Foreman McConnell Hawes was born on 18 September 1899 in McBean, Geogia. He was the son of John Baptist and Daisy Lane McCord Hawes. He married Lilla Kennerly Mills of Camden, South Carolina on 29 May 1936. Hawes moved to Savannah, Georgia in 1935 to take a position as a chemistry professor at the newly organized Armstrong Junior College (now Armstrong Atlantic State University). By 1942, he was named dean of students and later served as acting president for a year and a half before being chosen as the third president of the institution by the Georgia Board of Regents in 1944. He served as president from 1944 to 1964 and helped to play a major role in promoting the expansion of the school, culminating in 1963 with the designation of Armstrong as a four year senior college. After his retirement from Armstrong, Hawes briefly entered politics and ran an unsuccessful race for state senator in 1964. Hawes was a member of the First Baptist Church in Savannah, the Sons of the Revolution, and the Rotary Club. He died on 18 May 1981 in Savannah after suffering from a long illness.
From the description of Foreman M. Hawes papers, 1942-1982. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 401304963
