Tydings Hall at the University of Maryland: A Legacy of Public Service and Historical Significance
Tydings Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park, stands as a testament to the impactful career of Millard E. Tydings, a distinguished alumnus and influential figure in Maryland's history. The building, dedicated in his honor in 1969, serves as a reminder of his contributions to public service and education.
Millard E. Tydings: From Maryland Agricultural College to the U.S. Senate
Millard Evelyn Tydings was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland, on April 6, 1890. He graduated early from high school and went on to the Maryland Agricultural College (later the University of Maryland). He earned his B. S. in Engineering in 1910, and then received his law degree from the University of Maryland law school in 1913. He was again affiliated with the university years later, as a member of the Board of Regents from 1946 to 1951.
Mechanical engineering students at Maryland Agricultural College pose with hammers, circa 1910; Millard Tydings is at right. Tydings began his public service shortly after leaving school.
Tydings began his public service shortly after leaving school; he was elected to the Maryland General Assembly in 1916 and became speaker of the House of Delegates in 1920. By 1922, he had moved up to the state senate, but that same year, he was elected to Congress as the Representative of Maryland’s 2nd District. He remained in the House of Representatives until 1927, when he became one of Maryland’s senators, a job he would hold for the next quarter century.
His career was marked by both significant achievements and considerable controversy. As a conservative Democrat, Tydings frequently sparred with the Roosevelt administration's New Deal policies due to his fiscal conservatism. However, his independent stance and willingness to challenge party lines also made him an influential figure in the Senate.
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A "Titan" in the Senate: Key Legislation and Controversies
During his twenty-four years, he became a so-called "Titan" in the Senate. As a conservative Democrat, Tydings achieved prominence through his willingness to engage major figures on the national scene, from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Joseph McCarthy, in debate and controversy.
In 1934, Tydings co-sponsored the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which laid the groundwork for the eventual independence of the Philippine Islands. This act, while intended to grant independence, also imposed immigration restrictions on Filipinos, a point of contention that continues to spark debate about Tydings' legacy.
Tydings' most valuable and remembered contributions, however, came out of his participation on and chairmanship of various committees, including the committees on Foreign Affairs and Relations, Armed Services, and Territorial and Insular Possessions. As a member of the latter committee, Tydings was intimately involved in Philippine affairs and co-authored the 1934 Tydings-McDuffie Act that called for Philippine independence.
One of the most significant controversies of Tydings' career arose from his chairmanship of a subcommittee investigating Senator Joseph McCarthy's claims of Communist infiltration within the State Department. Despite his own conservative leanings, Tydings took a principled stand against McCarthy's "Red Scare" tactics, a decision that ultimately contributed to his defeat in the 1950 election.
The Naming of Tydings Hall: A Memorial to a Public Servant
In 1961, the University of Maryland opened a building along McKeldin Mall named after Sen. Millard Tydings, who held office from 1927 to 1951. In 1969, Millard Tydings was immortalized by his alma mater when the University of Maryland named its Business and Public Administration building after him.
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The marker at Tydings Hall reads:"This Building is Named in Memory of Millard E. Tydings 1890 - 1961Distinguished Public Servant and Friend of EducationAlumnus of the UniversityDecorated Officer, World War ISpeaker of the House of DelegatesState SenatorMember of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate from MarylandMember of the Board of Regents of the UniversityNovember 15, 1969Erected 1969 by the University of Maryland"
Tydings Hall: Location and Significance
Tydings Hall is located east of Preinkert Drive, at the north side of "the Grove", on the campus of the University of Maryland.
Tydings Hall housed the business college before it moved to Van Munching Hall in 1993. Combs previously worked in Tydings Hall, moving to Morrill with the behavioral and social sciences college offices while their Tydings space underwent construction.
The northern exterior of Tydings Hall is on Sep. 25, 2023.
The Ongoing Debate: Tydings' Legacy and the Building's Name
Despite Tydings' contributions to Maryland and the nation, his legacy remains a subject of debate, particularly concerning the Tydings-McDuffie Act and its impact on Filipino immigration. Some students have expressed discomfort with the building's name, viewing it as a reminder of discriminatory policies.
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“I haven’t heard anything overtly negative or racist about [Tydings], but that’s not to say the bill was very good,” Daus said. “It would be interesting to discuss the nature of the university’s relationship with colonialism and imperialism,” Pease said.
The debate about the name of Tydings Hall is not new. UMD alum Cezar Lopez wrote an editorial about the school’s lack of an Asian American Studies program for The Diamondback in 2000.
University of Maryland Libraries: Supporting Academic Excellence
The UMD Libraries are a key academic resource that supports the teaching, learning, and research goals of the university. The various materials collected by the libraries can be accessed by students, scholars, and the general public.
The libraries feature 4 million volumes and a substantial number of e-resources (including more than 17,000 e-journal titles), a variety of archives and special collections, and a host of technological resources which enable remote online access to the Libraries' holdings and services. They are members of both the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA)[2] and the University System of Maryland and Affiliate Institutions (USMAI).
The university's library became a Federal depository library in 1925, a status it has held since. Adriene Lim, PhD, began as Dean of Libraries on August 19, 2019.
Key Library Resources and Locations
McKeldin Library: The main branch of the University of Maryland Library system. Former Dean of Libraries Patricia Steele announced plans to gut the second floor of McKeldin during the summer of 2010 in order to make room for a new "Terrapin Learning Commons" (commonly referred to as the TLC). The new laptop-friendly learning commons opened for the Fall 2011 semester, with plans to add multimedia workstations and lockers which can recharge laptops in between classes.
Hornbake Library: Constructed in 1972 as a separate undergraduate library, Hornbake Library was named in 1980 for R. Lee Hornbake, the former Academic Vice President of the University of Maryland. The building was repurposed as repository for special collections, and now Hornbake Library is home to the College of Information Sciences, the Human-Computer Interaction Lab, the Gordon W. Prange Collection (a collection of Japanese print publications issued during the early years of the Occupation of Japan, 1945-1949), the Katherine Anne Porter Room, and the Maryland Room, which houses Special Collections and University Archives. In September 2012, the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) moved to a new space in Hornbake Library, having been previously located in the basement of McKeldin Library. Hornbake Library is located in Hornbake Plaza, which sits east of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union.
Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library: In addition to the general collections, the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library is home to the Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA). Special collections preserves and provides access to primary source materials on music, dance, and theater, with special interest in local performing groups and movements. Some highlights include Jim Henson Works, the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange Archives, the Viola da Gamba Society of America Archives, and the American Composers Alliance Score Collection. SCPA is the repository for several professional organizations, including the National Association for Music Education, the American Bandmasters Association, and the Music Library Association. The Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library also holds the International Piano Archives at Maryland (IPAM); a collection of materials for the study, appreciation, and preservation of the classical piano repertoire and its performance.
Other Libraries: The other libraries located on the University of Maryland campus include the Art Library, located in the Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building, which houses over 100,000 volumes in the areas of art history, archaeology, decorative arts and the studio arts (including photography and graphic design); and the STEM Library which was formed in January 2018 from the merging of the former Chemistry Library and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Library (EPSL). The library remains in the same location as EPSL, in the Mathematics Building, and it contains resources supporting work in engineering, computer, mathematical, and physical sciences. There are also two off-campus libraries.
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