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Lane Library's special collections: H. Dean Propst & Armstrong

H. Dean Propst---A strong start at Armstrong

Students are not the only ones who get a strong start at Armstrong!  

The display exhibited in 2014 in the lobby of Lane Library highlights the career of an Armstrong professor and Dean of the College who went on to lead the University System of Georgia through an 18-year period of growth in size, stature, and research capacity. 

H. Dean Propst started his distinguished career in academic administration at Armstrong when he became Dean of the College in 1969 and served until 1979.

Dean Propst (Armstrong faculty simply addressed him as “Dean”) articulated an inspiring vision of higher education, summed up an article published in The Inkwell Fall of 1971 titled “The Idea of Armstrong.”

In From the Mansion to the University, Janet Stone describes Propst as a hard worker, a strong leader, and popular with students. See Stone’s Armstrong history for the stories behind some of the artifacts on display and Propst’s many contributions. 

H. Dean Propst died at 78 during November of 2012. His personal papers were donated to Armstrong’s University Archives in 2013. The letters, awards, and photograph albums Propst compiled are testament to his life’s work as an educator, scholar, and leader.

Scans a some documents from his collection and photos of the display are included here. 

Some Documents from the exhibit

From the Geechee

Propst and Joe Adams

Want to explore further? Please contact me

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Caroline Hopkinson
Contact:
Georgia Southern University Libraries--Lane Library
Savannah, GA 31419-1997 chopkinson@georgiasouthern.edu
912-344-3019

2014 Display Lane Library

Coaches women's basketball

Propst scrapbook documents his time as coach of women's basketball at Armstrong, including a plaque from his grateful team.  Here's how Dr. Stone tells it,  "He came to campus dances and danced with the co-eds, and he put on jeans and a sweatshirt and coached the Dental Hygiene Girls Basketball Team after one of the members approached him “very shyly” (Propst was a bachelor, after all) with the team’s request." p. 164-195

Propst and faculty

Al Harris, Joe Buck, Hugh Pendexter and Dean Propst, Memorial College Center Patio circa 1977

Propst as Chancellor