Thaddeus Seymour

Thaddeus Seymour (June 29, 1928 – October 26, 2019) was an American academician. Seymour was born in New York City. His father, Whitney North Seymour was president of the American Bar Association. Seymour went to Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley, and studied English literature at the University of North Carolina, where he received his master's degree and doctoral degrees. He was an English professor at Dartmouth College and later dean at Dartmouth.^[1][2][3] From 1969 to 1978 he was president of Wabash College,^[4][5] and from 1978 to 1990 he was president of Rollins College.^[6][7][8]

During his time at Rollins, he returned the focus of the college to its roots as a liberal-arts college, raised faculty salaries, built a new college library and a dedicated classroom building for the liberal arts. He also moved to solidify the college's financial footing.^[9]

John Phillips, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities praised Seymour's work at Rollins. According to Keith Henderson of The Christian Science Monitor

What Seymour has accomplished in his eight years here is "pretty remarkable," according to John Phillips, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. "He's gone against the trends." When others have been willing to say, "whatever people want, let's provide it," Seymour has never veered from his purpose – the establishment, as Dr. Phillips puts it, of "a high-quality liberal arts institution in a place that's associated in the public's mind with Disney World and fun in the sun."^[10]

Seymour was father-in-law of celebrated illustration instructor Jon Gnagy, who hosted TV series in the 1950s and '60s. Seymour died in his home in Winter Park, Florida, on October 26, 2019, at age 91.^[11]

References

1. Phillip C. Schaefer (1 March 2014). Dartmouth Veterans: Vietnam Perspectives. Dartmouth College Press. pp. 10–. ISBN 978-1-61168-550-3.
2. Marshall Cobleigh (2005). We Ain't Making Sausage Here. Peter E. Randall Publisher. pp. 114–. ISBN 978-1-931807-35-7.
3. Ronald B. Schram (4 May 2012). Generational Bridges to the World's Troubles: Personal Stories: How Dartmouth '64s and '14s Are Making a Difference in the Lives of Others. AuthorHouse. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-1-4685-5949-1.
4. Karen Bazzani Zach (2003). Crawfordsville, Athens of Indiana. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 116–. ISBN 978-0-7385-2417-7.
5. Leading where it Counts: An Investigation of the Leadership Styles and Behaviors that Define College and University Presidents as Successful Fund Raisers. 2006. pp. 81–. ISBN 978-0-542-78404-0.
6. The University Club of Winter Park (11 November 2010). Pride in the Past--Faith in the Future: A History of the First 75 Years of The University Club of Winter Park, Florida. iUniverse. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-1-4502-6647-5.
7. Thaddeus Seymour Official biography at Rollins College
8. Holston, Noel, "The Unfinished Work Of Jon Gnagy His Dream May Finally Be Realized Through His Daughter", Orlando Sentinel, July 20, 1986
9. In Memory: Thaddeus Seymour ’82HAL ’90H by Rob Humphreys; "Rollins College 360" news site article, October 28, 2019.
10. How Thad Seymour led a college back to its academic roots By Keith Henderson; The Christian Science Monitor March 10, 1986
11. Former Rollins College President Thaddeus Seymour Sr. Passes Away