William Tate

William Tate

William Tate

William Tate was a Dean at UGA. Today, students remember him through the legacy and impact he left on UGA, including being the namesake for the UGA Tate Center.

Connor Gibbs

1903 - 1989

William Tate was born in 1903 in Calhoun, Georgia and grew up on a farm in Fairmount, Georgia. His father, Philip May Tate, was the first president of the Calhoun National Bank, while his mother, Edna Ferguson Tate, served as the President of the Fairmount Bank and principal of the local high school. William Tate attended the University of Georgia in 1920 and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Art in English and a Bachelor’s of Art in History in 1924. Graduating with Honors, William taught English at UGA for the next five years. In this time, he received his Master’s Degree from UGA in 1927 and did graduate work at Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago following that. Years later in 1932, William married Susan Frances Barrow with whom he had two sons. In 1936, William Tate returned to UGA to serve as the Dean of Freshman and as an Assistant Professor of English. After some time in this role, William Tate then served as the Dean of Students and then Assistant to the President, before securing the title of Dean of Men in 1946, a position he loved and cherished for two decades. As the Dean of Men, William Tate had authority over student conduct, but is described by those students he worked with as being a loving serviceman. Through this position, William Tate oversaw the integration of campus in 1961 with the arrival of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter, while playing a key role in changing the sentiments of the student body. Upon his retirement in 1976, William Tate kept close ties with the University of Georgia until his death in 1980. William Tate died on his 77th birthday. Today, students remember William Tate through the legacy and impact he left on UGA, including being the namesake for the UGA Tate Center.