R. Wayne Gardner

Robert Wayne Gardner (1894-?) was a minister, an academic, and the president of the Eastern Nazarene College.

Early life and education

Gardner was born in Tidioute, Pennsylvania, on May 16, 1894.[1] He earned his bachelor's degree from Olivet College[2] and was ordained in the Church of the Nazarene in 1918.[1] Upon moving to Eastern Nazarene in Quincy, he started his master's degree from Boston University, which he finished in 1924.[1] He was awarded an honorary doctorate by alma mater Olivet College in 1934.[3]

Career and legacy

Gardner Hall at the Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts

Gardner went to Quincy, Massachusetts, to become the principal of the Eastern Nazarene Academy and began teaching at the Eastern Nazarene College in 1920.[2] During his time there, he became the college registrar[4] and, upon the death of Floyd W. Nease, became president of the college.[5] He resigned in 1936 after collapsing from the strain of operating the college during the Great Depression.[6] He eventually earned a doctorate.[7] In 1951, Gardner joined the faculty of alma mater Olivet Nazarene College.[8]

There is today an "R. Wayne Gardner Memorial Scholarship in Mathematics" at Point Loma Nazarene University[9] and a "Dr. R. Wayne and Elizabeth Young Gardner Scholarship" for ministerial and mathematics students at the Eastern Nazarene College.[10] In addition, the Fowler Memorial Administration Building at Eastern Nazarene was renamed "Gardner Hall" in his honor.

Notes and references

1. Weber, Herman C. (1938). Yearbook of American Churches: A record of religious activities in the United States for the year 1932. Round Table Press, Inc. Universal Digital Library barcode 133732.
2. Cameron, James R. (1968). Eastern Nazarene College—The First Fifty Years, 1900-1950. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House. p. 151.
3. Cameron, James R. (1968). Eastern Nazarene College—The First Fifty Years, 1900-1950. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House. pp. 257–258.
4. Dr. E. S. and Gertrude Phillips Write their History for their Children May 1, 1972 Archived July 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
5. Cameron, James R. (1968). Eastern Nazarene College—The First Fifty Years, 1900-1950. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House. p. 212.
6. Cameron, James R. (1968). Eastern Nazarene College—The First Fifty Years, 1900-1950. Kansas City: Nazarene Publishing House. p. 277.
7. American Mathematical Society?
8. History of the Chemistry Department at Olivet Nazarene University Archived 2010-06-20 at the Wayback Machine
9. Mathematics and Computer Science Scholarships at Point Loma Nazarene University
10. The Eastern Nazarene CollegeUndergraduate Academic Catalogue (p. 36)

External links

• 6-Training the Leadership We Need by R. Wayne Gardner