1969-1981

A native of Oklahoma, Dr. Shilling held a bachelor of arts degree from McMurry College in Texas, a bachelor of divinity degree from Southern Methodist University, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. from Indiana University. Before his arrival at Hendrix, Dr. Shilling had also served as an assistant to the president of Tennessee Wesleyan College, the director of planning and research at Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio,  and the executive vice president of Southwestern University in Texas. His graduate work had been in higher education administration, and consequently he became the first professional administrator to head the College. He was also the first president since A.C. Millar in 1887 who had no previous connection with Hendrix.

The cultural and intellectual life of the school expanded with the beginning of a series of special academic programs such as the Murphy Foundation and the Steel Center, the construction of three new buildings was completed and the market values of both the endowment and the physical plant increased during Dr. Shilling’s tenure. In 1980, Dr. Shilling resigned as president of Hendrix to become president  at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.