Ringing Tift Bell

When Tift College merged with Mercer in 1986, the alumnae of the Forsyth women’s school were apprehensive about Mercer’s commitment to honor the Tift heritage. Mercer had joined with the Tift College Alumnae Association to create a plan to honor the historic institution, but when Mercer closed the campus in 1987, that concern was heightened by many members of past classes.

“It was difficult,” said Marianne Vinzant Ramsey, a 1959 Tift graduate. “My father was my president at Tift and my grandfather was also a [Tift] president. It has a very special place in my heart.”

Then-President R. Kirby Godsey acknowledged the challenges of merging Tift into Mercer, especially following the closing of the school. During that period of the late 1980s, he continued to stress Mercer’s commitment to honoring the legacy and heritage of Tift.

That persistence paid off for Mercer and Tift alumnae, primarily through the partnership of past alumnae and current Mercer women participating in the Tift College Scholars Program. This program provides scholarships, leadership development, and, most importantly, mentoring from Tift alumnae to 125 women attending Mercer, which also named its College of Education for Tift in 2001.

Ramsey, who admits it took some time for her accept the transition, knows that the Tift memories are special but they must be carried on through the tradition of Mercer’s Tift Scholars Program.

“The pride I have now is in the Tift Scholars Program,” said Ramsey, who recently joined the Tift Scholars Alumnae Board. “That is our future. We can have our memories, but we have to move forward together.”

And that future is a combination of the heritage of Tift and the momentum of Mercer. Part of this history and tradition is the ringing of the Tift Bell, which graduates began ringing in 1959 as part of commencement ceremonies.
Ramsey, who was president of the 1959 graduating class, was the first senior to ring the bell and still remembers how loud it was when she rang it. Today, Tift Scholars and Tift alumnae gather each April as part of the Tift Alumnae Weekend to ring the bell, which is located on the grounds of the Tift Alumnae House on Coleman Avenue.

Amanda Whatley, a 2003 Mercer and Tift Scholars Program graduate, said the bell is just one of the symbols of the historic interaction between the Tift Scholars and Tift Alumnae.

“When you graduate, you get Tift medallions and you get to sign the book with all of the Tift graduates,” Whatley said. “Then, with the yellow rose in your mouth, you get to ring the Tift bell, rain or shine.”

Whatley, who said the program was a significant factor in her choosing to come to Mercer, serves on the Tift Alumnae Board and stays involved with the Tift Scholars Program.

“We have an annual Holiday Tea, the Tift Alumnae Weekend and many service projects,” Whatley said. “Watching the interaction between the Scholars and alumnae is really rewarding.”