The trek from South Street to East Hall was less than a mile for a teenaged Merze Tate. In 1923, there was even a trolly to take students up the hill to Western Normal School on Oakland Drive. She was a country girl from Blanchard, Michigan, who walked three mikes to school each day for years before moving to Battle Creek in the 10th grade. Even there, she maintained her stellar record of all A’s and made a name for herself by winning an oratorical contest. Education was the key to success and young Merze knew it. She earned her degree in Secondary Education in a record three years with 54 A’s and 6 B’s in 1927, not long after the college became know as Western State Teachers College. For decades Merze Tate, Ph.D., returned to what had become Western Michigan University. She served as a visiting professor, helped establish the WMU Foundation, provided more than $50,000 for a computer center in Sangren Hall, and left $1 million toward a Medallion Scholarship to provide a full-ride scholarship to one student each year forever. She became the first African American woman to earn a Distinguished Alumna Award from WMU (‘70), and former WMU President John T. Bernhard nominated her for the American Association of State College and Universities Distinguished Alumnus Award (‘81), making her the first African American woman to receive that honor. Dr. Merze Tate lived a life of significant accomplishments and firsts for women and as a woman of color. The Merze Tate Explorers (Est. 2008) is forever grateful to WMU for dedicating the Merze Tate College on campus on October 8, 2021. This honor will allow her legacy to continue inspiring more students for generations to come. Historic images from the Merze Tate Collection at WMU’s Zhang Legacy Collections Center. Dedication event photos courtesy of WMU-Mark Bugnaski.
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| WINTER 2022
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