John James Tigert IV (February 11, 1882 – January 21, 1965) was an American university president, university professor and administrator, college sports coach and the U.S. Commissioner of Education. Tigert was a native of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

and the son and grandson of

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

s. After receiving his bachelor's degree, he earned his master's degree as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

. After completing his education, Tigert taught at Central College; served as the president of Kentucky Wesleyan College; and worked as a professor, sports coach and administrator at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. Tigert gained his greatest national prominence as the U.S. Commissioner of Education from 1921 to 1928, and the third president of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, from 1928 to 1947. He is remembered as a forceful advocate for American public education, intercollegiate sports and university

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

reform.

Early life and education

Tigert was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, in 1882,University of Florida, Past Presidents
John J. Tigert (1928–1947)
. Retrieved February 14, 2010. the third son of a

Episcopal minister, John James Tigert III, and his wife, Amelia McTyeire Tigert, the daughter of Methodist Bishop and Vanderbilt University co-founder Holland N. McTyeire. Tigert received his

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/ kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in '' primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or ...

in the public schools of

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

, and Nashville, and earned his high school diploma, with honors, from the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.Johnson, ''A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians'', p. 827.

Vanderbilt

He was admitted to

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in Nashville, where he was a member of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. ...

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternit ...

( Tennessee Alpha Chapter) and a standout athlete in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. His time at Vanderbilt overlaps with

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

. As a senior, Tigert was honored as an All-Southern halfback for the Vanderbilt Commodores football team.College Football Hall of Fame, John Tigert Member Biography Retrieved February 14, 2010. In his final game, he scored the first points netted all season against rival Sewanee. Tigert graduated from Vanderbilt with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904; he was selected for

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, and was chosen as a

, the first from the state of Tennessee, along with teammate Bob Blake. While at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in Oxford, England, he completed his Master of Arts degree at Pembroke College in 1907, and he continued to participate in competitive university sports, including

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

Educator, administrator, reformer

After returning to the United States, Tigert taught at the Methodist-affiliated Central College—now known as

Central Methodist University Central Methodist University (formerly known as Central Methodist College and also known as Central College or CMU) is a private university in Fayette, Missouri. CMU is accredited to offer masters, bachelors, and associate degrees. The school is ...

—in

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. Th ...

, and, at the age of 27, was appointed president of Kentucky Wesleyan College in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of L ...

in 1909. That same year, he married the former Edith Jackson Bristol.

University of Kentucky

Tigert later received an appointment as a professor of

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

and

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, where he did work on psychology in advertising. While there, Tigert also served as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

from 1913 to 1917, the

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents the University of Kentucky. Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball program in history in terms of all-time winning percentag ...

coach in 1913, 1916 and 1917, the Wildcats women's basketball coach from 1911 to 1915 and again from 1916 to 1917, and the Wildcats football coach in 1915 and 1916.

Commissioner of Education

President Warren G. Harding appointed Tigert as the U.S. Commissioner of Education in 1921, and he served for seven years during the administrations of Harding and

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

. As commissioner, he was an energetic advocate of education reform and greater educational opportunities for all classes of Americans, and he traveled widely and spoke often to virtually any group interested in education. In particular, he took an interest in rural education, and advocated innovative ways to impart public education to a wider audience, including the use of radio. During his time in Washington, D.C., he also served a term as the national president of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.

University of Florida

The Florida Board of Control selected Tigert as the third president of the

in Gainesville, Florida in 1928. He assumed leadership of the university during an extended period of economic crisis in the state of Florida.Proctor & Langley, ''Gator History'', p. 37. When the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

began with the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange coll ...

, Florida was already suffering from the after-effects of the 1920s land boom and bust, as well the devastating aftermath of two major

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

s in 1926 and 1928. President John James Tigert

The common thread of the nineteen years of Tigert's administration was doing more with less. Faculty salary cuts were common; Tigert himself never drew his full authorized annual salary of $10,000. Among Tigert's many significant reforms, he decentralized the university budget to the level of the individual academic colleges, allowing them to set their own spending priorities.Pleasants, ''Gator Tales'', p. 29. The University Council, composed of the president, the

registrar A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to: Education * Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records * Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the se ...

and the college deans, retained final approval authority. Tigert also established the faculty senate, the Institute of Inter-American Affairs and the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. One of his most influential reforms as president was the founding of the new University College as an academic division within the University of Florida in 1935.Pleasants, ''Gator Tales'', pp. 29–30. University College was first known as General College. The college was modeled on the general education college at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, and administered the freshman and sophomore-year

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as La ...

education of undergraduates before they were accepted to the university schools or colleges that administered their

academic major An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conc ...

s. The college's stated purpose was to "stimulate intellectual curiosity" and "encourage independent work", with new liberal arts requirements in biology, English language and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

, the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at t ...

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

physical sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phy ...

and

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

, and thereby counter the growing trend toward "

trade school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

" education at the university level. As a former university athlete and coach, Tigert took a particular interest in athletics-related policy issues while he was president and was an enthusiastic supporter of the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as th ...

sports program generally, and football in particular.Pleasants, ''Gator Tales'', pp. 31–32. He was responsible for the construction of the university's first and only permanent football stadium,

Florida Field Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (in full Steve Spurrier-Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium),Blake R. Van Leer as Dean to expand the engineering program and manage all applications for federal funding. Van Leer also chaired the advanced planning committee setup by Tigert. Tigert was also instrumental in the organization of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC), which the University of Florida joined as one of the thirteen founding institutions in December 1932. Tigert subsequently served two terms as SEC president (1934–1936 and 1945–1947). As a key leader within the SEC, he worked to impose a uniform set of rules and standards for academic eligibility for SEC athletes. Appalled by the under-the-table payments to amateur college athletes that were prevalent at the time, he advocated the grant of

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

s to athletes which would become the grant-in-aid of other university athletic programs and as mandated by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) in the years to follow. Like his predecessor, Albert A. Murphree, Tigert was elected president of the National Association of State Universities, serving from 1939 to 1940. Following the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

on December 7, 1941, students began to withdraw from the university in large numbers to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces.Proctor & Langley, ''Gator History'', p. 38. The financial impact on the university had the potential to be devastating, but Tigert navigated the war years by making the university campus, dormitories and class rooms available for the training of U.S.

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War ...

flight crews. Tigert kept the lights on, and the bills paid. Veterans began to return to school with support from the

GI Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

, and by the fall term of 1946, over seventy percent of the University of Florida's 7,000 students were returning World War II veterans. Contributing to the shortage of facility space was the influx of new female students when the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Co ...

reinstituted

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

in 1947.Proctor & Langley, ''Gator History'', p. 39. The university suddenly had more students than its available housing and classroom space could serve. Dsg UF Administration Tigert Hall 20050507

Dsg UF Administration Tigert Hall 20050507

Tigert resigned as university president in 1947, worked as an educational consultant to the government of India as a member of its University Education Commission, and taught philosophy at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

until 1959.

Legacy

Tigert served as president of the University of Florida for nineteen years, longer than any of the other presidents of the university.Pleasants, ''Gator Tales'', p. 34. During his term, the university awarded its first doctoral degrees in 1934, a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was installed in 1938, and total student enrollment grew from 2,162 in 1928 to over 7,500 in 1947. As university president, he was responsible for significant and lasting academic, athletic and administrative reforms. In recognition of Tigert's long service as its president through depression and war, the University of Florida awarded him an

honorary degree 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 h ...

, a

doctor of letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

, during its 1953

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

celebration, and renamed its main administrative building, Tigert Hall, for him in 1960.University of Florida Foundation, Named UF Facilities
John J. Tigert Hall
Retrieved February 14, 2010. Tigert died in Gainesville, Florida on January 21, 1965; he was 82 years old.Associated Press, "John J. Tigert, 82, Educator, Is Dead: Ex-head of U. of Florida and Federal Commissioner", ''The New York Times'' (January 22, 1965). He was survived by his wife Edith, their son and daughter, and five grandchildren. As a fitting final tribute to a professor, education reformer and administrator, who also fervently supported college sports, Tigert was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as an "Honorary

Letter Winner In sports or activities in the United States, a letterman is a high school or college student who has met a specified level of participation or performance on a varsity team. Overview The term comes from the practice of awarding each such parti ...

," and was elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

as a player in 1970.

Head coaching record

Football

College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Records
John J. Tigert Records by Year
. Retrieved April 16, 2010

Men's basketball

Women's basketball

References

Bibliography

* Johnson, E. Polk
''A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities''
Vol. II, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, pp. 827–830 (1912). * Osborn, George Coleman, ''John James Tigert: American Educator'', The University Presses of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (1974). . * Pleasants, Julian M., ''Gator Tales: An Oral History of the University of Florida'', University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2006). . * Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, ''Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida'', South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). . * Van Ness, Carl, & Kevin McCarthy, ''Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future: The University of Florida, 1853–2003'', University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2003).

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tigert, John J. 1882 births 1965 deaths All-Southern college football players Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford American football punters American football halfbacks American men's basketball players American Rhodes Scholars American women's basketball coaches Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee Basketball coaches from Tennessee Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee College Football Hall of Fame inductees College men's track and field athletes in the United States Central Methodist Eagles football coaches Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers football coaches Kentucky Wildcats athletic directors Kentucky Wildcats football coaches Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball coaches Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball coaches Players of American football from Tennessee Presidents of the University of Florida United States Bureau of Education people University of Kentucky faculty University of Miami faculty Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players Vanderbilt Commodores football players Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tennessee) alumni