Nils Yngve Wessell (April 14, 1914 – March 4, 2007) was an American psychologist and the eighth president of

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

from 1953 to 1966, overseeing its transformation from a small liberal arts college to an internationally known research university.

Early life and education

Wessell was born in

Warren, Pennsylvania Warren is a city in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Allegheny River. The population was 9,404 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Fores ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants Nils Johan Wessell, a Congregationalist minister, and Esther Walquist Wessell, a nurse. He obtained his B.S. in psychology from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

in 1934, his master's in psychology from Brown University in 1935, and his Ph.D. in psychology from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

in 1938. (He was later awarded honorary degrees from

Lesley College Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018-19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students (2,707 undergraduate and 3,886 graduate). History ...

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, Boston College, Northeastern University, Brown University, and

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

.) He married Marian Sigler about 1938 and had two children.

Career at Tufts

Brought to Tufts in 1939 by his mentor, Tufts president

Leonard Carmichael Leonard Carmichael (November 9, 1898 – September 16, 1973) was an American educator and psychologist. In addition, he became the seventh secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1953. Education and academic career Carmichael, the son of ...

, Wessell taught psychology (1939–1947) and was dean of liberal arts (1939–1953) and vice president (1951–1953). Upon becoming president of the college on December 9, 1953, he called for Tufts to become a university, leading the Massachusetts Board of Corporations to change the name from Tufts College to Tufts University. In addition to the name change, Wessell committed to developing graduate programs in the colleges of arts, sciences and engineering in order to become a true research university. Biology and chemistry laboratories, an engineering building, new dormitories, and the Wessell Library were built during his presidency, and the Experimental College and Lincoln Filene Center for Public Service were opened. He resigned in 1966 due to his belief in "change in the office of president in a university every 10 or 15 years."

Later life

Wessell served as a member of the board of the trustees of his alma mater,

, from 1958 to 1964. He was also the president of the Institute for Educational Development from 1965 to 1968 and president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from 1968 to 1979. In 1976, he was chairman of a New York commission that studied the possibility of merging the City University of New York system with the State University of New York system, ultimately advising against it. In 1979 Wessell was named "Swedish American of the year". He died at his home in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

on March 4, 2007.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wessell, Nils Yngve 1914 births 2007 deaths American people of Swedish descent 20th-century American psychologists People from Warren, Pennsylvania Lafayette College alumni Brown University alumni University of Rochester alumni Presidents of Tufts University Lafayette College trustees 20th-century American academics