Thomas V. Neal accepted the presidency of Howard College at an especially precarious moment. The previous president, mindful of the deepening economic depression, recognized that Howard needed new ideas and expertise if it was to survive the crisis. Neal seemed the perfect match for that brief.
Born in west Georgia, Neal was raised on a farm and worked his way through school, serving as a laundry boy at Howard College to pay his tuition. After graduating from Howard in 1902 Neal attended seminary and spent over two decades in Texas as a pastor and educator. He had already proved his fundraising and institutional growth expertise as an administrator at Oklahoma Baptist University when Howard called him home to his Alma Mater.
Neal's first year as president was consumed by simply saving the college from the effects of the depression. He undertook extensive recruiting efforts and called a halt to construction of a multipurpose amphitheater he had inherited, recognizing that the college had more pressing uses for that money, material and energy. The faculty simply worked without pay during this period of crisis. By late 1933, Howard had reduced expenses enough that it was slowly emerging from its financial crisis.
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