Interviewer
Mildred Allen
Files
Date
7-1-1986
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Duration
16:59
Description
Mildred Allen, Mack Sarvis, Pat and David Parker, and Bill Edmonds visited Senator Ralph Ellis at his home in Little River. Mr. Ellis served as a charter member of the Coastal Educational Foundation, Inc., the founding fathers of Coastal Carolina College, from 1954 until 1962. He was a strong supporter while serving as a member of the House of Representatives and also Senator of Horry County. Mr. Ellis explained his involvement with the college and stated that the most exciting thing he could remember was the year (1974) when Coastal became a four-year institution. - Mildred Holmes Allen Prince
Subject
Oral History--South Carolina;Coastal Carolina University--History;Horry County (S.C.)--History;Little River (S.C.);Ellis, Ralph Henry, 1922-1997
Rights
Copyright © Coastal Carolina University. For more information contact University Archives and Special Collections at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC 29526.
Extent
Additional files include a transcript (8.5x11in)
Recommended Citation
Ellis, Ralph Henry and Allen, Mildred, "Ralph H. Ellis, Sen., oral history interview" (1986). Coastal Founders Oral History Interviews. 8.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/founders/8
Comments
Senator Ralph Ellis talks about his time on the Coastal Educational Foundation Board of Directors and the involvement of the Conway Merchants Association (predecessor of the Chamber of Commerce). He credits Dick Singleton as the nucleus of the movement. He reviews the three mill tax levy. He believes Coastal is the best thing that happened to this county, particularly as a four-year school. He portends enrollment of 10,000 by 2011 and leaves it to the people of the county if they want to stay with USC. He doesn't want Coastal to grow beyond 5000 to keep the hometown touch with local involvement. He doesn't want outside leadership. He favored dorms for the students' education. Funded in part by the Horry County Higher Education Commission.