Edgar Odell Lovett
| Edgar Odell Lovett | |
|---|---|
Lovett pictured in The Campanile 1917, Rice yearbook
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| 1st President of Rice University | |
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In office 1912–1946 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 14, 1871 Shreve, Ohio |
| Died | August 13, 1957 (aged 86) Houston, Texas |
| Alma mater | Bethany College, University of Virginia, University of Leipzig |
Edgar Odell Lovett (April 14, 1871 – August 13, 1957) was an American educator and education administrator.
He was the first president of Rice Institute (now Rice University) in Houston, Texas. Lovett was recommended to the post by Woodrow Wilson, then president of Princeton University.
Lovett was born in Shreve, Ohio, to Zephania and Maria Elizabeth (née Spreng) Lovett. After graduating from Shreve High School, he earned his B.A. at Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia, in 1890. Lovett taught and studied at West Kentucky College, in Mayfield, Kentucky, and completed his first doctorate degree at the University of Virginia in 1895. He completed his second doctorate in mathematics under the instruction of Sophus Lie at the University of Leipzig. In 1897, Lovett lectured at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Virginia, and the University of Chicago. In September 1897 he became an instructor at Princeton University, and in December he married Mary Ellen Hale. Mary Ellen was the daughter of the founder and head of West Kentucky College and the two met while he was there from 1890 to 1892 (Mary Ellen graduated from West Kentucky in 1892). He worked his way from instructor to assistant professor of mathematics (1898), professor (1900), and finally the head of the Department of Mathematics and Astronomy at Princeton (1908).
When planning Rice Institute, the Board of Trustees sought recommendations for the role of president from the presidents of other universities. Lovett was chosen on the recommendation of Woodrow Wilson, then president of Princeton, and was invited to become Rice's first president in 1907. He accepted and was inaugurated in 1908. Following his inauguration, Lovett was deeply involved in the planning of the university. He oversaw the acquisition of a new site for the campus, the initial architectural planning, the development of the curriculum, and the recruitment of faculty and students. Additionally, Lovett went on a world tour to study the workings of universities and technological institutes in Europe and Japan. Lovett announced his retirement from Rice in 1941, but stayed on through World War II, finally resigning on March 1, 1946. He was succeeded by William Vermillion Houston.
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