Jacob Gould Schurman
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Jacob Gould Schurman (May 2, 1854 – August 12, 1942) was a Canadian-born American educator and diplomat, who served as President of
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
and
United States Ambassador to Germany The United States has had diplomatic relations with the nation of Germany and its principal predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, since 1835. These relations were broken twice (1917 to 1921, and 1941 to 1955) while Germany and the United St ...
.


Early life

Schurman was born at Freetown,
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
on May 2, 1854 the son of Robert and Lydia Schurman. Schurman lived on his parents' farm as a child, then in 1867 took a job at a store near his home, which he held for two years. At the age of fifteen, Schurman entered the Summerside Grammar School on Prince Edward Island, and in 1870 he won a scholarship to study at
Prince of Wales College Prince of Wales College (PWC) is a former university college, which was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. PWC merged with St. Dunstan's University in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island. PWC traces its his ...
for two years. After Prince of Wales College, he studied for a year and a half at Acadia College in
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
. In 1874 while a student at Acadia College in
Wolfville, Nova Scotia Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination due ...
, he won the Canadian Gilchrist scholarship to study at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, from which he received a BA degree in 1877 and an MA in 1878. Schurman also studied in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
,
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
,
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...
and Italy. He was professor of English literature, political economy and
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
at Acadia College in 1880–1882, of
metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
and English literature at Dalhousie College,
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
, in 1882–86, and of philosophy (Sage professor) at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
in 1886–92, being Dean of the Sage School of Philosophy in 1891-92 where he edited
The Philosophical Review ''The Philosophical Review'' is a quarterly journal of philosophy edited by the faculty of the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University and published by Duke University Press (since September 2006). Overview The journal publishes original ...
. In 1892 he became the third president of
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
, a position he held until 1920. He received an LL.D ( honoris causa) from the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in March 1902.


Cornell president

As Cornell's president, Schurman helped invent the modern state-supported research university. Under the Morrill Act, states were obligated to fund the maintenance of land grant college facilities, but were not obligated to fund operations. Subsequent laws required states to match federal funds for agricultural research stations and cooperative extension. In his inaugural address as Cornell's third president on November 11, 1892, Schurman announced his intention to enlist the financial support of the state. Cornell, which had been offering a four-year scholarship to one student in each New York assembly district every year and was the state's land-grant university, was determined to convince the state to become a benefactor of the university. In 1894, the state legislature voted to give financial support for the establishment of the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine and to make annual appropriations for the college. This set the precedents of privately controlled, state-supported
statutory college In United States, American higher education, particular to the state of New York (state), New York, a statutory college or contract college is a college or school that is a component of an independent, private university that has been designated b ...
s and cooperation between Cornell and the state. The annual state appropriations were later extended to agriculture, home economics, and following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, industrial and labor relations. In 1898, Schurman persuaded the State Legislature to found the first forestry college in North America, the
New York State College of Forestry The New York State College of Forestry, the first professional school of forestry in North America, opened its doors at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, in the autumn of 1898., It was advocated for by Governor Frank S. Black, but after just ...
. The College undertook to establish a demonstration forest in the Adirondacks, funded by New York State. However, the plans of the school's director
Bernhard Fernow Bernhard Eduard Fernow ( ; January 7, 1851 – February 6, 1923) was the third chief of the USDA's Division of Forestry of the United States from 1886 to 1898, preceding Gifford Pinchot in that position, and laying much of the groundwork for the e ...
for the land drew criticism from neighbors, and Governor
Benjamin B. Odell Benjamin Barker Odell Jr. (January 14, 1854May 9, 1926) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 34th Governor of New York from 1901 to 1904. Early life Born in Newburgh, New York, in 1854, Odell's father, Benjamin B. Odell ...
vetoed the 1903 appropriation for the school. In response, Cornell closed the school. Subsequently, in 1911, the State Legislature established a
New York State College of Forestry The New York State College of Forestry, the first professional school of forestry in North America, opened its doors at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, in the autumn of 1898., It was advocated for by Governor Frank S. Black, but after just ...
at Syracuse University, and the remains of Cornell's program became the Department of Natural Resources in its Agriculture College in 1910. The State later followed the same model to establish a state college of ceramics at Alfred University. In 1911, Schurman ruled in favour of admitting two Black female students to
Sage Hall Sage Hall was built in 1875 at Cornell University's Ithaca, New York campus. Originally designed as a residential building, it currently houses the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Conception Although women had previously enrolled in Cor ...
despite 269 of their white female peers petitioning to deny them residency.


International career

He was the chairman of the First United States Philippine Commission in 1899, and wrote (besides a part of the official report to Congress) ''Philippine Affairs--A Retrospect and an Outlook'' (1902). With J. E. Creighton and James Seth he founded in 1892 ''
The Philosophical Review ''The Philosophical Review'' is a quarterly journal of philosophy edited by the faculty of the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University and published by Duke University Press (since September 2006). Overview The journal publishes original ...
''. He also wrote '' /archive.org/details/cihm_62085 Kantian Ethics and the Ethics of Evolution' (1881); ''The Ethical Import of Darwinism'' (1888); ''Belief in God'' (1890), and '' Agnosticism and Religion'' (1896). Schurman served as United States Ambassador to
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
in 1912–13, Minister to China between 1921 and 1925, and then as Ambassador to
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
between 1925 and 1929, a position twice previously held by Cornell's first president
Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...
. In 1917 Schurman was appointed honorary chairman of the American Relief Committee for Greeks of Asia Minor, an organization which provided humanitarian relief to Ottoman Greeks during the
Greek genocide The Greek genocide (, ''Genoktonia ton Ellinon''), which included the Pontic genocide, was the systematic killing of the Christian Ottoman Greek population of Anatolia which was carried out mainly during World War I and its aftermath (1914†...
. He retired to
Bedford Hills, New York Bedford Hills is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 3,001 at the 2010 census. Two New York State prisons for women, Bedford Hills Correctional F ...
in 1930. In 1960, Cornell named the administrative wing of its
veterinary school Veterinary education is the tertiary education of veterinarians. To become a veterinarian, one must first complete a veterinary degree in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM , V.M.D. , BVS, BVSc, BVMS, BVM, cand.med.vet). In the United States and ...
Jacob Gould Schurman Hall in his honor. In 2021, the Cornell Filipino Association sought to discredit Schurman due to the work of the Philippine Commission and demanded that his name be removed from the building. After hearing from both sides, Cornell President Martha Pollack rejected the move. in 1967, Jacob Gould Schurman III endowed the Schurman professorships in his honor. Cornell describes them as "one of the most prestigious chairs at the university."


Personal life

Jacob Gould Schurman married Barbara Forrest Munro (1865–1930) in 1884; they had seven children, including youngest daughter Dorothy Schurman Hawes, who wrote about China.


Notes


References

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Further reading

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External links


Cornell Presidency: Jacob Gould Schurman
* Cornell University Library Presidents Exhibition: Jacob Gould Schurman
PresidencyInauguration
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schurman, Jacob Gould 1854 births 1942 deaths Acadia University alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian people of Dutch descent Presidents of Cornell University Ambassadors of the United States to China Ambassadors of the United States to Germany People from Prince County, Prince Edward Island Ambassadors of the United States to Greece Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) New York State College of Forestry People from Bedford Hills, New York 20th-century American diplomats