Walter D. Cocking (1891 – January 14, 1964) was an academic administrator. As Dean of the College Education of theUniversity of Georgia, he was fired in 1941, rehired, and fired again for supportingracial integration. The episode is known as theCocking affair.
Cocking was born inManchester, Iowa and earned a bachelor's degree fromDes Moines College, a Master's fromIowa, and his doctorate fromColumbia[1] He worked as a superintendent of schools in Iowa and was an artillery lieutenant inWorld War I.[2]
Cocking initially held academic administrative positions in Iowa,Texas, andMissouri. He then spent five years as professor of school administration at theGeorge Peabody College for Teachers inNashville, Tennessee. From 1932 to 1936, he was the commissioner of education for Tennessee.[3]
In 1937, Cocking was hired to improve academic standards at the University of Georgia'sCollege of Education. While there he developed several reforms but had a "brash and domineering style".[1] In 1941, Georgia governorEugene Talmadge insisted to theGeorgia Board of Regents that Cocking be fired, sparking theCocking affair.[1] After initially not rehiring Cocking in an 8-4 vote, University of Georgia presidentHarmon 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.[1]
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