John Ohleyer Moseley (October 21, 1893 – October 10, 1955) was an American educator, a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, and a Professor of Latin at the University of Oklahoma in the 1920s. He was also the President of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity in the 1930s. He served as the President of

Central State College The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO or Central State) is a public university in Edmond, Oklahoma. It is the third largest university in Oklahoma, with more than 17,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty. Founde ...

from 1935 to 1939, and the University of Nevada, Reno from 1944 to 1949.

Early life and education

John Ohleyer Moseley was born on October 21, 1893, in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, seventh largest city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 41,148 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated population in 2018 of 36,347. It is the count ...

.George C. McGhee, 'John Ohleyer Moseley (1893-1955)', ''American Oxonian'', Association of American Rhodes Scholars, 1956, pp. 27-29 His father, John W. Moseley, Jr., was a Presbyterian minister in Oklahoma for thirty years, originally from

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

.Joseph A. Brandt
John O. Moseley
''The Sooner'', February 1935, pp. 102-103 His mother, Sophie Ohleyer, was from Brandon, Mississippi. His paternal grandfather served as a Presbyterian minister in the South for seventy years. His family was from the

Antebellum South In History of the Southern United States, the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit=Status quo ante bellum, before the war) spanned the Treaty of Ghent, end of the War of 1812 to the start of ...

. He attended Southwestern Presbyterian College, now known as Rhodes College, a Presbyterian college in Clarksville, Tennessee. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin, Greek and English from Austin College in Sherman, Texas in 1912. He later went to teach Latin and Athletics at Durant High School in

Durant, Oklahoma Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States that serves as the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical A ...

from 1912 to 1915. Meanwhile, he attended Southeastern Teachers College, where he received a Certificate in Education in 1913. He attended graduate school at the University of Oklahoma from 1915 to 1916. He was initiated into the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity there in 1915. He received a Master of Arts degree in English from the same institution in 1916. He received a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1917 and attended the University of Oxford shortly after serving as a lieutenant in France during World War I. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jurisprudence from

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

in 1922 and a Master of Arts degree in 1928. He completed his legal studies at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. As the 1930 recipient of a Royall Victor Fellowship, he spent two summers at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in Palo Alto, California, where he studied the Law and Latin. He also attended classes at Columbia University in New York City and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. He received an LLD degree from his alma mater, Austin College, in 1936.

Academic career

Moseley became an associate professor, later assistant professor, of Latin and Classical Archeology at the University of Oklahoma. He was a faculty member there for fifteen years and coached the tennis team. He wrote ''A Textbook of Legal Latin''. He was a Fellow of the

American Philological Association The Society for Classical Studies (SCS), formerly known as the American Philological Association (APA) is a non-profit North American scholarly organization devoted to all aspects of Greek and Roman civilization founded in 1869. It is the preemine ...

and the

Classical Association of the Middle West and South The Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) is a professional organization for classicists and non-classicists at all levels of instruction which promotes the Classics through the broad scope of its annual meeting, through its pub ...

. He served as the Principal and a Professor of Education at the Kendall Academy, a precursor to the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

. He served as the President of Central State Teacher's College, later known as the University of Central Oklahoma, in

Edmond Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include: * Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician * Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer * Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politician ...

for four years. He gave the graduation address at his alma mater, Austin College, in 1936. He served as the President of the Oklahoma State Council on Christian Education in 1939. He then served as the Dean of Students at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee in the early 1940s. In 1943, at the height of World War II, he suggested

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 count ...

probably had "fewer undesirable enemy aliens than any other sections of the United States." He served as the seventh President of the University of Nevada, Reno from 1944 to 1949.University of Nevada, Reno: University Archives: John O. Moseley. Papers, 1945-1949
/ref> He was inaugurated on October 12, 1944, replacing Leon W. Hartman. By 1947, he deplored the lack of sufficient student accommodation on campus. Moreover, he admitted that World War II veterans who attended the university thanks to the G.I. Bill were discouraged from attending the university not because of low grades, but because they struggled to find housing on campus. Moseley resigned in 1949.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Moseley was elected as the province president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 1924, presiding over chapters in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. He was elected as Eminent Supreme Herald in 1930. He was then elected as Eminent Supreme Deputy Archon, or Vice President, in 1932. He was elected as Eminent Supreme Archon, or president, in 1935, replacing Judge

Walter Burgwyn Jones Walter Burgwyn Jones (October 16, 1888 – August 1, 1963) was an American judge, legislator, and writer from Alabama. Political career Jones served in the Alabama House of Representatives, as a Democrat, from 1919 to 1920. He was then a ci ...

. That year, he established the annual John O. Moseley School of Leadership to teach SAE values.Jake New
SAE at Sea
''

Inside Higher Ed ''Inside Higher Ed'' is a media company and online publication that provides news, opinion, resources, events and jobs focused on college and university topics. In 2022, Quad Partners, a private equity firm, sold Inside Higher Education to Time ...

'', March 30, 2015 After he resigned from the presidency of the University of Nevada, Reno, he was the Executive Secretary of SAE in Evanston, Illinois. The SAE chapter at the University of Oklahoma was named the Oklahoma Moseley chapter in his honor.

Personal life

He married Marie V. Nichols, a native of Los Angeles, California. They had a son, John Nichols Moseley, and a daughter, Margaret (Moseley) Newman. As a Presbyterian, he attended the First Presbyterian Church while he was living in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

. He was also a member of Phi Delta Phi,

Eta Sigma Phi Eta Sigma Phi () is a collegiate honor society for the study of Classics. It grew out of a local undergraduate classical club founded by a group of students in the Department of Greek at the University of Chicago in 1914. This organization late ...

, Sigma Tau Delta, Alpha Phi Sigma,

Pi Kappa Delta Pi Kappa Delta () is a Forensics (Public Speaking and Debate) Honor Society for undergraduate university students and a professional organization for graduates, typically university Speech and Debate Coaches. Pi Kappa Delta, or PKD, encourages th ...

and Kappa Kelta Pi. He became a 32nd degree

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

. He traveled extensively across Europe, Asia and Africa.

Death

He died on October 10, 1955, in Evanston, Illinois, at the age of sixty-two. His obituary, written by

George C. McGhee George Crews McGhee (March 10, 1912 – July 4, 2005) was an oilman and a career diplomat in the United States foreign service. Early life McGhee was born on March 10, 1912, in Waco, Texas, the son of a Waco banker. He studied at the Universit ...

, was published in the ''

American Oxonian ''The American Oxonian'' (''TAO''; ISSN 0003-0295) is the magazine of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars. Its first issue appeared in April 1914. History From the beginning of the Rhodes Scholarship, the experience of American Rhodes Scho ...

''.

External links

A Guide to the John O. Moseley Papers, AC 0369
University Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moseley, John O. 1893 births 1955 deaths People from Meridian, Mississippi People from Evanston, Illinois Austin College alumni American Rhodes Scholars American people of World War I Alumni of Merton College, Oxford University of Oklahoma faculty American Latinists Presidents of the University of Central Oklahoma University of Central Oklahoma faculty University of Tennessee faculty University of Nevada, Reno faculty Presidents of the University of Nevada, Reno Sigma Alpha Epsilon American Presbyterians American Freemasons 20th-century American academics