Paul Langdon Ward (February 4, 1911 – November 13, 2005) was an American academic, the fifth president of

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

from 1960 to 1965.

Life

Ward was born in 1911 in Diyarbakir in what was then the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, the son of a medical missionary. He spent much of his childhood in Lebanon, where he attended the American Community School. He received his B.A. from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1933, an M.A. from Harvard University in 1934 and a Ph.D. in history from Harvard in 1940. He was an Assistant Professor History at

Russell Sage College Russell Sage College (often Russell Sage or RSC) is a co-educational college with two campuses located in Albany and Troy, New York, approximately north of New York City in the Capital District. Russell Sage College offers both undergraduat ...

(Troy, NY) 1941-42 before joining the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

(OSS) in the U.S. Department of State for the duration of World War II. After the war, Ward went to China as a missionary for the

Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

, teaching at Huachung University in

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

from 1946 to 1950. He returned to the U.S. to teach at

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...

(1951–53) and at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, later merged into what is now

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

(1953–60). At Carnegie Tech, Ward became Chairman of the History Department. He was the fifth president of Sarah Lawrence College from 1960 to 1965. After Sarah Lawrence, Ward headed the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

(1965–74). Ward served on Nelson Rockefeller's Commission on the Higher Education of Women, and was active in the peace movement in the U.S. in the Episcopal Peace Fellowship and on the Joint Commission of Peace of the Episcopal Church. In 1988, along with his wife Catharine, he received the John Nevin Sayre Award of the Episcopal Church for his work to promote peace. Ward also served on the board of directors for the Harry S Truman Library Institute, was a Fellow of the Society for Religion in Higher Education, and received honorary doctorates from Amherst College, Bard College and Clark University. Ward was the author of ''William Lambarde's Collections on Chancery'' (1953), ''A Style of History for Beginners'' (1959), ''Confrontation and Learned Societies'' (with John Voss, 1970), ''Elements of Historical Thinking'' (1971), ''Studying History: An Introduction to Methods and Structure'' (1985), and “The Voice of Conscience: A Loud and Unusual Noise? The Episcopal Peace Fellowship, 1939-1989” (with Nathaniel W. Pierce, 1989).

References

* American Historical Association websit

* New York Times obituary of November 18, 200

* Obituary on the Amherst College websit

External links

Paul Langdon Ward (AC 1933) Papers
at the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections 1911 births 2005 deaths Colby College faculty Presidents of Sarah Lawrence College Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Amherst College alumni Carnegie Mellon University alumni American expatriates in the Ottoman Empire {{US-academic-administrator-1910s-stub