Edward Kidder Graham (1876-1918) and Graham Memorial Hall
Edward Graham graduated from the university in 1898, returned to campus to teach English, and succeeded Francis Venable as president in 1913. He remained there until 1918, when he died in the worldwide influenza pandemic that followed World War I. Though his presidency was short, his passion for students, scholarship, and service to the state left a profound impression. He famously promised to make the university "coextensive with the boundaries of the state" by expanding its public service mission. Using private funds, the university constructed a student union in 1931 on McCorkle Place and named it in his honor.