Retrospectively

In more or less four years, my alma mater will celebrate its centennial as a University. Originally begun as a Normal School to train public school teachers, The University of Memphis has grown into an institution that offers several doctoral degrees and has, I think, tried in recent years, to find a sense of itself beyond the shadow of the University of Tennessee. It's no sense in trying to out do the Vols. They will always receive more state funding and have a larger following. They've also been around since right near statehood in 1796. My sense is that the U of M tried to stand eye to eye with UT for decades and it simply didn't work. My own thoughts as a student--when I allowed myself to have them in between political crusades--was that we didn't need to try for the eye to eye. We could simply walk away from UT and let them have their space while we could create our own (mixed metaphors and all). I feel better about U of M now, especially since the early 1990s when some major new buildings were built, coupled presently with the burgeoning Student Center to replace the one I remember from my days on campus. We will always have land issues and never enough students to meet UT or now, it seems, MTSU in Murfreesboro. We have been able, however, to move in the direction of being a unique University by emphasizing what Memphis offers. Namely, the River, music, history and--for better or worse--issues involving race and religion (which are included in discussions about the first three). Let Knoxville be Knoxville and let MTSU stress its connections to Nashville up north and the Saturn plant down south. We Memphis folks will do the Delta as it were.
I went to U of M neither by intention nor legacy. I didn't spend my time doing nearly the number of enriching activities provided by a major campus. I talked too much about politics and didn't pay attention to what presented itself before me. Almost by coincidence, nevertheless, I benefitted from attending there as it became my place rather than that of anyone else I knew. I had mostly excellent professors, adequate library resources and--most of the time-- administrative help in getting my questions answered. I went to some football and basketball games, had a great time (except for the Louisville football game in 1982 when it rained all day long and we lost by something like 35-3), and even worked for a disabled student one semester as his assistant. Since 1999, I've belonged to the Alumni Association and just recently became a lifetime member. I wish I could do more and hope to be able to give some modest amounts of help to whatever celebrations the University has in store come 2012.
I graduated form the U of M in 1984. Unless I end up teaching at a nearby University, I doubt I'll ever attend classes there again. Retrospectively, in any case, I made a terrific decision to go there and it's a place with which I am proud to associate myself.