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(286) GEORGE W. RIGHTMIRE, President of the Ohio State University |
GEORGE W. RIGHTMIRE, PRESIDENT OF
OHIO
STATE UNIVERSITY
When Professor George W. Rightmire, of
the Col-
lege of Law, Ohio State University, was
notified, after
the resignation of Dr. W. O. Thompson,
that he had
been chosen as Acting President of the
University, he
was perhaps more completely surprised
than any other
member of the faculty or teaching force
of this great
institution. The notification of his
selection was the
first intimation that came to him, that
his name had been
considered in connection with the
position. He promptly
entered upon his new duties, however,
with the accus-
tomed energy and devotion, expecting,
in the not distant
future, to be relieved when a permanent
president
should be elected.
When on March 1, 1926, he was promoted
from act-
ing to permanent President, he was
again surprised.
The statement of the Board of Trustees,
however, sets
forth the best of reasons for the
promotion of Acting
President Rightmire. In announcing the
Board's ac-
tion, Chairman Lawrence E. Laybourne
made public the
following statement:
The Board of Trustees is extremely
gratified to be able to
announce the election of Professor
George W. Rightmire to be
the sixth President of the Ohio State
University. His selection
was made after a canvass of outstanding
men in all parts of the
country which has been under way since
last summer after Dr.
Thompson announced his intention to
retire from the presidency.
President Rightmire, in the unanimous
judgment of the
Trustees, meets every requirement of the
responsible position he
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288 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
is called upon to fill. He is a man of
high character, of unusual
professional attainments, an extremely
able administrator, as
events of recent months have proved
beyond question, and an
educator beloved and respected alike by students and
faculty --
a man, in short, in whom the students, his colleagues,
the alumni
and the public at large may have full
confidence.
The Board is especially pleased that it
was able to select
for president a native Ohioan, who is a
member of the faculty
and an alumnus of the University as
well. Under President
Rightmire we may look forward with every
confidence that the
University will go on to an even larger
measure of service to the
state and to the people it seeks to
serve.
Following the announcement of his
election, Presi-
dent Rightmire in accepting the
position said:
I feel that the office of president of
the Ohio State Univer-
sity implies grave responsibility and
boundless opportunity for
public service.
Under the guiding genius and sympathetic
personality of
Dr. Thompson over a period of twenty-six
years and the increas-
ingly generous support of the people of
the state, the University
has become an institution of the widest
influence and usefulness.
It reaches to the remotest parts of the
state and affects in
some degree the material and spiritual
interests of all its citi-
zens, and as a force in shaping the
educational thought and ac-
tivities of the people it is very
potent. At the same time the
University is in entirely harmonious
cooperation with all other
educational institutions and interests
of Ohio.
It will be the purpose of the incoming
administration to con-
tinue the good work carried on so long
and so successfully by
Dr. Thompson and in hearty cooperation
with faculty and trus-
tees to lift the University steadily to
higher standards of effort
and accomplishment.
It has been impossible to find such a
biography as we
should like to publish in this
connection. President
Rightmire has all his life been a very
modest man, and
no extended sketch of him has come to
our notice.
He was born in Center Furnace, Lawrence
County,
Ohio, November 15, 1868. His father was
William
Rightmire, also a native of Ohio. His
mother, whose
George W. Rightmire 289
maiden name was Louisa Miller, was born
in Germany.
Shortly after his father's death, the
family moved, in
March, 1876, to Wheelersburg in Scioto
County. Here,
young Rightmire was graduated from the
High School
in 1885.
In the fall of 1889, he entered the
Preparatory de-
partment of the Ohio State University.
In the year
following, he became superintendent of
the Lucasville
High School, Valley Township, Scioto
County, Ohio,
where he taught until 1891. He then
went to Del Norte,
Colorado, where he taught until 1893.
In the fall of
that year, he returned to Ohio State
University, where
he completed a course of study, and
received his bacca-
laureate degree in 1895, and in 1898
the degree of Mas-
ter of Arts.
From 1899 to 1901, he was a teacher in
North High
School, Columbus, Ohio. In 1902, he was
admitted to
the bar. In the same year he became a
teacher in the
College of Law, Ohio State University,
and continued
in this position until he was chosen
Acting President,
October 16, 1925, effective November
fifth. On March
first, 1926, he was elected President
of the University,
effective at once.
President Rightmire has manifested
interest in local
affairs, but he has never been an
office-seeker. He was
elected Vice-Mayor of Columbus and
President of the
City Council, on November 7, 1905, for
a term of two
years. November 5, 1907, he was
reelected. He served
in this position from January, 1906,
until January, 1910.
In 1902, President Rightmire was
married to Edna
K. Garner. She was born in Columbus, a
daughter of
the late Mr. and Mrs. James M. Garner
of Columbus,
Vol. XXXV -- 19.
290 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications O. Mrs. Rightmire's mother, whose maiden name was Drake, was born in the State of New York; her grand- father was Peter Garner, born in Connecticut. There is a tradition in the family that relatives of Peter Gar- ner, and possibly his ancestors, were soldiers of the Rev- olution. President and Mrs. Rightmire have one son, Brandon C. Rightmire, aged 15, at present a student in North High School, Columbus. The expressions of satisfaction with his appoint- ment to the honorable and responsible position of presi- dent of Ohio's greatest educational institution, have been numerous and highly complimentary to him. It is greatly to his credit that he has been intimately con- nected with the University so long, and that his eleva- tion to the presidency should meet with the unanimous favor of its faculty and board of trustees. |
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(286) GEORGE W. RIGHTMIRE, President of the Ohio State University |