Nathan Marsh Pusey (; April 4, 1907 – November 14, 2001) was an American academic. Originally from Council Bluffs, Iowa, Pusey won a scholarship to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

out of high school and went on to earn bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees in the classics at Harvard. Pusey began his academic career as a professor of literature at Scripps College and Wesleyan University before serving as president of Lawrence College from 1944 to 1953. Serving as President of Harvard University from 1953 to 1971, Pusey was the first president of Harvard from outside

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. After his time at Harvard, he was president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation from 1971 to 1975.

Early life and education

Pusey was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa to John and Rosa Pusey. His great uncle William Henry Mills Pusey had served as an Iowa state senator and member of the United States House of Representatives. He shared a name with another great uncle, Iowa state senator Nathan Marsh Pusey. The younger Pusey was educated at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

( B.A.), and received M.A. (1928) and Ph.D (1937) degrees from

, studying

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

and

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

. During his freshman year in college, he lived in

Stoughton Hall This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system. Apley Court South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke Stree ...

. He married Anne Woodward in 1936. The couple later had three children.

Educational career

Pusey's first teaching post after he graduated was at Riverdale Country School. He then taught at Lawrence College, Scripps College, and Wesleyan University. He served as president of Lawrence College (1944–1953), and later as the 24th president of Harvard University (1953–1971). During his presidency of Harvard, Pusey overhauled the admissions process, which had been biased heavily in favor of the alumni of New England-based boarding schools, and began admitting public school graduates based on scores obtained on standardized tests such as the SAT. This was highly controversial with the school's alumni population but set the stage for diversifying the student body and faculty.

Political positions

Pusey was a devout, lifelong Episcopalian who deplored the “almost idolatrous” secularism of his era. He was an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Appleton, Wisconsin, during his presidency of Lawrence College. Pusey vigorously opposed McCarthyism in the 1950s and supported the US

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

in the 1960s. His clashes with Joseph McCarthy were especially significant because Pusey's position at Lawrence College placed him in the senator's hometown ( Appleton, Wisconsin) and amid the political power base of the then-conservative Fox Valley. As president of the college, Pusey held the community's respect, and his vocal criticisms of McCarthy resounded loudly in the area. Pusey was a deeply religious man and a somewhat traditionalist scholar, and he was appalled by the student radicalism that raged in American universities in the late 1960s. He complained bitterly that "learning has almost ceased" in many universities because of the violent, revolutionary activities of a "small group of overeager young... who feel they have a special calling to redeem society." In April 1969, student activists occupied Harvard's University Hall (the building that housed most of the administrative offices) in protest over the presence of ROTC on campus at the height of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. In response, Pusey summoned the police to arrest the demonstrators. Although his action was legal, it was widely criticized, and the resulting furor probably contributed to his early retirement in 1971. After his time at Harvard, Pusey was president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (1971–1975) and president of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (1979–1980).

Published works

* ''The Age of the Scholar'', 1963 * ''American Higher Education 1945-1970: A Personal Report'', 1978

Notes

External links

Biography at Lawrence University

Obituary in the ''Harvard Crimson''

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pusey, Nathan M. 1907 births 2001 deaths People from Council Bluffs, Iowa Wesleyan University faculty Presidents of Harvard University Presidents of Lawrence University Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Harvard College alumni Schoolteachers from Iowa Scripps College faculty Schoolteachers from New York (state) 20th-century American educators