Gordon Keith Chalmers
Encyclopedia
Gordon Keith Chalmers was a scholar of seventeenth century English thought and letters, president of Rockford College
and Kenyon College
, and a national leader in American higher education.
, where he graduated in 1925. Awarded a Rhodes scholarship
, he attended Oxford University for three years, earning his Bachelors degree in 1928 and his Masters degree in 1934. Returning to the United States, he entered Harvard University
, where he earned a masters degree and his Ph.D.
in 1933 with a three-volume thesis on "Sir Thomas Browne’s thought and its relation to contemporary ideas". On 3 September 1929, he married the poet Roberta Teale Swartz
, with whom he had three sons and a daughter.
in English at Mount Holyoke College
in 1929 and was promoted to assistant professor in 1933. In 1934, he was selected as president of Rockford College and then selected as president of Kenyon College in 1937. He remained Kenyon's president until his sudden death at the age of 52.
While at Kenyon, Chalmers was responsible for a remarkable transformation of the College, recruiting for it a wide range of prominent scholars. He developed a close friendship with Robert Frost
, who he brought to the college on a number of occasions and had a close association with Kenyon English professor John Crowe Ransom
. Among the achievements of Chalmer's administration at Kenyon was the establishment of the Kenyon Review. Through Chalmers, Kenyon also became the birthplace of the Advanced Placement Program
of the College Entrance Examination Board.
Chalmers served as vice president, Franco-American Audio-Visual Distribution Center, 1948-53, and president from 1953-56. he was member of the National Committee for Fulbright Awards in 1951; chairman of school and college study of admissions with advanced standing from 1951 to 1956, president of the College English Association, 1949-50; president of the Ohio College Association, 1943-45.
An Episcopalian, Chalmers was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
In addition to his published books, he served as editor of the American Oxonian from 1946 to 1948.
Rockford College
Rockford College is a private American liberal arts college in Rockford, Illinois. It was founded in 1847 as Rockford Female Seminary and changed its name in 1892. The college is known as the alma mater of Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams, who was a member of the class of...
and Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
, and a national leader in American higher education.
Early life and education
The son of Wiliam Everett Chalmers and his wife Mary Dunklee Maynard, Gordon Chalmers attended Brown UniversityBrown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, where he graduated in 1925. Awarded a Rhodes scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
, he attended Oxford University for three years, earning his Bachelors degree in 1928 and his Masters degree in 1934. Returning to the United States, he entered Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he earned a masters degree and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1933 with a three-volume thesis on "Sir Thomas Browne’s thought and its relation to contemporary ideas". On 3 September 1929, he married the poet Roberta Teale Swartz
Roberta Teale Swartz
Roberta Teale Swartz Chalmers was an American academic, a poet, and co-founder of the Kenyon Review.-Early life and education:...
, with whom he had three sons and a daughter.
Career
Chalmers was appointed instructorTeacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
in English at Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
in 1929 and was promoted to assistant professor in 1933. In 1934, he was selected as president of Rockford College and then selected as president of Kenyon College in 1937. He remained Kenyon's president until his sudden death at the age of 52.
While at Kenyon, Chalmers was responsible for a remarkable transformation of the College, recruiting for it a wide range of prominent scholars. He developed a close friendship with Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
, who he brought to the college on a number of occasions and had a close association with Kenyon English professor John Crowe Ransom
John Crowe Ransom
John Crowe Ransom was an American poet, essayist, magazine editor, and professor.-Life:...
. Among the achievements of Chalmer's administration at Kenyon was the establishment of the Kenyon Review. Through Chalmers, Kenyon also became the birthplace of the Advanced Placement Program
Advanced Placement Program
The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...
of the College Entrance Examination Board.
Chalmers served as vice president, Franco-American Audio-Visual Distribution Center, 1948-53, and president from 1953-56. he was member of the National Committee for Fulbright Awards in 1951; chairman of school and college study of admissions with advanced standing from 1951 to 1956, president of the College English Association, 1949-50; president of the Ohio College Association, 1943-45.
An Episcopalian, Chalmers was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
Published works
- "Jane Addams" in Prairie Crops: Addresses given at the commencement exercises and the baccalaureate service, June, 1935, edited by J.S.P. Tatlock. Rockford College, Rockford, Ill., 1936, pp. 16-24.
- A new view of the world; a discussion of liberal education after the war. Denver, Social Science Foundation, University of Denver, 1943.
- The prerequisite of Christian education New Haven, Conn. : Edward W. Hazen Foundation, [1948?]
- The Republic and the Person, a discussion of necessities in modern American education. Chicago, Regnery, 1952.
In addition to his published books, he served as editor of the American Oxonian from 1946 to 1948.
Sources
- Thomas Boardman Greenslade, Kenyon College: Its Third Half Century (Gambier, Ohio: Kenyon College, 1975)
- Who's WhoWho's WhoWho's Who is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on a particular group of people...