Joseph Swain (academic)

Joseph Swain (June 16, 1857 – May 19, 1927) served as the ninth president of Indiana University and also as the sixth president of Swarthmore College.[1][2]

Joseph Swain
Joseph Swain
6th President of Swarthmore College
In office
1902–1921
Preceded byWilliam Birdsall
Succeeded byFrank Aydelotte
9th President of Indiana University
In office
1893–1902
Preceded byJohn M. Coulter
Succeeded byWilliam Lowe Bryan
Personal details
Born(1857-06-16)June 16, 1857
Pendleton, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMay 19, 1927(1927-05-19) (aged 69)
Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania
Resting placeFriends Cemetery, Pendleton, Indiana, U.S.
Alma materIndiana University B.A., M.A.
Professioneducator, administrator
Academic background
Alma materIndiana University
Academic advisorsDavid Starr Jordan
Academic work
DisciplineMathematics
Institutions

Summary

Education

Career
  • Professor of mathematics and biology at Indiana University (1883–1891)
  • Professor of mathematics at Stanford University (1891–1893)
  • President of Indiana University (1893-1902)
  • President of Swarthmore College (1902-1921)

Biography

Joseph Swain was IU's first Indiana-born president. He was born in Pendleton, Indiana, to Woolston and Mary A. Swain. Swain attended IU as an undergraduate and graduate student. He matriculated in 1879 and graduated with a B.L. degree in 1883. From 1883-1885, he was an instructor of mathematics and biology at IU while he completed his graduate education and graduated with a M.S. degree in 1885. Starting in 1885, Swain was an associate professor of mathematics until 1886, where he then was professor for five years until 1891. He left his professorship at IU in 1891 to follow departing IU president David Starr Jordan to Stanford University, where he taught as a professor of mathematics. In 1893, Swain received an honorary LL.D. degree from Wabash College. Swain returned to IU in 1893 to serve as IU's ninth president, succeeding John Coulter. He met Frances M. Morgan, of Knightstown, Indiana, while teaching at IU and they went on to marry on September 22, 1885.[3] Swain accepted the invitation to serve as President for Swarthmore College in 1902 until 1921. He retired from Swarthmore in 1921 as President Emeritus and died six years later from heart disease in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, on May 19, 1927.[4] He is buried in his hometown of Pendleton in Friends Cemetery.[5]

IU Administration

Swain served as IU's president from 1893 to 1902. During that time, he established Kirkwood Hall in 1894; a gymnasium for men in 1896, which later was named Assembly Hall; Kirkwood Observatory in 1900; and he began construction for Science Hall in 1901. During his presidency, student enrollment increased from 524 to 1,285.[3]

Associations

Swain was the ex-president of the Indiana State Teachers Association, member of the Section on Higher Education of the National Council on Education, member of the World Peace Foundation and served as president of the N.E.A. from 1913-1914.[3]

Tributes

In 1940, Indiana University opened a new physical science building which they called Swain Hall (now known as Swain Hall West).[6] In 1960, The building was expanded by the incorporation of the former Biology Hall, which became Swain Hall East. The entire complex is known as Swain Hall.[7]

In 2016, Indiana University renamed the Student Building to the Frances Morgan Swain Student Building to honor his wife Frances for her work in trying to increase women enrollments and make it easier for women to acquire a college education during the 1890s.[8]

References
  1. "Joseph Swain". Swarthmore College.
  2. "Joseph Swain". Indiana University Office of the President.
  3. Myers, Burton Dorr (1951). Trustees and Officers of Indiana University 1820 to 1950. Indiana University. p. 537.
  4. "Dr. Joseph Swain, Educator, is Dead: Swarthmore College President Emeritus Succumbs to Heart Disease at 69. Was Teachers' Champion; Also Noted for Advanced Ideas on Co-Education; Was Member of Indiana Schools Board". New York Times. May 20, 1927. p. 19. Dr. Joseph Swain, President emeritus of Swathmore College, died today in the home of Dr. W.W. Hawks, Clifton Heights, where he had been a patient. Alternate Link via ProQuest.
  5. "Dr. Joseph Swain Succumbs: University to Hold Memorial". Indianapolis Star. May 20, 1927. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com. Funeral services will be held Monday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at the Friends Church in Pendleton. Dr. William Lowe Bryan, president of Indiana university, and Wilson Doane of Indianapolis' will have charge of the services. Burial will be in the Friends cemetery here.
  6. "New Physical Science Building at I.U. To Be Named In Honor Of Joseph Swain". Indianapolis Star. July 30, 1939. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com. In memory of Dr. Joseph Swain, Indiana University's president from 1893 to 1902, the new physical science building now under construction will be named Swain hall, it was announced here today by W. G. Biddle, secretary of the board and mathematics departments. It will be completed late in the fall.
  7. "Science Facilities to Be Expanded By I.U.". Linton Daily Citizen. May 2, 1958. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. When the addition is completed in the fall of 1960, the entire structure will be known as Swain Hall in memory of the University's ninth president, Joseph Swain... The entire structure, consisting of Biology Hal1, built in 1910, Swain Hall, opened in 1940, and the addition is to be known as Swain Hall in memory of the University’s ninth president, Joseph Swain... occupied by mathematics; present Swain Hall and the connecting addition by physics and astronomy. All three sciences have been in Swain Hall which has become overcrowded by the increases in their enrollments.
  8. Piurek, Jennifer (September 7, 2016). "Student Building to be renamed in honor of IU's ninth first lady Frances Morgan Swain". Inside IU Bloomington. Indiana University.

Further reading
  • Clark, Thomas D. Indiana University: Vol. I: The Early Years (1970)
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