George Fairchild
| George T. Fairchild | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
October 6, 1838 Lorain County, Ohio |
| Died | March 16, 1901 (aged 62) Columbus, Ohio |
George Thompson Fairchild (October 6, 1838 – March 16, 1901) was an American educator and university president.
Fairchild was the son of Grandison Fairchild. George was born on a farm in rural Lorain County, Ohio, and graduated with two degrees from Oberlin (AB 1862, MA 1865).
In 1865, Fairchild began his academic career as an instructor at State Agricultural College of Michigan (later Michigan State University). The following year he was made professor of English, a position he retained through the 1860s and 1870s. Fairchild was also a vice president of Michigan State, and in 1878 he served as acting President.
In 1879, Fairchild was hired as the third President of Kansas State Agricultural College in Manhattan, Kansas (later Kansas State University). He took office on December 1. Notably, at the same time one brother, James Fairchild, was President of Oberlin College and another brother, Edward Henry Fairchild, was President of the progressive Berea College.
While at Kansas State, Fairchild stepped into an ongoing debate about the role of land grant colleges. While some felt that the college should be limited to agricultural and mechanical arts, Fairchild reimplemented a classical liberal arts education at Kansas State. He is credited with saying, "Our college exists not so much to make men farmers as to make farmers men." Fairchild restored classics courses and brought in prominent professors. He also bolstered the number and caliber of students at Kansas State, lifting attendance at the young school from 207 to 734 students during his tenure.Ernest Fox Nichols, Philip Fox, Walter T. Swingle, Charles Lester Marlatt and David Fairchild (his son) were drawn to study at the school during this era.
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