1 SPECIAL EDITION
■impom
The Stetson University Alumni Newspaper Vol. 12 No. 3 [USPS 990-560] Spring '84
STETSON MOURNS
J. OLLIE EDMUNDS
. . . his heart was full of
compassion, kindness, charitable
impulses and a never-resting
determination to use all his powers
and resources to improve the
lives of the young men and
women of Stetson....
—Gilbert Ly.^an
by Jakay Jarvis Hughey
On April 2,1984, Stetson Chancellor
J. Ollie Edmunds died. He hat. served
his alma mater for .nearly 60 of his RU
years as an alumnus, trustee, president, chancellor and benefactor.
His devotion to education, Christian
principles and his country were
evident in his many achievements.
A native of Georgia, he moved as a
child to Jacksonville with his family
and graduated from high school at the
Y.M.C.A. night school.
In 1921 Plato Durham Edmunds
moved his family to DeLand where he
became custodian and grounds keeper
for Stetson. Eighteen-year-old Ollie
Edmunds enrolled as a freshman at
the university and worked to pay his
college expenses as a teller in a local
bank, as a reporter for the DeLand Sun
News and as a clerk in the law firm of
Hull, Landis and Fish.
Recognized as a brilliant student by
fellow students and faculty, he went on
to earn his bachelor's, master's and
law degrees from the school.
After admission to the Florida Bar in
1927, Edmunds practiced law in
DeLand and Jacksonville until 1931
when he began a 13-year career as
county judge for Duval County.
His ties to Stetson remained strong
as he helped organize the Stetson
Alumni Association in the late 1920s
and was elected a trustee of the university in 1934 at the age of 31. He
served on the board for the rest of his
life.
Following an unsuccessful bid for
the U.S. Senate in 1944, Edmunds
resumed his law praise in P>eLand
and Jacksonville.
Stetecja* historian Dr. Gilbert Lycan
Recalls Edmunds' abiding interest in
the university was in evidence when he
was a trustee. He "kept a finger on the
pulse," monitoring curriculum and
student life as well as the administrative concerns of the board, Lycan said.
First alumnus president
In January 1948, Ollie Edmunds
became the first alumnus to return to a
Florida university as president.
"Through his heroic efforts, and the
efforts of those appointed to work with
him, he renewed and rebuilt the
faculty and increased immensely the
level of academic work, for which he
and the university won nationwide
acclaim," Lycan said.
Leading the school out of war time
financial difficulties, the persuasive
Edmunds convinced the trustees to put
much of the school's new funds into
salaries to attract high caliber
teachers.
"He hired so many teachers after
the war (to handle an increased
student population of veterans) that he
nearly created a new faculty,"
explains Lycan. "But he took the
utmost care to bring in teachers with
Christian attitudes, good scholarship
and outstanding teaching abilities."
Summing up Edmunds' philosophy,
Lycan stressed his devotion to three
main principles.
"Being a devout Christian, he
wanted students to take up lives of
Christian service. He also was deeply
interested in high academic standards
and supported every movement by the
faculty to advance the standards.
"Third, he believed people should
be active in civic life. He often spoke of
patriotism, which to him meant living
a life that contributed to the welfare of
others and the United States."
Explaining that most people would
understand the principle as citizenship, Lycan maintains Edmunds
believed it was as much or more a
matter of patriotism than ' 'that of the
battlefield."
Concern for students...
Edmunds' concern for students
guided his planning, fund raising and
administrative duties. In later years,
he told the historian the only thing he
would like to do differently, if he
could, would be "to spend more time
with the students."
But after a reflective pause,
Edmunds admitted, "But I just
couldn't."
Yet many students recall his
warmth, his hearty handshake, his
concern for their well-being and his
sincere interest in what they were
thinking.
His home was open to students.
Many evenings when he was not away
from campus on fund-raising trips he
would invite a student campus group
or individual students to drop by just
to talk about issues of concern to them.
On campus, he always gave a
friendly wave and almost always could
call students by name. His memory
was phenomenal. During an era when
many college presidents were facing
open rebellion and physical hostility
from students, Edmunds was affectionately called "Jolly Ollie" by
students who respected the man who
cared about them. It showed.
Not only did Edmunds earn the
respect of the Stetson students, but he
also gained the loyalty of his administrative staff and faculty. Whatever
their differences, Edmunds would
listen before making the final
decisions.
Etter Turner, retired dean of
students, served as dean of women in
his administration. Recognized among
student deans as a leader in women's
rights in education, Dean Turner
acknowledges she received full
support from Edmunds in developing
equal educational opportunities for
women.
"He was an ideal person to work
for," she remembers. "He encouraged each of us to be innovative, to provide the best, fullest education for all
students. He was warm, human and
understanding.
"His years as a lawyer and judge
gave him the experience to see both
sides of an issue, and of course, he
kept his sense of humor—he could
laugh at himself," she suggests. "He
inspired the best in people.''
Under Edmunds' administration,
Stetson increased its physical plant
including men's and women's
dormitories, the modern duPont-Ball
Library, Davis Hall which houses the
business school and Sage Hall for
science.
Please turn to page two.
•Reprinted by permission oi DeLand Sun News/Weekend. April 7-8, 1984.
