Closeup view, Firsts
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<strong>Exhibit labels:</strong><br /><br />[1] FIRST GAME PLAYED IN THE GLASS BOWL: University of Toledo vs. Bluffton, September 25, 1937. The University Stadium (rededicated the Glass Bowl in 1946) was completed in 1937, entirely by hand by 300 men who used shovels and wheelbarrows to carve the football field into a hill. Its completion coincided with the City of Toledo's Centennial, making the season opener against Bluffton part of the University's celebration.<br /><br />[1] FIRST RACIALLY-INTEGRATED FOOTBALL TEAM: Fall 1921 team, under Coach "Joe" Dwyer. The lineup for the University of Toledo's 1921 football team included three students of color, a first for the institution since football's debut on campus in 1917. Of the three, only tackle James Pierce was named in the 1922 Blockhouse pages concerning the team.<br /><br />[3] FIRST PRESIDENT OF STUDENT COUNCIL: William VanGorder. At the recommendation of the faculty, the student body elected a Student Council and William VanGorder as its first president. Although the organization would soon have students serving on faculty committees and given power to regulate student activities, its first activities included preparation of a convocation program, preparations for the annual University picnic, as well as a reception for high school students during University Day.<br /><br />[4] FIRST MARCHING BAND APPEARANCE: Rockets vs. Falcons, October 25, 1929. The 33-member marching band debuted at a Toledo City Council luncheon the Wednesday prior to their first appearance on the football field when the University of Toledo played Bowling Green State University. They didn't have uniforms at the time, but secured them two weeks later.<br /><br />[5] FIRST WOMAN TO JOIN THE COLLEGE OF LAW FACULTY: Doris Fenneberg (1946). Former University of Toledo student and women's basketball coach, Doris Fenneberg returned to her alma mater after law school to accept a position as a law professor, the first woman at the University of Toledo's College of Law to hold that title. She also served as the Law Librarian until 1963, although she kept teaching until 1969, when she became Professor Emerita.<br /><br />[6] FIRST BLACK FULL TIME FACULTY MEMBER: Dr. Lancelot C.A. Thompson (1958). Dr. Thompson joined the University of Toledo faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry. He was the first Black professor at the university to receive tenure, and to serve as vice president when he became Vice President of Student Affairs in 1968. When Dr. Thompson passed away in 2016, the Student Union was renamed the Lancelot C.A. Thompson Student Union in his honor, for his dedication to service and the students.
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Keywords
University of Toledo -- History, Exhibitions -- University of Toledo