John Willia Gregory 1915 - 2013
and Sara McDowell Gregory 1917 - 2001

John Gregory attended Duke University and received degrees from Mercer University, the University of Georgia, and Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. A veteran of World War II, Gregory served in the Army Air Corps in Italy and was decorated for his service in the Arno River Battle.
After a five-year engagement that spanned World War II, Sara McDowell married John Gregory in 1947 and they came to Oxford together, both having accepted professorships at Oxford College; Sara as a professor of chemistry and mathematics and John as a professor of humanities.
After a five-year engagement that spanned World War II, Sara McDowell married John Gregory in 1947 and they came to Oxford together, both having accepted professorships at Oxford College; Sara as a professor of chemistry and mathematics and John as a professor of humanities.

Sara Gregory went on to become head librarian in 1964, a position she held until her retirement in 1982. She also served as president of Delta Kappa Gamma, a women’s honorary education sorority and was an exceptional mentor to students.
Long before it was considered acceptable to support the professional advancement of women, Sara Gregory was active in working with that objective. She was awarded the Spokesman Award in 1971, included in Who’s Who of American Women 1974-75, and in the 1976-77 Bicentennial Memorial Edition of the Community Leaders Noteworthy Americans. Gregory also served as citizen ambassador for the “People to People” delegation to London, Paris, Moscow, Leningrad, Copenhagen, and Berlin (which was still divided at the time).
Long before it was considered acceptable to support the professional advancement of women, Sara Gregory was active in working with that objective. She was awarded the Spokesman Award in 1971, included in Who’s Who of American Women 1974-75, and in the 1976-77 Bicentennial Memorial Edition of the Community Leaders Noteworthy Americans. Gregory also served as citizen ambassador for the “People to People” delegation to London, Paris, Moscow, Leningrad, Copenhagen, and Berlin (which was still divided at the time).
As professor of humanities, John Gregory was selected as an Outstanding Educator of America in 1975. His article, “The Basic Issues Report: A Possible Renaissance in English Teaching,” was published in the Peabody Journal of Education in July 1960.
During that era of the college’s history, the salaries professors received were for teaching only and no compensation was made for any additional duties they might take on. In addition to his role as humanities professor, Gregory served as Director of Publicity as well the school coach for football, basketball, and baseball for “Company B.” John Gregory retired in 1979 as Professor Emeritus of Humanities.
Much beloved by students and faculty alike, the 1967 yearbook was dedicated to the Gregorys.. In 2001, the Oxford College Board of Counselors named John and Sara Gregory the recipients of the R. Chandler Award for Lifetime of Service to Oxford College. In 2004, John Gregory received the Oxford College Alumni Association’s Outstanding Teaching Award, which cited the following contributions he made to Oxford College and the community: “Humanist, Publicist, Coach, Educator, Counselor, Advisor, Benefactor, Churchman, Teacher.”
Several scholarships and funds were established in honor, of the Gregorys, including the John W. and Sara M. Gregory Scholarship (endowed in 1986), the Sara Gregory Book Fund, and the Gregory-Rackley Development Award.
During that era of the college’s history, the salaries professors received were for teaching only and no compensation was made for any additional duties they might take on. In addition to his role as humanities professor, Gregory served as Director of Publicity as well the school coach for football, basketball, and baseball for “Company B.” John Gregory retired in 1979 as Professor Emeritus of Humanities.
Much beloved by students and faculty alike, the 1967 yearbook was dedicated to the Gregorys.. In 2001, the Oxford College Board of Counselors named John and Sara Gregory the recipients of the R. Chandler Award for Lifetime of Service to Oxford College. In 2004, John Gregory received the Oxford College Alumni Association’s Outstanding Teaching Award, which cited the following contributions he made to Oxford College and the community: “Humanist, Publicist, Coach, Educator, Counselor, Advisor, Benefactor, Churchman, Teacher.”
Several scholarships and funds were established in honor, of the Gregorys, including the John W. and Sara M. Gregory Scholarship (endowed in 1986), the Sara Gregory Book Fund, and the Gregory-Rackley Development Award.