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Ganfield, William Arthur 1873 - 1940 | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Ganfield, William Arthur 1873 - 1940

Ganfield, William Arthur 1873 - 1940 | Wisconsin Historical Society

Presbyterian clergyman, college president, b. Dubuque County, Iowa. He graduated from Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa (B.A., 1898; M.A., 1901), and attended McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. He was ordained in the Presbyterian ministry (1901), and served as pastor at Green Bay (1901-1904). He was professor of history at Carroll College, Waukesha (1904-1915), and president of Centre College, Danville, Ky. (1915-1921). In 1921 he returned to Carroll College, where he served as president from 1921 until his retirement in 1939. For both colleges he obtained increased endowment and enrollment and improved educational standards. He was active in civic, religious, and political affairs, and held positions of responsibility in such organizations as the Wisconsin Christian Education Council, the National Reform Association, and the International Sunday School Council. In 1922 he opposed Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (q.v.), for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate. Natl. Cyclopaedia Amer. Biog., B. (1927); Wis. Mag. Hist., 29; N.Y. Times, Oct. 19, 1940; Waukesha Daily Freeman, Oct. 18, 1940.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]