ERSKINE
COLLEGE INSTALLS BRAWLEY, GETTYS, AS RECIPIENTS OF
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS IN MUSIC AND HISTORY
Music professor Dr. John Brawley turned the focus
on one of his former college classmates when he and
another longtime Erskine professor, Dr. Jim Gettys,
were installed in newly established endowed chairs
March 11.
Brawley, in his typical unassuming manner, said
the installation was “a high honor ... because
of the life of the person whose name this
professorship carries.” The new music
professorship is named for the late Harriet Pressly
Smith Caldwell, who attended Erskine with Brawley in
the 1950s.
Calling Harriet Caldwell “a trench
soldier,” Brawley said we need more people
“who lead lives of daily service without asking
`What's in it for me?'”
Describing Caldwell as a conscientious student and
a talented musician, Brawley said, “After her
graduation from Erskine, Harriet Caldwell spent most
of her time in ordinary places doing ordinary things.
Whatever she did, she did faithfully, without
expectation of reward.”
The Harriet Pressly Smith Caldwell Endowed
Professorship in Music was established by an
agreement with Mr. Charles C. Caldwell of Greer,
principal donor. The professorship is a tribute to
the life of Harriet Pressly Smith Caldwell by her
husband, Charles C. Caldwell of Greer, and her
children, John S. Caldwell, Janice C. Williams, and
Elizabeth C. Buzogany.
Erskine history professor and academic dean Dr.
James Gettys, who was named the first
McDonald-Boswell professor, also turned attention
away from himself, thanking the donors who funded the
academic chair.
The McDonald-Boswell Endowed Professorship in
History was created by an agreement with principal
donors Mr. and Mrs. James E. McDonald of Greenwood.
The professorship honors their parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Moffatt Grier McDonald of Greenwood and Mr. and Mrs.
Clarence A. Boswell of Bartow, Fla.
“Such generosity marks the difference between
mediocrity and excellence in academia,” said
Gettys. “The enrichment funds from the
McDonald-Boswell professorship will benefit students
at Erskine in perpetuity.”
Erskine president Dr. John Carson opened his
remarks by addressing the students in attendance,
saying the event was more about them than they might
realize.
“Some of you will come back and bless this
institution in remarkable ways,” Carson said.
“There is something common to the Erskine
experience that runs through generations.”
Student Government Association president Barron
Suarez thanked the donors who helped establish the
professorships, then spoke about the growth of
friendship, saying it requires quality time, time
spent giving as well as receiving.
“These two special gentlemen are before us
today having spent more than 34 years of their lives
at Erskine College,” Suarez said of Gettys and
Brawley. “What means the most to me as a student
is realizing how much quality time they have spent
here at Erskine ... They have helped establish and
nurture a tradition ...they have given and given and
given.”
Dr. Bright Lowry, chairman of the Erskine College
faculty, offered his congratulations to Gettys and
Brawley, saying they had been “recommended by
the faculty, supported by the trustees, and
acknowledged by their colleagues.”
Brawley has has been a member of the Erskine
College faculty since 1960, serving in both
administrative and faculty positions. He is the
current faculty member with the longest term of
service at Erskine.
A classmate of the Caldwells at Erskine, Brawley
graduated in 1957 with a degree in music education.
He earned the Master of Music degree at Indiana
University in 1959 and went on to earn the Ph.D. in
music history and literature from Yale University in
1968. A member of the Due West Associate Reformed
Presbyterian Church, where he
has directed the Chancel Choir and held the
offices of deacon and elder, he is married to the
former Edith Mitchell, an Erskine alumna who serves
as archivist in Erskine's McCain Library and sponsors
the Erskine Equestrian Club.
Gettys has been a member of the Erskine College
faculty since 1965 and for the past 11 years has
served as Vice President and Dean of the College.
Twice selected to receive the Younts Excellence in
Teaching Award, Gettys has continued teaching
throughout his administrative career at Erskine. He
recently announced his intention to return to the
classroom in a full-time teaching role.
An Erskine graduate, Gettys received the M.A. and
Ph.D. degrees from the University of South Carolina,
completing his doctoral studies in 1974. He and his
wife, the former Sandra Lockaby, a public school
teacher and an Erskine graduate, are active members
of the Due West Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Church, where he has served as Sunday school teacher,
deacon and elder.
The two longtime Erskine College professors were
officially installed as first recipients of recently
established endowed chairs at the 160-year-old school
at a well-attended college convocation held in
Lesesne Auditorium.
