R. Ames Montgomery

R. Ames Montgomery
the article subject dressed in a jacket and necktie
Montgomery c. 1924
12th President of Centre College
In office
June 1922 – June 1926
Preceded byWilliam Arthur Ganfield
Succeeded byCharles J. Turck
9th President of Parsons College
In office
August 1917 – June 7, 1922
Preceded byLowell M. McAfee
Succeeded byHoward McDonald
Personal details
Born(1870-07-16)July 16, 1870
Hendricks County, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJuly 16, 1950(1950-07-16) (aged 80)
Jonesville, Michigan, U.S.
Resting placeSpring Grove Cemetery
Spouse
Mary Allhands
(m. 1897; died 1940)
EducationMiami University
McCormick Theological Seminary
Signature

Richmond Ames Montgomery (July 16, 1870 – July 16, 1950) was an American pastor and academic administrator. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1896 following his graduation from McCormick Theological Seminary, he held pastorates in Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa, and Missouri, before being elected president of Parsons College, a private liberal arts college in Fairfield, Iowa, in 1917. He spent five years at Parsons before resigning to accept the presidency of Centre College, another private liberal arts school, in Danville, Kentucky. He came to Centre in the midst of major popularity surrounding the school's football team, who had defeated Harvard in a major upset some months prior; this attention caused concern from some that the school was placing undue priority on football at the expense of academics. Montgomery aimed to change this and introduced measures to restore Centre's emphasis on academics, though these changes were unpopular with students, who signed a petition to remove him from office. As a result, he resigned in June 1926. Afterward, he was president of Lane Theological Seminary and held a faculty position at McCormick in his later career.