Words by Mary Beth Rowland Barber

Images by Ryan McGill, Al Blanton, and courtesy Rowland family

As a young boy from Zanesville, Ohio, he was known as Jack. He was later called David. Throughout his life, David Jack Rowland carried many names: Jack, David, Dave, Dad, Peepaw, Pawpaw, and Granddaddy, but most of you know him simply as Dr. Rowland.

Dr. David Rowland began his educational career as a principal at Mineral Springs High School, followed by assistant principal at McAdory High School, and principal at Warrior High School.

After the death of Walker College’s first president, Dr. Carl Jesse, Rowland was offered the position by several Walker College trustees in 1956. At the age of 34, he began this journey as the youngest community college president. When he arrived, the college had only four faculty members, 34 students, and one building—Davis Hall.

One of the first items on the agenda for Dr. Rowland was to seek accreditation for Walker College. He then allowed WWII veterans to attend on the G.I. Bill as a way to increase enrollment.

Within three years of his arrival, and with the community’s phenomenal support, Rowland was able to build Matthews Hall, the cafeteria, the Jesse Student Center, and the wings on Davis Hall. In 1959, the Walker College chapel was purchased from the Army at Fort McClellan for $200. The Walker College maintenance personnel disassembled it, then reassembled it at its present location. In addition, the gazebo was once located on the courthouse square but was moved to its current location around 1960.

After 32 years (the longest tenure of any two-year college president), Rowland retired. At that time, Walker College had over 900 students. Although retired, Rowland did not stop there. He became the chancellor of UAB-Walker College for five years, interim president for two years, and served on the Walker College Foundation until his death in 2019.

Two more generations of the Rowland family have joined the Walker College campus legacy as well. From 1976-1988, Rowland’s son, Allen, worked as a biology instructor for Walker College. He then became a history instructor and continues in this role today, just a few months shy from completing his 49th year in education. Allen’s daughter, Mary Beth Rowland Barber, is also an educator. After teaching six years of high school English for the Jasper City Schools, Mary Beth joined her father on the Walker College campus and became an English instructor. Barber has now been teaching on this campus for 16 years.

Aside from the classroom, the Rowland family has been a part of the Walker College campus for decades. Allen recalls, “That campus became our playground for the neighborhood children. All the boys played football and baseball on those 40 acres.”

As a teen, Allen operated the college cafeteria, attended Walker College for two years, and lived in the boys’ dorm the first year it opened. His wife, Wanda, was also a student at Walker College, and the two married in the Jesse Student Center after graduating from The University of Alabama. Dr. Rowland’s daughter, Sue Ellen, son, Ryan, daughter in-law, Jan, and grandsons, Drew and Ben, were all students there.

Mary Beth took college classes at Walker College while still in high school. As a little girl, she loved playing school in the classroom off Glen Clem Gymnasium and in the rotunda of Walker Hall. She helped college students dissect cats in her father’s biology lab, enrolled in Kids’ College, and enjoyed playing “operator” in the switchboard of Davis Hall – right next to Dr. Rowland’s office.

To say this campus holds many memories is an understatement. Almost every person in Walker County has at least one unique story of Walker College: a memorable professor, the Sadie Hawkins Day Dances, Dog Days, where everyone brought his or her dog to class, dormitory life in Fair Hall or Murphy Hall, the faculty/student softball or volleyball game, a wedding proposal on the steps of Davis Hall, bonfires, cookouts, Sunday lunches in the cafeteria for the public, a toga party in the student center, or watching the Walker College Rebels on the basketball court. Walker College has meant so much to numerous people in this community. It holds a special place in the lives of many; it has made people who they are, and Jasper is lucky to have this campus.

If only the hills of the Walker College campus could talk…78

Writing this tribute to my grandfather, Peepaw, has been a true honor. He was an inspiration to every person he encountered, including me. Thank you, Walker County, for accepting this Ohio native as your own. What a legacy he has left!