J. Oliver Buswell
| James Oliver Buswell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
January 16, 1895 Burlington, Wisconsin |
| Died | February 4, 1977 (aged 82) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Theological college president |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Minnesota, McCormick Theological Seminary, University of Chicago |
| Alma mater | New York University(PhD) |
| Thesis title | The Philosophies of F. R. Tennant and John Dewey |
| Thesis year | 1949 |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Biblical studies and Systematic theology |
| Institutions |
Wheaton College National Bible Institute of New York City Shelton College Covenant College Covenant Theological Seminary |
| Notable works | A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion in 2 vols. |
James Oliver Buswell, Jr. (January 16, 1895 – February 4, 1977) was a Presbyterian professor and institution builder, who believed the fundamental doctrines of Christianity.
Buswell was born in Burlington, Wisconsin. He received an A.B. from the University of Minnesota (1917), a B.D. from McCormick Theological Seminary (1923), an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from New York University (1949).
He served as a chaplain in the 140th Infantry during World War I. After pastorates in a Presbyterian church in Milwaukee (1919–1922) and a Reformed church in Brooklyn (1922–26), Buswell became president of Wheaton College from 1926 to 1940. He then served as president of the National Bible Institute of New York City, and its successor, Shelton College, in Ringwood, New Jersey from 1941 to 1955. And finally, in 1956, he became dean of Covenant College (1956–1964) and Covenant Theological Seminary (1956–1970) in St. Louis, Missouri. The libraries at both Wheaton College and Covenant Theological Seminary bear his name.
In January 1926, the young Rev. Buswell was on the campus of Wheaton College to deliver a week's worth of chapel sermons. Within weeks, college trustees invited Buswell to become Wheaton's third president (and first ever not named Blanchard). He was the youngest college president at 31 years old. Over the next 14 years, Buswell oversaw a significant period of growth in both numbers and academic rigor. He guided the college through the process of accreditation, bolstered its curriculum (especially in the sciences), increased the percentage of full-time faculty with Ph.D.'s from 24% to 49%, and saw the enrollment grow from 400 to 1,100. However, Buswell's staunch Calvinism, fundamentalist separatism, and his reportedly difficult temperament made his tenure at Wheaton an uneasy one. After years of contentious relations on campus, the Wheaton board of trustees fired Buswell.
...
Wikipedia