Joseph Beech, or Joe Beech as he was more commonly known (October 3, 1867 – February 25, 1954), was an American

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

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

and educator, member of

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity has chartered fifty chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some ...

and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, and founding president of the

West China Union University The West China Union University ( zh, t=華西協合大學), alternatively known as West China University or Huaxi University, was a private Christian university in Chengdu, Sichuan, western China. It was the product of the collective efforts of ...

. He was a recipient of the

Order of Brilliant Jade The Order of Brilliant Jade is a civilian order of the Republic of China that can be worn only by the head of a nation. According to regulations, the order can only be presented by the president of the country or an emissary expressly dispatched ...

Life and career

Beech was born October 3, 1867, in

Newbold, Derbyshire Newbold is a village north of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, which in 2001 had a population of just under 8,000.Centenary Collegiate Institute in

Hackettstown, New Jersey Hackettstown is a Town (New Jersey), town in Warren County, New Jersey, Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is perhaps best known as the home to the US headquarters of Mars Inc., Mars, Inc.. As of the 2020 United States census, t ...

before entering

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

, where he graduated in 1899 with a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy. While in college he was class president in his junior year and president of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

Joseph Beech as Principal of the Chungking Wesleyan Mission School

After his graduation from Wesleyan, Beech went to

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

(Szechwan),

western China Western China ( zh, s=中国西部, l=, labels=no or zh, s=华西, l=, labels=no) is the west of China. It consists of Southwestern China and Northwestern China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces ...

as a missionary through the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He first spent time in

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

(Chungking) as the principal of the Chungking Wesleyan Mission School from 1901 to 1904. He moved to the provincial capital

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

(Chengtu) in 1905, where he served as the founding president of

. This university was founded in 1910 by four Protestant mission societies of three nations, namely, the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (

American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...

), American Methodist Episcopal Mission (

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

Canadian Methodist Mission The Canadian Methodist Mission (CMM), also known as Missionary Society of the Methodist Church in Canada (MCC; zh, t=美道會, w=Mei3 Tao4 Hui4, p=Měi Dào Huì, l=Beautiful Way Society; former romanization: Mei Dao Hwei or Meh Dao Hwei; also ...

(

Methodist Church of Canada The Methodist Church was the major Methodist denomination in Canada from its founding in 1884 until it merged with two other denominations to form the United Church of Canada in 1925. The Methodist Church was itself formed from the merger of fou ...

), and Friends' Foreign Mission Association (

British Quakers British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

). Creating a university requires lengthy preparation, which started in 1905 with a Temporary Board of Management of the West China Union University founded to handle this task. Beech was appointed a member of this Board together with Dr. Canright, C. R. Carscallen, E. J. Carson, H. T. Hodgkin, H. D. Robertson, H. T. Silcock, J. Taylor, E. Williams, and J. W. Yost. The Board prepared a report for presentation to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

commissioners,

Ernest DeWitt Burton Ernest DeWitt Burton (February 4, 1856 – May 26, 1925) was an American biblical scholar who served as the third president of the University of Chicago from 1923 to 1925. Biography Burton was born in Granville, Ohio and graduated from Denis ...

and

Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (; September 25, 1843 – November 15, 1928) was an American geologist and educator. In 1893 he founded the ''Journal of Geology'', of which he was editor for many years. Biography Chamberlin was born September 25, 184 ...

, on the occasion of their visit to West China in May 1909, as part of the Oriental Investigation Commission project supported by

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

to reconnoiter the

Eastern world The Eastern world, also known as the East or historically the Orient, is an umbrella term for various cultures or social structures, nations and philosophical systems, which vary depending on the context. It most often includes Asia, the ...

as a potential site for the humanitarian projects of the nascent

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

. In the process of preparation, Beech reached out to Wesleyan students, faculty, and alumni. Through his fundraising efforts, the Wesleyan community's financial support of West China Union University helped it to thrive. In addition to serving as founding president, Beech designed many of the university's buildings and was himself a member of its teaching faculty. In "History of the Union University: A Sketch", H. D. Robertson, a Canadian Methodist missionary, described Beech as someone "smiling his way through all sorts of difficulties and bringing to definite conclusions all manner of suggestions and ideas. In Western countries we see him going from place to place telling the tale of this university and its opportunities, and interesting men so that they give with confidence the money needed for the University." Beech served as the Union University's chancellor from 1931 to 1940 before retiring to the United States. He died in 1954 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. His contribution to the higher education of Republican China won the recognition of

the Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. Upon his departure for the States in 1940, he was given a special farewell by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and awarded the Diploma of the First Class and the

Personal life

Beech married Mary Josephine Harvey in 1888, who died just two years later (1890). They had one son named Elliot. In 1904, he married Nellie Miriam Decker in

. They had six children, three boys and three girls.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beech, Joseph 1867 births 1954 deaths American Methodist missionaries Methodist missionaries in Sichuan Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church Centenary University alumni Wesleyan University alumni YMCA leaders University and college founders People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Presidents of universities and colleges in China Academic staff of West China Union University 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators Psi Upsilon Protestantism in Chengdu Protestantism in Chongqing

Life and career

Personal life

See also

References