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{{Short description|American educator, first president of the University of Virginia (1861–1931)}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
|name = Edwin Anderson Alderman
| name = Edwin Alderman
|image = EdwinAlderman1912 Holsinger.jpg
| image = EdwinAlderman1912 Holsinger.jpg
| caption = 1912 photo of Edwin Alderman by Rufus Holsinger
|image_size =
| birth_name =
|caption = 1912 photo of Edwin Alderman by Rufus Holsinger
| birth_date = {{birth date|1861|05|15}}
|birth_name =
| birth_place = [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], U.S.
|birth_date = {{birth date|1861|05|15}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1931|04|30|1861|05|15}}
|birth_place = [[Wilmington, North Carolina]]
| death_place = [[Connellsville, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1931|04|30|1861|05|15}}
| death_cause =
|death_place =[[Connellsville, Pennsylvania]]
| resting_place = [[University of Virginia Cemetery]]
|death_cause =
| resting_place_coordinates =
|resting_place = [[University of Virginia Cemetery]]
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
|resting_place_coordinates =
|residence =
| other_names =
| known_for = First President of the University of Virginia; President of University of North Carolina and Tulane University
|nationality = [[United States|American]]
|other_names =
| education =
| alma_mater = [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] ([[Ph.B.|PhB]])<br />[[Sewanee: The University of the South|University of the South]] ([[D.C.L.|DCL]])<br />[[Tulane University Law School|Tulane University]] ([[LL.D.|LLD]])<br />[[Johns Hopkins University]] ([[LL.D.|LLD]])
|known_for = First President of the University of Virginia; President of University of North Carolina and Tulane University
|education =
| employer =
| occupation = [[Educator]]
|alma_mater = [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina]]<br/>[[United States Naval Academy]]<br/>[[Cornell University]]
|employer =
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|occupation = [[Educator]]
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|term = 1896-1900
| spouse =
| partner =
|predecessor = [[George T. Winston|George Tayloe Winston]]
| children =
|successor = [[Francis Preston Venable]]
|party =
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| signature = Signature of Edwin Anderson Alderman.png
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'''Edwin Anderson Alderman''' (May 15, 1861&nbsp;– April 30, 1931) served as the [[University President|President]] of three universities. The University of Virginia's Alderman Library is named after him, as is [http://www.nhcs.k12.nc.us/alderman Edwin A. Alderman Elementary School] in Wilmington and Alderman dorm at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Alderman was the key leader in higher education in Virginia during the [[Progressive Era]] as president of the University of Virginia, 1904-31. His goal was the transformation of the Southern university into a force for state service and intellectual leadership and educational utility. Alderman successfully professionalized and modernized Virginia's system of higher education. He promoted international standards of scholarship, and a statewide network of extension services. Joined by other college presidents, he promoted the Virginia Education Commission, created in 1910. Alderman's crusade encountered some resistance from traditionalists and never challenged the Jim Crow system of segregated schooling.<ref>Michael Dennis, "Reforming the 'academical village,'" ''Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,'' 1997, Vol. 105 Issue 1, pp 53-86</ref>
'''Edwin Anderson Alderman''' (May 15, 1861&nbsp;– April 30, 1931) served as the [[University President|president]] of three universities. Edwin A. Alderman Elementary School in Wilmington and the Alderman dorm at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] are named after him. The main library at the University of Virginia used to bear his name.
== About ==
Alderman was the key leader in higher education in Virginia during the [[Progressive Era]] as president of the University of Virginia, 1904–31. His goal was the transformation of the Southern university into a force for state service and intellectual leadership. Alderman successfully professionalized and modernized Virginia's system of higher education. He promoted international standards of scholarship and a statewide network of extension services. Joined by other college presidents, he promoted the Virginia Education Commission, created in 1910. Alderman's crusade encountered some resistance from traditionalists and never challenged the Jim Crow system of segregated schooling.<ref>{{harvnb|Dennis|1997|pp=53–86}}</ref>

==Early years==
Alderman was born in [[Wilmington, North Carolina]], on May 15, 1861.<ref name="BDA1906p71" /> He was son of James and Susan (Corbett) Alderman, grandson of Patrick and Susan (Wallace) Alderman and descended from [[Scottish ancestry|Scotch]] and [[English ancestry|English ancestors]], who emigrated in 1774 and settled on [[Lower Cape Fear]] at North Carolina.<ref name="BDA1906p71" />

Alderman was prepared for college at the schools in Wilmington and at [[Bethel Military Academy]], Virginia, from 1876 to 1878.<ref name="BDA1906p72" /> In 1882 he graduated with a [[Bachelor of Philosophy]] from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina]],<ref name="BDA1906p72" /> where he was a member of the [[Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies|Dialectic Society]].


==Career==
==Career==
He became a schoolteacher in [[Goldsboro, North Carolina]], superintendent of city schools there, from 1885 to 1889, and conductor of the state teachers' institutes, from 1889 to 1892.<ref name="BDA1906p72" /> In 1891, Alderman and [[Charles Duncan McIver]] successfully pressed the North Carolina Legislature to establish the Normal and Industrial School for Women, now known as the [[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]].
Alderman graduated from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|University of North Carolina]] in 1882. He became a schoolteacher in [[Goldsboro, North Carolina]], and then superintendent of the school district there.

[[File:Grave of Edwin Alderman.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A gravestone.|Alderman's gravestone at the [[University of Virginia Cemetery]] in [[Charlottesville, Virginia]].]]
He was elected a member of the [[American Historical Association]] in 1892, member of the [[Maryland Historical Society]] in 1893, and member of the [[National Education Association]] in 1894.<ref name="BDA1906p72" /> In 1892 Alderman became professor of history at State Normal College and taught there until 1893 when he became professor of pedagogy at the University of North Carolina, and he was named president of that institution in 1896, then he moved on to take the same position at [[Tulane University]] in 1900, before moving again to the [[University of Virginia]] in 1904.<ref name="BDA1906p72" /> There he stayed for 27 years, until his death in 1931 from a stroke in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, while en route to deliver a speech in Illinois. He is buried at the [[University of Virginia Cemetery]].<ref name="cemetery" />


Alderman received the [[D.C.L.]] from the [[University of the South]] in 1896, also received the degree of [[LL.D.]] from Tulane University in 1898, and from [[Johns Hopkins University]] in 1902.<ref name="BDA1906p72" /> He was a noted public speaker, and won fame for his memorial address for [[Woodrow Wilson]], delivered to a joint session of Congress on December 15, 1924.<ref name="wilson-address" />
In 1891, Alderman and [[Charles Duncan McIver]] successfully pressed the North Carolina Legislature to establish the Normal and Industrial School for Women, now known as the [[University of North Carolina at Greensboro]]. Alderman taught there until 1893, when he became a professor at the University of North Carolina; he was named president of that institution in 1896. He moved on to take the same position at [[Tulane University]] in 1900, before moving again to the [[University of Virginia]] in 1904. There he stayed for 27 years, until his death in 1931 from a stroke in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, while en route to deliver a speech in Illinois. He is buried at the University of Virginia Cemetery.<ref name="cemetery">{{cite book
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=nCn4XrP_u0MC&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=edwin+anderson+alderman+cemetery&source=web&ots=67QLyANAxp&sig=BPjUpQlLT1x62ew0F6neGdPu1HY&hl=en
|title=A Guide to Historic Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia
|last=Cooper
|first=Jean L.
|year=2007
|isbn=978-1-59629-173-7
|publisher=The History Press
|location=Charleston, S.C.
|page=105}}</ref>


Alderman was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Edwin+A.+Alderman&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>
Alderman was a noted public speaker, and won fame for his memorial address for [[Woodrow Wilson]], delivered to a joint session of Congress on December 15, 1924.<ref name="wilson-address">{{cite book
|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=Ax0eTqH3Pz0C&dq=alderman+memorial+%22woodrow+wilson%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=VNzcHQ8Q7K&sig=cXJ3o3Cl438EI-UGmllaO9OQuDs#PPA1,M1
|title=Woodrow Wilson: Memorial Address Delivered Before the Joint Meeting of the Two Houses of Congress
|last=Alderman
|first=Edwin
|year=1924}}</ref>


==At the University of Virginia==
==At the University of Virginia==
In 1904, the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia invited Alderman, then president of Tulane University, to become the first president of the University of Virginia. Since its founding in 1819, university had been governed by its Board of Visitors, but increasing discord between Visitors and the faculty, as well as the rising administrative burden of dealing with expanding academic departments and burgeoning student enrollments, led to the decision to move forward with the creation of the office of the president.<ref name="presidency">Bruce, pp. 28-38.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gates |first=Ernie |title=The First President |url=https://uvamagazine.org/articles/the_first_president |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=Virginia Magazine |language=en}}</ref>


Alderman was not the first choice for the new office. After considering other candidates, including [[University of Virginia School of Law|Virginia Law]] former student [[Woodrow Wilson]],<ref name="wilson">Bruce, p. 29.</ref> the Board had first invited its former member George W. Miles, a colonel who had served on the staff of Virginia Governor [[James Hoge Tyler]]. The faculty opposed Miles' nomination and he was forced to withdraw. Other candidates were proposed, including [[Francis Preston Venable]] (who had succeeded Alderman as president of the [[University of North Carolina]]), but Alderman was unanimously chosen as the consensus candidate on June 14, 1904. He began to serve in the fall of 1904 but was not formally inaugurated until April 13, 1905 ([[Thomas Jefferson]]'s birthday, celebrated as Founder's Day).<ref name="inauguration">Bruce, p. 38.</ref>
In 1904, the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia invited Alderman, then president of Tulane University, to become the first president of the University of Virginia. Since its founding in 1819, University had been governed by its Board of Visitors, but increasing discord between Visitors and the faculty, as well as the rising administrative burden of dealing with expanding academic departments and burgeoning student enrollments, led to the decision to move forward with the creation of the office of the president.<ref name="presidency">Bruce, pp. 28-38.</ref>


The University of Virginia changed in several significant ways under Alderman's guidance. First, he focused new attention on matters of public concern, helped create departments of geology and forestry, added significantly to the University Hospital to support new sickbeds and public health research, helped create the [[University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development|School of Education and Human Development]] (formerly the Curry School of Education), established the extension and summer school programs, and helped create the first school of finance and commerce at the school.<ref name="public">Bruce, p. 61.</ref> He then restructured existing programs, separating the former “academic department” into the [[University of Virginia College of Arts & Sciences|College of Arts and Sciences]] and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, in accordance with a growing move to standardize college educations by the [[Association of American Universities]].<ref name="Clas">Bruce, p. 110-114.</ref> The enrollment of the school greatly increased under his administration, as well, going from 500 regular session students in 1904 to 2,200 in 1929.<ref name="dabney-students" />
Alderman was not the first choice for the new office. After considering other candidates, including [[University of Virginia School of Law|Virginia Law]] graduate [[Woodrow Wilson]],<ref name="wilson">Bruce, p. 29.</ref> the Board had first invited its former member George W. Miles, a colonel who had served on the staff of Virginia Governor [[James Hoge Tyler]]. The faculty opposed Miles' nomination and he was forced to withdraw. Other candidates were proposed, including [[Francis Preston Venable]] (who had succeeded Alderman as president of the [[University of North Carolina]]), but Alderman was unanimously chosen as the consensus candidate on June 14, 1904. He began to serve in the fall of 1904 but was not formally inaugurated until April 13, 1905 ([[Thomas Jefferson]]'s birthday, celebrated as Founder's Day).<ref name="inauguration">Bruce, p. 38.</ref>


Alderman also laid the financial groundwork for the university's future. During the first years of his presidency he established its first endowment fund and led the fundraising of almost $700,000 to meet a $500,000 challenge grant from [[Andrew Carnegie]].<ref name="fund">Bruce, p. 321-326.</ref> By the end of his presidency the endowment would increase to $10 million.<ref name="dabney" />
The University of Virginia changed in several significant ways under Alderman's guidance. First, he focused new attention on matters of public concern, helped create departments of geology and forestry, added significantly to the University Hospital to support new sickbeds and public health research, helped create the [[Curry School of Education]], established the extension and summer school programs, and helped create the first school of finance and commerce at the school.<ref name="public">Bruce, p. 61.</ref> He then restructured existing programs, separating the former “academic department” into the [[University of Virginia College of Arts & Sciences|College of Arts and Sciences]] and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, in accordance with a growing move to standardize college educations by the [[Association of American Universities]].<ref name="CLAS">Bruce, p. 110-114.</ref> The enrollment of the school greatly increased under his administration, as well, going from 500 regular session students in 1904 to 2,200 in 1929.<ref name="dabney-students">Dabney, p. 132.</ref>


He spent two-thirds of his long-term at the University of Virginia physically disabled after a bad bout with [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="Chief" />
Alderman also laid the financial groundwork for the University's future. During the first years of his presidency he established its first endowment fund and led the fundraising of almost $700,000 to meet a $500,000 challenge grant from [[Andrew Carnegie]].<ref name="fund">Bruce, p. 321-326.</ref> By the end of his presidency the endowment would increase to $10 million.<ref name="dabney">Dabney, p. 84.</ref>

He spent two-thirds of his long term at the University of Virginia physically disabled after a bad bout with [[tuberculosis]].<ref name="Chief">{{cite news |title=Hail to the Chiefs |work=Inside UVA |last=Kelly |first=Matt |url=http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2005/08/chiefs.html |date=2005-05-06}}</ref>


==Academic career==
==Academic career==
Line 81: Line 72:
*1904-1931&nbsp;– President of the [[University of Virginia]] ([[Charlottesville, Virginia]])
*1904-1931&nbsp;– President of the [[University of Virginia]] ([[Charlottesville, Virginia]])


== Library and name change ==
==Notes==
In 1938, the newly-constructed main library of the University of Virginia was named after Alderman in honor of his legacy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gates |first=Ernie |date=Fall 2017 |title=The First President |url=https://uvamagazine.org/articles/the_first_president |access-date=March 10, 2024 |website=Virginia Magazine}}</ref> During the late 2010s, the name started to come under criticism in light of his racial attitudes and policies. During his tenure at the University, Alderman had recruited [[Eugenics|eugenicists]] to the University's faculty, from which they disseminated eugenic theories that asserted the genetic inferiority of Black people and supported segregation and forced sterilization.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=P. Preston |date=January 9, 2020 |title=UVA and the History of Race: Eugenics, the Racial Integrity Act, Health Disparities |url=https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-and-history-race-eugenics-racial-integrity-act-health-disparities |access-date=March 10, 2024 |website=UVAToday}}</ref> In September 2019, fliers quoting racist comments made by Alderman were anonymously posted around the University's campus.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Rosenthal |first=Zach |date=September 18, 2019 |title=Fliers posted around Grounds advocate for renaming of Alderman Library |url=https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2019/09/fliers-posted-around-grounds-advocate-for-renaming-of-alderman-library |access-date=March 10, 2024 |website=The Cavalier Daily}}</ref> One quote read: "It is settled, I believe, that this white man who has shown himself so full of courage and force, shall rule in the South, because he is fittest to rule."<ref name=":1" /> The fliers argued that the Alderman name should be removed from the library. In December 2019, U.Va. Libraries established a committee to consider renaming the library.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Thrush |first=Grace |date=November 1, 2023 |title=Will the Board of Visitors consider renaming Alderman Library? |url=https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/11/will-the-board-of-visitors-consider-renaming-alderman-library |access-date=March 10, 2024 |website=The Cavalier Daily}}</ref> In June 2021, that group requested that the University's Naming and Memorials Committee consider changing the name.<ref name=":0" /> In December 2023, as the library prepared to reopen after extensive renovations, the Building and Grounds Committee of the University's Board of Visitors tabled a proposal to remove Alderman's name from the library.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hart |first1=Merrill |last2=Sharma |first2=Saumya |date=December 8, 2023 |title=Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee tables renaming of Alderman Library |url=https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/12/board-of-visitors-buildings-and-grounds-committee-tables-renaming-of-alderman-library |access-date=March 10, 2024 |website=The Cavalier Daily}}</ref> The proposal would have renamed the library in honor of [[Edgar F. Shannon Jr.|Edgar Shannon]], the University's fourth President.<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 7, 2024 |title=Meeting of the Buildings and Grounds Committee |url=https://bov.virginia.edu/sites/g/files/jsddwu1171/files/2023-12/%2723%20DEC%20B%26G%20BOOK.pdf |access-date=March 10, 2024}}</ref> After the library opened in the spring semester, an [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kNHUqvBvBSak4yVqYu74nFYMm08uZezsrKk3cXfL7jg/edit open letter] calling supporting the proposed change was signed by over 1000 students, faculty, staff, and student organizations, including the Student Council.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pant |first=Arshiya |date=February 23, 2024 |title=Student Council votes to support Alderman Library name change |url=https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2024/02/student-council-votes-to-support-alderman-library-name-change |access-date=March 10, 2024}}</ref> On February 29, 2024, the Buildings and Grounds Committee voted 10-1 in favor of the change, and the full Board of Visitors voted the next day to rename the library in honor of Shannon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mather |first=Mike |date=March 1, 2024 |title=Ahead of Grand Opening, Board Renames UVA's Main Library |url=https://news.virginia.edu/content/ahead-grand-opening-board-renames-uvas-main-library |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=UVAToday}}</ref>
{{reflist}}

==Works==
{{wikisource author}}
Alderman is the author of
* ''[https://archive.org/details/addressdelivered00alde An address, delivered Oct. 15th, 1892]'' (1893)
* ''Life of William Hooper, Signer of the Declaration of Independence'' (1894)
* ''Short History of North Carolina'' (1896)
* ''[[s:Library of Southern literature|Library of Southern literature]]'' (1909) as editor


==References==
==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist|25em|refs=
<ref name="BDA1906p71">{{harvnb|Johnson|1906|p=71}}</ref>
<ref name="BDA1906p72">{{harvnb|Johnson|1906|p=72}}</ref>
<ref name="cemetery">{{harvnb|Cooper|2007|p=105}}</ref>
<ref name="Chief">{{harvnb|Kelly|2005}}</ref>
<ref name="dabney">{{harvnb|Dabney|1981|p=84}}</ref>
<ref name="dabney-students">{{harvnb|Dabney|1981|p=132}}</ref>
<ref name="wilson-address">{{harvnb|Alderman|1924}}</ref>
}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book
| last = Alderman
| first = Edwin
| title = Woodrow Wilson: Memorial Address Delivered Before the Joint Meeting of the Two Houses of Congress
| year = 1924
| publisher = Kessinger
| isbn = 9781419171901
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ax0eTqH3Pz0C&q=alderman+memorial+%22woodrow+wilson%22
}}
* {{cite book |last=Bruce |first=Philip Alexander |authorlink=Philip Alexander Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i68VAAAAIAAJ&q=edwin+alderman+philip+bruce&pg=PA45 |title=The History of the University of Virginia: The Lengthening Shadow of One Man |year=1921 |volume=V |location=New York |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing|Macmillan]]}}
* {{cite book
| last = Cooper
| first = Jean L.
| title = A Guide to Historic Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia
| year = 2007
| page = 105
| location = Charleston, S.C.
| publisher = The History Press
| isbn = 978-1-59629-173-7
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nCn4XrP_u0MC&q=edwin+anderson+alderman+cemetery&pg=PA105
}}
* {{cite book |last=Dabney |first=Virginius |authorlink=Virginius Dabney |year=1981 |url=http://repo.lib.virginia.edu:18080/fedora/get/uva-lib:178665/uva-lib-bdef:100/getFullView |title=Mr. Jefferson's University: A History |location=Charlottesville |publisher=[[University of Virginia Press]] }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite magazine
| last = Dennis
| first = Michael
| title = Reforming the 'academical village'
| magazine = Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
| year = 1997
| volume = 105
| issue = 1
| pages = 53–86
}}
* {{cite dictionary
| editor-last = Johnson
| editor-first = Rossiter
| editor-link = Rossiter Johnson
| title = Alderman, Edwin Anderson
| dictionary = [[The Biographical Dictionary of America]]
| year = 1906
| volume = 1
| pages = 71–72
| location = Boston, Mass.
| publisher = American Biographical Society
| language = en
| via = en.wikisource.org
| url = https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Biographical_Dictionary_of_America/Alderman,_Edwin_Anderson
| access-date = November 12, 2020
}} {{PD-notice}}
* {{cite news |title=Hail to the Chiefs |work=Inside UVA |last=Kelly |first=Matt |url=http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2005/08/chiefs.html |date=2005-05-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113163630/http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2005/08/chiefs.html |archivedate=2007-11-13}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Commons category}}
*{{wikisource author-inline|Edwin Anderson Alderman}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Edwin Alderman}}
*{{cite book |title=[[American National Biography]] |volume=1 |pages=242–243}}
* {{cite dictionary |title=Edwin Alderman |dictionary=[[American National Biography]] |volume=1 |pages=242–243}}
* {{cite book |last=Malone |first=Dumas |authorlink=Dumas Malone |year=1940 |title=''Edwin A. Alderman: A Biography'' |publisher=New York, Doubleday, Doran |url=https://archive.org/details/edwinaaldermanbi0000unse |url-access=registration }}
*{{cite book |last=Bruce |first=Philip Alexander |authorlink=Philip Alexander Bruce |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=i68VAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA45&dq=edwin+alderman+philip+bruce&ei=wFHyR7iYJoOwsgPi1J2qDQ |title=The History of the University of Virginia: The Lengthening Shadow of One Man |year=1921 |volume=V |location=New York |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishing|Macmillan]]}}
*{{cite book |last=Dabney |first=Virginius |authorlink=Virginius Dabney |year=1981 |url=http://repo.lib.virginia.edu:18080/fedora/get/uva-lib:178665/uva-lib-bdef:100/getFullView |title=Mr. Jefferson's University: A History | location=Charlottesville |publisher=[[University of Virginia Press]]}}
*{{cite book|last=Malone |first=Dumas |authorlink=Dumas Malone |year=1940 |title=''Edwin A. Alderman: A Biography''}}


{{s-start}}
{{s-start}}
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{{succession box |
{{succession box |
before= [[George Tayloe Winston]] |
before= [[George Tayloe Winston]] |
title= [[University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill#Presidents|President of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] |
title= [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill#Presidents|President of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] |
years= 1896–1900 |
years= 1896–1900 |
after= [[Francis Preston Venable]]
after= [[Francis Preston Venable]]
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}}
}}
{{succession box |
{{succession box |
before= [[List_of_presidents_of_the_University_of_Virginia#_ref-0|Board of Visitors]]|
before= [[List of presidents of the University of Virginia#ref-0|Board of Visitors]]|
title= [[President of the University of Virginia]] |
title= [[President of the University of Virginia]] |
years= 1904–1931 |
years= 1904–1931 |
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{{University of North Carolina leaders}}
{{University of North Carolina leaders}}
{{Tulane University presidents}}
{{University of Virginia presidents}}
{{University of Virginia presidents}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Education|Law|United States|Virginia}}
{{Persondata

| NAME = Alderman, Edwin
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = University President
| DATE OF BIRTH = May 15, 1861
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Wilmington, North Carolina]]
| DATE OF DEATH = April 30, 1931
| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Connellsville, Pennsylvania]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alderman, Edwin}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alderman, Edwin}}
[[Category:Tulane University faculty]]
[[Category:Tulane University faculty]]
Line 136: Line 191:
[[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]]
[[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]]
[[Category:Presidents of Tulane University]]
[[Category:Presidents of Tulane University]]
[[Category:Burials at the University of Virginia Cemetery]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]

Revision as of 01:17, 28 April 2024

Edwin Alderman
1912 photo of Edwin Alderman by Rufus Holsinger
Born(1861-05-15)May 15, 1861
Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedApril 30, 1931(1931-04-30) (aged 69)
Connellsville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting placeUniversity of Virginia Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (PhB)
University of the South (DCL)
Tulane University (LLD)
Johns Hopkins University (LLD)
OccupationEducator
Known forFirst President of the University of Virginia; President of University of North Carolina and Tulane University
Signature

Edwin Anderson Alderman (May 15, 1861 – April 30, 1931) served as the president of three universities. Edwin A. Alderman Elementary School in Wilmington and the Alderman dorm at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are named after him. The main library at the University of Virginia used to bear his name.

About

Alderman was the key leader in higher education in Virginia during the Progressive Era as president of the University of Virginia, 1904–31. His goal was the transformation of the Southern university into a force for state service and intellectual leadership. Alderman successfully professionalized and modernized Virginia's system of higher education. He promoted international standards of scholarship and a statewide network of extension services. Joined by other college presidents, he promoted the Virginia Education Commission, created in 1910. Alderman's crusade encountered some resistance from traditionalists and never challenged the Jim Crow system of segregated schooling.[1]

Early years

Alderman was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on May 15, 1861.[2] He was son of James and Susan (Corbett) Alderman, grandson of Patrick and Susan (Wallace) Alderman and descended from Scotch and English ancestors, who emigrated in 1774 and settled on Lower Cape Fear at North Carolina.[2]

Alderman was prepared for college at the schools in Wilmington and at Bethel Military Academy, Virginia, from 1876 to 1878.[3] In 1882 he graduated with a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of North Carolina,[3] where he was a member of the Dialectic Society.

Career

He became a schoolteacher in Goldsboro, North Carolina, superintendent of city schools there, from 1885 to 1889, and conductor of the state teachers' institutes, from 1889 to 1892.[3] In 1891, Alderman and Charles Duncan McIver successfully pressed the North Carolina Legislature to establish the Normal and Industrial School for Women, now known as the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

A gravestone.
Alderman's gravestone at the University of Virginia Cemetery in Charlottesville, Virginia.

He was elected a member of the American Historical Association in 1892, member of the Maryland Historical Society in 1893, and member of the National Education Association in 1894.[3] In 1892 Alderman became professor of history at State Normal College and taught there until 1893 when he became professor of pedagogy at the University of North Carolina, and he was named president of that institution in 1896, then he moved on to take the same position at Tulane University in 1900, before moving again to the University of Virginia in 1904.[3] There he stayed for 27 years, until his death in 1931 from a stroke in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, while en route to deliver a speech in Illinois. He is buried at the University of Virginia Cemetery.[4]

Alderman received the D.C.L. from the University of the South in 1896, also received the degree of LL.D. from Tulane University in 1898, and from Johns Hopkins University in 1902.[3] He was a noted public speaker, and won fame for his memorial address for Woodrow Wilson, delivered to a joint session of Congress on December 15, 1924.[5]

Alderman was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1925.[6]

At the University of Virginia

In 1904, the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia invited Alderman, then president of Tulane University, to become the first president of the University of Virginia. Since its founding in 1819, university had been governed by its Board of Visitors, but increasing discord between Visitors and the faculty, as well as the rising administrative burden of dealing with expanding academic departments and burgeoning student enrollments, led to the decision to move forward with the creation of the office of the president.[7][8]

Alderman was not the first choice for the new office. After considering other candidates, including Virginia Law former student Woodrow Wilson,[9] the Board had first invited its former member George W. Miles, a colonel who had served on the staff of Virginia Governor James Hoge Tyler. The faculty opposed Miles' nomination and he was forced to withdraw. Other candidates were proposed, including Francis Preston Venable (who had succeeded Alderman as president of the University of North Carolina), but Alderman was unanimously chosen as the consensus candidate on June 14, 1904. He began to serve in the fall of 1904 but was not formally inaugurated until April 13, 1905 (Thomas Jefferson's birthday, celebrated as Founder's Day).[10]

The University of Virginia changed in several significant ways under Alderman's guidance. First, he focused new attention on matters of public concern, helped create departments of geology and forestry, added significantly to the University Hospital to support new sickbeds and public health research, helped create the School of Education and Human Development (formerly the Curry School of Education), established the extension and summer school programs, and helped create the first school of finance and commerce at the school.[11] He then restructured existing programs, separating the former “academic department” into the College of Arts and Sciences and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, in accordance with a growing move to standardize college educations by the Association of American Universities.[12] The enrollment of the school greatly increased under his administration, as well, going from 500 regular session students in 1904 to 2,200 in 1929.[13]

Alderman also laid the financial groundwork for the university's future. During the first years of his presidency he established its first endowment fund and led the fundraising of almost $700,000 to meet a $500,000 challenge grant from Andrew Carnegie.[14] By the end of his presidency the endowment would increase to $10 million.[15]

He spent two-thirds of his long-term at the University of Virginia physically disabled after a bad bout with tuberculosis.[16]

Academic career

Library and name change

In 1938, the newly-constructed main library of the University of Virginia was named after Alderman in honor of his legacy.[17] During the late 2010s, the name started to come under criticism in light of his racial attitudes and policies. During his tenure at the University, Alderman had recruited eugenicists to the University's faculty, from which they disseminated eugenic theories that asserted the genetic inferiority of Black people and supported segregation and forced sterilization.[18] In September 2019, fliers quoting racist comments made by Alderman were anonymously posted around the University's campus.[19] One quote read: "It is settled, I believe, that this white man who has shown himself so full of courage and force, shall rule in the South, because he is fittest to rule."[19] The fliers argued that the Alderman name should be removed from the library. In December 2019, U.Va. Libraries established a committee to consider renaming the library.[20] In June 2021, that group requested that the University's Naming and Memorials Committee consider changing the name.[20] In December 2023, as the library prepared to reopen after extensive renovations, the Building and Grounds Committee of the University's Board of Visitors tabled a proposal to remove Alderman's name from the library.[21] The proposal would have renamed the library in honor of Edgar Shannon, the University's fourth President.[22] After the library opened in the spring semester, an open letter calling supporting the proposed change was signed by over 1000 students, faculty, staff, and student organizations, including the Student Council.[23] On February 29, 2024, the Buildings and Grounds Committee voted 10-1 in favor of the change, and the full Board of Visitors voted the next day to rename the library in honor of Shannon.[24]

Works

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Edwin Alderman

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References

Citations

  1. ^ Dennis 1997, pp. 53–86
  2. ^ a b Johnson 1906, p. 71
  3. ^ a b c d e f Johnson 1906, p. 72
  4. ^ Cooper 2007, p. 105
  5. ^ Alderman 1924
  6. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-08-14.
  7. ^ Bruce, pp. 28-38.
  8. ^ Gates, Ernie. "The First President". Virginia Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
  9. ^ Bruce, p. 29.
  10. ^ Bruce, p. 38.
  11. ^ Bruce, p. 61.
  12. ^ Bruce, p. 110-114.
  13. ^ Dabney 1981, p. 132
  14. ^ Bruce, p. 321-326.
  15. ^ Dabney 1981, p. 84
  16. ^ Kelly 2005
  17. ^ Gates, Ernie (Fall 2017). "The First President". Virginia Magazine. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  18. ^ Reynolds, P. Preston (January 9, 2020). "UVA and the History of Race: Eugenics, the Racial Integrity Act, Health Disparities". UVAToday. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Rosenthal, Zach (September 18, 2019). "Fliers posted around Grounds advocate for renaming of Alderman Library". The Cavalier Daily. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Thrush, Grace (November 1, 2023). "Will the Board of Visitors consider renaming Alderman Library?". The Cavalier Daily. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  21. ^ Hart, Merrill; Sharma, Saumya (December 8, 2023). "Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee tables renaming of Alderman Library". The Cavalier Daily. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  22. ^ "Meeting of the Buildings and Grounds Committee" (PDF). December 7, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  23. ^ Pant, Arshiya (February 23, 2024). "Student Council votes to support Alderman Library name change". Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  24. ^ Mather, Mike (March 1, 2024). "Ahead of Grand Opening, Board Renames UVA's Main Library". UVAToday. Retrieved March 11, 2024.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edwin Alderman.
Academic offices
Preceded by President of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1896–1900 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of Tulane University
1900–1904 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the University of Virginia
1904–1931 		Succeeded by
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