William Arnold Shanklin (April 18, 1862 – October 6, 1924) was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister and an American

university president A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

Early life

William Arnold Shanklin, a member of the prominent Shanklin Family, was born at Carrollton, Missouri on April 18, 1862. He was the son of Wesley Dunscombe Shanklin and Lockie Ann (née Arnold) Shanklin. His younger brother, Arnold Shanklin, served as consul general of the United States at Panama beginning in 1905. Shanklin was educated at public schools in Missouri before attending

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, following ...

(

A.B. 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 yea ...

, 1883) and at

Garrett Biblical Institute Garrett may refer to: Places ;United States * Garrett, Illinois * Garrett, Indiana * Garrett, Kentucky (multiple places) ** Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community ** Garrett, Meade County, Kentucky, an unincorporated commun ...

( S.T.B., 1891).

Career

Before entering the ministry, Shanklin spent four years "engaged in mercantile pursuits" in

Chetopa, Kansas Chetopa is a city in Labette County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 929. Chetopa was named for Chief Chetopah, an Osage Indian chief. Later, the community name was shortened. History The communi ...

. After graduating from Garrett Biblical Institute in 1891, Shanklin was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the

Methodist Episcopal The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

ministry and held pastorates in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, and in Reading, Pennsylvania. In 1905, he was elected president of

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa. It enrolls around 6000 students and offers distance education programs that include 15 centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, and centers in ...

, which was founded in 1857, and served as president from 1905 until 1909. In 1908, he was elected to succeed Bradford P. Raymond as the ninth president of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

in Middletown, Connecticut beginning in June 1909. He received many honorary degrees, including a D.D. from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in 1895, and an

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

from

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Ar ...

in 1906.

Personal life

On October 13, 1891, Shanklin was married to Emma Elizabeth Brant (1869–1947), the daughter of Jefferson Emery Brant and Mary Ann (née McAllister) Brant, at Fort Scott, Kansas. Together, they were the parents of three children: * Mary Arnold Shanklin * William Arnold Shanklin Jr. * Anna Shanklin Shanklin died in New York City on October 6, 1924. He was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

References

External links

* Presidents of Wesleyan University 1862 births 1924 deaths People from Carrollton, Missouri Hamilton College (New York) alumni Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni 19th-century Methodist ministers 20th-century Methodist ministers American Methodist clergy Burials in Indiana 20th-century American clergy 19th-century American clergy {{US-academic-administrator-1860s-stub