Episode 3043
William Arthur Ganfield
Wed, 2025-Sep-03 00:53 UTC
Length - 2:41
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.
The featured article for Wednesday, 3 September 2025, is William Arthur Ganfield.
William Arthur Ganfield (September 3, 1873 – October 18, 1940) was an American pastor, educator, and academic administrator who was president of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, from 1915 to 1921 and then of Carroll College (now called Carroll University) in Waukesha, Wisconsin, from 1921 until his retirement in 1939.
A preacher in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Ganfield was hired to join the history faculty at Carroll in 1904 and stayed in Waukesha until 1915, when he was elected president of what is now Centre College. There, he reversed decisions made by his predecessor, Frederick W. Hinitt, to restore the school's close connection with the Presbyterian Church, leading to an increase in enrollment and a successful fundraiser. Centre experienced significant athletic success during Ganfield's tenure, particularly in football; the 1919 team was retroactively recognized as national champions, and the 1921 team won a major upset victory over Harvard. By the time of the Harvard game, Ganfield had already agreed to return to Carroll as their president, though his contract stipulated that he would not begin the position until after the game.
Ganfield, who took office at Carroll directly after the school's first lay president, kept its ties to the church intact and maintained daily chapel attendance as a requirement for all students. Enrollment and the endowment both grew during his nineteen-year term, the latter to $800,000 by his retirement. Sports enjoyed increased attention and success; Norris Armstrong, a former member of Centre's football team, came to Carroll in 1923 to coach the football and basketball teams, both of which won numerous league titles. Faculty pensions were introduced during the Great Depression, and fixed salaries were implemented as the faculty numbers grew. Ganfield retired in 1939 due to poor health and died the following year.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:53 UTC on Wednesday, 3 September 2025.
For the full current version of the article, see William Arthur Ganfield on Wikipedia.
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Until next time, I'm neural Ruth.
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