Ethan Allen Hitchcock Shepley (May 3, 1896 – June 21, 1975) was the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

from 1953 until 1961.

Early life

Ethan Allen Hitchcock Shepley was born on May 3, 1896, in Vandeventer,

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, Missouri, to Sarah (née Hitchcock) and John Foster Shepley. Through his mother, he was a descendant of early American revolutionary

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

. His father and grandfather were both graduates of Washington University in St. Louis. Shepley was educated at Smith Academy in St. Louis and attended a private school in Pennsylvania. He earned his undergraduate degree at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and entered

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. He was admitted to the bar in 1921 and finished his law degree at Washington University in St. Louis in 1922.

Career

Law and political career

From 1921 to 1954, Shepley practiced law in St. Louis. In 1921, he joined the law firm Nagel & Kirby in St. Louis. In 1930, he first became president of the community chest drive and served in that position four different times. He got involved in politics and was delegate-at-large at the 1943–1944 constitutional convention. He was chairman of the committee on taxation at the convention and was involved in writing the

Constitution of Missouri The Missouri Constitution is the state constitution of the U.S. State of Missouri. It is the supreme law formulating the law and government of Missouri, subject only to the federal Constitution, and the people. The fourth and current Missou ...

. From 1948 to 1949, he was Missouri State Republican Finance Chairman and was a member of the Republican National Finance Committee. In 1953, Shepley was one of five founding members of Civic Progress Inc.

Washington University

From 1940 to 1954, Shepley was a member of Washington University's board of directors. He was elected as chairman of the board in 1951. Following the resignation of

Arthur Compton Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) was an American particle physicist who won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the Compton effect, which demonstrated the particle nature of electromagnetic radiati ...

, he served as temporary

of the university. He became chancellor in 1954 and was the first alumnus to hold the position. He oversaw the transition of the university from a "streetcar college" for local students to a national university with a majority of its students from outside the region. During his tenure, the dormitories were desegregated. A three-year, fundraising drive called the "Second Century Campaign" started in February 1955 and led to a new round of construction, including the John M. Olin Library, Urbauer Hall for engineering, Busch Laboratory for biology, and Steinberg Hall for the Gallery of Arts, as well as dormitories on Wydown Boulevard. He retired in June 1961, but remained active with the university, including serving as chairman of the board and chairman of the "Seventy by 'Seventy'" fundraising campaign.

Later career

In 1964, Shepley was the Republican candidate for Missouri governor, but lost to Warren E. Hearnes. After his retirement, he maintained law offices at Bryan, Cave, McPheeters & McRoberts on Broadway. He was also director of

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...

and

Mallinckrodt Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals plc is an American-Irish domiciled manufacturer of specialty pharmaceuticals (namely, adrenocorticotropic hormone), generic drugs and imaging agents. In 2017, it generated 90% of its sales from the U.S. healthcare s ...

. Shepley expressed support for younger generations protesting materialistic wealth in the 1960s.

Personal life

Shepley married Sophie Baker. They had two sons and two daughters, Ethan A. H. Jr., Lewis B., Mrs. William G. Moore Jr. and Mrs. Jack E. Pelissier. He enjoyed reading historical novels. Shepley died of cancer on June 21, 1975, at

Barnes-Jewish Hospital Barnes-Jewish Hospital is the largest hospital in the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in the Central West End, St. Louis, Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, it is the adult teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicin ...

in St. Louis. He was cremated.

Awards

Shepley received the Alexander Meiklejohn Award for Academic Freedom from the

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

in 1959. This followed Shepley's defense of gynecologist

William Masters William Howell Masters (December 27, 1915 – February 16, 2001) was an American gynecologist and the senior member of the Masters and Johnson human sexuality research team. Along with his partner Virginia E. Johnson, he pioneered research into ...

in 1954 for his research on sexual function.

References

1896 births 1975 deaths Yale University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers from St. Louis Chancellors of Washington University in St. Louis Missouri Republicans Washington University in St. Louis alumni Washington University School of Law alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Deaths from cancer in Missouri 20th-century American educators 20th-century American lawyers {{US-academic-administrator-1890s-stub