Thomas G. Pullen, Jr. papers

Thomas Granville Pullen, Jr., was born at Madison Court House, Virginia, on February 4, 1898. He was educated in Virginia, receiving a degree in 1917 from the College of William and Mary. After teaching in the Virginia public schools until 1926, he became the principal of Catonsville High School in Baltimore County, Maryland.

In 1932 Pullen was appointed to the superintendency of schools in Talbot County, Maryland. He became involved in education on a state-wide level as the State Supervisor of High Schools in 1934, as Assistant State Superintendent in Administration in 1936, and as State Superintendent of Education in 1942.

During his superintendency (1942-1964) Pullen directed the development of educational television, dealt with the school-age population explosion of the 1950s and 1960s, and supervised the desegregation of schools. He promoted a state-wide system of public libraries and wage improvements for teachers.

After his retirement from the state superintendency in 1964, he became the president of the University of Baltimore, guiding it toward national accreditation. In his later years, Dr. Pullen continued his interest in educational and community affairs by participating in a number of charitable drives and institutions including the Catonsville Historical Society and the Maryland Historical Society. He died on November 11, 1979.