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This is the transcript from the third of three interviews that Bruce Roche conducted with Dr. Flowers just prior to his retirement. Dr. Flowers (Class of 1913) was President of Southwest Texas State College from 1942-1964. In this interview, Dr. Flowers talks about the people who influenced his life and career, his relationship with his predecessor Dr. Evans, and various faculty, staff, and administrators at SWT who contributed to the success of the college. He talks about meeting Lady Bird Johnson in Washington in 1942 and how she helped get a resolution passed in Congress to give a part of Riverside (now Sewell Park) to the school. Flowers also talks about his pride in the institution and being able to work with faculty even when they disagreed. Interviewer Bruce Roche was director of the College News Service. This interview was the source material for his article “Goal: Excellence – Dr. Flowers’ Lifelong Watchword,” published in the Austin American-Statesmanon August 30, 1964.

Charles Clayton talks about his Texas State experiences as both a child growing up on campus and in San Marcos and as a faculty member in the history department. He shares his memories attending the campus's laboratory school and working on the college's maintenance crew. He recalls prominent memories concerning other well-known faculty members, such as President Evans, President and Mrs. Flowers, Dr. Spurgeon Smith, J.R. Buckner, Coach Strahan, Jerome Cates, Prof. Green, James Taylor, Retta Murphy, Leland Derrick, Deacon Wright, and others. Mr. Clayton describes how the New Deal played out on campus, including the construction of certain buildings like Evans and Sayers Hall. He talks about earning his BA and MA degrees and then working as Vice Principal at San Marcos High School. He touches on other topics such as the San Marcus River, Old Main, and the changes he's seen on campus and in town.

Cover story on John Goodno

Meeting minutes from the Texas State University System Board of Regents.