 he
dedication of the Cushing Library on September 22, 1930, marked
more than just the formal opening of the first library building at
the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. This magnificent
structure symbolized a significant change taking place not only at
Texas A&M but in colleges across the nation. No longer would
college education rely on just the lecture and the text book.
Books, once prized mostly for their cultural value and the
prestige they added to the institution, were now seen as a
necessary part of research and classroom instruction.
The Cushing Library was a symbol in brick and mortar
of modern college education. In addition, the building
memorialized the contributions of one of Texas A&M's most
loyal, selfless and generous supporters--Col. Edward Benjamin
Cushing. A member of the class of 1880, Cushing devoted much of
his life to building a greater Texas A&M.
Cushing spent 42 years of his life working for
the Southern Pacific Railroad, ultimately serving as chief
engineer of construction for all lines east of El Paso. His
friends claimed that during much of that time Cushing was actually
attempting to improve service to College Station to attract more
students to the school.
Cushing was President of the Alpha Phi
Fraternity and the Alumni Association, forerunners of the
Association of Former Students. He was named President of the
Texas A&M Board of Directors in 1912. His two years on the
board coincided with a particularly tumultuous time in Texas
A&M's history. The mess hall had burned in 1911 and Old Main
met a similar fate the following year. In addition the school's
financial operation had become less than efficient. Amid the
losses and confusion, state appropriations slowed to a trickle and
the school showed a deficit of $87,000 at the end of 1912.
Cushing's guidance and leadership quickly brought order out of
chaos. Legend has it that he guaranteed notes with his personal
funds to obtain credit for the school.
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During an attempt to close the school and
move it to Austin, Cushing kept the telegraph wires
"hot" with messages to influential legislators.
Convening a group of legislators on campus, he quickly dispelled
any notion that Texas A&M should be consolidated with the
University of Texas.
Col. Cushing died February 17, 1924, a loss that
his many friends at A&M considered irreplaceable. In his will
he requested that his books, many of them engineering texts, be
left to Texas A&M as the nucleus of a library befitting the
importance and prestige of the school. With the appropriation of
funds in 1927 for the construction of a new library, a delegation
of former students immediately petitioned the Board of Directors
to name the new structure for Cushing.
More than sixty years of service to students and
faculty have taken their toll on this campus landmark. The Board
of Regents recently approved the restoration of this wonderful old
structure as a home for Special Collections, Manuscripts and
Archives--a fitting repository for Texas A&M's photographs,
rare books and documents.
NEXT--THE VISION |
