Alvin Duke Chandler

Alvin Duke Chandler
21st President of the
College of William & Mary
In office
1951–1960
Preceded by John Edwin Pomfret
Succeeded by Davis Young Paschall
Personal details
Born (1902-08-18)August 18, 1902
Richmond, Virginia
Died May 26, 1987(1987-05-26) (aged 84)
Virginia Beach General Hospital
Resting place Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)
Spouse(s) Louise Michaels Chandler (until 1987, his death)
Parents Julian Alvin Carroll Chandler (1872 - 1934)
Lenore Burton Duke Chandler (1875 - 1920)
Relatives brothers Herbert G., Carroll C., and J. A. C. Chandler, Jr.
Education College of William & Mary (attended, 1918)
U.S. Naval Academy (B.S., 1923)
Imperial Defence College (1949-1950)
Occupation Naval officer, educator
Awards Legion of Merit with Gold Star
[1][2][3]

Alvin Duke Chandler (August 18, 1902 – May 26, 1987)[4] was the twenty-first president of the College of William & Mary, serving from 1951 to 1960.[5] He also served as the chancellor of The Colleges of William & Mary from 1960 to 1962; after that system was disbanded, he served as Chancellor of the College from 1962 to 1974.[6] Prior to his career at the College of William & Mary, Chandler served in the United States Navy, eventually reaching the rank of Vice-Admiral. His father, Julian Alvin Carroll Chandler, also served as president of the College of William & Mary. His personal papers[7] as well as the papers from his time as president[8] can be found in the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary.

Naval officer (1923–1951)

Chandler attended William and Mary in 1918–1919, prior to his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1923.

Commander Chandler was a student at the Naval War College about 1936-1938.[9][10]

During the Guadalcanal Campaign Cdr Chandler commanded Destroyer Division 41 in the Battle of Rennell Island. USS Chevalier (DD-451), USS Edwards (DD-619), USS Meade (DD-602), and USS Taylor (DD-468) made up his force.[11]

He was director of logistics plans for the U.S. Navy when he retired to accept the presidency of the College of William & Mary (1951).[3]

Educator (1951–1974)

The Board of Visitors appointed Admiral Chandler president of the College of William & Mary in haste, and outraged the faculty by failing to consult them. His predecessor had been forced out of office following a scandal over changing grades for football players on the college team. After taking office, he instituted uniform admission standards for all students. During his tenure, he oversaw the expansion of the faculty, curriculum changes, and the construction of five new buildings. He left office to become chancellor of the Colleges of William & Mary (1960–1962), until the General Assembly of Virginia made those five public colleges independent. Then he was chancellor of the college (1962–1974).[1][3]

The faculty were unhappy with President Chandler when state law required that they subscribe to loyalty oaths. A star professor decamped for McGill University, and faculty recruiting suffered.[1] [12][13]

Students chafed at censorship of their publications, restrictions on drinking, and requirements for chaperones.[12][14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Alvin D. Chandler, 84, Ex-President of College". New York Times. May 30, 1987. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  2. ↑ "Alvin Duke Chandler - Special Collections Research Center Wiki". Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  3. 1 2 3 "Education: Change of Command". Time. October 22, 1951. Retrieved 2011-09-06. Rear Admiral Alvin Duke Chandler, 49, director of the Navy's logistics plans division, seemed able, energetic and affable enough, and his father, Julian A. C. Chandler, had been a William and Mary president before him (1919-34). The only thing wrong with Admiral Chandler, the faculty insisted, was the highhanded way he had been chosen.
  4. ↑ Trustees and presidents of American colleges and universities. 3. Who's Who in American Education. 1955. p. 48. Retrieved 2011-09-06. Digitized April 19, 2010, University of California.
  5. ↑ "20th Century Presidents". College of William and Mary. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  6. ↑ "Post-Colonial Era Chancellors". College of William & Mary. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  7. ↑ "Alvin Duke Chandler Papers". Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "Office of the President. Alvin Duke Chandler". Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  9. ↑ Dyer, George Carroll. "Chapter IV In and Out of Big Time Naval Aviation 1932-1940". The Amphibians Came to Conquer - THE STORY OF ADMIRAL RICHMOND KELLY TURNER. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 124. LCCN 71603853. ...Commanders Walden L. Ainsworth, Lawrence F. Reifsnider, Alvin D. Chandler, Bernhard H. Bieri, and Edmund D. Burroughs were all members of his Senior Class. All these were to be Flag officers during World War II.
  10. ↑ Tuohy, William (2007). America's Fighting Admirals: Winning the War at Sea in World War II. St. Paul: Zenith Press. p. 37. ISBN 9780760329856. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  11. ↑ Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001) [originally 1949]. "Chapter XV The Battle of Rennell Island 29–30 January 1943". Vol. 5: The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 - February 1943. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. University of Illinois Press. pp. 351–353. ISBN 0-252-06996-X. Retrieved 2011-09-06.
  12. 1 2 "Education: Report Card". Time. August 15, 1955. Retrieved 2011-09-06. Retired Vice Admiral Alvin D. Chandler ran into another squall in his stormy four-year cruise as president of the College of William and Mary. Having alienated most of the students by rigid rules against beer, unchaperoned parties and uncensored student publications, he and the governing Board of Visitors alienated a powerful segment of the faculty by demands for absolute loyalty and a tendency to command the campus as if it were a battleship. Last week one of William and Mary's top men and onetime acting president, Philosopher James W. Miller, resigned because "under its present auspices, there is little hope for the College of William and Mary." Miller will join the faculty of Canada's McGill University.
  13. ↑ "James W. Miller, 91; Professor and Ex-Dean". New York Times. May 21, 1993. Retrieved 2011-09-07. Dr. James Wilkinson Miller, a professor of philosophy and former dean of the College of William and Mary, died Wednesday... Dr. Miller joined the faculty of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, in 1935 as a professor of philosophy and was chairman of the department of philosophy and humanities until he resigned in 1955. He served briefly as acting president of the college in 1951... As faculty dean from 1938 to 1946, he recruited prominent teachers and introduced topical majors, like journalism, contemporary culture and the nature and development of scientific thought. He also oversaw the college's World War II effort, including the training of Navy chaplains and the reception of European refugees... After leaving William and Mary, Dr. Miller was appointed MacDonald Professor of Philosophy at McGill University in Montreal, where he taught until he retired in 1970. He was chairman of the philosophy department there from 1960 to 1964... A native of Marquette, Mich., he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan and earned a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1927...
  14. ↑ Lipscomb, Thomas (February 2, 2007). "Loyalty Oaths Are Back at William and Mary". American Spectator. Retrieved 2011-09-06. In the early 1950s, in the wake of the McCarthy era, state legislatures including Virginia's were pressing oaths of loyalty to the United States on state employees all across America. Faculty members claimed justly that if they had done something treasonous, they should be accused and stand trial, but they should be assumed innocent until proven guilty. One of the most celebrated incidents happened at the College of William and Mary, a little over a half century ago. The much-beloved chairman of the philosophy department, James Miller who had been previously acting-president, resigned because "under its present auspices, there is little hope for the College of William and Mary."The College's President, former Admiral Alvin Duke Chandler with the Board of Visitors behind him, pressured an outraged faculty to sign the oaths. It was a bitter, dishonorable period and badly hurt the College's faculty recruiting and its reputation and fund-raising appeal for many years.

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