Ray O. Wyland

Ray O. Wyland
National Director of Education and National Director of the Division of Relationships for the Boy Scouts of America
In office 1925–1952

Ray Orion Wyland (April 15, 1890 – October 26, 1969 Los Angeles, California) served as National Director of Education and National Director of the Division of Relationships for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). He is a founding advisor to Alpha Phi Omega.

Dr. Wyland was born in Jewell County, Kansas. He moved to Ringwood, Oklahoma in 1902. In 1908 and 1909 he attended the high school in Greenville, Texas, later moving to Danville, Illinois where he graduated from high school there in 1911. Four years later he graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a degree of A.B. and honors in psychology. He then attended the Garrett Seminary in Evanston, Illinois and received his B.D. degree in 1918. Taking post graduate courses he received his M.A. degree ion 1929 and his Ph. D. in 1934 from Columbia University.

His family included his wife, the former Miss Ruby Arnold, and their son, Ray O. Wyland Jr.

Serving as managing director of the United American in Illinois from 1919 to 1922, Dr. Wyland conducted a training school in Americanization work which resulted in the naturalization of 20,000 aliens. He helped 'Americanize' several hundred thousand foreign-born.

Wyland became affiliated with the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America on August 1, 1922 and was connected with the National Council throughout the intervening years. He started as National Director of Relationships for what was first called the "Bureau of Church Relations" then later the "Relationships Division". He would also become acting Director of Education in 1925, then Director of Education in 1930. He would hold these positions until 1952.

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