Lindsey Blayney Papers

An Inventory to the Collection

Biographical Note

The unexpected death of President Bralley led to the first interim appointment for leadership of the college in 1924. Dean Edward Valentine White served as acting president for several months as the Regents sought a new leader for the college. On September 27, 1924, the Board announced their unanimous choice for the fourth president of CIA. The Board selected Lindsey Blayney, Professor of German at Rice Institute. Blayney began his service on January 1, 1925, and was inaugurated on January 11 of that year. At his inaugural ceremonies, Blayney pledged “the best that is within me.”

Lindsey Blayney was born in 1874 in Kentucky. He spent his youth in Europe and learned French and Italian. In 1894, Blayney graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He then began graduate study in Europe. He studied philology and comparative literature in Germany, Spain, and Italy. He earned the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the University of Heidelberg. Dr. Blayney was appointed to the founding faculty of Rice Institute (now Rice University) in 1912, where he served until his appointment as President of CIA.

Dr. Blayney had a distinguished military career. He volunteered to serve in World War I even though he was over draft age. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was decorated by the governments of France, Serbia, Greece, Italy, and the United States. Blayney was an accomplished and erudite person. He was honored as a soldier, humanitarian, educator, and public servant. He was an outspoken critic of the Ku Klux Klan. Blayney’s courage and abilities were recognized throughout the nation, and he was awarded honorary doctoral degrees by Notre Dame, Loyola University, Southwestern University at Georgetown, and Austin College.

The impressive credentials and documented accomplishments of Lindsey Blayney led the Board of Regents to entrust the presidency of CIA to him. Despite his distinguished earlier career, the administration of Lindsey Blayney at CIA was short and tumultuous. Caught in a political power struggle between advocates and opponents of Governor Miriam Ferguson.

Blayney was forced to work in an environment that defeated many of his plans for the advancement of the college. The management style of Blayney was also a key factor in his inability to lead the college. Blayney’s method of dealing with faculty and students in a military style was not accepted in an academic community. Lyndsey Blayney opposed graduate work at the college. He wrote in the college bulletin of March 1, 1925, “The administration refuses to be tempted by the allurements and consequent dangers of graduate training and of highly specialized scholarship.”

Students, faculty, and regents all questioned Blayney’s qualifications and fitness for continuing as President. By the fall of 1925, the Board of Regents, following a bitter meeting, called upon Blayney to resign, effective June 1, 1926.

Despite the controversy of the brief Blayney administration, the college advanced on several major goals. Funding for a library, sought for several years, was won by Blayney from the Legislature as an appropriation of $150,000 was authorized. The library was later named for Blayney’s predecessor, F. E. Bralley. Blayney also gained $40,000 to pave Bell Avenue. He initiated a plan for campus landscaping. Blayney reorganized the structure of the college into five schools – Liberal Arts, Industrial Arts and Sciences, Home Economics, Fine Arts, and Education. He also established the Department of Journalism and approved the four-year program that led to a degree in Journalism.

Lindsey Blayney, despite internal strife on campus, praised the purpose and spirit of CIA. He lauded the college for its originality, dedication to the ideals of the American home, and its effort to combine intellectual and cultural education with practical and vocational training.

After his stormy yet progressive year at CIA, Lindsey Blayney went to Carleton College in Minnesota, where he served as Dean of the College and Chairman of the Department of German. Highly regarded at Carleton College, Dr. Blayney remained there until his retirement in 1946.

Source: Dr. Phyllis Bridges, Marking a Trail: The Quest Continues, A Centennial History of the Texas Woman’s University. Denton: Texas Woman’s University, 2001, page 22.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

These records appear to be the personal copies of significant documents collected by Lindsey Blayney during his controversial tenure as President of the College of Industrial Arts, 1925-1926. Many of the letters show his handwritten notations in the margins.

The bulk of the collection consists primarily of newspapers and news clippings. The records also include letters of support and opposition, congratulations upon his installation as president and others. Possibly the most interesting records consist of Series 5, which contain legal size transcriptions of letters both for and against, interviews with antagonistic faculty, and petitions to the Governor Miriam Ferguson. There is a group of letters from a member of the CIA Board of Regents at the time Blayney was hired. Judge J. W. Sullivan of Denton became Blayney’s friend. Others intimate that Blayney’s friend may have had ties with the Ku Klux Klan.

It is obvious from the news clippings that the issues drew interest and comment in front page headlines all over the state and from newspapers outside of Texas. Some of the non-Texas newspapers made derisive comments about Texas and the south, making fun of the faculty who were shocked that the President danced with a student and smoked cigars in his office. It is also obvious that more was at stake in Texas politics under the administration of Miriam Ferguson than is apparent from the simple notes in this inventory.

The newspapers with front page headlines are large and are arranged by locale. The clipped new articles are arranged chronologically and placed in mylar sleeves.

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Restrictions

Access to Collection:

Researchers may access the Leslie Blayney Collection Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in the Woman's Collection. The Woman's Collection is located on the second floor of the Blagg-Huey Library at Texas Woman’s University. All materials are viewed in the Catherine Merchant Reading Room and photocopies are provided at the discretion of the Woman's Collection.

Publication and Copyright Statements:

Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Coordinator for Special Collections.

All responsibility for questions of copyright that may arise in copying, scanning, and use of material shall be assumed by the user.

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Administrative Information

Provenance

Gift of Michael J. Blayney, (great grand nephew), 2007.

Processed by:

Andra Birdsong and Dawn Letson

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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