Nathan Marsh Pusey (; April 4, 1907 – November 14, 2001) was an American academic. Originally from

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...

, Pusey won a scholarship to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

out of high school and went on to earn bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees in the classics at Harvard. Pusey began his academic career as a professor of literature at

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pr ...

and

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 ...

before serving as president of

Lawrence College Lawrence College may refer to: * Lawrence College Ghora Gali, a boarding school in Punjab, Pakistan * Lawrence University, a private liberal arts college in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, named "Lawrence College" from 1913 until 1964 * Sarah L ...

from 1944 to 1953. Serving as

President of Harvard University The president of Harvard University is the chief academic administration, administrator of Harvard University and the ''Ex officio member, ex officio'' president of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard Corporation. Each is appoin ...

from 1953 to 1971, Pusey was the first president of Harvard from outside

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. After his time at Harvard, he was president of the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969 merger ...

from 1971 to 1975.

Early life and education

Pusey was born in

, to John and Rosa Pusey. His great uncle

William Henry Mills Pusey William Henry Mills Pusey (July 29, 1826 – November 15, 1900), an American banker, was a one-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 9th congressional district in southwestern Iowa from 1883 to 1885. Born in Washington County, Pennsyl ...

had served as an Iowa state senator and member of the United States House of Representatives. He shared a name with another great uncle, Iowa state senator Nathan Marsh Pusey. The younger Pusey was educated at

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

(

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

), and received M.A. (1928) and Ph.D. (1937) degrees from

, studying

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

and

ancient history Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...

. During his freshman year in college, he lived in

Stoughton Hall This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system. Apley Court South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke Stre ...

. He married Anne Woodward in 1936. The couple later had three children.

Educational career

Pusey's first teaching post after he graduated was at

Riverdale Country School Riverdale Country School is a co-educational, independent, college-preparatory day school in New York City serving pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is located on two campuses covering more than in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, Ne ...

. He then taught at

, and

. He served as president of Lawrence College (1944–1953), and later as the 24th

president of Harvard University The president of Harvard University is the chief academic administration, administrator of Harvard University and the ''Ex officio member, ex officio'' president of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard Corporation. Each is appoin ...

(1953–1971). During his presidency of Harvard, Pusey overhauled the admissions process, which had been biased heavily in favor of the alumni of New England–based boarding schools, and began admitting public school graduates based on scores obtained on standardized tests such as the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

. This was highly controversial with the school's alumni population but set the stage for diversifying the student body and faculty.

Political positions

Pusey was a devout, lifelong

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

who deplored the “almost idolatrous” secularism of his era. He was an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

, during his presidency of Lawrence College. Pusey vigorously opposed

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

in the 1950s and supported the US Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. His clashes with

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

were especially significant because Pusey's position at Lawrence College placed him in the senator's hometown (

) and amid the political power base of the then-conservative Fox Valley. As president of the college, Pusey held the community's respect, and his vocal criticisms of McCarthy resounded loudly in the area. Pusey was a deeply religious man and a somewhat traditionalist scholar, and he was appalled by the student radicalism that raged in American universities in the late 1960s. He complained bitterly that "learning has almost ceased" in many universities because of the violent, revolutionary activities of a "small group of overeager young... who feel they have a special calling to redeem society." In April 1969, student activists occupied Harvard's University Hall (the building that housed most of the administrative offices) in protest over the presence of

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...

on campus at the height of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. In response, Pusey summoned local and state police to arrest the demonstrators. Although his action was legal, it was widely criticized, and the resulting furor probably contributed to his early retirement in 1971. After his time at Harvard, Pusey was president of the

(1971–1975) and president of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (1979–1980).

Pusey Library Nathan Marsh Pusey Library is an underground library located inside of Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and ...

, an underground building named for him, was announced in 1971 and opened in 1976. It houses a number of special collections and the Harvard Archives.

Published works

* ''The Age of the Scholar'', 1963 * ''American Higher Education 1945–1970: A Personal Report'', 1978

Notes

External links

Biography at Lawrence University

Obituary in the ''Harvard Crimson''

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pusey, Nathan M. 1907 births 2001 deaths People from Council Bluffs, Iowa Wesleyan University faculty Presidents of Harvard University Presidents of Lawrence University Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Harvard College alumni Schoolteachers from Iowa Scripps College faculty Schoolteachers from New York (state) 20th-century American educators