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Frequently Asked Questions about the Berea College Presidents
Was John G. Fee the first president of Berea College?
Quick Answer: No
Has Berea College ever had a president that was actually from Appalachia?
Quick Answer: Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. was born in western North Carolina and grew up in the region; he would therefore be considered Appalachian.
Quick Facts about Berea College Presidents
Edward Henry Fairchild (1869 - 1886/9)
| Date and Place of Birth: | 29 November 1815, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts | |
| Education: | Oberlin College, 1835 | |
| Prior Job Experience: | Served as Principal of the Preparatory Department at Oberlin College in Ohio | |
| End of Term: | Fairchild resigned in 1886 due to declining health, but remained provisional president until 1889 as no replacement had yet been found. | |
| Died: | October 1889 | |
William B. Stewart (1890 - 1892)
| Date and Place of Birth: | 1834, in Ecclefechan, Scotland | |
| Education: | Annan Academy; University of Glasgow; ordained a Baptist minister in Ontario, 1859 | |
| Prior Job Experience: | Baptist pastor, teacher, newspaper editor in Ontario, Canada President of Rogers Williams College in Nashville, Tennessee, 1882-1884 Principal of Collegiate Academy, Winchester, Kentucky, 1884-1890 Elected to Berea's Board of Trustees in June 1889 |
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| End of Term: | Stewart resigned in June 1892 after much controversy. Although he remained on Berea's Board of Trustees until 1895, he returned to Canada and served at the Toronto Bible Training School. |
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| Died: | 5 March 1912, in Toronto | |
William Goodell Frost (1892 - 1920)
| Date and Place of Birth: | 2 July 1854, in Leroy, New York |
| Education: | Oberlin College, 1876 Studied at Harvard and Andover Seminary, 1877-1878 Oberlin Seminary, 1879 |
| Prior Job Experience: | Scholar, Greek professor at Oberlin College in Ohio |
| End of Term: | Resigned in 1920 due to poor health |
| Died: | 11 September 1938 |
Other:
His grandfather was famous abolitionist William Goodell.
His aunt, Lavinia Goodell, was the first female attorney in the state of Wisconsin.
William J. Hutchins (1920 - 1939)
| Date and Place of Birth: | July 1871, in Brooklyn, New York |
| Education: | Oberlin College, 1888-1890 Yale University, 1892 Union Theological Seminary, 1896 |
| Prior Job Experience: | Pastor, Bedford Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, NY 1896-1907 Professor at Oberlin School of Theology, 1907-1920 YMCA National War Work Council, Aug 1917 - Jan 1918 |
| End of Term: | Retired in 1939 |
| Died: |
Francis S. Hutchins (1939 - 1967)
| Date and Place of Birth: | 17 August 1902, in Northfield, Massachusetts |
| Education: | Oberlin College, A.B. 1925 Yale University, M.A. 1933 |
| Prior Job Experience: | Administrator for Yale-in-China, 1926-1939 |
| End of Term: | Retired in 1967 |
| Died: | 28 November 1988 in Berea |
Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. (1967 - 1984)
| Date and Place of Birth: | 24 June 1916, in Biltmore, North Carolina, family home in Black Mountain |
| Education: | Vanderbilt, B.A. 1937 Yale, B.D. 1940 Harvard, M.A. 1943 Harvard, Ph.D. 1952 |
| Prior Job Experience: | Professor of Economics, Swarthmore, 1948-1964 Served with American Friends Service Committee in Europe and Africa during WWII and in India, 1950-1951 implementing rural planning and development projects in over 40 villages Ford Foundation, research grant, 1954-1955 United Nations, rural development adviser in Malaysia, 1959-1960 Dean, Carleton College, 1965-1967 |
| End of Term: | Retired in 1984 |
| Died: | 22 May 1996 |
Other:
All 5 of Weatherford's children attended school in Berea and graduated from Berea College. During Weatherford's presidency Berea expanded its admissions territory, opened the Appalachian Museum, began its Appalachian studies curriculum, started the Appalachian Center, and began support for Special Collections & Archives Appalachian collections and research programs.
John B. Stephenson (1984-1994)
| Date and Place of Birth: | 26 September 1937 in Staunton, Virginia |
| Education: | William and Mary, B.A. 1959 University of North Carolina, M.A. [1961] University of North Carolina, Ph.D. [1966] |
| Prior Job Experience: | Lees-McCrae College, 1961-1964 Sociology Department, University of Kentucky, 1966-1970 Dean of Undergraduate Studies, University of Kentucky, 1970-1979 Director of Appalachian Center, University of Kentucky, 1979-1984 |
| End of Term: | Retired in 1994 |
| Died: | 6 December 1994 |
| Date and Place of Birth: | 16 January 1942, near Alliance, Ohio |
| Education: | Baldwin-Wallace, 1964 Drew Theological Seminary, 1968 Princeton University, Ph.D. 1972 |
| Prior Job Experience: | Oberlin College,1970-1984 Named the William H. Danforth Professor of Religion, 1984 Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, Bucknell University, 1984-1989 Vice President for Academic Affairs, Bucknell University, 1989-1994 |
| End of Term: | Retired in 2012 |
| Date and Place of Birth: | |
| Education: | Calvin College, B.S. University of Maryland, M.S. and Ph.D. Brown University, post-doc |
| Prior Job Experience: | Taught at the University of Maryland, Calvin College, Brown University, Haverford College and Colgate University. Associate Provost, Haverford College Provost and Dean of Faculty, Interim President, Colgate University |
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| Education: | Tufts, B.A. Harvard University, Ph.D. |
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| Prior Job Experience: | Taught at the University of Massachusetts Associate Provost, University of Massachusetts Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs, Fort Lewis College |
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