While recreation and gathering places were available to students through the YMCA Building, completed in 1891, and the Alumni Gymnasium constructed in 1916, the college did not have a dedicated student union until 1952. The first director, C. Shaw Smith, was a Davidson graduate, class of 1939. He quickly made the Union an active center of student life and was influential in the development of student unions across the nation.
From the description of Records, 1935- (American Museum of Natural History). WorldCat record id: 722331808