| Nathan Marsh Pusey | |
|---|---|
| 24th President of Harvard University | |
| Term | 1953 – 1971 |
| Predecessor | James Bryant Conant |
| Successor | Derek Curtis Bok |
| Born | April 4, 1907 Council Bluffs, Iowa |
| Died | November 14, 2001 (aged 94) New York City, New York |
| Alma mater | Harvard |
| Religion | Episcopalian[1] |
| Spouse | Anne (Woodward) Pusey[2] |
| Children | Nathan M. Pusey Jr., James R. Pusey, Rosemary (Pusey) Hopkins[2] |
Nathan Marsh Pusey (April 4, 1907 – November 14, 2001) was a prominent American university educator.
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Pusey was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa to John and Rosa Pusey.[3] He was educated at Harvard University (B.A., 1928, M.A., 1932, Ph.D., 1937), where he studied first English literature and then ancient history.
Pusey's first teaching post after graduating was at Riverdale Country School. He progressed to Lawrence College, then to Scripps College, and later to Wesleyan University. He served as president of Lawrence College (1944–1953), and later as the 24th president of Harvard University (1953–1971).
Pusey vigorously opposed McCarthyism in the 1950s and supported the U.S. Civil Rights Movement 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. He was, on the other hand, 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, and 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 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).
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Nichols Barrows |
President of Lawrence University 1944–1953 |
Succeeded by Douglas Maitland Knight |
| Preceded by James B. Conant |
President of Harvard University 1953–1971 |
Succeeded by Derek C. Bok |
| Preceded by Charles Hamilton |
President of Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 1971–1975 |
Succeeded by John Edward Sawyer |
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