Stephens: A Look Back - 1955

The 1955 Stephensophia is dedicated to Dr. Louise Dudley.

The yearbook staff writes: ““A college is more than fine buildings and semester credits, more than budgets and committees, more than books and test tubes. For a college to exist there must be minds proposing problems to the laboratory, minds stabbing the classroom silence with dagger definitions, minds feeding upon the rows of books endlessly asking. More than bricks and glass, a college is a community of thinking minds. To make this definition of a college more than a beguiling phase has been the thirty-five year endeavor of Dr. Louise Dudley. Her name, synonymous with humanities at Stephens, has come to stand for vigor in teaching, for broad scholarship, for patience and humor for intellectual adventure. To watch her work in the classroom is to witness the act of thinking in public. Therefore not for her honors or her years do we dedicate this book to her, not for her kindness, her friendliness. It is rather for her dedication to thought that we in turn dedicate, committing ourselves thereby to the high ideal in education which she leaves us as a legacy and a challenge.”

The yearbook this year, by the way, is all lowercase, perhaps styled after poet e.e. cummings who is at the height of his career.

Like last year, there isn’t much copy describing each department, rather a brief blurb and some photos.

We’re told Dr. Harry Philpott is now leading Burrall Class which continues to make religion an integral part of the life of each student. It is a non-denominational service covering a range of topics related to the problems of everyday life. Other Burrall activities include White Sundays, evening prayer and the 7:22 p.m. discussion group.

At the Playhouse this year, theatre students perform “The Circle,” “The Skin of Our Teeth,” “My Three Angels” and “Angel Street.” (The latter was produced at Okoboji Summer Theatre last year.)

Guests on campus this year include opera singer Heidi Krall, singer Patricia Bybell and classical pianist Leonard Pennario. English tennis star Mary Hardwick also visits. And the Foreign Relations Lecture Series includes John Gunther, author of “Inside Africa,” Sen. Alexander Wiley, a Republican from Wisconsin, and Barbara Ward, the British economist known for talking about the fate of western survival.

Students continue to travel throughout the semester this year visiting New York City, Mexico, Europe and Washington, D.C.

In addition to government and sororities, Prince of Wales Club remains popular, as does the Student Recreation Association and numerous honors societies.

A few notable students include Betty Attwood who is editor of Stephens Life and represents the Ideal of Forcefulness. She went on to work as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle before becoming Betty Collins and starting a family. She was also an active volunteer involved in numerous service and community organizations.

Robyn Cotner, who represents the Ideal of Appreciation of the Beautiful, went on to enjoy a successful career as a actor and dancer, at the peak of it dancing in New York alongside Martha Graham. She became Robyn Wright and later in life taught dancing and pursuing writing.

Jeri Emmert went on to become Jeri Stahr, a longtime school teacher-turned-school board member in Indiana. In 1955, she’s president of the senior class and writes: “These two years at Stephens have given us things that we could not have gained elsewhere and that we will never forget…the many friendships we’ve made, the faculty, vespers, the games and parties at M.U., the Bermuda Bounce, the Lounge, the singing, Stop Days and various clubs. These things and the intangible something known as Stephens Spirit cannot be forgotten with graduation.”