1948-1961
Andrew G. Truxal, a widely respected educator, became the College’s third president in 1948 as things were changing in higher education. The growth in public institutions to accommodate soldiers on the GI Bill had increased competition for students. Hood was seeing declining enrollment as students opted for coeducations schools and declining retention as students dropped out to get married.
Under Dr. Truxal’s leadership, vigorous recruitment efforts led to an increase in students by the mid-1950s and an ambitious advancement plan—the Hood Forward campaign—raised funds for much-needed additions to the physical plant. Between 1955 and 1961, the College built Coffman Chapel, the Hodson Science Hall, Smith Hall, a new president’s house and the Thomas Annex to the Apple Library.
Dr. Truxal worked tirelessly to fund scholarships, improve faculty salaries and doubled the endowment to $2 million; he was also instrumental in the formation of what became the Maryland Independent Colleges and Universities Association (MICHUA).
Dr. Truxal earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Franklin and Marshall College, and his doctoral degree from Columbia University. A graduate of the Eastern Theological Seminary, he was an ordained minister in the Evangelical and Reformed Church.
Following his retirement from Hood, he accepted the presidency of Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. In 1999, the pergola on campus was renamed the Andrew G. Truxal Pergola in his honor.
