People

Louis Edward Holden, D.D., LL.D. (1899-1915)

Similar to previous presidents, Rev. Louis Holden, inaugurated November 3, 1899, was a Presbyterian minister, but unlike his predecessors he was also a businessman who recognized that the “time had passed” for Wooster to be “chiefly a preparatory school for theological seminaries.” That acumen proved to be critical when the “Great Fire” burned down Old Main, leaving the College in shambles in December 1901. Holden aggressively and quickly raised funds to build four new buildings: Kauke Hall, Severance Hall for chemistry, Scovel Hall for biology, and Taylor Hall. Dubbed the “New Wooster” by some, the campus flourished in nearly every area during Holden’s tenure, growing to 100 acres and the endowment reaching $1 million for the first time. Holden is also credited with lifting the ban on intercollegiate athletics early in his administration, and he oversaw the name change from university to college to better reflect the institution’s offerings.

Sylvester Fithian Scovel, D.D., LL.D. (1883-1899)

Rev. Sylvester Fithian Scovel, D.D., LL.D., a Presbyterian minister from Pittsburgh, became Wooster’s third president in October of 1883. Scovel gave to Wooster a rare personality, vigorous, cultivated, reserved, sincere, and deeply spiritual. During his tenure, the first African American student graduated from Wooster in 1892, additions were made to Old Main, and construction began on the library. Attendance continued to grow during his tenure as did the number of faculty through endowed gifts that especially strengthened the scientific departments. The first issue of The Wooster Voice appeared on November 13, 1883. Hoover Cottage was constructed for women to be a real home, not an institutional dormitory. Captain J.H. Kauke gave a deed for his own residence on Beall Avenue to the College in 1889, and it was remodeled for the conservatory of music with the upper floors providing dormitory space for young women who came to Wooster to study music.

Archibald Alexander Edward Taylor, D.D., LL.D. (1873-1883)

Rev. Archibald Taylor was inaugurated as Wooster’s second president October 7, 1873, the beginning of a period described by one historian as a “golden age, an era of expansion and of gifted personalities.” A Presbyterian minister from Cincinnati, he eagerly established the Westminster Presbyterian Church and expanded biblical course offerings to fulfill students’ interest in ministry as a vocation. The campus also grew to include an observatory and Severance Gymnasium, and under Taylor’s leadership, the departments of music and graduate study were added, enrollment increased throughout all departments, the first female faculty member was hired, and organized athletics as well as social clubs began to take shape. Two years after resigning from the presidency, Taylor returned to Wooster to serve as a professor of logic and political science, the director of the post-graduate department, and editor of The Post-Graduate and Wooster Quarterly (now Wooster magazine).

Rev. Willis Lord, D.D. (1870 -1873)

Rev. Willis Lord, a professor of didactic theology at the Theological Seminary of the Northwest in Chicago, accepted the Board of Trustees’ offer to become The University of Wooster’s first president March 14, 1870. Lord worked collaboratively with the trustees to develop a wide-ranging curriculum andconstitute a faculty. Ahead of his time, Lord was a vociferous advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, arguing that an excellent education demands a diversity of voices and perspectives and that people studying together, on equal terms, makes learning better—for everyone. During his inauguration, Lord proclaimed that Wooster “should be not only a place of all studies; it should also be a place of studies for all. The essential test of citizenship in the commonwealth of science and letters should be character, mental and moral quality, and attainment, not condition, race, color, or sex.” During Lord’s time as president he developed close ties with the community, recruited and graduated three classes, introduced scholarly standards, and helped to create a lasting place for Wooster among the colleges of Ohio