Joseph Sutton (college President)
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Joseph Lee Sutton (March 22, 1924 – April 29, 1972) was an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
academic who served as the thirteenth president of
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
.


Early life and education

Sutton was born in
Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
, Oklahoma, to Erville C. Sutton and Carolyn E. (Hatch) Sutton. After graduating from high school, he attended
Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
for one year before enlisting in the army in 1943. He was discovered to have an aptitude for languages, which led the army to enroll him in Japanese language courses at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. Upon completion of the program, he was commissioned a Lieutenant and sent to
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
to serve as a Japanese language officer in
General Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
's headquarters. Sutton continued his education at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
after being discharged from the army. He received an A.B. in Oriental Languages in 1948, an A.M. in Oriental Civilization in 1949, and a Ph.D. in Political Science in 1954.


Professional background

* U.S. Army intelligence officer (1944-1946) *
Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it today maintains a he ...
Fellow (1951-1952) * Lecturer at
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...
(1952-1953) * Professor of Government at Indiana University (1953-1972) * Dean of IU’s
College of Arts and Sciences A College of Arts and Sciences or School of Arts and Sciences is most commonly an individual institution or a unit within a university that focuses on instruction of the liberal arts and pure sciences, although they frequently include programs and ...
(1965-1966) * Vice President and Dean of the Faculties at IU (1966-1968) * President of IU (1968-1971)


Tenure at Indiana University

Joseph Lee Sutton was an academic presence on the
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...
campus for 13 years before taking over as President from Interim President and Chancellor
Herman B Wells Herman B Wells (June 7, 1902 – March 18, 2000), a native of Boone County, Indiana, was the eleventh president of Indiana University Bloomington and its first university chancellor. He was pivotal in the transformation of Indiana Universit ...
in 1968. During his years as professor was considered to be an excellent educator and in 1955 he received Sigma Delta Chi's "Brown Derby" award, which was granted to the most popular professor.Roehr, Eleanor L. "Trustees and Officers of Indiana University 1950 to 1982." Print. 6 October 2012. As President, he was respected by administrators and faculty at IU. Sutton's brief tenure as President saw many challenges, including widespread protests on campus about U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He oversaw the dedication of a new IU library in 1969, the same year that an act of arson was committed at the old library that cost an estimated $650,000 in damages. A culprit was never found.Wynkoop, Mary Ann. "Dissent in the Heartland: The Sixties at Indiana University." Print. 6 October 2012. Sutton resigned his position as President in the fall of 1970 and was replaced by then-Vice President
John W. Ryan John William Ryan (August 12, 1929 – August 6, 2011) was an American academic administrator who most notably served as the President of Indiana University for sixteen years. Early life and career Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois and earned ...
. He continued to work as a professor of political science at IU until his death.


Personal life

Sutton married Jean Harkness on August 19, 1945, and together they had four children: James Warner, Geoffrey Joseph, David Harkness, and Abigail Jean. Jean's death in 1970 prompted Sutton to resign as President of IU in order to spend more time with his children. He married Elizabeth Josephson in March 1971. Just prior to the couple's departure to Japan, where Sutton was slated to become an exchange Professor at
Tenri University is a Japanese private university in Tenri, Nara Prefecture, an independent part of the secular mission of the new religious movement Tenrikyo. It was established in February 1925 as the coeducational , enrolling 104 students, and was reorganise ...
, they were involved in a car accident. He died on April 29, 1972, at the age of 48, as a result of injuries sustained from the accident.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Joseph 1924 births University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Indiana University faculty 1972 deaths Presidents of Indiana University 20th-century American academics