Samuel Palmer Brooks (December 4, 1863 – May 4, 1931) was the President of

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of th ...

from 1902 to 1931.Handbook of Texas Online
/ref>Baylor Presidency biography

Biography

Samuel Palmer Brooks was born in

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon and bordered on the east by the Oconee River. The rapid current of the river here made this an attractive location to b ...

on December 4, 1863.Time Magazine
/ref> He graduated with a B.A. from Baylor University in 1893, and from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in 1894. At Baylor, he roomed with later Governor of Texas Pat Morris Neff. He taught History at Baylor, then received an M.A. from Yale in 1902. From 1902 to 1931, he served as President of Baylor University, and was responsible for the restarting of the

Baylor Law School Baylor Law School is the oldest law school in Texas. Baylor Law School is affiliated with Baylor University and located in Waco, Texas. The school has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1931 and has been a member of the Associat ...

, formation of the Baylor College of Dentistry, the

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate S ...

, and the Texas Baptist Sanitarium which later became

Baylor University Medical Center Baylor University Medical Center (Baylor Dallas or BUMC), part of Baylor Scott & White Health, is a not-for-profit hospital in Dallas, Texas. It has 1,025 licensed beds and is one of the major centers for patient care, medical training and rese ...

in Dallas, Texas. Enrollment nearly quadrupled during his presidency, from 783 students in 1902 to 3,039 in 1930.Samuel Palmer Brooks papers, The Texas Collection, Baylor University
In 1916, he organized the Texas Association of Colleges, and served on the Texas State Teachers Association in 1901 and 1919. He served as Secretary of the Texas Baptist Education Commission in 1905, President of the

Baptist General Convention of Texas The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) is the oldest surviving Baptist convention in the state of Texas. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist World Alliance. In 2009, the BGCT began to also go by the name ...

from 1914 to 1917, and Vice-President of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

in 1910 and 1917. He was Vice-President of the Texas State Peace Society and organized the Texas State Peace Congress in 1907, of which he was President until 1915. He received

honorary degrees 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 ...

from Richmond College in 1903,

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 s ...

in Macon,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, in 1922,

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Sherman, Texas, in 1924, and

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in educat ...

in Georgetown,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

in 1929. He was a Mason, a trustee of the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was a ...

, and a member of the Southern Baptist Education Association. He died in 1931. His papers are housed at The Texas Collection at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Samuel Palmer 1863 births 1931 deaths People from Milledgeville, Georgia Baptists from Texas Baylor University alumni Yale University alumni Baylor University faculty Presidents of Baylor University Baptists from Georgia (U.S. state)