Rev. George Rice Hovey (January 17, 1860 – January 17, 1943) was an American university president, professor, minister, and author. He served as the President of

Wayland Seminary Wayland Seminary was the Washington, D.C. school of the National Theological Institute. The institute was established beginning in 1865 by the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS). At first designed primarily for providing education and tra ...

from 1897 to 1899; and as the President of

Virginia Union University Virginia Union University is a private historically black Baptist university in Richmond, Virginia. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History The American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS) founded the school as Richm ...

(VUU) from 1904 to 1918. Hovey taught theology,

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

New Testament Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

, and philosophy. In his late career he worked to create an extension course for Black ministers. He was also known as George Hovey Rice.

Early life and education

George Rice Hovey was born on January 17, 1860 in

Newton Centre, Massachusetts Newton Centre is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The main commercial center of Newton Centre is a triangular area surrounding the intersections of Beacon Street, Centre St ...

, to parents Augusta M. (née Rice) and Alvah Hovey. His brother was tennis player

Frederick Hovey Frederick Howard Hovey (October 7, 1868 – October 18, 1945) was a male tennis player from the United States. Biography Frederick Howard Hovey was born on October 7, 1868 in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. His brother was George Rice Hovey, and ...

. His father Alvah Hovey was a professor of theology and president of the Newton Theological Institute. He graduated with a B.A. degree (1882) from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, where he competed as a baseball athlete. Hovey was awarded the Foster Prize in Greek studies. He continued his studies at Newton Theological Institute (Andover Newton Theological School) where he graduated with a degree (1885). Hovey also received honorary degrees from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

(1901) and Brown University (1902).

Career

In 1887, Hovey taught Hebrew at Yale Hebrew Summer School (a part of

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

). Followed by teaching at Richmond Theological Seminary (later known as Richmond Theological Institute), where he taught New Testament Greek and Hebrew from 1887 to 1897. He was appointed the President of

from 1897 to 1899. By 1899, the Richmond Theological Institute of Richmond, Virginia, and the Wayland Seminary of Washington, D.C. merged into Virginia Union University of Richmond, Virginia. Hovey was a professor of theology and philosophy at Virginia Union University from 1899 until 1905. Hovey succeeded Malcolm MacVicar, Virginia Union University's first president, after his death in 1904. He acquired land in 1907 for the Virginia Union University's athletic program. Hovey Park is now known as

Hovey Field Hovey Field is a stadium in Richmond, Virginia. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Virginia Union Panthers The Virginia Union Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Virginia Union University, locat ...

. Multiple newspapers reported on an educational tour in 1912 Hovey took in the North. From 1919 until 1930, Hovey served as Secretary for Education of the

American Baptist Home Mission Society The American Baptist Home Mission Society is a Christian missionary society. Its main predecessor the Home Mission Society was established in New York City in 1832 to operate in the American frontier, with the stated mission "to preach the Gos ...

, from 1919 to 1930; and from 1930 until he retired in 1935 was Director of the National Ministers Institute. After his retirement, Hovey created an extension course for Black ministers. Hovey wrote multiple books, including a

textbook in 1902; a book about his late-father's life (1928); and multiple books on the Christian religion including his book, "Christian Ethics for Daily Life" (1932). Hovey died on January 17, 1943 at his home in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hovey, George Rice 1860 births 1943 deaths Brown University alumni Andover Newton Theological School alumni Virginia Union University faculty People from Middlesex County, Massachusetts People from Montclair, New Jersey American Christian clergy American Christian theologians American philosophy academics