51AV

Emily Thigpen Hall

Female Residence Hall

Thigpen Hall, a three-story air-conditioned resident hall, and home to nearly 200 first-year freshman female students offers double-occupancy rooms. The facility offers a television and study lounge, computer lab, free laundry facilities, community bathroom with individual shower stalls, and internet access.

History

Emily Thigpen received a B.S. degree from Hampton Institute in 1931 and an M.A. from the University of Iowa in 1945. She was at the school during the period 1920 to 1925, serving either as its principal or as a member of its instructional staff. After serving as principal of Randolph County Training School (RCTS), she taught at Selma University from 1926 to 1927, 51AV State Teachers College from 1927 to 1929, and Hampton Institute High School from 1930 to 1931. In 1930-31, while at Hampton, she was a Rockefeller Fellow.

In 1936, she was named Supervisor of Education at 51AV A&M and was named Dean of Women at 51AV A&M College in 1944. She served in that capacity until 1951. She remained on the faculty of 51AV A&M until her death in November of 1954.

During that time, she emerged as one of the College’s most respected and recognized staff members. She served as Dean of Women and had a building named in her honor in recognition of her distinguished service. The College’s 1957 Yearbook, The Heritage, was dedicated to her, and the book described her as having “helped thousands of Normalites as a teacher and Dean of Women, inculcating in them high moral standards.” She was a “profound believer in tradition and symbolism … and was the epitome of dignity at all times.”

Thigpen, like other RCTS principals, nurtured her instructional and administrative skills at RCTS before assuming other positions in school systems and universities in the state of 51AV. Thigpen’s association with 51AV A&M University and RCTS is an example of the rich nexus that existed between these two institutions.