Joseph Cummings
| Joseph Cummings | |
|---|---|
 |
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| 5th President of Wesleyan University | |
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In office 1857–1875 |
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| Preceded by | Augustus W. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Cyrus D. Foss |
| President of Northwestern University | |
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In office 1881–1890 |
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| Preceded by | Oliver Marcy |
| Succeeded by | Oliver Marcy |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 3, 1817 Falmouth, Maine |
| Died | May 7, 1890 (aged 73) Evanston, Illinois |
| Spouse(s) | Deborah Haskell Cummings (1816–1900) |
| Children | Mary Cummings Alice Cummings |
| Alma mater | Wesleyan University |
| Profession | Educator |
| Website | |
Joseph Cummings (March 3, 1817 – May 7, 1890) was the president of Wesleyan University from 1857-1875, president of Northwestern University from 1881-1890, and had been president of the predecessor of Syracuse University (Genesee College) from 1854 to 1857.
Joseph Cummings was born on March 3, 1817 in Falmouth, Maine, to Reverend Cyrus Cummings, a Methodist minister, and his wife Elizabeth. Following in the footsteps of his father, Cummings devoted his early life to education and the promotion of Methodism. He worked to furnish the funds for his attendance at the Maine Wesleyan Seminary in preparation for his matriculation at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut in 1836. At Wesleyan, he was a member of the Eclectic Society of Phi Nu Theta, a fraternity founded at Wesleyan in part by Clark Titus Hinman, the first President of Northwestern University. After graduating from Wesleyan in 1840, Cummings was called to many teaching positions around New England, including the Amenia Seminary in Dutchess County, New York (1840-1843).Erastus Otis Haven, another President of Northwestern University (1869-1872) taught at the Amenia Seminary just three years after Cummings left the seminary. After he finished his time at Amenia, Cummings married Deborah Haskell (1816-1900) in 1843, with whom he adopted two daughters.
In 1854, Cummings was appointed President of Genesee College in Lima, New York (now Syracuse University), a position he kept for three years until being called to the presidency of his alma mater, Wesleyan University, in 1857. Cummings taught moral and mental philosophy while at Wesleyan, which allowed him to mix his two greatest preoccupations, teaching and preaching. "Cummings' Wesleyan presidency spanned the Civil War, during which 133 students left Wesleyan to join the Union Army, and several others left to join the Confederate Army. Despite this disruption, Cummings supervised the construction of several buildings, including Rich Library (now the Patricelli '92 Theatre), Memorial Chapel, and Orange Judd Hall. He also enlarged the school's curriculum - particularly in the natural sciences - and oversaw the admission of women, a policy maintained until 1909." Although he stayed on at Wesleyan as a teacher until 1878, Cummings relinquished the presidency of the university in 1875 so he could focus more on his preaching. He took up full-time preaching again in 1878 and continued to travel the country giving sermons until he was asked to become the President of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 1881.
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