Walter D. Cocking (1891January 14, 1964) was an academic administrator. As Dean of the College Education of the University of Georgia, he was fired in 1941, rehired, and fired again for supporting

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race (classification of human beings), race, and t ...

. The episode is known as the

Cocking affair The Cocking affair was an attempt in 1941 by Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge to exert direct control over the state's educational system, particularly through the firing of Professor Walter Cocking because of his support for racial integration, ...

Early life and education

Cocking was born in

Manchester, Iowa Manchester is a city in Delaware Township and the county seat of Delaware County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,065 at the time of the 2020 census. Manchester is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and State Highway 13 ...

and earned a bachelor's degree from

Des Moines College Des is a masculine given name, mostly a short form (hypocorism) of Desmond. People named Des include: People * Des Buckingham, English football manager * Des Corcoran, (1928–2004), Australian politician * Des Dillon (disambiguation), sev ...

, a Master's from

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, and his doctorate from Columbia He worked as a superintendent of schools in Iowa and was an artillery lieutenant in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early career

Cocking initially held academic administrative positions in Iowa,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He then spent five years as professor of school administration at the George Peabody College for Teachers in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. From 1933 to 1937, he was the commissioner of education for Tennessee.

University of Georgia

In 1937, Cocking was hired to improve academic standards at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

College of Education In the United States and Canada, a school of education (or college of education; ed school) is a division within a university that is devoted to scholarship in the field of education, which is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences e ...

. While there he developed several reforms but had a "brash and domineering style". In 1941, Georgia governor

Eugene Talmadge Eugene Talmadge (September 23, 1884 – December 21, 1946) was an attorney and American politician who served three terms as the 67th governor of Georgia, from 1933 to 1937, and then again from 1941 to 1943. Elected to a fourth term in November ...

insisted to the

Georgia Board of Regents The Georgia Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia as part of the state government of Georgia in the United States. The University System of Georgia is composed of all state public institutions of higher education in the state ...

that Cocking be fired, sparking the

. After initially not rehiring Cocking in an 8-4 vote, University of Georgia president Harmon Caldwell threatened to resign unless Cocking's case was reheard. After hearing evidence, the Georgia Board of Regents rehired Cocking in an 8-7 vote; this decision infuriated Talmadge, who proceeded to fire and replace any on the Board of Regents who opposed the governor. At the following Board of Regents meeting, Cocking was again fired, in a 10-5 vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocking, Walter American academic administrators Columbia University alumni 1891 births 1964 deaths People from Manchester, Iowa University of Georgia people Des Moines University (1865–1929) alumni University of Iowa alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers Military personnel from Iowa 20th-century American academics