Enoch Albert Bryan
Enoch Albert Bryan (1855-1941) was president of Vincennes University in Indiana from 1882-1893 and of Washington's land-grant institution, today called Washington State University, from 1893-1915. At the latter institution he was the third president but the first with a long tenure, following George Lilly, 1891-1892, and John W. Heston, 1892-1893.[1]
Early life and education
Bryan was born on May 10, 1855, in Bloomington, Indiana, the son of Rev. John Bryan, a Presbyterian minister, and Eliza Jane Phillips Bryan. He earned an A.B. degree in 1878 and an A.M. degree, both from Indiana University, and an A.M. degree from Harvard University in 1893. He was the recipient of honorary Doctor of Law degrees from Michigan State University (1907), Indiana University (1920), and Washington State University (1929).[2]
Career
Bryan was Superintendent of Public Schools in Grayville, Illinois, for three years before taking the presidency at Vincennes in 1882.[3] Founded in 1801, the university in Vincennes, Indiana, had twelve faculty members in 1891.[4] Among them was William Jasper Spillman, a botany and physics instructor. Bryan later invited him to join the faculty at his next institution, originally known as the Washington Agricultural College and School of Science.
Bryan arrived at Washington's fledging land-grant institution in 1893, three years after its founding by the Washington Legislature and one year after it opened its doors in Pullman, a town in the fertile agricultural region of Eastern Washington called the Palouse. By 1894, he had built up a faculty of fourteen in fields at diverse as English, botany, chemistry, physics, zoology, agriculture, horticulture, and civil and mechanical engineering. Bryan himself was professor of history and political science as well as president.
He set an academic direction for WSU, combining liberal and practical education, that continues to this day. In 1905, he gained legislative approval to change the institution's name to Washington State College to match its breadth of studies. In 1915, he served as president of the Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities.
Bryan's service to Washington State University was recognized on May 12, 1916, when the Board of Regents dedicated the new library and assembly hall as Bryan Hall in honor of Dr. E.A. Bryan, president emeritus. Today the building with its prominent clock tower is the best known symbol of the WSU main campus. His service was recognized again on December 31, 1970, when the United States Congress approved the designation of the lake behind Little Goose Dam on the Snake River as "Lake Bryan" in honor of the late Doctor Enoch A. Bryan.
After leaving the presidency, he became the Commissioner of Education for the State of Idaho, serving from 1917 to 1923. He then returned to Washington State, serving as a professor of economic history until 1939, when he became a professor emeritus. Bryan was the author of three books: The Mark in Europe and America (1893), The History of the State College of Washington (1928), and Orient Meets Occident or The Advent of the Railways into the Pacific Northwest (1936).[5]
Personal
Enoch A. Bryan married Hattie Williams and they had four children: Bertha, Arthur William, Eliza and Gertrude.[6] His brother, William Lowe Bryan, was the 10th president of Indiana University, 1902-1937.
Dr. Enoch A. Bryan died in Pullman, Washington, on November 6, 1941.[7]
References
- ^ The Past Presidents of Washington State University
- ^ Office of the President: Enoch A. Bryan, Records, 1888-1952
- ^ Office of the President: Enoch A. Bryan, Records, 1888-1952
- ^ A history of education in Indiana by Richard Gause Boone
- ^ Office of the President: Enoch A. Bryan, Records, 1888-1952
- ^ Ancestors and Family of Enoch A. Bryan
- ^ The Past Presidents of Washington State University