WT Announces Multimillion-Dollar Estate Gift to Cornette Library’s Texas Poets’ Corner

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University officials today announced a $2.8 million estate gift that will endow three professorships and a scholarship fund, as well as support a significant legacy initiative to expand holdings and programs of Cornette Library’s Texas Poets’ Corner.

This substantial gift comes from the estate of the late Dr. Jenny Lind Porter Scott, a former Texas Poet Laureate and WT assistant professor of English.

Known professionally as Jenny Lind Porter, she began donating her collection of rare books, art and antique furnishings to WT more than 20 years ago, leading to the establishment of the Texas Poets’ Corner in 2003.

“Jenny Lind Porter valued literacy. This is a fundamental concept that is deeply appreciated and valued by all here at WT,” University President Dr. Walter Wendler said at the announcement. “In the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, we have made a commitment to provide distinctive academic resources and programs to students. The Texas Poets’ Corner does just that.”

“Jenny Lind’s vision for the Texas Poets’ Corner and its mission is to be a place that will expose the students of West Texas A&M University to fine poetry, literature, music and art, as well as Texas history through lectures and performances,” Shawna Kennedy-Witthar, Cornette Library’s director of information and library resources, said at the announcement. “Her hope was that through these experiences, students would have a lifelong appreciation for the arts and, as her mother encouraged her, ‘go out and make the world a richer place’.”

Part of the gift will create a $160,000 scholarship fund, which will disperse awards annually for an outreach initiative in the Department of Communication and through a creative writing contest in the Department of English, Philosophy and Modern Languages.

To bring Porter’s vision to life, WT also will establish a trio of professorships:

• The Jenny Lind Porter Professor of English, to be held by Dr. Patricia J. Tyrer;
• The Jenny Lind Porter Professor of History, to be held by Dr. Marty Kuhlman; and
• The Jenny Lind Porter Professor of Communication, to be held by Dr. Mary Liz Brooks.

“We are very excited for the three professorships in English, history and communication and the opportunity they provide to collaborate with the Cornette Library and the Poets’ Corner,” said Dr. Jessica Mallard, dean of the Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities, at the announcement.

“Jenny Lind and her husband Lawrence E. Scott were both proud Texans and lovers of Texas history,” special collections librarian Sidnye Johnson said at the announcement. “The Porter and Scott families were both settlers in Texas before statehood.”

“I am honored to have been named to the Porter professorship,” Kuhlman said before the announcement. “I hope to utilize this professorship to carry on her contributions to Texas history. This generous gift will expand the horizons of history, literature and knowledge. This is a fitting tribute to her legacy.”

Porter, who published her first poem at age 14, served as Poet Laureate in 1964 and 1965, was the author of several collections and books, and was named to the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985.

“As a poet, Dr. Porter leaves an impressive legacy of writings, and I am honored to continue her legacy,” Tyrer said before the announcement. “In Dr. Porter’s most well-known poem, ‘The Lantern of Diogenes,’ the speaker suggests that Diogenes’ lamp still shines in recognition of truth and Diogenes’ insistence that people challenge their own truths. She writes, ‘May it be that something of thy spirit burns in me!’ I hope to echo that spirit as well in representing Dr. Porter’s legacy.”

The gift also is meant to help promote the Texas Poets’ Corner and its affiliated events beyond campus.

“The gratitude I have to be named as the Dr. Jenny Lind Porter Professor of Communication cannot be expressed adequately enough,” Brooks said before the announcement. “I am beyond thrilled to be a part of this trio of professorships and to help disseminate to a wider audience the impact of Dr. Porter’s notable work and the illustrious collections within the Texas Poets’ Corner.”

The Texas Poets’ Corner was dedicated in 2003. At the core of the collections are approximately 1,800 rare books, numerous pieces of furniture, artwork, photographs, and manuscripts, including:

• First editions of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” and “The House of the Seven Gables”;
• A first edition of Emily Dickinson’s “Poems, Second Series”;
• A collection of poems by Francis Scott Key, thought to include the first appearance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in a book; and
• Henry’s original handwritten manuscript for his short story “A Fog in Santone.”

The gift also will be used to create a permanent acquisition fund for the Poets’ Corner.

“In keeping with Jenny Lind’s wishes, Sidnye Johnson and her staff will annually add one or two significant pieces of literature and/or art, including literary portraits to the collection, host arts and humanities events, and along with those appointed to professorships, promote research of the collection and acquisition of poetry,” Kennedy-Witthar said.

Each of the three Porter professors will play a role in the acquisition process, as well.

“Even though Jenny Lind was only at WT for a short time, WT remained a special place in her heart because of the kindness and support shown to her by President James P. Cornette and his wife, Elizabeth Cornette, when her mother died,” Johnson said at the press conference. “It was an honor to know Jenny Lind and I have always felt it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She was the quintessential gracious Texas lady and not only a friend to the Cornette Library and West Texas A&M University, but a personal friend to both Shawna and me.”

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. With enrollment of more than 10,000, WT offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 40 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 15 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WTAMU—