William Tate

Who was William Tate?

William Tate served as the Dean of Men at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia from 1946 until 1971.

William Tate was born in 1903 in Calhoun, Georgia. His father, Philip May Tate, was a member of the Tate family that had developed the Georgia Marble Company in Pickens County, Georgia, but Mr. Tate himself was a banker and farmer, having established the Calhoun National Bank. Upon his death in 1911 his widow, Mrs. Edna F. Tate, became President of the bank and managed the farm. William attended Fairmount High School and the Georgia Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1920. He entered the University of Georgia, securing his A.B. degree in 1924 and his M.A. in 1927. He did graduate work at Columbia University, Harvard University and the University of Chicago.

As an undergraduate Dean Tate was a member of the track team and a distance runner, holding the A.A.U. Cross Country Championship. He was Chapter President of the Phi Kappa Literary Society and a holder of its speaking key. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Sphinx, Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and Omicron Delta Kappa.

From 1924 to 1929 he was an instructor in English and Debate Coach at the University of Georgia. From 1929 to 1936 he was Head of the English Department and Track Coach at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1932 William Tate married Susan Frances Barrow, a granddaughter of University Chancellor David Barrow. They had two sons, Ben and Jeff. In 1936 he returned to the University of Georgia as Dean of Freshmen and Assistant Professor of English. He was Dean of Students, Assistant to the President, and in 1946 became Dean of Men, a position he held for two decades.