 The Board of Trustees in 1949 allowed Van Cleave to resume the office of the Dean while James E. Walter would become the 9th president.Walter's presidency was by far the longest in the history of the college as he was president for 34 years.The first major issue that Walter had to tackle was getting the endowment fund up to $500,000 which was $350,000 more than it was when he took office.