Resort & Gardens is a resort complex located near Pine Mountain in Harris County, Georgia, from LaGrange, Georgia. The world's largest azalea garden, this destination draws over 750,000 visitors annually. Callaway Gardens was ranked ...

in Georgia.

Desegregation

In 1961, during Caldwell's tenure the University of Georgia was forcibly

desegregated Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

. While Black applicants were told there was no campus accommodation available for them, an internal communication from Caldwell indicated that the university was "relying on this to bar the admission of a Negro girl from Atlanta."

'Holmes v. Danner, 191 F. Supp. 394 (M.D. Ga. 1961)

Death

In 1977, Caldwell died in

. Caldwell Hall, home to the University of Georgia's School of Environment and Design, is named in his honor, as well as the Harmon W. Caldwell Professorship in Constitutional Law in the UGA Law School.

References

''History of the University of Georgia by Thomas Walter Reed'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051214064409/http://www.georgiahistory.com/Markers/Markers99/carmel.htm Georgia Historical Society Carmel Historic District Marker

External links

UGA Law School Portrait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Harmon W. 1899 births 1977 deaths Presidents of the University of Georgia Harvard Law School alumni University of Georgia alumni People from Meriwether County, Georgia 20th-century American academics