 Well, it's always good to begin with a fanfare. So good afternoon. I'm Bob Wilhelm. I'm the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development here at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. And I want to thank you for joining us today for what is the ninth Nebraska lecture in this monthly N150 series. This presentation is particularly special because it falls during 2019 Homecoming Week, the celebration of our 150 years of grit and glory. As part of the university's 150th anniversary celebration this year, UNL is focusing the Nebraska lecture series on the university's history and impact on the state. The lectures are aimed at uniting the university's community with the greater community in Lincoln and beyond to celebrate the intellectual life at UNL and to highlight our faculty's excellence in interdisciplinary research and creative activity. The lecture series is sponsored by the UNL Research Council in cooperation with the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of Research and Economic Development, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which we know as ALI. And I want to make a special welcome to all of the ALI members that are here today. So give them a round of applause. I also want to welcome all of the members of the Alumni Advisory Council that are here today. We're glad that you could join us for this. I think this could be a very special lecture. We've had a number of different sponsors for this work, and I want to give special thanks to the humanities Nebraska and its executive director, Chris Sumerick. Generally, he's here with us today. Today we also have Erica Hamilton joining. We thank Erica for joining with us here today. Also, the National Endowment for the Humanities has supported this expanded lecture series through a grant, and the support particularly is enabling us to make podcasts of the presentations that will be useful for historical purposes, but also to reach new audiences. In addition, I want to recognize the University's Research Council, which includes faculty from diverse disciplines at the University of Nebraska. The council solicits nominations of faculty to present at these Nebraska lectures. So this is a regular effort for them, and they base their selection on the major research, major recent accomplishments, and the lecturer's ability to explain his or her work. So the selection by the Research Council is a very significant honor, so the highest recognition that the council can bestow on individual faculty members. We also want to make a special thank you today to the University of Nebraska State Museum, who is hosting today's lecture. So it's very nice that we could be among all of the fossils here today. This venue is especially appropriate because it has an interesting tie to a topic of today's lecture. Louise Pound contributed more than 150 specimens to the museum's Bessie collection, and particularly to the herbarium. She started submitting some specimens in 1881 when she was just nine years old. Her contributions continued throughout the 1880s, possibly including some even during her tenure at UNL, which was between 1888 and 1895. Most of the specimens are from Lancaster County, but some are from outside Nebraska. The museum has data entered for 155 of Louise's contributions, and will continue to expand that database over time. While we're on the topic of the museum, I also want to encourage you to check out the museum's new expansion, which is on the fourth floor called Cherish Nebraska. This $11.4 million edition opened in February and focuses on Nebraska's natural and cultural heritage. The university is extremely proud of the new galleries, which take the museum in one step further toward becoming the Smithsonian of the Plains. I also wanted to welcome everyone who's joining us here via our live web stream and through Facebook Live. After today's lecture, Eric Defrain, assistant professor of university libraries, will moderate a question and answer session with our speaker. We'll also have a prize, so there's going to be a random drawing from one audience member. We'll receive a copy of Dear Old Nebraska U, the coffee table book that was produced for this year's N150 celebration. You must be present to win, so please stay around until the end of the lecture to receive your prize. After words, I hope you'll also join us for a reception featuring some of the favorite Nebraska themed foods and an opportunity to visit with our speaker. So now I want to welcome Chancellor Ronnie Green, who will introduce Deb Cleveland. Well, thank you very much, Bo. Thank you very much, Bob. It's a pleasure to have the opportunity to be here, and especially to be in Morrill Hall. As Bob mentioned earlier, we actually started our 150th anniversary celebration this year during Charter Week in February. And one of the big events of that Charter Week was the opening of the Cherish Nebraska exhibit on the fourth floor that Bob referenced a few minutes ago, and that we're so very, very proud of. I'd also like to echo the thanks to both Nebraska Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities for helping us in this 150 lecture series this year. As Bob said, this is a different thing we're doing, where we have had a lecture every month that actually were submitted. There were proposals submitted for these lectures to highlight different aspects of the university's history during the celebratory year, and the National Endowment for the Humanities is allowing us to have those in a podcast forum. So they're preserved in perpetuity for the future in history. And we're very, very pleased today as our 10th lecturer in this series to have Deborah Cleave-White with us to present today's lecture. And it's very fitting, Deborah, that we're doing it against the backdrop of homecoming that is reaching a peak tonight and tomorrow here on our campus with a lot of additional traditions that we put into our homecoming celebration this year. Our speaker, Deborah Cleave-White, has been part of those traditions for a very long time. A native of Seward, Nebraska, she spent three years on our Husker Yale squad. Following her graduation from UNL in 1980, which was a good time of period in the university's history, by the way, she has spent most of her career in an education role at the University of Texas at Austin and working in real estate. But her love for this garland and cream has always remained. In her spare time, she would return to Lincoln to research the history of our great university and its spirit squad and sports teams. This year in February, Deb's 15 years of research and four years of writing culminated with the publishing of her first book, The Spirit of Nebraska, A History of Husker Game Day Traditions, The Tunnel Walk, Mascots, Cheer, and More, published to coincide so well with our 150th anniversary. And Deb gave me a copy of that book as I told her earlier in the year, and I've enjoyed reading it and relishing it. Deb has remained connected to the university in other ways as well. Throughout the years, she's volunteered for the athletic department by conducting sports history research and judging Yale squad trials. In 2003, she envisioned, planned, and organized the 100 years of cheer celebration, a reunion, and football halftime show for the athletic department. In 2018, she helped set the wheels in motion for renaming the former College of Business Administration building, old CBA as we used to refer to it, after literary scholar Louise Pound, one of UNL's most famous alums. And last year, she worked with the athletic department to verify that Pound earned a Husker varsity letter in men's tennis in 1894, leading to her induction into the UNL men's end club as its only female member. So please join me in welcoming to the stage Deborah Cleave-White for today's Zen 150 lecture. Well, thank you, Chancellor Green. And thank you to the Research Council for inviting me to be here today. And thank you all for coming. I'm excited to talk about two of my favorite topics, the history of UNL's school spirit and Louise Pound. And I'd like to show how the two are connected. As Chancellor Green mentioned, I was on the UNL Yale squad from 77 to 80. And when I think back about my college days and those great memories on being on the Yale squad, sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday. But then something happens that puts it all in perspective. A few years ago, a good friend of mine called me up and she was all excited. And she says, Deb, you won't believe what I saw today. She was in Omaha walking past an antique store window. And right there prominently displayed in the window was a UNL football program. And it had our squad picture on the cover, the one that's on the screen. And she said, right above the picture, there was a sign that stated, featured antique of the week. Yeah. So now that I'm an official antique, I feel like I'm qualified to talk about the history of school spirit. I have a question for you all. How would you define school spirit? Well, for me, it's easy. It's when I put on a red Hesker shirt, when I hear Hal Varsity, Daryl Nebraska U, give Herbie Hesker a high five, or step inside Memorial Stadium. I swear, my heart just beats a little faster. So I'm confident that if I was to ask each and every one of you how you would define it, you could easily answer that question. But 150 years ago, when the university was first established, the question on how to define school spirit was not an easy question to answer. And to illustrate why it was so hard, the university consisted of one building. There were five faculty members and an enrollment of five freshmen. And in that freshman class, there was one female, which was very unusual for the time because colleges just didn't admit female students. For example, at Yale and Princeton, they didn't allow women to be admitted to their universities until 1969, but Nebraska admitted women from the very beginning. Also, there were two sophomores, one junior, 12 part-time students, and 110 students in the Latin Prep School. Memorial Stadium did not exist, sports did not exist, there were no dorms. The professors knew the importance of school spirit and wanted students to become involved, identify and have a loyalty to the university. But how do you create it? Prior to sports, new incoming freshmen would create class yells and pick a class color, and that would help them connect to their classmates. However, the key to developing school spirit proved to be intercollegiate sports, and school spirit really took off when football started in 1890. I have identified 11 components to the development of school spirit. I'll highlight just a few pieces of information on each of the components. However, if you are interested, I have written a book, and each chapter in the book is a component and goes into more details, and I'll be available afterwards to sign if you're interested. Also, I've brought some of my vintage or antique cheer memorabilia, and it's on display, and feel free to check it out. Intercollegiate sports, in 1881, Chancellor Canfield established the Department of Education, which created an interest amongst the students for sports and physical activities, and during that time, the UNL campus newspaper, the Hesperian, reported on athletic events that was happening out in Eastern schools, and students followed the reports and scores and what was happening out East. The first intercollegiate team at UNL was baseball, and on the left is that first team of 1885, and football started in 1890, and that's the first team of football. Two years later, after football was established, in 1892, the training table was started. The thought was, if athletes were fed well, they would be healthier and perform better at their sport. And now, 127 years later, it's the same philosophy today, and it's still called the training table. Admission to a football game the first year in 1890 was free, but due to the interest and the attendance that first year, the athletic department figured out that they could charge an admission fee. So the second year, the cost to attend a football game was 25 cents. The band, the band started as an ROTC military cadet group, and it was a requirement of the Moral Land College Grant Act of 1862 under which UNL was founded. Students started to lose interest in the military drill, and since it was a requirement, it was decided to add music to spark an interest with the students. So the military cadets became a band in 1879, and they had 12 members, but only one member could play a musical instrument, and that was a piccolo. In 1926, the band performed the Star Spangled Banner for the first time at the beginning of a game, and in 1942, it was the first time women were in the band, but it was just temporary because there was a war going on. They had to fill in the gaps of missing male students, but when the war was over and the males came back, it went back to an all-male band, and women weren't permanently in the band until 1972. The school colors, with athletic, with intercollegiate sports competition, school colors became important to distinguish the teams. Nebraska's first color was decided upon in 1882, and it was old gold. In 1893, it was discovered the University of Iowa's color was gold, and it was determined Iowa had the color first, so Nebraska had to pick a new color. After much debate, Nebraska's colors were changed to scarlet and cream. Early on, students and fans were encouraged to wear red in the stadium, creating the early makings of the sea of red. Yells and school songs. In 1889, the students were wanting an all-university yell. And that year, the UNI cheer was created, and the music that you heard in the beginning, it was a performance of the UNL Men's Glee Club from the 1930s, and before they sang the song, they performed the UNI cheer. The cheer was first performed at a baseball game because they didn't have football yet. It was extremely popular and used for many years. Throughout the year, oh, and Go Big Red was started in the 1950s, and the Cornhusker song, Come a Runnin' Boys, was composed in 1909 and became a popular school song in the 1920s. And throughout the years, contests were held to create yells and songs, and these yells and songs would come and go, but by 1955, the preferred songs were March of the Cornhuskers, Hell Varsity, and Dear Old Nebraska U, of which Hell Varsity is the official school song. The Innocence Society. The professors had been the leaders on campus, but as of 1903, they wanted to hand over leadership to the students, so the innocence was created. It was fashioned after Ivy League secret societies like yells, skull, and bones. Originally, it was all male, and it was a secret senior honor society with 13 members, but in the late 1970s, due to Title IX, women were included and there's still just 13 members. Originally, their role was to organize school spirit and cheerleading on campus. The yell squad, which is the cheerleading squad. In the beginning of college cheerleading, it was all male and that included all colleges in the United States. The Innocence Society's first order of business after they were organized was to officially start cheerleading on campus. Then in 1917, Nebraska had the first female cheerleaders who cheered on the field and the first in any university. But in 1922, the Innocence were in charge of the yell squad. They started to question if females should be cheerleaders. They knew from playing Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri that they did not have female cheerleaders, so they conducted a survey with other colleges and discovered there were no college female cheerleaders. They deemed it to be inappropriate and cheering went back to an all male activity at Nebraska in 1922. In 1944, after a student vote, females were back on the squad. So on the left, the 1944 picture, the person on the right, her name is Hank Aysen-Sauce and she cheered, she's one of the first cheerleaders in 1944 and she is, as far as I know, the oldest living Nebraska cheerleader and this is her on the right just a couple weeks ago, the yell squad went to visit her and she's 94 years old. During my research, I interviewed a lot of former cheerleaders from the 1940s and the 1930s and she was one of my favorites and I have a story about her in my book. Then in 1950, the athletic department took over yell squad from the Innocence and yell squad was reorganized. They wanted to make it one of the best squads in the country and they decided to no longer allow females. In the reorganization, the yell squad coach, the first yell squad coach was assigned and that was Jake Geyer and he was the current Nebraska gymnastics coach and they brought in tumbling to the squad. The next year in 1951, the squad went back to both male and female due to an outpouring of concern from students and especially women wanting equal representation on the squad. In 2008, due to the yell squad grounding, the squad has been all female but there was a new announcement this year that Stenting was approved to come back which has brought male students back to the squad this season, bringing back tradition. Now when I was on the yell squad, we were only allowed to cheer three years but now I hear they can cheer up to five years so I got to thinking the other day I might have two years of eligibility left. Mascots, nicknames were used to identify university sports teams. When Nebraska's color was gold, they were known as the Old Gold Knights. When Scarlet and Cream was selected, a new nickname was needed. Sports reporters were reporting on football games and they used names associated with Nebraska like tree planners, rattlesnake boys, antelopes, bug eaters, which bug eaters was the most popular but bug eaters was never an official name. The name Cornhusker was decided in 1899 and it was suggested by Sy Sherman, a sports writer because he didn't care for the name bug eaters. The football team of 1900 was the first team to be known as the Cornhuskers. By the 1950s, physical mascots were popular. So now Nebraska wanted to create a mascot. The question was what does a Cornhusker look like? The fall of 1955, the Yale squad brought a live calf on the field for a couple games but I guess that didn't work out. Later that fall, the first mascot was introduced and he was Corncob Man. I think you can pick him out. A few years later in 1962, the athletic department wanted a mascot to better represent a Cornhusker fan. So Husky the Husker was introduced there in the plaid shirt. 1970, Mr. Big Red or Harry Husker was debuted and he was designed by Bill Gogans who modeled, his outfit was modeled after members of the Hastings Chamber of Commerce and in 1974, Herbie Husker came about when Don Bryant, a former UNL sports director, saw a drawing by Dirk West of Lubbock, Texas and obtained the rights to the drawing. The first Herbie mascot costume head was designed by Bob Johnson, a former Disney artist and as inspiration, he was given a picture of a former Husker football great, John Dutton. You can decide if there's a resemblance. Don Bryant is considered the father of Herbie Husker. Herbie has had a lot of tweaks to his looks throughout the years. Every few years, Herbie needs to be refreshed which resulted in a few of his new looks. 1993, Little Red was added as a friend to Herbie. The design was to appeal to younger fans but fans of all ages love Little Red. Nebraska was the first college to have an inflatable mascot and it's rare for a college to have two mascots. In 2003, a new look was debuted for Herbie Husker revealing a healthier and buffer Herbie and it's how we know him today. Corn Cubs and Tassels, up until the early 1980s, pep clubs were popular for student cheering sections. UNL had student cheering in the grandstand since the first football game of 1890. They became more organized and Corn Cubs was the male student section starting in 1921 and the Tassels the female section in 1924. They worked together to promote School Spirit, organizing the card section in 1927, homecoming, pep rallies and manage the mascot. The current student section is called the Boneyard and the Boneyard is inspired by the black shirts and identified with throwing the bones which throwing the bones started in 1996. The Scarlet's, which is the dance team, the UNL alumni wanted a Palm Drill Squad, a squad similar to the popular Texas Kill Gore rangerettes which was the first college drill team. So in 1960, UNL's first Palm Squad was created by the band called the Huskerettes. The Palm Squad only lasted two years. So the next year in 1963, the Yale Squad coach Jake Geyer added a separate Palm Squad. They were the first to wear the red and white striped sweaters, the first to create dance routines to school songs and they created the footwork called the step. All of this is still performed today by our current squad. They did not have a name, they were simply known as Palm Squad. The Palm Squad lasted just one year as a separate squad so they were so popular that it was decided to combine the Yale Squad and they kept the name Yale Squad and kept the red and white striped uniforms. After that time, the Yale Squad performed as a combined cheer and dance squad until 1992 when at that time, a student envisioned and created the scarlets. They started with a trial period and became part of the Spirit Squad in 1993. The Spirit Squad is a combination of Yale Squad, the mascots and the scarlets. The Corn Husker fans, as early as 1913, UNL set a standard for conduct on game day to cheer the opposing team when they came on the field, when a player was injured and at the end of the game as the opponents left the field. It has been said that the best fans in all of college football are right here in Nebraska. This is shown by the Nebraska fan conduct and the record held for consecutive game sellouts that are still growing today and how Husker fans fill Memorial Stadium at the Sea of Red and also fill away stadiums with the color red. It is the support of the Husker fans that make inter-collegiate sports possible at Nebraska. At this time, I would like to conduct a demonstration of school spirit and I'd like to invite Chancellor Ronnie Green and Chancellor Bob Wilhelm to join me up front. And I would like to invite some of the current Yale squad members to come up also. It was recently announced that Chancellor Green approved bringing stunting back to the Yale squad after an 11-year absence and I'd like to personally thank Chancellor Green for bringing back tradition to the squad. Because of this decision, I would like to make Chancellor Green and Vice Chancellor Wilhelm honorary UNL cheerleaders today. And you don't have to worry, you don't have to lift me. Instead, instead we will do a cheer and I brought with me rare game-used pom-poms from the 1970s. So, this goes in your right hand. Your left hand. No. I know these poms look a little sad, but they are old and they were used to cheer on the football team to victory. So I'll take a moment to teach the movement. Okay, so it's gonna be go big red, go big red. Okay, good. Okay. Also, I wanted to just make a note that with the current squad, they will be doing different motions than we will because in the 1990s, in the 1990s they changed the movements to go big red to accommodate stunting, but we will do the vintage movements. So after a touchdown, the band plays the school song and the fans chant go big red. Now let me move out of the way, so you can see. And so I'm going to count to three, we'll do three go big reds and I want you all to join in and be loud for our cheerleaders. Are you ready? Go big red. Go big red. Go big red. So much. I know that's why they went to plastic. That'll be our next lesson. Thank you. Now before I move forward with the Louise Pound portion, I want to read a passage from the 1990 Cornhusker yearbook that I feel sums up School Spirit at UNL. It's titled The Nebraska Spirit. College spirit is just as essential for the advancement of a university as patriotism is for the advancement of a nation. College spirit differs widely in different localities according to the manhood and womanhood of the student body. It may be good or bad, one of fair play or of narrowness. Therefore, it is necessary in the growth of our Nebraska spirit, symbolized by the scarlet and cream, that we look to the highest ideals and establish standards that will reflect the glory of our great state. Let us develop such a spirit in the undergraduate and the alumnus that the fellowship of college chums and classmates at Nebraska will be cherished in the after years and create an undying love for Nebraska, our alma mater. Let us further promote the spirit of cleanliness and fair play, whether upon the athletic field or in intellectual pursuit that our opponents may be filled with admiration for our practicum and respect for the institution which we represent. Both Yale and Harvard are known for their quality of their spirit, which is now firmly established and reflected in their college traditions. May the Nebraska spirit grow. The influence of the pounds on UNL school spirit. School spirit was envisioned and formed early on by university professors. However, leading the way was the pound family. In particular, Roscoe and Louise Pound, a brother and sister who were graduates of UNL and professors. Even though Louise can stand on her own, I want to quickly mention Roscoe because as Louise's older brother, he had an impact and an influence on her. As brother and sister, they had an early competitive relationship which carried on at the University of Nebraska. When Roscoe was creating organizations for male students, Louise was right there creating opportunities for female students. Roscoe Pound had a photographic memory. He knew nine languages and at the age of 77, he learned Chinese Mandarin in just six weeks so he could discuss with the leader of China their legal system. He had three degrees all from UNL and they were all in botany. He was the first person to receive a PhD from UNL. After receiving his master's degree, he left Nebraska and attended Harvard Law School for one year. He left Harvard and returned to Lincoln after his father became ill to help in his father's law firm. It was at Harvard where Roscoe was exposed to football, cheerleading, and school spirit. He never earned a law degree, but in 1900, he helped organize the Bar Association in Nebraska and from 1903 to 1907, he was dean of the UNL Law School and for 20 years, he was dean of the Harvard Law School and he never had a law degree. Pound was considered one of the nation's leading legal experts of his time. His contributions to school spirit, he helped organize football, was a referee, fundraiser, band drum major, cheerleader, and first diehard Nebraska fan. He suggested the first color of old gold. He created songs and chants in Latin for the first football games. He organized the Innocent Society. Considering all of his amazing accomplishments, he would often make this statement. Around Nebraska, I'm known as Louise Pound's brother. A building implosion happened on the University of campus on December 22nd, 2017, sending Catherine Pound dormitories into a cloud of dust. Many faculty, staff, and students are familiar with the famous novelist, Willa Catherine, and the dorm named in her honor. However, as time has marched on, students recall Pound as a dormitory they once resided in or walked by on their way to a college class. Pound dormitory was named after Louise Pound an outstanding scholar, athlete, and UNL instructor professor for 50 years. A renewed discovery and interest in Louise spearheaded an effort in continuing to honor the incomparable Pound on the UNL campus with the renaming of the CBA building to Louise Pound Hall. Who is Louise Pound and why is her name worthy of staking claim on a building on campus? Louise was the middle child of Stephen and Lauren Pound. As newlyweds, the Pounds moved from the East Coast to seek opportunity on the Western Plains as early pioneers in the new city of Lincoln. The Pounds raised three children, a son, Roscoe, and two daughters, Louise and Olivia. Their parents encouraged competition between the siblings, fueled an interest and participation in sports, and placed an importance on their education. The children were encouraged to interact with adult visitors and dignitaries who visited the family home, even though it was against prevailing social Victorian expectations, which at that time, children were expected to be seen and not heard. Louise was raised as an equal to her brother, partially stemming from their Quaker heritage, which believed in educating both boys and girls. From the time UNL first opened their doors, women were allowed academic entrance and equality in education. Even though this was progressive for the times, it still did not mean that women had all the opportunities afforded male students. As Louise was becoming a young woman and entering UNL in 1888, it was a time entrenched in the Victorian era. To understand the social morals that encircled women during this time period, let's take a closer look at the Victorian views throughout the United States. In 1887, a senator named George Vest expressed his views on women in the workforce, stating this, and I quote, I do not believe the great intelligence ever intended them to invade the sphere of work given to men, tearing down and destroying all the best influences for which God intended them. Women are essentially emotional. It is no disparagement to them, they are so. And a popular doctor named Weir Mitchell during Victorian times once stated this about young women, and I quote, future womanly usefulness was endangered by the steady use of her brain. Women at the time were considered delicate, fragile, their clothing was restrictive, it was considered improper to show their ankles, important to be ladylike. Women did not have the right to vote, they could not own property. Women who were married were not allowed to work and expected to care for home and family. When a woman married, her rights were given over to her husband and she was considered his property. Physical activity was frowned upon, especially sports, and it was thought to damage their reproductive organs. This was nationally a common concern of the medical profession and it hit home at the University of Nebraska when in 1908, intercollegiate sports for women were abolished. After 1908, only mild physical education activities for women was endorsed by UNL until 1972 and the passing of Title IX legislation. And in 1975, women's intercollegiate sports returned to the UNL campus. Then in 1888, the whirlwind of Louise Pound entered the University. She was five-five and petite but a ball of energy. She did not fit the Victorian mold and even though she was a petite woman, she was impatient, competitive, intense, a woman who wasn't afraid to break barriers, play by her own rules and speak her mind. Mentally and physically, she was a force to be reckoned with in Lincoln and on the University campus. Pound created and organized and led several organizations and sports for women on campus. One thing that few people know about Louise is that her full formal name was Emma Louise Pound as shown on her UNL diploma. She chose to go by her middle name as did her brother. Her academic, professional and career highlights. Louise entered the UNL at the age of 16. She was the first student, she was at first a student and then a professor. She immersed herself in changing the culture to create opportunities for women colleagues and students. Four years after Pound entered UNL, she graduated with a bachelor of letters degree and a degree in music. After earning her bachelor's degree, Pound was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa Key. It was, she was one of the first members of the newly formed chapter on UNL's campus. A Latin inscription on the back of her key when translated read, let the boys go back and sit down. Pound continued her education going on to achieve her masters in philology, which is the study of languages and their historical origins and meanings. Also a degree in piano, music theory and harmony. At the turn of the century, one unwritten consideration for admission to a graduate program was based on gender, making it difficult for women to be accepted and continue their education and careers. Pound found this to be true when seeking admission for her doctoral study in the United States. She could not get accepted as a doctoral candidate, so she went abroad, studying at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. And there she earned her doctorate in 1900. Her brilliance and determination impressed and perplexed the academic Europeans. Pound's dissertation was titled The Comparison of Adjectives in English in the 15th and 16th century. In Pound's typical fashion of achieving the impossible, not only did she complete her PhD in two semesters instead of the usual seven, but she accomplished this feat while becoming proficient in the German language in order to deliver her dissertation. Pound returned to Lincoln with her PhD in hand, Magna Cum Laude. She was the first female UNL graduate to go on and earn a PhD. She was one of the first female professors in the United States and in 1955, she was the first woman president of the prestigious Modern Languages Association. Pound was a pioneer in the linguistic study of American English and a published author. She established many campus organizations as a student and professor and was a leader in many of those organizations. However, Louise had a fun and lighthearted side to her too, which was shown in some of the organizations that she started. For example, the Wooden Spoon's Dinner Club, which was started in December 1919, and it was just reported a few months ago by the journal Star on May 18, 2019, the club held its last dinner. The group lasted a hundred years. As a serious side when establishing women's organizations as in a group called the Valkyries, which created and supported opportunities for female students on campus. Tennis, as a brilliant, confident woman, her accomplishments did not stop academically and in the classroom. She was also an amazing championship athlete. Throughout her lifetime, Louise Pound opened the door for women in sports, broke rules and set new boundaries while achieving wins, medals, records in a variety of sports. Pound relished athletic competition and that passion pushed her to excel and win. Pound first mastered long croquet by the age of 14, but considered it too tame of a sport and found herself drawn to more demanding sports. She claimed tennis to be her favorite sport and not surprising she was a championship tennis player conquering both women and men on the court. Pound was the city of Lincoln champion, the state of Nebraska champion and the UNL champion. Louise was the only woman in the UNL men's intercollegiate tennis team and in 1894 she earned a men's varsity N letter in tennis and then just last year as Chancellor Green mentioned the athletic department inducted her into the men's club as the only woman member. During her tennis playing prime, she beat the US national women's tennis champion and the reigning Canadian tennis champion. As Louise was working on her PhD at the University of Heidelberg, she became the Heidelberg tennis champion two years in a row. And get this, she played the reigning German men's Olympic tennis champion and the match went to a draw. When the city of Lincoln tennis club was established it was male only members. However, Louise was allowed to play but only as an honorary member since women were not allowed to join. She was the best player at the club and was the city of Lincoln's first tennis champion and these are her teammates in the Lincoln tennis club and that's her in the dark jacket. I love these pictures of Louise. The bottom left picture is Louise in action on the tennis court. She won tennis championships against men while wearing layered skirts down to her ankles, high collars and high heeled boots versus men wearing tennis slacks and court shoes. For 27 years she was a ranked female golfer in Lincoln with many golf titles and tournament wins to her name. Louise won the Lincoln Country Club's golf championship every year from 1906 to 1927 except for one year. 1924 she didn't win and the reason why she didn't win 1924 is because she didn't nan her. Louise was a decorated cyclist. Louise cycled while wearing long skirts, stockings, lace up dress boots and a one speed bike on rough mostly dirt roads. She was the only woman in the state of Nebraska to win several century road club bars awarded by the Chicago Club for riding 100 miles in a 12 hour period. She won a Rambler gold medal for riding 5,000 miles in a 12 month period. In basketball in 1896 women's and men's basketball was organized at UNL. Louise assisted in organizing the women's basketball team. The women's basketball team became intercollegiate in 1898 and Louise was a player and captain. That's her in the front row, second from the left holding the ball. She later managed and coached this championship team until 1908. The UNL female players made a shocking debut on the basketball court because they wore bloomers which they're wearing here. That was the latest fashion trend that was considered controversial. Wearing bloomers while playing basketball was so shocking at times males were not allowed to watch the games. Pound's basketball teams disregarded the women's rules and played of course by the men's rules. While Pound managed the women's basketball team they were popular and profitable. They traveled to Minnesota and played the University of Minnesota. The Minnesota's governor and 5,000 people attended. Due to their profitability the women's team was known to loan money to the men's basketball team so they could pay their debts. She earned a varsity end letter in women's intercollegiate basketball. The Omaha World Herald has a list of the Nebraska 100 of the all time greatest athletes. In 2005 Louise was ranked number 64 on that list and as of 2015 they updated every 10 years. So as of 2015 she was ranked number 86 of the state of Nebraska's greatest athletes of all times. Her contributions to school spirit. In 1888 she established the women's military drill team. 1892 she was co-editor with Willa Cather of a literary journal called The Lasso which promoted school spirit. In 1905 she established the black mask which was a senior women's honor society and later called mortar board. And the black mask were in charge of the female student's cheering section in the stadium. And in 1917 she established women cheerleaders on the field cheering next to men cheerleaders and they were the first female cheerleaders of any college in the United States. She helped establish intercollegiate sports for women at UNL. At this time so that you can get a better feel for Louise Pound I would like to conduct a simulated interview with her. I will ask her four questions. Now I just want to mention everybody's sitting to the far left or right. You may not be able to see Louise but we will run it after the presentation so you can see it and get a close up look. Also please know flash photography during the film but you can take pictures afterwards. I would like to introduce to you Dr. Louise Pound. Hello please call me Miss Louise Pound. Miss Pound you were great at every sport you tried. What was your favorite sport? I first played croquet at age 14. Once I mastered the game I found it to tame. I discovered I enjoyed the physical challenge of a good tennis match and soon tennis became my favorite sport. Miss Pound as a student you helped organize the first UNL women's basketball team. You were a player as a student and then a manager and a coach of the intercollegiate basketball team for 10 years. It was shocking for society to see a woman play the rough game of basketball. What are your thoughts on that? Nothing much happens as a rule. Sometimes there's a dislocated wrist or dislocated collar bone, a black eye, a cut on the lip, broken fingers, some little thing like that but never saw anything too serious. Miss Pound I have heard that you were one of the first figure skaters in Lincoln. What would you like to tell me about your figure skating experience? I bought myself a 10 cent book and from it practice figure skating on ice. Of course I wasn't a Sonya Henney. My skirts were too long and cumbersome but I had fun even though I was the only girl figure skater. Miss Pound I have heard that once you started wearing bifocal glasses that you had a harder time playing tennis at the level you were accustomed to. So you switched to golf and played for many years. Why did you stop playing golf? I noticed that golfers were riding around in electric carts and the game had become sincere. Thank you Miss Pound. This hologram was a huge group effort and for the work on the hologram I would like to thank David Martin, director of UNL's Innovation Campus, Megan Elliott, director of the Johnny Carson School of Emerging Media Arts and Christine Deccan in the UNL Theater Department in costuming. And the engineering students that were involved in this they were incredible. They spent so many countless hours working on this. Engineering student John Strope who is the president and founder of the UNL Theme Park Design Group and his team of student engineers Parker Ryle, Mitchell Guyam, Taylor Werks, John Hogue, Anwong Hashim, Zoe Jilruski, Brennan Sanders, Kylie Huxwell and Penhao Chang. Thank you for your work on that. In summary, Louise Pound was a scholar and a championship athlete. She was a ball of energy, intense, confident, competitive, fun loving, generous and a woman ahead of her time. During her lifetime, she was recognized in the city, the state, nationally and internationally as an academic and a renowned athlete. Louise Pound loved Nebraska and dedicated her life and career to the University of Nebraska, the pursuit of personal excellence and most of all a dedication to her students. Louise believed that everyone should strive to be their best self in sports, academics and in their personal life. She championed opportunities for women and led by example to show contemporaries and female students what was possible. Louise passed away in 1958, but she had one final victory, the 1972 passing of Title IX legislation which represented the views of Louise and proved her opinion that women belonged in elite athletics and intercollegiate sports. I can't help but believe that Louise is smiling down on the UNL Women's Sports Programs. Louise was held in high esteem, nationally and internationally and could have had a career at any university, but she chose to stay loyal to Nebraska, her entire career. On a clear December day in mere seconds, an implosion enraiced a building on the UNL campus and potentially the memory of Louise Pound. The incomparable Louise Pound came close to being lost in time and her story forgotten. Fortunately, this tragedy was averted when the former College of Business Administration building became available and in name of a namesake. A match was made on June 2018 when the Board of Regents approved the building's new name as Louise Pound Hall. Louise's legacy and story will now live on upon the grounds of the university campus where she excelled in the classroom as a student and professor triumphed in sports and created opportunities for female students, helped develop school spirit and where she devoted her career and life. Louise's loyalty and love for the university and Nebraska embodies the true spirit of Nebraska. Thank you. At this point, we'll open up the floor to questions and answers. If you could speak loudly, I'll try to repeat them back to Deborah. So the cameras can pick that up. Does anyone have a question? Oh, back here. I'll give you the lead. Thank you, this was amazing. How do you account for the amazing spirit in this state amongst people that have never taken a class on this campus? Oh, that's a good question. It is everywhere. Gosh, I don't know if I'm the best one to answer that for everybody, but I guess we're just a close-knit state and having the university here as a centerpiece, I think everybody just rallies behind it. Other questions? I'll ask a question. I was wondering where you did most of your research from. Well, I did a lot of interviews with former cheerleaders, but I spent 15 years down in the basement of Love Library's archives, and that's where I did a bulk of it in microfilm and files and a lot of digging. Did Louise Pound ever marry? No, she couldn't marry because she wanted a career. So she never married. Her brother Roscoe married, and I think they had five miscarriages. They never had children. So Louise never married, and then their younger sister was a principal here in Lincoln, her entire career, and she never married, so there's no pound descendants. I don't know, I've never checked into that. I don't know. About Louise Pound in particular? Or just. Okay, so the question was whether or not other universities have gone into this level of research about spirit, school spirit. I don't know, I've never looked into that. I did do that. One of, I mean, a current day one that we did. Oh, back then? Well, I'll do the UNI cheer. We didn't do that during my time, but since it was Nebraska's first cheer, so it goes, you, you, you and I, bur, bur, versa tie, N, E, brass ski, oh my. Well, thank you very much. And then Deb, to help you remember this lecture, it's kind of a cool venue to do it in, and it was wonderful to hear that history both of spirit and of the Pound family. Louise and Roscoe had a huge impact here. Their sister, you mentioned, so school and Lincoln named for her as well. To help you remember it, here's a print of the lecture announcement for you, and thank you so much for helping contribute to both school spirit and for this wonderful lecture. Thank you so much.