Robert Wayne Gardner (1894-?) was a minister, an academic, and the president of the

Eastern Nazarene College The Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) is a private, Christian college in Quincy, Massachusetts. Established as a holiness college in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1900, the college moved to Rhode Island for several years. With its expansion to a four-y ...

Early life and education

Gardner was born in

Tidioute, Pennsylvania Tidioute is a borough in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 688 at the 2010 census. Etymology The name is an Iroquoian word meaning "protrusion of land", referring to a sharp bend in the Allegheny River. Geography Tid ...

, on May 16, 1894. He earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Olivet College Olivet College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Olivet, Michigan. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It was founded in 1844 by missionaries from Oberlin College, and it followed Oberlin in becom ...

and was ordained in the

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa within Johnson County, Kansas. With its members co ...

in 1918. Upon moving to Eastern Nazarene in Quincy, he started his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a 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 its original campu ...

, which he finished in 1924. He was awarded an

honorary doctorate 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 ...

by alma mater Olivet College in 1934.

Career and legacy

Gardner went to

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, to become the principal of the Eastern Nazarene Academy and began teaching at the Eastern Nazarene College in 1920. During his time there, he became the college

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 sen ...

and, upon the death of

Floyd W. Nease Floyd William Nease (1893–1930) was an American minister and the president of the Eastern Nazarene College until his death in 1930. He is the grandfather of Floyd William Nease II, as well as Linda Nease Scott (a recently retired /2020emp ...

, became president of the college. He resigned in 1936 after collapsing from the strain of operating the college during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He eventually earned a doctorate. In 1951, Gardner joined the faculty of alma mater Olivet Nazarene College. There is today an "R. Wayne Gardner Memorial Scholarship in Mathematics" at

Point Loma Nazarene University Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college with its main campus on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazarene. ...

and a "Dr. R. Wayne and Elizabeth Young Gardner Scholarship" for ministerial and mathematics students at the

.The Eastern Nazarene CollegeUndergraduate Academic Catalogue (p. 36)
/ref> In addition, the Fowler Memorial Administration Building at Eastern Nazarene was renamed " Gardner Hall" in his honor.

Notes and references

External links

6-Training the Leadership We Need by R. Wayne Gardner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, R. Wayne 1894 births American Nazarene ministers Boston University alumni Eastern Nazarene College faculty Olivet Nazarene University alumni Olivet Nazarene University faculty People from Warren County, Pennsylvania Presidents of Eastern Nazarene College Year of death missing