Hamilton Holt (August 18, 1872 – April 26, 1951) was an American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

, author and politician. He was President of Rollins College 1925 to 1949.

Biography

Holt was born on August 18, 1872, in Brooklyn, New York City, to George Chandler Holt and his wife Mary Louisa Bowen Holt. His father was an attorney who was eventually appointed to the federal judiciary. Hamilton Holt graduated from

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 ...

in 1894 and completed graduate work in economics and sociology at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, three years later. Holt served as editor and publisher of the liberal weekly magazine ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' in New York from 1897 to 1921. He was an outspoken advocate for reform, prohibition, immigrant rights, and international peace. In 1906 he published a collection of immigrants' life stories as ''The Life Stories of Undistinguished Americans as Told by Themselves''. In 1909 Holt was a founding member of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

(NAACP). He served on the executive committee of the League to Enforce Peace and was the first Executive Director of the endowment fund of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, established to support individuals and groups working to advance the cause of international peace. In 1924 Holt unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate from Connecticut as a Democrat. He was soundly defeated by Hiram Bingham III, 60.4% to 38.6%.

President of Rollins College

In 1925, Holt became President of

Rollins College Rollins College is a Liberal arts college, private liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several master's programs. Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institut ...

in Florida and served in that capacity until 1949. His approach to education stresses a cooperative new system called the "Conference Plan" which involved extensive one-on-one interaction between professor and student. It required the college to limit enrollment and recruit professors who would be effective in their new educational mentoring roles. He also advocated a policy whereby the student body could approve or disapprove of faculty hirings, and inaugurated the Walk of Fame. Because of Holt's commitment to teaching and learning innovation, he organized a national five-day Rollins Educational Conference in 1931, led by

John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...

, that brought together leaders in non-traditional higher education. Many ideas from the meetings were integrated into the college's Conference Plan and helped establish the college's national reputation as a leading innovative teaching institution. Holt believed in the value of outstanding role models and brought to campus leaders in their fields including politicians such as presidents

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, and

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

; inventor

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

; business leader J. C. Penney; poet Carl Sandburg; writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings; military leader General Omar Bradley; pioneering social worker

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...

of Hull House; jurist William O. Douglas, and actors such as James Cagney and

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

. In 1933, 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 ...

investigated several dismissals and forced resignations at Rollins College. It criticized Holt's autocratic style and the lack of security of tenure at the institution. Rollins College was subsequently censured by the AAUP. Holt died on April 26, 1951, at the Day-Kimball Hospital in Putnam, Connecticut.

Legacy

The Rollins College evening program is named in his honor as is a street in the city of Winter Park.

References

External links

Podcast Documentaries of Hamilton Holt, Part 1
by RICHES
Podcast Documentaries of Hamilton Holt, Part 2
by RICHES * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holt, Hamilton 1872 births 1951 deaths Yale University alumni Rollins College faculty Connecticut Democrats People from Brooklyn Members of the Men's League

Biography

President of Rollins College

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links