Alumnus reflects on the past and offers advice for the present

Alumnus reflects on the past and offers advice for the present

By ELLIE SMITH Staff Writer

Hall Kinney is a retired professor from Cynthiana where he currently lives with his wife Sally Kinney. Hall was a student at Georgetown College from 1950-1954, where he double majored in English and History and double minored in Political Science and Physical Education. After graduation, Hall served in the army from 1954 to 1956.

After, he received his masters in education administration and later his PhD. Hall was a professor at the University of Kentucky where he taught English.

While at Georgetown, Hall was a very involved student and leader on campus. Hall was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha for four years, where he served as Vice President, and played on the basketball team, where he was the captain for two years. Hall was also active in the history club with Professor Fields and the English club with Professor Arnold. At his senior ceremony, Hall received an award, the Thompson Trophy, for scholarship and athletics.

Hall served in the army from 1954-1956 where he was stationed in Japan.

Source: Ellie Smith

In an interview, Hall offered several insights to life as a student at Georgetown College in the 1950s. Georgetown College in the 1950s was different from the college today. When Hall attended, there was a one-lane bowling alley where students learned proper bowling form during physical education. Instead of a student center, there was a small building between the chapel and Giddings designed in World War II as accommodations. There, students could go to the bookstore and there was a soda fountain where students could get sodas and doughnuts.

When asked about life as a student, Hall said “The atmosphere at Georgetown when I was there was pretty much all inclusive, . and there were certain rules of conduct that you were expected to observe.

Girls, for example, were supposed to be in at a certain hour in the evenings and on the weekends, so you had a curfew in a sense. Men were not obligated to that, only the women were. There was always something wrong with that but it was very difficult to change.

‘If you are training people to be adults, you have to give them some freedom to make mistakes and learn from those. And I thought that the constrictors were maybe a little much. But, all in all I can say that none of us were affected dramatically…”

Hall Kinney, Sally Kinney, Collin Smith (adjunct professor at Georgetown College and GC Alum, Abby Smith GC alum, and Ellie Smith Georgetown Student.

Source: Ellie Smith

One of the things that makes Georgetown College special is the quality of its professors. Some of Hall’s memorable professors include Dr. Fields, Dr. Arnold, Dr. Kopfield, and Dr. Mulligan.

Hall describes his professors as one of the more positive aspects of being a student. “One of the nice things about being a student is sitting in a class and listening to someone who knows a heck of a lot more than you do and trying to catch up… Arthur Cooke was so good, so entertaining and chocked full of information, that I was just enthralled with him. I didn’t take a note for half a semester. And then we had a test. So I learned very quickly, it doesn’t matter how entertaining your professor is: pay attention, clue in, take your notes, do your research and be happy.”

Hall would like to offer the following advice to current students: “College should be enjoyed. It’s a change in your lifestyles in many ways, it’s a time of growing academically and intellectually, but it should be fun. Studying should be fun. It can be arduous at times, there’s no question about it. However, in the long run your ability to acquire knowledge is there for you.”