Henry Skinner West (December 23, 1870 – April 9, 1961) was the fifth principal of Maryland State Normal School (now

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

Early life

Henry Skinner West was born on December 23, 1870, in

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. He attended schools in Maryland. He graduated from both the Baltimore City College and the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1890. He graduated with a

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in 1893 and a PhD in 1899 from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

Career

From 1890 to 1891, West taught at a Baltimore elementary school. He then worked as a professor at Baltimore City College from 1894 to 1897 and again in 1900. He was an instructor at Johns Hopkins University from 1899 to 1900. He was principal at

Western High School Western High School may refer: Schools in the United States *Western High School (Anaheim, California) – Anaheim, California * Western High School (Illinois) – Barry, Illinois * Western High School (Florida) – Davie, Florida * Western High S ...

from 1900 to 1906. West was the special assistant superintendent for schools in Baltimore from 1906 to 1911. He then worked for Johns Hopkins summer schools for teachers from 1911 to 1915. West was professor of education and director of secondary schools in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, from 1912 to 1917. During this time, he was a professor of education at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

. In 1917, Dr. West was appointed as principal of the Maryland State Normal School (now

). During his tenure, enrollment at the school dropped severely due to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and funding and dormity space for the school was inadequate and the teachers were poorly paid. In 1920, West left his position to become the superintendent of schools in

. He held this position for five years. He resigned following criticism about his administration. As principal, he held an enrollment campaign to attract more students, reorganized the school administration and introduced the first summer session in 1918. He helped Maryland adopt a system for teacher certification. In 1926, West went to the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

in Florida to work as a professor of education. In 1928, he became its first dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He also became the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1929. He also taught at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in the summer months. West retired in 1942 and was named dean emeritus at the University of Miami for both the School of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Personal life

West married Anne Brown Downman on November 17, 1900. They had two sons and one daughter, Henry D., Julian S. and Harriet. West died on April 9, 1961, at his home in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

Legacy

In 1955, the Henry S. West Laboratory School was named in his honor.

References

External links

Presidential Biographies - Towson Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Henry Skinner 1870 births 1961 deaths Educators from Baltimore Educators from Cincinnati People from Miami People from Evanston, Illinois Educators from Maryland Educators from Ohio Educators from Florida Baltimore City College alumni University System of Maryland alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Baltimore City College faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty University of Cincinnati faculty University of Miami faculty University of North Carolina faculty Presidents of Towson University