Ernest Martin Hopkins
Encyclopedia
Ernest Martin Hopkins served as the 11th President of Dartmouth College
from 1916 to 1945.
in 1962, the speaker, then-Governor of New York
Nelson A. Rockefeller, turned to the man for whom the building was named and said, "I came to Dartmouth because of you."
As a young man growing up in New Hampshire
, he worked in a granite
quarry and decided to attend Dartmouth for his undergraduate education over the stern objections of his father. After graduating from Worcester Academy
in 1896, he matriculated to Dartmouth. So strong were the impressions he made in Hanover
during his student years that then-President William Jewett Tucker
employed him as a clerk and supported him with a scholarship during the depression of the 1890s.
A Dartmouth graduate himself (class of 1901), Ernest Martin Hopkins did not fit the typical mold of a college president when he was selected by the Trustees in 1916. He was not an academic, had never held a teaching position and had spent the bulk of his career in the business world. But any doubts about his leadership qualities were quickly dispelled and he showed himself to be a champion of academic freedom in an era when that basic tenet of scholarship
was under attack.
The administration of Ernest Martin Hopkins spanned two world wars, and he was called to serve his country on several occasions. In World War I
, he was named Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Relations and served in the Office of Production and Management at the outset of World War II
. President Hopkins was the recipient of at least 15 honorary degrees, and, while president of Dartmouth, declined an invitation to serve as president of the University of Chicago
in order, according to a 1964 New York Times obituary, "to continue development of his ideas of what an undergraduate liberal arts education should encompass." The articulation of these ideas during the Hopkins administration has become an enduring legacy that continues at Dartmouth today.
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
from 1916 to 1945.
Dartmouth Presidency
At the dedication of the Hopkins Center for the ArtsHopkins Center for the Arts
Hopkins Center for the Creative and Performing Arts at Dartmouth College is located at 2 East Wheelock Street in Hanover, New Hampshire. The center, which was designed by Wallace K. Harrison and foreshadows his later design of Manhattan’s Lincoln Center, is the college’s cultural hub. It is home...
in 1962, the speaker, then-Governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Nelson A. Rockefeller, turned to the man for whom the building was named and said, "I came to Dartmouth because of you."
As a young man growing up in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, he worked in a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
quarry and decided to attend Dartmouth for his undergraduate education over the stern objections of his father. After graduating from Worcester Academy
Worcester Academy
Worcester Academy is an independent coeducational preparatory school spread over in Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States. The school is divided into a middle school, serving approximately 150 students in grades six to eight, and an upper school, serving approximately 500 students in...
in 1896, he matriculated to Dartmouth. So strong were the impressions he made in Hanover
Hanover, New Hampshire
Hanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2010 census. CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the sixth best place to live in America in 2011, and the second best in 2007....
during his student years that then-President William Jewett Tucker
William Jewett Tucker
The Rev. William Jewett Tucker served as the 9th President of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, United States, from 1893 to 1909.- Dartmouth presidency :...
employed him as a clerk and supported him with a scholarship during the depression of the 1890s.
A Dartmouth graduate himself (class of 1901), Ernest Martin Hopkins did not fit the typical mold of a college president when he was selected by the Trustees in 1916. He was not an academic, had never held a teaching position and had spent the bulk of his career in the business world. But any doubts about his leadership qualities were quickly dispelled and he showed himself to be a champion of academic freedom in an era when that basic tenet of scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
was under attack.
The administration of Ernest Martin Hopkins spanned two world wars, and he was called to serve his country on several occasions. In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, he was named Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Relations and served in the Office of Production and Management at the outset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. President Hopkins was the recipient of at least 15 honorary degrees, and, while president of Dartmouth, declined an invitation to serve as president of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in order, according to a 1964 New York Times obituary, "to continue development of his ideas of what an undergraduate liberal arts education should encompass." The articulation of these ideas during the Hopkins administration has become an enduring legacy that continues at Dartmouth today.