Howard Payne University Artifacts

1940s-1990s Dr. H.L. Cravens

by Dr. Robert Mangrum, professor of history and government and university historian Dr. Henderson Lamar Cravens Jr. served on the faculty of Howard Payne University for 39 years.

Born May 27, 1920, in Big Lake, he was the son of parents whose careers were in education. Both his parents were graduates of what was then Howard Payne College. He graduated from Brownwood High School and attended HPC during the 1947-48 year. After receiving his B.A. degree from what was then North Texas State University in 1950 and his M.A. degree in 1951, he completed a doctorate at the University of Northern Colorado in 1961.

He began his teaching career at HPU in 1956 with economics classes and then expanded to include business courses. Later he was also teaching history and political science courses. At that time he was named chair of the political science department. He was named dean of the School of Social Sciences and to the J.D. Sandefer Chair of Political Science in 1985. In May 1991, he stepped down as dean and was named to fill the Dr. Othal Brand Chair of Free Enterprise and Public Policy.

Dr. Cravens was a part of the Democracy-in-Action program as well as a faculty member of the Douglas MacArthur Academy of Freedom. He also served on many university committees including curriculum and catalog. Twice nominated for the Piper Professor Award for Outstanding Teaching, he was also the recipient of the Lasso yearbook dedication in 1974. He received the university’s Medal of Service Award in 1986 and the Distinguished Service Award in 1988.

An international champion checker player, he was crowned king of Texas checker players 35 times and, at one time, was ranked third in the world for his highest finish in national competition.

Dr. Cravens passed away on November 12, 1994. He was survived by his wife, Mickey, and two children.

Dr. Don Newbury ’61, then president, noted at the time of Dr. Cravens’ death: “He was the patriarch of our family, a master teacher and a friend of students and colleagues alike.”

Holly Holmes ’97, a student in Dr. Cravens’ class the semester he died, related how he had, in the last hours of his life, drafted a test for the class to take the following Monday.

“When I remember Dr. Cravens I will remember him walking into class wearing his plaid jacket and drinking a Dr Pepper,” Holmes said in 1994. “I’ll remember him ‘interpreting’ his handwriting on the board and standing behind his podium taking roll. I’ll remember Dr. Cravens as he was – a gifted professor, a professor who taught us a great deal. In the end he taught us about perseverance and the joy of doing something you love … He will be deeply missed but never forgotten.” Pictured clockwise from top left: • Dr. Cravens’ class/office schedule for the spring 1984 semester • Southwest Scene clipping, July 11, 1971 • Brownwood Bulletinclipping, September 28, 1992 • Undated flier for on-campus event at which Dr. Cravens would play checkers against multiple students simultaneously • Dr. Cravens’ Doctor of Education hood, received in 1961 from the University of Northern Colorado, on display in HPU’s Packer Administration Building

Dr. Robert Mangrum has published an account of HPU’s history titled For Howard Payne My All: 125 Years of Christian Higher Education and Service, 1889-2015. The book, which took 17 years to write, celebrates the university’s history since its founding in 1889. It is available for $30 on DVD or USB flash drive at HPU’s Spirit Store in the Mabee University Center or at www.hputx.edu/store. All proceeds from the book’s sales support an academic scholarship at HPU.