John Henry MacCracken
| John Henry MacCracken | |
|---|---|
| President of Lafayette College | |
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In office 1915–1927 |
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| President of Westminster College | |
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In office 1899–1903 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | September 30, 1875 Rochester, Vermont |
| Died | February 1, 1948 (aged 72) New York City |
John Henry MacCracken (September 30, 1875 – February 1, 1948) was an American academic administrator who served as president of Westminster College and Lafayette College. When he was chosen as president of Westminster College in 1899, MacCracken was the youngest college president in the United States. MacCracken was the son of Henry MacCracken, a chancellor of New York University, and the brother of Henry Noble MacCracken, a president of Vassar College.
MacCracken was born in Rochester, Vermont. MacCracken was born to Henry MacCracken, a chancellor of New York University (NYU), and the former Catherine Almira Hubbard. He was a descendant of Irish immigrants to Pennsylvania in the mid-18th century. His brother Henry Noble MacCracken became president of Vassar College. John Henry MacCracken attended college preparatory school in New York City.
When he was 15, MacCracken enrolled at NYU and he completed an undergraduate degree in 1894, when he was named class valedictorian. He pursued graduate study at NYU and the Union Theological Seminary before earning a Ph.D. at the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Germany.
He joined the NYU faculty in 1896 and was promoted to assistant professor briefly before accepting the role of president at Westminster College in 1899. At the time of his election to the presidency at Westminster College, an NYU source said that the appointment would make him the youngest college president in the United States.
When MacCracken came to Westminster, his youth raised alarm among some of the supporters of the university, and his modest personality and quiet nature did not immediately assuage his doubters. Within a few months, MacCracken secured $20,000 in donations for the university, and he was able to increase the variety of academic offerings at the school. When the university's chair of Bible and metaphysics resigned, President MacCracken was named the Sauser Chair of Philosophy and Christian Apologetics. A formal presidential inauguration was held for MacCracken in June 1900.
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