Nathan Marsh Pusey (4 April 1907–14 November 2001) was a prominent American educator. He was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and completed his education at Harvard (B.A., 1928, M.A., 1932, Ph.D., 1937), where he studied first English literature and then ancient history. He taught at Riverdale Country School, Lawrence College, Scripps College, and Wesleyan University. He served as president of Lawrence College (1944-1953), and later as the 24th president of Harvard University (1953-1971). Pusey vigorously opposed McCarthyism in the 1950s and supported the U.S. Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. His clashes with Joseph McCarthy were especially significant because Pusey's position at Lawrence College placed him right in the middle of the senator's hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin and political power base of the conservative Fox Valley. As president of the college, Pusey held great respect in the community, and his vocal criticisms of McCarthy resounded loudly in the area. He was, on the other hand, 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 1960's. 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." When, in April of 1969, student activists occupied Harvard's University Hall (the building that housed most of the administrative offices) in protest over the presence of ROTC on campus at the height of the Vietnam War, Pusey summoned the police to arrest the demonstrators. Although he was fully within his legal right in doing so, the decision was very divisive. It is generally believed that the ensuing controversy contributed to his early retirement in 1971. After departing from Harvard, Pusey served as president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (1971-1975) and was president of the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (1979-1980). Nathan Marsh Pusey Elementary in Council Bluffs, Iowa is named for Pusey. Pusey Elementary is a K-6 neighborhood school with approximately 170 students enrolled, originally constructed in 1957 for students in grades K-4. In 1975 additional instructional space was added to serve students in grades K-6. In 1999, the school added an at-risk pre-school.
Works
- The Age of the Scholar,1963
- American Higher Education 1945-1970: A Personal Report, 1978
External links
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| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Nichols Barrows |
President of Lawrence University 1944–1953 |
Succeeded by Douglas Maitland Knight |
| Preceded by James B. Conant |
President of Harvard University 1953–1971 |
Succeeded by Derek C. Bok |
| Preceded by Charles Hamilton |
President of Andrew W. Mellon Foundation 1971–1975 |
Succeeded by John Edward Sawyer |
