John James Tigert IV (February 11, 1882 – January 21, 1965) was an American university president, university professor and administrator, college sports coach and the
U.S. Commissioner of Education The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the federal Office of Education, which was historically a unit within and originally assigned to the Department of the Interior in the United States. The position was created on March ...
. Tigert was a native of
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and the son and grandson of
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
s. After receiving his bachelor's degree, he earned his master's degree as a
Rhodes Scholar.
After completing his education, Tigert taught at
Central College; served as the president of
Kentucky Wesleyan College
Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students.
History
Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...
; and worked as a professor, sports coach and administrator at the
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...
.
Tigert gained his greatest national prominence as the U.S. Commissioner of Education from 1921 to 1928, and the third president of the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, from 1928 to 1947. He is remembered as a forceful advocate for American public education, intercollegiate sports and university
curriculum
In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
reform.
Early life and education
![John Tigert (c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/John_Tigert_%28c._1903%29.jpg)
Tigert was born in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, in 1882,
[University of Florida, Past Presidents]
John J. Tigert (1928–1947)
. Retrieved February 14, 2010. the third son of a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
Episcopal
minister,
John James Tigert III, and his wife, Amelia McTyeire Tigert, the daughter of Methodist Bishop and Vanderbilt University co-founder
Holland N. McTyeire. Tigert received his
primary education in the public schools of
Kansas City, Missouri, and Nashville, and earned his high school diploma, with honors, from the
Webb School in
Bell Buckle, Tennessee
Bell Buckle is a town in Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 500 at the 2010 census. The downtown area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Bell Buckle Historic District.
Geography
Bell Buckle is ...
.
[Johnson, ''A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians'', p. 827.]
Vanderbilt
He was admitted to
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
in Nashville, where he was a member of the
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity (
Tennessee Alpha Chapter) and a standout athlete in
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
football and
track.
His time at Vanderbilt overlaps with
Grantland Rice
Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.
Early years
Rice wa ...
. As a senior, Tigert was honored as an
All-Southern halfback for the
Vanderbilt Commodores football
The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...
team.
[College Football Hall of Fame, John Tigert Member Biography Retrieved February 14, 2010.] In his final game, he scored the first points netted all season against rival
Sewanee Sewanee may refer to:
* Sewanee, Tennessee
* Sewanee: The University of the South
* ''The Sewanee Review'', an American literary magazine established in 1892
* Sewanee Natural Bridge
* Saint Andrews-Sewanee School
See also
* Suwanee (disambiguati ...
.
Tigert graduated from Vanderbilt with a Bachelor of Arts
degree
Degree may refer to:
As a unit of measurement
* Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement
** Degree of geographical latitude
** Degree of geographical longitude
* Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics
...
in 1904; he was selected for
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
, and was chosen as a
Rhodes Scholar, the first from the state of Tennessee,
along with teammate
Bob Blake. While at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
in Oxford, England, he completed his Master of Arts degree at
Pembroke College in 1907,
and he continued to participate in competitive university sports, including
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
,
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
and
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
.
Educator, administrator, reformer
After returning to the United States, Tigert taught at the Methodist-affiliated Central College—now known as
Central Methodist University
Central Methodist University (formerly known as Central Methodist College and also known as Central College or CMU) is a private university in Fayette, Missouri. CMU is accredited to offer masters, bachelors, and associate degrees. The school is ...
—in
Fayette, Missouri
Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census.
History
Fayette was laid out in 1823. The ...
, and, at the age of 27, was appointed president of
Kentucky Wesleyan College
Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students.
History
Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...
in
Owensboro, Kentucky in 1909. That same year, he married the former Edith Jackson Bristol.
University of Kentucky
Tigert later received an appointment as a professor of
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
and
philosophy at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, where he did work on psychology in advertising. While there, Tigert also served as the
athletic director
An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...
from 1913 to 1917, the
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents the University of Kentucky. Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball program in history in terms of all-time winning percentag ...
coach in 1913, 1916 and 1917, the
Wildcats women's basketball coach from 1911 to 1915 and again from 1916 to 1917, and the
Wildcats football coach in 1915 and 1916.
Commissioner of Education
President
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
appointed Tigert as the
U.S. Commissioner of Education The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the federal Office of Education, which was historically a unit within and originally assigned to the Department of the Interior in the United States. The position was created on March ...
in 1921, and he served for seven years during the administrations of Harding and
Calvin Coolidge. As commissioner, he was an energetic advocate of education reform and greater educational opportunities for all classes of Americans, and he traveled widely and spoke often to virtually any group interested in education. In particular, he took an interest in rural education, and advocated innovative ways to impart public education to a wider audience, including the use of radio. During his time in Washington, D.C., he also served a term as the national president of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.
University of Florida
The
Florida Board of Control
The Florida Board of Control (1905-1965) was the statewide governing body for the State University System of Florida, which included all public universities in the state of Florida. It was replaced by the Florida Board of Regents in 1965. selected Tigert as the third president of the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in Gainesville, Florida in 1928.
He assumed leadership of the university during an extended period of economic crisis in the state of Florida.
[Proctor & Langley, ''Gator History'', p. 37.] When the
Great Depression began with the
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...
, Florida was already suffering from the after-effects of the
1920s land boom and bust, as well the devastating aftermath of two major
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
s in 1926 and 1928.
![President John James Tigert](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/President_John_James_Tigert.png)
The common thread of the nineteen years of Tigert's administration was doing more with less.
Faculty salary cuts were common; Tigert himself never drew his full authorized annual salary of $10,000.
Among Tigert's many significant reforms, he decentralized the university budget to the level of the individual academic colleges, allowing them to set their own spending priorities.
[Pleasants, ''Gator Tales'', p. 29.] The University Council, composed of the president, the
registrar
A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to:
Education
* Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records
* Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the se ...
and the college
deans, retained final approval authority.
Tigert also established the faculty senate, the Institute of Inter-American Affairs and the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
One of his most influential reforms as president was the founding of the new University College as an academic division within the University of Florida in 1935.
[Pleasants, ''Gator Tales'', pp. 29–30. University College was first known as General College.] The college was modeled on the general education college at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
, and administered the freshman and sophomore-year
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 th ...
education of undergraduates before they were accepted to the university schools or colleges that administered their
academic major
An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conc ...
s.
The college's stated purpose was to "stimulate intellectual curiosity" and "encourage independent work", with new liberal arts requirements in biology, English language and
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
, the
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
,
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
,
mathematics,
physical sciences
Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences".
Definition
Phy ...
and
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
, and thereby counter the growing trend toward "
trade school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
" education at the university level.
As a former university athlete and coach, Tigert took a particular interest in athletics-related policy issues while he was president and was an enthusiastic supporter of the
Florida Gators sports program generally, and football in particular.
[Pleasants, ''Gator Tales'', pp. 31–32.] He was responsible for the construction of the university's first and only permanent football stadium,
Florida Field
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (in full Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium),[Blake R. Van Leer
Blake Ragsdale Van Leer (August 16, 1893 – January 23, 1956) was an engineer and university professor who served as the fifth president of Georgia Institute of Technology from 1944 until his death in 1956.
Early life and education
Van Leer was ...](_blank)
as Dean to expand the engineering program and manage all applications for federal funding. Van Leer also chaired the advanced planning committee setup by Tigert. Tigert was also instrumental in the organization of the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
(SEC), which the University of Florida joined as one of the thirteen founding institutions in December 1932.
Tigert subsequently served two terms as SEC president (1934–1936 and 1945–1947).
As a key leader within the SEC, he worked to impose a uniform set of rules and standards for academic eligibility for SEC athletes.
Appalled by the under-the-table payments to amateur college athletes that were prevalent at the time, he advocated the grant of
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholars ...
s to athletes which would become the grant-in-aid of other university athletic programs and as mandated by the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA) in the years to follow.
Like his predecessor,
Albert A. Murphree, Tigert was elected president of the
National Association of State Universities, serving from 1939 to 1940.
Following the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
on December 7, 1941, students began to withdraw from the university in large numbers to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces.
[Proctor & Langley, ''Gator History'', p. 38.] The financial impact on the university had the potential to be devastating, but Tigert navigated the war years by making the university campus, dormitories and class rooms available for the training of U.S.
Army Air Force
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
flight crews.
Tigert kept the lights on, and the bills paid.
Veterans
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that h ...
began to return to school with support from the
GI Bill, and by the fall term of 1946, over seventy percent of the University of Florida's 7,000 students were returning World War II veterans. Contributing to the shortage of facility space was the influx of new female students when the
Florida Legislature reinstituted
co-education
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
in 1947.
[Proctor & Langley, ''Gator History'', p. 39.] The university suddenly had more students than its available housing and classroom space could serve.
![Dsg UF Administration Tigert Hall 20050507](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Dsg_UF_Administration_Tigert_Hall_20050507.jpg)
Tigert resigned as university president in 1947, worked as an educational consultant to the government of India as a member of its University Education Commission, and taught philosophy at 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 ...
until 1959.
Legacy
Tigert served as president of the University of Florida for nineteen years, longer than any of the other presidents of the university.
[Pleasants, ''Gator Tales'', p. 34.] During his term, the university awarded its first doctoral degrees in 1934, a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was installed in 1938, and total student enrollment grew from 2,162 in 1928 to over 7,500 in 1947. As university president, he was responsible for significant and lasting academic, athletic and administrative reforms.
In recognition of Tigert's long service as its president through depression and war, the University of Florida awarded him an
honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
, a
doctor of letters
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...
, during its 1953
centennial
{{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation)
A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years.
Notable events
Notable centennial events at ...
celebration, and renamed its main administrative building,
Tigert Hall, for him in 1960.
[University of Florida Foundation, Named UF Facilities]
John J. Tigert Hall
Retrieved February 14, 2010. Tigert died in Gainesville, Florida on January 21, 1965;
he was 82 years old.
[Associated Press, "John J. Tigert, 82, Educator, Is Dead: Ex-head of U. of Florida and Federal Commissioner", ''The New York Times'' (January 22, 1965).] He was survived by his wife Edith, their son and daughter, and five grandchildren.
As a fitting final tribute to a professor, education reformer and administrator, who also fervently supported college sports, Tigert was inducted into the
University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...
as an "Honorary
Letter Winner
In sports or activities in the United States, a letterman is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team.
Overview
The term comes from the practice of awarding each such parti ...
," and was elected to the
College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1970.
Head coaching record
Football
[College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Records]
John J. Tigert Records by Year
. Retrieved April 16, 2010
Men's basketball
Women's basketball
See also
*
History of Florida
The history of Florida can be traced to when the first Native Americans began to inhabit the peninsula as early as 14,000 years ago. They left behind artifacts and archeological evidence. Florida's written history begins with the arrival of Euro ...
*
History of the University of Florida
The history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida originated as several distinct institutions that were consolidated to create a single state-supported un ...
*
*
*
List of Oxford University people
This page serves as a central navigational point for lists of more than 2,350 members of the University of Oxford, divided into relevant groupings for ease of use. The vast majority were students at the university, although they did not necessari ...
*
List of Phi Beta Kappa members
*
List of Phi Delta Theta members
This is a list of prominent alumni of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Names are listed followed by the school attended and their graduation year.
Academia
* Liberty Hyde Bailey, Michigan State University, 1882 – horticulturist, botanist, fath ...
*
List of Rhodes Scholars
This is a list of Rhodes Scholars, covering notable people who have received a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £ ...
*
List of University of Florida honorary degree recipients
This list of University of Florida honorary degree recipients includes notable persons who have been recognized by the University of Florida for outstanding achievements in their fields that reflect the ideals and uphold the purposes of the unive ...
*
List of University of Florida presidents
Seventeen men have served as the president of the University of Florida since the modern university was created from the consolidation of four predecessor institutions by the Florida state legislature in 1905.
The University of Florida is a pub ...
*
List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence d ...
*
List of Vanderbilt University people
This is a list of notable current and former faculty members, alumni (graduating and non-graduating) of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Unless otherwise noted, attendees listed graduated with a bachelor's degree. Names with an aste ...
*
State University System of Florida
References
Bibliography
* Johnson, E. Polk
''A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities'' Vol. II, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, pp. 827–830 (1912).
* Osborn, George Coleman, ''John James Tigert: American Educator'', The University Presses of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (1974). .
* Pleasants, Julian M., ''Gator Tales: An Oral History of the University of Florida'', University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2006). .
* Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, ''Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida'', South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). .
* Van Ness, Carl, & Kevin McCarthy, ''Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future: The University of Florida, 1853–2003'', University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2003).
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tigert, John J.
1882 births
1965 deaths
All-Southern college football players
Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford
American football punters
American football halfbacks
American men's basketball players
American Rhodes Scholars
American women's basketball coaches
Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee
Basketball coaches from Tennessee
Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
College men's track and field athletes in the United States
Central Methodist Eagles football coaches
Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers football coaches
Kentucky Wildcats athletic directors
Kentucky Wildcats football coaches
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coaches
Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball coaches
Players of American football from Tennessee
Presidents of the University of Florida
United States Bureau of Education people
University of Kentucky faculty
University of Miami faculty
Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players
Vanderbilt Commodores football players
Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players
Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tennessee) alumni