Not much secondary literature has been published through the years about H. A. Dixon (1904-1969). But I'm willing to argue that Dixon's successful presidency at Freed-Hardeman College (from 1950 to 1969), was absolutely crucial to the survival and growth of the school. Without Dixon's credibility, integrity, and stalwart leadership, there is no telling what might have become of Freed-Hardeman, located in Henderson, Tennessee.
In 1950, many thousands of people knew and loved N. B. Hardeman, Dixon's predecessor. Hardeman's long list of friends, some of them quite wealthy, had kept the college financially sound, with hundreds of students in attendance over many years. However, due to a crisis of confidence and the abrupt end of Hardeman's presidency in 1950, when Dixon became the next president, the college was in uncharted waters.
Apparently, Hardeman, who turned 76 that year, was distracted by a student protest and opposition at the college that bore his name. This impacted the financial well-being of F-HC. In his article on "Freed-Hardeman University," Mark W. Hamilton was right to say that by 1950, N. B. Hardeman had "placed the school on a sound financial footing" (Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, 344). That was true as far as it went. Yet, there is more to the story.
During Hardeman's presidency, money had been a critical issue, as it always is especially for private schools. And through the years, Hardeman had gathered a large number of donations for the college. But it certainly seems that in 1950, questions about what was going on at Henderson and uncertainty about the school's future meant that the flow of financial support for the college slowed to a trickle. This seems to be the only explanation for something Louise Cowan Dixon, H. A.'s widow, told me in 1988. She said that when her husband became the new president of the school, he was shocked to learn that the college's operating fund contained a grand total of $2,000.
She also said that, although H. A. Dixon became the new president under circumstances nobody foresaw, Hardeman had on more than one occasion suggested to Dixon that he should be the next president of the school. Hardeman's judgment was sound. When Dixon assumed his new role, very few people among the Churches of Christ enjoyed the same level of admiration and respect. Very few people could have taken on the mantle of N. B. Hardeman to advance Freed-Hardeman over the next nineteen years as H. A. Dixon did. Freed-Hardeman was fortunate to have had him ready and able to take on that task.
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I William T. (Bill) Lambert became a student at FHC in 1956. I was a poor country boy from southern Mississippi. If President Dixon had not directed a scholarship provided by a church for a "promising preacher student," and also sent me to fill a request for a student to preach for a church, I could not have afforded a college education. The boost he gave me enabled me to preach for seventy years and serve almost forty years in administration and as a professor in Christian education. "Brother Dixon" was one of the best preachers I ever heard and one of the best teachers I ever had. To earn a doctorate, I attended several colleges, universities, and theological seminaries, and I can truly say that H. A. Dixon was one of the best teachers I ever had. He was a genuine Christian guided by a servant spirit. I wish I could say this to him.
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