Residence Nashville, Tennessee | Name Harvie Branscomb | |
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Born December 25, 1894 Huntsville, Alabama, United States Occupation University administrator Died July 23, 1998, Nashville, Tennessee, United States Education Columbia University (1930) Books Teaching with Books: A Study of College Libraries Awards Guggenheim Fellowship for Humanities, US & Canada | ||
Bennett Harvie Branscomb (December 25, 1894 – July 23, 1998) served as the fourth chancellor of Vanderbilt University from 1946 to 1963. He served as president of the American Academy of Religion in 1940.
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Early life
Branscomb was born on December 25, 1894 in Huntsville, Alabama. He earned a B.A. from Birmingham-Southern College and an M.A. as a Rhodes Scholar in Bible studies at the Wadham College, Oxford. After serving in the army, he taught at Southern Methodist University. He later earned a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University.
Career
After working as the Dean of the Divinity School at Duke University, he became the fourth chancellor of Vanderbilt University in 1945. As chancellor, he oversaw the racial integration of the university, drawing harsh criticism from alumni. In 1960, at the insistence of trustees, he expelled James Lawson, an African-American divinity student and Congress of Racial Equality leader who organized sit-ins in defiance of Nashville's segregation laws. A dozen faculty members resigned in protest.
From 1947 to 1951 he served as Chairman of the United States Advisory Commission for Education Exchange under President Harry S. Truman. From 1955 to 1958 he served as Commission on Education and International Affairs of the American Council of Education. From 1963 to 1964 he served as an educational consultant for the World Bank, and he chaired the United States Commission for UNESCO from 1963 to 1965. He also served as Vice-Chairman of the United States Delegation to the Unesco General Conference in Paris in 1964, Chair of the United States Delegation to the World Conference on the Eradication of Illiteracy in Tehran in 1965. He also travelled to Geneva for the United States Delegation to the World Health Organization Assembly in 1965 and 1966, and to Buenos Aires to chair the U.S. Delegation to the Conference of Ministers of Education and Ministers in Charge of Planning in 1966.
He held honorary degrees from Brandeis University, Northwestern University, Southwestern University, and Hebrew Union College.
Death
He died on July 23, 1998.