Herman B Wells

Herman B Wells
1st University Chancellor of Indiana University
In office
1962–2000
Succeeded byKenneth Gros Louis
Interim President of Indiana University
In office
1968–1968
Preceded byElvis Jacob Stahr Jr.
Succeeded byJoseph Sutton
11th President of Indiana University
In office
1938–1962
Preceded byWilliam Lowe Bryan
Succeeded byElvis Jacob Stahr Jr.[1]
Personal details
Born(1902-06-07)June 7, 1902
Jamestown, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMarch 18, 2000(2000-03-18) (aged 97)
Bloomington, Indiana
Resting placeJamestown, Indiana
Parent(s)Joseph Granville Wells
Anna Bernice (Harting) Wells
Alma materIndiana University (Bloomington)
OccupationIndiana University president, administrator, and faculty member
MonumentsHerman B Wells Library
Years active1930–2000
Board member ofIndiana University Foundation; Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (1936–71); Lilly Endowment (1972–2000)
Academic work
DisciplineBusiness administration
InstitutionsIndiana University

Herman B Wells (June 7, 1902 – March 18, 2000), a native of Boone County, Indiana, was the eleventh president of Indiana University Bloomington and its first university chancellor. He was pivotal in the transformation of Indiana University from a small, locally oriented college into a world-class institution of higher learning through expanded enrollment, recruitment of new faculty, construction of new buildings, new program offerings, and campus beautification projects. He remained steadfast in his support of IU's faculty and students, especially in the areas of academic freedom and civil rights.[2][3] Wells began his career in banking, but served the university in a variety of faculty and administrative capacities during his seventy-year career at IU Bloomington: instructor and assistant professor, department of economics (1930–35; dean and professor of administration, school of business administration (1935–37); acting president (1937–38); and president (1938–62). He gave up control in 1962 to become university chancellor (1962–2000); interim president (1968); and chairman of the board of the Indiana University Foundation (1969–72), as well as other leadership roles at the IU Foundation.

  1. ^ Kenneth Gros Louis (September 2007). "Herman B Wells and the Legacy of Leadership at Indiana University". Indiana Magazine of History. 103 (3). Bloomington: Indiana University: 291. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  2. ^ James H. Capshew, "Encounters with Genius Loci: Herman Wells at/and/of Indiana University," Perspectives on the History of Higher Education 28 (2011), 161–91.
  3. ^ James H. Capshew (December 2011). "Making Herman B Wells: Moral Development and Emotional Trauma in a Boone County Boyhood". Indiana Magazine of History. 107 (4). Bloomington: Indiana University: 371. Retrieved 2016-09-26.