editor, author, university president, politician, b. Queen City, Mo. He graduated from Northwestern Univ., Evanston, Ill. (B.A., 1912; M.A., 1921). At the age of ten, Frank joined the Methodist Church; his oratorical skill soon became apparent and was so developed that by the age of 16 he became a full-fledged circuit rider. He spent the summer before entering Northwestern (1909) touring in Iowa with the evangelist, Billy Sunday. After graduating from Northwestern, Frank served as executive assistant to the president of the university (1912-1916). He was an assistant and counselor for the Boston merchant, Edward A. Filene (1916-1919), and in 1919 became associate editor of Century magazine. He was editor of this publication (1921-1925), and became nationally known as the "boy editor." In 1925 he was appointed president of the Univ. of Wisconsin, and began an administration that was marked by controversy, criticism, and hostility. Many of the university faculty members were offended by Frank's emphasis on unorthodox techniques in higher education, especially his appointment of Alexander Meiklejohn (1926) to head a newly created Experimental College (1927-1932). In 1928 his action barring Dora Russell (wife of British philosopher, Bertram Russell) from speaking at the university increased faculty hostility. In addition to these problems, the depression created serious difficulties in university finances, and Frank became involved in a series of quarrels with Governor Philip F. La Follette and Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (q.v.). In 1937, following a trial that attracted nationwide attention, the university regents voted 8-7 to dismiss Frank from the presidency. He soon became editor of a Chicago farm magazine, Rural Progress, but continued to live in Wisconsin. His interests turned increasingly to politics, and he became closely allied with ex-President Herbert Hoover. He helped guide the Republican party toward an isolationist viewpoint, and in 1940 was a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator, hoping to unseat his old enemy, incumbent Progressive R. M. La Follette, Jr. While on a campaign tour, he was killed in an auto accident near Green Bay. Dict. Amer. Biog., Suppl. 2; Who's Who in Amer., 21 (1940); Madison Wis. State Journal, Sept. 15, 1940; Natl. Cyclopaedia Amer. Biog., 29 (1941).

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Glenn Frank Speech for details.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]