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Alan Swallow

Sunday, October 17th, 2010

Introduction

Assistant Professor Alan Swallow

Alan Swallow (1915–1966) was a poet, professor and literary publisher.  He joined the University of Denver (DU) in 1946 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1950.  His major contribution during these years was founding the Creative Writing Program. In 1954 he resigned from the University and began to develop a successful publishing business. Swallow produced over 300 titles and sold 70,000 books a year.[1]

Background

Alan Swallow was born in 1915 in Powell, Wyoming.  His desire to write was first demonstrated in high school, writing for the student newspaper.  While studying for his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wyoming he participated in debating activities. Swallow majored in English and was an editor and writer for the college newspaper. In addition he contributed both prose and poetry to a magazine for writers outside of school.  His writing earned him the University President’s Book award “for outstanding work in English, Philosophy, and Sociology.”[2] He received his bachelor’s degree in 1937, then accepted a scholarship to Louisiana State University where he earned his masters in 1939 and his Ph.D. in 1941.

Career

Swallow taught in the English Department at the University of Denver.  He was also instrumental in founding the University of Denver Press and served as its director until it temporarily suspended operation in 1953 due to financial problems.  Swallow worked with literary critic and poet, Cleanth Brooks as well as with writer, Robert Penn Warren.  In 1939 he began a 26-year publishing career, developing both the Alan Swallow and Sage Presses. Swallow published the literary efforts of aspiring writers who might not have otherwise seen their work in print.  Among those writers who did develop national reputations were authors John Edward Williams and Anais Nin.

Swallow joined the faculty when author John Williams was an undergraduate at DU. Swallow supported Williams’ creative writing beginning in 1947.[3] From 1948 to 1950 Williams served as an Assistant Editor for Swallow Press.

In addition to his writing, Swallow was an active member of the American Civil Liberties Union and served as both Vice-Chair and Chairman of this group in Colorado.

Swallow died at the age of 51 on Thanksgiving Day 1966.

References:

[1] Alan Swallow in Current Biography Yearbook 1963. New York: H. W. Wilson, p. 412.

[2] Alan Swallow in Current Biography Yearbook 1963. New York: H. W. Wilson, p. 410.

[3] Article on John Williams in The University of Denver Magazine, September, 1964, 2(1), p. 22.

[4] Alan Swallow, Contemporary Authors, First Revision, Vol. 1-4. 1967. p. 922.

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Madeleine K. Albright

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

Introduction

Madeleine Albright speaks at the renaming ceremony for the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, 2008

Madeleine Korbel Albright (1937-) was America’s first female Secretary of State. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1996. Albright is the daughter of Czechoslovakian immigrants, Josef and Anna Korbel. Her father Josef was a professor and dean at the University of Denver (DU). Albright spent her teen years in Denver before moving to Long Island, New York in 1959. She is proficient in French, Czech, Russian, Polish and English. Albright was appointed to the United Nations by the Clinton Administration in 1992.  She was a Chief Legislative Assistant, National Security Council Member, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Woodrow Wilson Fellow, research professor and President of the Center for National Policy prior to her appointment to the United Nations.

Background

Madeleine K. Albright was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1937. Two years after she was born,  German troops invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia during the Second World War. Her father, Josef Korbel, a Czech diplomat at the time, fled with the family to Britain until the war was over. The family then returned to their home in Czechoslovakia, but fled again in 1948 to the United States when a communist coup overthrew the democratic government of Czechoslovakia.  Albright’s parents sought and received political asylum in the U.S. The family relocated to Denver where her father Josef Korbel started his career as a professor at the University of Denver.

Albright speaks at 2008 renaming ceremony for Korbel School of International Studies

As a former Czech diplomat Korbel specialized in Eastern European studies during his academic career. He helped found the Graduate School of International Studies in 1964, where he served as Dean until 1969. The graduate school was renamed the Josef Korbel School of International Studies in 2008. Albright attended Morey Middle School and Kent Denver School in Denver. She graduated from Kent in 1955, and left Denver for Wellesley College in Massachusetts on a full scholarship. Albright graduated with honors from Wellesley in 1959 with her bachelor’s degree in political science. On June 11, 1959, three days after graduating from Wellesley, Madeleine Korbel married Joseph Medill Patterson Albright, the heir and grandson of the founder of the New York Daily News. The couple had three children, Anne , Alice, and Katherine before their divorce in 1983. Albright earned her master’s in 1968 and Ph.D. in 1976 from Columbia University in New York. In 2007, Albright earned LL.D. Honors from the University of North Carolina.

Career

Madeleine Albright’s political career started in Maine where she worked as the Washington coordinator for Senator Edmund Muskie in 1975 and1976.  From 1976 to 1978 she served as the Chief Legislative Assistant to Senator Muske who was U.S. Secretary of State from 1980-1981.  She was a staff member of the National Security Council at the White House under her former professor Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter’s National Security Adviser, from 1978 to 1981. Albright served as the senior fellow at the Soviet and Eastern European Affairs Center for Strategic and International Studies in 1981. Also from 1981 to1982 she served as a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Fellow in Washington, D.C. Albright changed careers and from 1982 to 1993,  becoming a research professor in international affairs and Director of Women in Foreign Service at Georgetown University.  She then  served as a foreign policy adviser to Democratic presidential candidates Walter Mondale (1984), Michael Dukakis (1988), and Bill Clinton (1992). She was president of the Center for National Policy in Washington D.C. from 1985 to1993. Albright also served as the vice chairperson of National Democratic Institute for International Affairs from 1984 to 1993 and chair in 2001. She joined President Bill Clinton’s Administration from 1993 to1997 as ambassador to the United Nations and from 1997 to 2001 as the U.S. Secretary of State. Albright is currently the founder and principal of The Albright Group, LLC founded in 2001.

Albright’s creative works include, Poland: The Role of the Press in Political Change, 1983; Madam Secretary: A Memoir, 2003 as well as Memo to the President Elect: How to Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership, 2008. She also co-authored with Bill Woodward in The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs, 2006.  Albright received both the John Heinz Award as well as the National Association of Elementary School Principals Distinguished Service to Education Award in 2001.

References:

Christine Reid, “Going Back to School,” The Villager (May 22, 1997).

Donald M. Rothberg, “A Tough, Courageous Lady,” The Rocky Mountain News (December 6, 1996).

“Good Choice for Secretary of State,” The Rocky Mountain News (December 7, 1996).

Madeleine Korbel Albright, Who’s Who in American History, in the Penrose Digital Library, http://search.marquiswhoswho.com/executable/SearchResults.aspx?db=E (accessed May 7, 2010).

Nancy Gibbs, “Voice of America,” Time Magazine (December 16, 1996) p.  32-33.

Robert C. Toth, “U.N. Appointee a ‘Mean Democrat,” Los Angeles Times (December 23, 1992).

Romel Hernandez, “Clinton U.N. Nominee Albright Has Ties to Denver,” The Rocky Mountain News (December 23, 1992).

Stanley Meisler, “U.N. Work Honed Skills for Rise to Diplomatic Zenith,” Los Angeles Times (December 6, 1996).

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Ben Mark Cherrington

Saturday, October 2nd, 2010

Ben Cherrington, left, poses with a shovel at the groundbreaking ceremony for Cherrington Hall in 1966

Introduction

Ben Mark Cherrington (1885–1980) was Acting Chancellor at the University of Denver from October 1943 to February 1946. During his term of office as chancellor he added the School of Speech and the Hotel and Restaurant Management School to the University’s programs.  He was the Director of the Social Science Foundation which later evolved into the Graduate School of International Studies at the University for 25 years. Cherrington was also an author of the Charter of the United Nations and a co-founder of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He was honored by Queen Elizabeth in 1956 for his contributions to international affairs.

Background

Benjamin Mark Cherrington was born in Gibbon, Nebraska on November 1, 1885. He graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1911.  Cherrington then taught at Nebraska Wesleyan and the University of California at Berkley. After serving in World War I he worked at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and became the Executive Secretary in 1919. He moved to Denver in 1918 and remained with the YMCA until he joined the faculty at the University of Denver in 1926. In 1924 Cherrington had married Edith Harper and together they raised two children, Anne Mary and Benjamin Mark, Jr. Cherrington earned several academic degrees: an A.B. from the University of Nebraska, A.M. from the University of California in 1922, Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1934, and an L.L.D. from the University of Nebraska in 1934

Career

In 1926  Cherrington became the first Director of the Social Science Foundation at the University of Denver. He held the post for 25 years. Cherrington organized many free lectures on significant problems of the day. He participated in as many as 50 lectures a year in addition to radio talks and lectures to groups geared toward making the City of Denver more “international-minded.”[1] He was also Professor and the Chair of the Department of International Relations at DU.  In 1943 he was appointed Chancellor of the University while Chancellor Caleb Gates was fulfilling his military service in World War II. Cherrington served in that post until 1946.

Cherrington authored a number of books, including: The British Labor Movement in the Summer of 1921 (1922), Methods of Education in International Attitudes (1934), The Nations Meet at the Ancient Crossroads of the World (1948) and Ten Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (co-author 1926). He contributed to theological, social sciences and educational journals as well. In 1934, because of his focus on international affairs DU was given a Jury Award for the FIDAC Educational Medal for distinguished service in promoting international good will and understanding. The University of Denver was recognized as the most outstanding United States institution in the university’s class. Cherrington retired from his position as Director of the Social Science Foundation in 1951.

Cherrington Hall

In recognition of Cherrington’s contributions to international education, the University of Denver named Cherrington Hall after him. Cherrington Hall opened in 1966.

In addition to his work in education Cherrington was an author of the United Nations Charter, a co-founder of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), an organizer of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational Affairs, and a vocal supporter of the League of Nations. In 1956, Queen Elizabeth made him an honorary member of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to international affairs.

In 1938 Cherrington accepted the job of organizing the work of the newly-created Division of Cultural Relations in the U.S. Department of State at the invitation of Secretary of State Cordell Hull and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He also served as an adviser to the United States delegation to the eighth International Conference of American States in Lima, Peru that same year. In 1939-1940 he was the chairman of the International Relations Committee of the National Education Association of the United States. In 1940 he served as a United States delegate to the eighth American Scientific Congress . In 1945 Cherrington worked as an associate consultant for United States delegation at a United Nations Conference in San Francisco, California. He served as Director of the Rocky Mountain Institute of International Education. In February of 1946  he was invited to return to the U.S. Department of State as a consultant on the establishment of UNESCO. He was appointed adviser to the United States delegation to the Third General Conference of UNESCO in Beirut, Lebanon in October 1948. He was elected by the U.S. National Commission as a member of its executive committee, and from 1952 to 1953 he served as the vice-chair.

Dr.  Cherrington died in 1980 at the age of 94.

[1] Curtis, Olga. “Credit Dr. Ben…” The Denver Post

References:

Clemens Work, “Foreign Students ‘Patron Saint’ Is Retiring,” Rocky Mountain News, September 22, 1968, 23.

“Dr. Ben M. Cherrington: Director, Social Science Foundation, D.U. ,” (Public Information Office, University of Denver).

“Dr. Ben Mark Cherrington,” Denver Post, May 9, 1980.

Olga Curtis, “Credit Dr. Ben…,” Denver Post, October 18, 1964, 4-7.

“One Who Made It,”  Cervis, November 20,  1968.

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Chester M. Alter

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Introduction

Chester M. Alter (1906–2006) served as the twelfth Chancellor at the University of Denver (DU) from 1953 to 1967. He was a scientist and an educator. He worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Chancellor Alter (left) with an unidentified individual at a DU hockey game in 1960

Background

Chester M. Alter was born in rural Indiana on March 21, 1906. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Ball State Teachers College in 1927 and  his master’s degree in 1928 from Indiana University. He also completed some graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh during the 1928-1929 academic year. He married Arvilla Morrison in 1933 and had a son, Richard David Alter, six years later. In 1936, Alter earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University.

Alter began his career as a teacher in the Indiana Public Schools. He later taught at Harvard and Boston University. He worked at Boston University as an instructor in chemistry from 1934-1953, becoming Dean of the Graduate School in 1944. Alter was recruited by the U. S. War Department to work on the Manhattan Project during World War II.  This project resulted in the development of the atomic bomb. For his contributions he was awarded a Bronze Medal and a Certificate of Merit. He also served as a consultant for the Research and Development Board of the U.S. Department of Defense. In 1953, Alter was offered the position of chancellor at the University of Denver.

Career

University of Denver Mens Football Coaches and Chancellor Alter

DU Men's Football Coaches and Chancellor Alter

Chester M. Alter was the twelfth chancellor of the University of Denver serving from 1953 to 1967. During his term of office he initiated the construction of the Boettcher Science Center (1963), Cherrington Hall (1965), the Mass Communications Building, (1961) the Business Administration Building (1968), the Law Center (1965) Johnson-McFarlane Residence Hall (1960), Centennial Residence Hall (1961) and Centennial Residence Towers (1963). The DU campus grew from 75 acres to 125 acres during his tenure. Alter increased faculty salaries and was instrumental in attracting outstanding scholars such as Arnold Toynbee (visiting professor) and Averill Harriman (speaker) to the University.  In 1961 Alter ended the University of Denver Football Program. His  administration determined that expenditures on football programs were taking funding away from other more important programs. Alter wanted to see more funding for academic projects and intramural sports, which he thought would be of greater benefit to the entire University community. In 1964, during the DU centennial celebration, Alter was honored with the Evans Award from the Alumni Association of the University.

After leaving the University of Denver in 1967, Alter served as a trustee in organizations such as the Gates Foundation, the Central City Opera Association, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and the George W. Clayton Trust.  He was the first non-lawyer to be an officer of the American Judicature Society. In 1980 he was honored with the Justice Award for his service. The Justice Award is given for major contributions to improving the administration of justice. Alter also served in various scientific and professional organizations such as the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of University Professors.

The Chester M. Alter Arboretum at the University of Denver was named on April 30, 1999 to recognize his work and influence as the twelfth Chancellor of the University and also for his well known love for trees. David Christophel, the Director of the Arboretum and arborist Marc Hathaway designed the Arboretum to beautify the DU campus with trees. Chester Alter passed away in Santa Fe New Mexico in 2006 at the age of 99.

References

Carol Farnsworth, ed., “Built for Learning: A Unified Architectural Vision for the University of Denver,” (Denver: University of Denver, 2008), 202.

Chester M. Alter, “Curriculum Vitae,” (Special Collections, University of Denver Penrose Library, June 17, 1964) 1.

Chester M. Alter, “New Goals, New Tasks,” (paper presented at the Opening Convocation of University of Denver Centennial Period, University of Denver, Denver, September 28, 1960).

“College Presidents Discuss Future Programs and Goals,” The Newsletter of the Association of Urban Universities, July 1966, 1,8.

“DU’s ‘First Lady’ Dies at 90,” Denver Post, January 1, 1998.

Marjorie Barrett, “Retired Educator Keeps On,”  Rocky Mountain News, June 25, 1982, 57-58-W.

Paula Davidson, “Chester Alter Has Dedicated His Life to Education, Achievement,” Clarion (University of Denver), February 15, 1996, 7.

Robert L. Kennedy, “Alter Years,” University of Denver Magazine, December 1966, vol.4, 2.

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George Alfred Warfield

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

George Alfred Warfield

Introduction

George A. Warfield (1871-1939) served as the Dean of the University of Denver (DU) School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance ( today’s College of Business) from 1913 to1936. Warfield also earned his Ph.D. from DU in 1915.

Background

George Alfred Warfield was born in Ellison, Illinois in 1871. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1896. He later received his LL.B. degree in 1898 from the University of Nebraska Law School and was admitted to the bar in that state.  In 1899 the University of Oregon awarded Warfield a Master of Arts degree and in 1915 he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Denver. He also completed  graduate work at the University of California (1902), University of Wisconsin (1909) and Washington University School of Social Economy (1913). Warfield joined the University of Denver faculty in 1911.

Career

George A. Warfield’s career at DU began in 1911 as a professor of the School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. In 1913 he was appointed Dean of the school until 1936 when he relinquished his active administrative duties. Warfield continued to serve on the executive committee of the School. He served as a professor in economics at DU’s College of Liberal Arts after his resignation from the School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance. The University rewarded Warfield with the title of Dean Emeritus  in 1937. He was the author of “Outdoor Relief in Missouri,” published by the Russell Sage Foundation in 1915. Warfield was a member of the American Economics Association, American Sociological Association, American Political Science Association and American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business. Warfield died on September 18, 1939.

References

Biographical Files: George A. Warfield, Special Collections (Denver: University of Denver Penrose Library).

“Dean Warfield addresses ‘Y’”, The Denver Clarion, February 28, 1917, p. 1.

Wilbur Fiske Stone, ed. “History of Colorado,” v.4. p.794-796.

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Etta Laura Miller

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Faculty picture from page the 1902 University of Denver yearbook the Kynewisbok volume 4. Standing - Prof. Spencer, Dr. Steele, Prof. Westhaver, Prof. Pollock and Dr. Phillips. Seated - Dr. Hyde, Prof. Cutler, Prof. Miller, Dr. Engle, Dr. Howe, Dr. Le Rossignol, and Prof. Russell.

Background

Etta L. Miller (1872- 1921) was born in Newport, New Hampshire in 1872. She attended Smith College in Massachusetts where she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1892 and her master’s from Stanford University in 1897. Miller taught in public schools in Napa, California from 1892-1894 and was an assistant in English literature at Smith College from 1894-1897 before she came to DU in 1899.

Career

Etta Laura Miller was a member of the University of Denver English faculty from 1899-1910 and served as head of the English Department. Miller specialized in English philosophy. During the 1904-1905 academic year, she spent 11 months in Germany, Italy and a semester at the University of Munich studying languages and the Italian Renaissance.

References

John William Leonard, Woman’s Who’s Who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada (New York: The American Commonwealth Company, 1914-1915), 563.

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William F. McDowell

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Chancellor William F. McDowell

Introduction
William McDowell (1848-1937) served as the University of Denver’s second chancellor from 1890 until 1899. During his chancellorship, the University developed its new location in University Park and evolved into a liberal arts college with affiliated professional schools.

Background
William Fraser McDowell was born on February 4, 1848 in Millersburg, Ohio. He received his undergraduate degree from Ohio Wesleyan, a Master’s degree from Delaware, and finally a doctorate in sacred theology. He was appointed as a minister in Lodi, Ohio, following his graduation from seminary. Upon arrival in Denver McDowell served the congregation of Trinity Methodist Church as interim pastor for one year.

University of Denver Career
In 1889 Chancellor Moore resigned his post activating a search for DU’ s next chancellor. While astronomer Herbert Howe served as interim chancellor Bishop Henry Warren traveled to Lodi, Ohio to recruit a young pastor he knew to the chancellorship. William McDowell accepted Warren’s proposition and officially became chancellor of DU in 1890.

Chancellor McDowell faced considerable financial hurdles during his tenure including the Silver Panic of 1893 that sent Colorado into a statewide economic depression. Despite these difficulties he saw the university through its move to a new campus south of Denver, major curriculum revisions, increased enrollment, and the development of new departments.

The cornerstone for University Hall, the first building on the university’s new campus in University Park, was laid in 1890. As McDowell grew the departments within the university, a gift from the Iliff family partially funded the construction of a second building on the new campus. This second building housed the newly formed Iliff School of Theology, enrolling its first students in September of 1892. Iliff was separated from the university in 1897 for financial purposes, then briefly closed from 1900 until 1910. Included in the programs added or expanded during McDowell’s chancellorship were the law school, medical school, dental school, the college of music, and an oratory school.

Resignation
After nine successful years as DU ’s chancellor, William McDowell resigned in 1899. Following his resignation, in 1904, he was appointed the resident bishop of Chicago, where he stayed until 1916. He was then transferred to Washington DC in 1916, where he embarked on a number of successful speaking tours. While in Washington DC he became the president of the Board of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals. McDowell passed away on April 26, 1937, at the age of 79.

Sources
Breck, Allen. From the Rockies to the World: The History of the University of Denver, 2nd ed. (Ann Arbor: Edwards Brothers, 1997).

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Dwight Morrell Smith

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Chancellor Dwight M. Smith

Introduction

Dwight Morrell Smith (1931- ) served the University of Denver (DU) from 1972-1989 as a chemistry professor, academic administrator, and  chancellor of the university. In 1984 he was named the 15th chancellor of the University.

Background

Dwight M. Smith was born on October 10, 1931 in Hudson, New York. He graduated from Central College in Pella, Iowa in 1953 with a degree in chemistry; He earned his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in 1957. He was honored with a Sc.D. and Litt.D. from Central College in 1986 and the University of Denver in 1990.  He married Alice Bond in 1955. Smith worked as a postdoctoral fellow and instructor at the California Institute of Technology from 1957-1959, senior chemist for Texaco Research Center in Beacon, New York from 1959-1961, assistant professor of chemistry at Wesleyan University in Middleton, Connecticut from 1961-1966, associate professor of Hope College in Holland, Michigan from 1966-1969, and professor at the  same college from 1969-1972. Smith also worked as a National Science Foundation Faculty Fellow at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography from 1971-1972 before joining DU as a chemistry professor and chair in 1972.

Career

From 1983-1984 Smith  was the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and in 1984 he became the 15th chancellor of the University. DU was in the midst of a budget crisis at the time and Smith reorganized the structure and changed the direction of the University’s programs, departments, and schools during his term of office. He replaced the College of Arts and Sciences with an undergraduate college and four faculties and started the core curriculum in tandem with a movement to create a coherent general education curriculum in universities nationwide. He played a major role in gaining funding for the Seeley G. Mudd Building (built in 1982), one of three principal buildings that houses the Departments of Chemistry and Biological Sciences. The University also acquired and established the first College of Systems Science.

Chancellor Smith speaks at the May 1984 dedication ceremony for the Driscoll Center

As a scholar his works included editing Revisions on Petroleum Chemistry, 1975-78, and editorial advisory board member, Recent Research Developments in Applied Spectroscopy beginning in 1998. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Association of Aerosol Research, the American Chemical Society and the Society for Applied of Spectroscopy. Smith was also a member of the advisory board for the Solar Energy Research Institute(1989-1991), a member of the visiting committee of the Zettlemoyer Center for Surface Studies at Lehigh University (1990-1996), a  member of the Science Advisory Board at Denver Research Institute at DU (1996-2006) , and a senior adviser for the Rocky Mountain Center for Homeland Defense (2001-2007).

Smith left the University of Denver in 1989 to become the president of Hawaii Loa College.

References

Biographical Files: Dwight M. Smith, Special Collections (Denver: University of Denver Penrose Library).

Dwight M. Smith, Who’s Who in American History. (accessed July 29, 2010).

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Ammi Hyde

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Ammi Hyde

Introduction

Ammi Hyde (1824-1921) served as professor and vice chancellor for the University of Denver (DU) from 1883 to 1911. He was known as a teacher, writer, and preacher, but “the most wonderful part of the man was his personality and his character.”[1]

Background

Ammi Bradford Hyde was born in Oxford,  located in central New York, on March 13, 1824. He was the sixth in direct descent from Edward Hyde, First Earl of Clarendon. Hyde began his life as a child prodigy; at age four, he read his first book, Romulus, at age seven he mastered the French language, and at age nine he began his study of Latin. Hyde was asked to teach a Latin class at the Oxford Academy in central New York at age 11 and by age 12 he had translated all of Cicero’s orations. At age 14 Hyde extended his study of languages to Hebrew, Syriac, and Chaldaic. He then entered Wesleyan University in Connecticut and became an ordained minister. Upon graduating from Wesleyan Hyde taught for eight years at Cazenovia Seminary in central New York.

Hyde enlisted in the United States Sanitary Service during the Civil War after being refused admission as a private by the examining surgeon. After the war Hyde joined the faculty of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he taught for 20 years. He married Myra Smith of Utica, New York in July 1850 and the couple moved west to Colorado in 1882 because of Myra’s poor health.

Career

In 1883, Ammi Hyde became the sixth professor hired at the University of Denver where he taught Greek and Romance languages. He was also conversant with German, French, Italian, Hebrew, and Latin, but he professed the Greek language to be his great love. In addition to teaching Hyde wrote hundreds of poems, essays, letters, and a book entitled The Story of Methodism which was published in 1890 and had sold 100,000 copies by 1912. He was also extremely active in the Methodist church, working as editor of the Rocky Mountain Christian Advocate, and contributing to the Methodist Review for 58 years. To Hyde, “Religion…was not just a creed to be intoned, but a life to be lived.”[2].

Hyde was also a member of the American Oriental Society, founder of the American Philological Association, member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Phi Beta Kappa, the Denver Philosophical Society and the Colorado Schoolmasters’ Club. He was a friend of Henry A. Buchtel, the former Colorado governor and chancellor of DU. Hyde also became friends with Abraham Lincoln, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Holmes. In 1909 he was presented with a Doctor of Literature degree from Bishop McDowell, adding to his five degrees from eastern colleges.

Ammi Hyde died in 1921 at age 97. He is remembered as “the teacher who never stopped teaching,”[3] and is identified with the development of education in the west through his association with the University of Denver in its early days.

References:
[1] Antrim, Eugene M. “A Tribute to Dr. Ammi Bradford Hyde.” Crescent, Oklahoma.

[2] Antrim, Eugene M. “A Tribute to Dr. Ammi Bradford Hyde.” Crescent, Oklahoma.

[3] Akin, Horace. “Ammi Hyde, Scholar.” The Denver Post 6 July 1947.

Sources:

Akin, Horace.  “Ammi Hyde, Scholar.”  The Denver Post 6 July 1947.

Antrim, Eugene M.  “A Tribute to Dr. Ammi Bradford Hyde.”  Cresecent, Oklahoma.

“Dr. Ammi Bradford Hyde Dead, Was Denver’s ‘Grand Old Man.’”  24 March 1921.

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James Price

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Chancellor James F. Price

James Price succeeded Caleb Gates as the ninth chancellor of the University of Denver. Price served as acting chancellor for eight months and then assumed the official chancellorship in 1947. He resigned six months later for health reasons. Though his tenure as chancellor was brief Price served at a time of dramatic increases in enrollment that came about after World War II.

Price was born in Manhattan, Kansas in 1906. He graduated from Kansas State college in 1927 and then from Stanford University with a law degree in 1930 and a masters in law in 1937. He was married in 1928 and had four children before divorcing in 1949. Price worked in the business sector and in private law practice for six years before entering the  education field. His work experience extended abroad as he spent three years as a legal adviser and vice president of the Raven Trust Company in Shanghai, China. Upon his return to the United States Price became a partner in the Chicago brokerage firm Hedge and Price. He was a member of the New York Stock Exchange, the New York Cotton Exchange, the New York Commodity Exchange, and the New York Board of Trade. In December 1940 he was invited to become Dean of the law school at Washburn Municipal University at Topeka, where he served from 1941 to 1943. He then became the president of Kansas State Teachers College.

Price joined the DU staff on July 1, 1945 as the dean of the law school. He also served dean of the College of Business Administration and director of Public Administration at the University. He became acting chancellor on  September 1, 1947 upon the retirement of Caleb Gates. During his chancellorship enrollment increased to almost 11,000 students. He was succeeded by Dr. Alfred C. Nelson.

Sources:

“All the University’s Men: DU’s 15 Chancellors.” University of Denver Today.  4 March 1989:  1.

“James F. Price Becomes Ninth President July 1.”  The Bulletin: The Kansas State Teachers College.  Emporia, Kansas.  25 June 1943.

“Price Quits as U. of Denver Chancellor; Health, Need for Complete Rest Blamed.”  26 October 1948.

“Price Succeeds Butcher as President.”  The Alumni News: The Graduate Magazine of The Kansas State Teachers College of Emporia.  May 1943.

“Wife Divorces Ex-DU Chief.”  The Rocky Mountain News.  16 October 1949.

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