David Crenshaw "Uncle Dave" Barrow Jr. (October 18, 1852 – January 11, 1929) served as chancellor of the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
(UGA) in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
from 1906 until his resignation in 1925 (The head of the university was referred to as chancellor instead of president from 1860 until 1932).
Early life and education
Barrow was born in Wolfskin District,
Oglethorpe County,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, on October 18, 1852. His father was David C. Barrow Sr., a planter and a trustee at the university, and his mother was Sarah Pope Barrow. He married Frances Ingle Childs of Athens in 1879, and they had four children and ten grandchildren. One of his sons,
David Francis Barrow, became a member of the UGA Mathematics faculty.
Barrow was educated at the University of Georgia, receiving both a
B.S.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
and a degree in engineering (C & M.E.), class of 1874, where he was a member of the
Chi Phi Fraternity
Chi Phi () is considered by some as the oldest American men's college social fraternity that was established as the result of the merger of three separate organizations that were each known as Chi Phi. The earliest of these organizations was for ...
. After trying the
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
and geological
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
, he became an
Adjunct Professor
An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and
the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...
of Mathematics at the university in 1878. His additional responsibilities included Professor of
Civil Engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
(1883), Head of the combined Department of Mathematics and Civil Engineering, Head of Pure Mathematics, and Dean of the
Franklin College in 1899. He became the acting chancellor upon then-Chancellor
Hill's death (1905). He was subsequently officially named Chancellor in 1906.
University of Georgia
At the time of his appointment as chancellor, the University of Georgia could be accurately described as a collection of colleges, consisting of a
liberal arts
Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...
college, a
law school
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
, a
summer school, beginning schools of
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
and
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
, an embryonic college of
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
, and some
graduate courses in various fields.
When Barrow retired in 1925, the university had become a modern institution. The more established college of agriculture and a structured graduate school existed. In addition, the following schools were created during his tenure: school of education (1908), commerce (1912) (currently known as the
Terry College of Business
The C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business is a constituent college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. The business college offers undergraduate programs, MBA programs, specialized master's programs and ...
), and
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
(1915). Beginning in 1903, female students were admitted for the first time as summer students and were later enrolled as graduate students (1916) and finally undergraduates (1918).
Regular enrollment had almost quadrupled (from 408 in his inaugural year to 1,592 at the end of his tenure) because of Barrow's efforts and the admission of female students.
Faculty size had tripled, state funding had increased greatly (from $22,500 in 1906 to $145,000 in 1925), alumni
fundraising
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...
was increased, and several new buildings had been constructed on campus including: Conner Hall (1908), Peabody Hall (1913), Barrow Hall (1916), Soule Hall (1920), Hardman Hall (1922), Milledge Hall (1925) and
Memorial Hall
A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''.
History of the Memorial Hall
In the aft ...
(1925).
Upon his resignation, Barrow was elected as a Chancellor
Emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
for life by the
Georgia Board of Regents The Georgia Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia as part of the state government of Georgia in the United States. The University System of Georgia is composed of all state public institutions of higher education in the state. T ...
.
Later years
Barrow was often called upon for public service outside of his university duties. In 1907, at the request of
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
, Barrow served on the board of the Jeanes Fund for the improvement of rural education for
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
.
He also served as the neutral
arbitrator in the
Central of Georgia Railway
The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
in 1909. After black workers were hired to work alongside whites, white employees of the railroad, who were represented by the
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen (B of LF&E) was a North American railroad fraternal benefit society and trade union in the 19th and 20th centuries. The organization began in 1873 as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen (B of ...
, called a strike. The black employees received a lower wage than their white counterparts. The issue was settled by a federal board of arbitration, which ruled that black workers should be paid equal pay for equal work. Barrow's vote thus led to the retention of black firemen at equal pay with whites.
Chancellor Barrow died in 1929 at his home in Athens. Funeral services were held in the Chapel on UGA's
north campus, and he was buried in
Oconee Hill Cemetery
Oconee Hill Cemetery is a cemetery in Athens, Georgia, United States. The extant cemetery opened in 1856 and is located near the University of Georgia.
Oconee Hill Cemetery was purchased in 1855 by the city of Athens when further burials were pro ...
in Athens.
Barrow County
Barrow County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 83,505. The county seat is Winder.
Barrow County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metr ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
an Athens
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
, an Athens street, Barrow Hall at the university and the David C. Barrow Chair of Mathematics all honor the late Chancellor.
Notes
References
''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080209161759/http://www.math.uga.edu/about_us/history.html UGA Department of Mathematics Historybr>
The New Georgia Encyclopedia entry for David C. Barrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, David C.
1852 births
1929 deaths
Presidents of the University of Georgia
University of Georgia alumni
People from Oglethorpe County, Georgia
19th-century American mathematicians
20th-century American mathematicians