Ray Silver Tomlin (October 10, 1899 – October 27, 1972) was an American Methodist minister, educator, academic administrator, and college president. He served as the president of

Paine College Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, from 1921 to 1923 (as interim) and from 1923 until 1929.

Early life and education

Born on October 10, 1899, in Phoenix,

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

, and he moved with his family to a farm in Missouri. Tomlin received a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

from the Garrett Bible Institute and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. He was a teacher at Consolidated High School in

Hardin, Missouri Hardin is a city in southeast Ray County, Missouri, and part of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the United States. The population was 571 at the 2020 census. History Hardin was laid out in 1868. The community was named for Charles H ...

, from 1918 to 1921.

Paine College career

The school was established at the end of the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

by the

Colored Methodist Episcopal Church The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (C.M.E.C.) is a Methodist denomination that is based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology. Though historically a part of the black church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal church ...

(now Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, a historically black denomination) and the

Methodist Episcopal Church South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

(now United Methodist Church, a historically white denomination) to educate the formerly enslaved Black citizens on how to become teachers and ministers. The original endowment included $16 raised in pennies from former slaves. Originally started as a college and as a high school, by 1903 sufficient college-level work was provided to justify changing the school's name from Paine Institute to The Paine College. From 1921 to 1923, Tomlin served as an interim president of Paine College in Augusta, Georgia; followed by serving as president from 1923 to 1929. Tomlin – a White college president – believed that the school would be best served by hiring a Black faculty, which was not a popular position in Augusta, Georgia in the 1920s. In 1929 he was fired for his controversial stand.

Late life

Punishing him for his position, the Methodist Episcopal Church South church banished him to a poor circuit of churches in rural Missouri where he became a circuit preacher, traveling to a different church each Sunday. He was never bitter and spent the rest of his life ministering to the small farm communities in central Missouri. Tomlin died on October 27, 1972, in

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomlin, Ray S. 1889 births 1972 deaths Heads of universities and colleges in the United States Northwestern University alumni 20th-century American academics Presidents of Paine College