Thomas Hanna McMichael (July 7, 1863 – June 23, 1938) was the fourth president of Monmouth College of Illinois and was significant in elevating the stature of that college to national prominence. He was also elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of North America, its highest office.

Biography

Born to Jackson Burgess and Mary Hanna McMichael, Thomas Hanna McMichael was born on July 7, 1863, at Bellbrook, Greene County, Ohio, and moved to

Monmouth, Illinois Monmouth is a city in and the county seat of Warren County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,902 at the 2020 census, down from 9,444 in 2010. It is the home of Monmouth College and contains Monmouth Park, Harmon Park, North Park, Warf ...

with his parents in 1878 when his father began his duties as the second president of Monmouth College. Thomas enrolled in Monmouth College in 1882 and received the

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree with honors in 1886. He also received the

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from Monmouth College in 1889. He went on to earn the B.D. degree from the United Presbyterian seminary in Xenia,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, in 1890. He received the D.D. degree from Westminster College in Pennsylvania in 1903. After a brief pastorate at Spring Hill, Indiana, he became the pastor of a large and influential church, the First United Presbyterian Church in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio (1892), which would later be known as the Old Stone Church, and remained there until elected president of Monmouth College (Illinois) in 1903, a position which he held until 1936. He is among the longest-serving presidents of a higher education institution in the United States. During his presidency he rebuilt the campus following a disastrous fire in 1907 that destroyed the main academic building. New buildings included the addition of a Carnegie Library, a new main academic building named for the college’s first president, a new science building, two women’s residence halls and a new gymnasium designed by the noted architect

Dan Everett Waid Dan Everett Waid (1864–1939) was a prominent 20th century architect operating primarily in Illinois and New York. As chief architect for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (New York City), he and his partner designed the Home O ...

. He also modernized and expanded the curriculum. After his first eight years in office, the college was recognized in 1911 by the federal government as being of national standing and in roughly the top quintile of 345 colleges. Despite the large building program, the college endowment climbed from about $200,000 in 1903 to over $1,000,000 by 1927. Furthermore, the physical plant had increased from about $90,000 to a worth of $750,000 and the library had tripled its holdings. He also modernized the social life of the campus including the re-establishment of Greek social organizations most notably the Alpha chapter of

Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867 as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret college society of women to be modeled after ...

, the oldest national women’s fraternity (aka sorority), which had been founded at Monmouth College in 1867. He was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of North America, the highest office in the church, in 1915. He was also the founding president of the Chautauqua association in Monmouth in 1904. He died on June 23, 1938, and was buried at Monmouth Cemetery, Monmouth, Illinois

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMichael, Thomas Hanna 1863 births 1938 deaths Monmouth College alumni American Presbyterians Presidents of Monmouth College People from Bellbrook, Ohio