George W. Hoss

George Washington Hoss (November 6, 1824 – April 11, 1906) was an American educator serving many positions at several institutions. Hoss was most notable for being an Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction and the second president of the Kansas State Normal School (KSN), now known as Emporia State University, in Emporia, Kansas.^[1]

Biography

Early life and education

Hoss was born to Jacob Hoss and Jane Kinney in 1824 and in 1836, the Hoss family moved to Indiana. Hoss attended Indiana Asbury University, located in Greencastle, Indiana, in 1845 and graduated in 1850 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree, in 1853.^[1]

Principal, professor, state educator

After graduating college, Hoss became the principal at Muncie Academy, located in Muncie, Indiana, from 1850 to 1852. After leaving Muncie Academy, he then went to serve as a professor of mathematics at the Indiana Females College in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1852 to 1856 before leaving to become a professor at Butler University from 1856 to 1864.^[2] In 1864, Hoss became the eighth superintendent of the Indiana Department of Education.^[3] He resigned in 1968.

Kansas State Normal president

In July 1871, the Kansas Board of Regents chose Hoss to replace Lyman Beecher Kellogg as the president of the Kansas State Normal, serving until 1873.^[4] During his time as president, Hoss was able to secure funds from the state legislature to construct a new building, as the number of enrolled students had increased to 200; however, the assembly room in the old building could only accommodate 100. In 1872, Hoss invited members of the state House of Representatives to visit the KSN. The day after their visit, the House passed a $50,000 appropriation, with the provision that the city provide $10,000.^[1] The new building was constructed in front of the old building, facing Commercial street, during the fall and winter of 1871 to 1872.^[1]

In April 1873, Hoss reported conflicts among the faculty to the Kansas Board of Regents and recommended that all faculty, himself included, turn in their resignations and allow the Board to choose who was re-hired. In May of 1873 Hoss was re-hired as President. Only one faculty member was re-hired, the remaining positions were filled in June. In August of 1873, Hoss announced his intent to resign as President of the Kansas State Normal School to accept a professorship at the Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He would finish out the year, and the resignation would take effect in December.^[4]

After the normal school presidency

After Hoss resigned from the Normal School in 1873, him and his family returned to Indiana where he became a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.^[5] Seven years later in 1880, Hoss returned to Topeka, Kansas, purchasing The Educationist.^[6] In 1884, Hoss became a professor and chair of the English Department at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.^[7]

In 1880 after being in Baldwin for six years, Hoss and his second wife, May Engstrom, moved to Wichita, Kansas and founded the Western School of Elocution and Oratory.^[8] The Hoss family remained there until his death in 1906.

Personal life

After graduating from Indiana Asbury, Hoss married Harriet J. Mitchell in 1850.^[1] Together, they had one son named Melville Mitchell Hoss in 1853.^[1] Hoss and Harriet were married until 1886 when she fell ill and died.^[1] In 1888, Hoss married May Engstrom, in which they had one son named Wendell born in 1892.

On April 11, 1906, Hoss died in Wichita.^[1]

References