Dateline: June 27, 2002

CC receives $584k gift from alumna

Clarendon College is the recipient of one of the largest donations in the school’s history, according to an announcement at last Thursday’s Board of Regents meeting.

A total of $584,000 has been left to CC from the estate of Letitia Sawyer Matlock in memory of her parents.

Matlock was born in 1904 to Robert and Carrie Sawyer, and it is believed she was born in or near Clarendon. She attended Clarendon College in the 1920s, school officials say. She died September 21, 2001, in California.

“This is a very nice way to remember Clarendon College,” Shelton said. “Although she lived most of her life in California, she apparently always kept a warm spot in her heart for Clarendon.”

A longtime friend of Matlock, Betty Seay, said Matlock and her sister attained most of their wealth in the early 1980s.

“They would invest what money they had available into an account with good interest,” Seay told college officials. “(Letitia) was a hardworking lady and was very close to her sister (Ruth Sawyer).”

Shelton said Matlock’s donation will be put to helping CC achieve the goals outlined under its “New Horizons” campaign. The board of regents voted last month to move forward with a new equine center on the west edge of the campus, and Shelton said Matlock’s gift will advance the timeframe for constructing a new library.

“It really gives our capital campaign the boost we need to do both the livestock and equine center and the library.”

The college plans to have the 65,000- to 75,000-square-foot equine center completed by next spring. Plains Builders of Amarillo was selected last week to design and build the facility.

The library project will likely be moving forward in 12 months or less, Shelton said.

Matlock’s donation is ranked as the third largest donation in the modern history of Clarendon College. Adjusted for inflation, the largest donation – a little more than $2 million – came from the estate of Vera Dial Dickey, which was settled in 1995.

The second largest gift, $1.82 million adjusted for inflation, was the gift of the Etta and Ida Harned estate in 1967, which provided for the construction of the modern college campus.

In other college business, CC Library Director Jewel Houston presented information to the regents Thursday, showing the school’s library to be inadequate for an institution the size of Clarendon.

According to standards set by the Association of College and Research Libraries, a college with an enrollment of less than 1,000 students should have a library with a minimum of 30,000 volumes. CC has only 17,681 in its collection. To have what is considered an “excellent” collection, the college would have to have 40,000 volumes.

In order to meet future needs, provide student study space, and expand the collection, CC needs a library of 10,000- to 12,000-square-feet, Houston told the board. The present library is about one-third that size.

The college’s accreditation agency criticized CC’s library during its last review in 1994-95. The next review is slated for 2005.

Dean of Instruction Texas Buckhaults reported that CC students completed 92.8 percent of their courses in the spring semester. And the nursing program was reported as having received state approval and is ready to resume classes this fall.

Dean of Students Joel Zehr told the board the residence halls are already nearly filled – and in some cases overfilled – for the coming school year. The college is working on building a new dormitory, but it will not be ready until the fall of 2003.

The board discussed rising property/liability insurance costs and accepted a 14-month insurance proposal to push part of the higher costs into the next fiscal budget.

After a closed session, the board voted to offer contracts to Annette Ferguson – Comptroller, Rita Crocket – Assistant Financial Aid Coordinator, Jennifer Harmon – CC Pampa Center Advisor and Recruiter, Scarlet Estlack – Biology Instructor, Russell Estlack – Biology Lab Assistant, Jimidene Murphey – CC Pampa Center Computer Science Instructor, and Joel Zehr – Dean of Students.