PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT:
SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL
University Archives
September 15, 2003
SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL (abbreviated below as SCM)
1
General
LIFE
Born on December 24, 1864 in Coffeeville, Mississippi
Died on August 20, 1948 in Atlanta, Georgia
Buried at Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)
FAMILY
Married to Alice Virginia Broadus of Louisville, Kentucky on June 30, 1891
Father of Broadus Mitchell , Morris Randolph Mitchell, Terry Mitchell, Mary Adams Mitchell Clifford,
2
and George Sinclair Mitchell
Son of Morris Randolph Mitchell and Grace Anne Chiles Mitchell
3
PRESIDENCY OF DELAWARE COLLEGE
Elected as President on June 16, 1914
Inaugurated as President on October 10, 1914; succeeded President George Abram Harter
Resigned as President on April 10, 1920, effective on September 1, 1920; succeeded by President
Walter Hullihen
Residences during Presidency:
4
1914-1917 Home Management House, Newark, Delaware
1917-1920 The Knoll, Newark, Delaware
5
Education
YEARS AND LOCATIONS OF POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
6
1882-1888 General undergraduate study, Georgetown College (Georgetown, Kentucky)
7
1891-1892 Graduate study in classics, University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia)
1895-1899 Doctoral study in history, University of Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)
1
References for this section: Bolt 1983: 501; Delaware College Board of Trustees June 16, 1914 and April 10, 1920 (1904-1916:
287 and 1916-1930: 98-100); Delaware College Review March 31, 1920; Mitchell 1954; Munroe 1986: 211; Presley 1992: 15-16,
286; University of Virginia March 2, 1908; Vallandigham 1920: 81.
2
Broadus Mitchell was a Professor of Occidental College, Johns Hopkins University, and Rutgers University, noted historian and
author, vocal advocate for social reform and racial equality, and was Socialist Party candidate for the governorship of Maryland
during the 1934 election; see Presley 1992: 289-293.
3
During the American Civil War, Morris Randolph Mitchell served as a cavalryman under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest,
a notorious Confederate General; see Mitchell 1954: 15.
4
This residence was converted for use as the Home Economics House in 1917; see Mitchell 1954: 180; Munroe 1986: 226;
Robinson 1948: 26.
5
References for this section: Alumni News January 1915; Bolt 1983: 501; Delaware College Review March 31, 1920; Mitchell 1954;
Munroe 1986: 211; Hrabe, personal communication; Presley 1992; Taul, personal communication; University of Virginia 1891: xiv
and March 2, 1908; Vallandigham 1920: 81.
6
At Georgetown College, SCM pursued study in all courses offered there over six years, leading to a Master of Arts degree instead
of the traditional Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degrees awarded to students following only one course. SCM never
received a Bachelor’s degree from the institution, only a Master’s degree. See Taul, personal communication.
7
SCM did not receive any degree for his graduate studies at the University of Virginia; see Hrabe, personal communication.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 2
DEGREES ACQUIRED THROUGH POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
1888 Master of Arts, Georgetown College
1899 Doctor of Philosophy, University of Chicago
8
Employment
1888-1889 Instructor of English and Philosophy, Academy of Georgetown (Georgetown, Kentucky)
1889-1891 Professor of Classics and History, Mississippi College (Clinton, Mississippi)
1892-1895 Professor of Classics and French, Georgetown College
1893-1895 Pastor, Buckam Baptist Church (Buckam, Kentucky)
1893-1895 Pastor, Hillsboro Baptist Church (Hillsboro, Kentucky)
1895-1899 Professor of Latin, University of Richmond (Richmond, Virginia)
9
1899-1902 Acting Professor of History and Political Science, University of Richmond
1899-1908 Associate Editor, Religious Herald (Richmond, Virginia)
1902-1908 Professor of History and Political Science, University of Richmond
1908-1909 Lecturer of History, Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island)
10
1909-1913 President, University of South Carolina
1912-1948 Instructor, Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Summer School (Blue Ridge,
11
North Carolina)
12
1913-1914 President, Medical College of Virginia (Richmond, Virginia)
1914-1920 President, Delaware College
1920-1941 Professor of History, University of Richmond
1941-1945 Professor of History (part-time), University of Richmond
13
Religious Orders and Activities
1893-1895 Ordained Minister, Baptist Church
14
Activities
American Historical Association
15
Anti-Saloon League of Virginia (President)
Conference for Education in the South
Cooperative Education Association of Virginia (President)
8
References for this section: Alumni News January 1915; Bolt 1983: 501; Delaware College Review March 31, 1920; Hrabe,
personal communication; Mitchell 1954; Munroe 1986: 211-212; Presley 1992; Taul, personal communication; University of Virginia
March 2, 1908; Vallandigham 1920: 81-82.
9
The University of Richmond did not have a history degree program when SCM completed his graduate study in history. SCM was
instrumental in convincing the school to establish a history department, which became permanent in 1902; see Presley 1992: 56-57.
10
For SCM’s career as President of the University of South Carolina, see generally Dennis 2001: 162-216 and Presley 1992.
SCM’s administration was marked by a vicious struggle between Coleman Blease, the Governor of South Carolina from 1911 to
1915, and himself. SCM’s progressive ideals and liberal attitudes toward the education of African-Americans made him the target of
undeserved invective and investigations by the racist governor.
11
SCM taught courses on history, labor, and economics at the YMCA Summer School, which became the YMCA Graduate School
during the early 1930s. He performed these duties during the summer months and was involved with the organization until the final
year of his life; see Presley 1992: 244, 277, 283.
12
The Medical College of Virginia now is part of the Virginia Commonwealth University system.
13
References for this section: Hrabe, personal communication; Sumners, personal communication; University of Virginia March 2,
1908.
14
References for this section: Alumni News January 1915; Bolt 1983: 501-502; Delaware College Review March 31, 1920; Mitchell
1954; Morse 1915: 12-13; Presley 1992; Slater-Herod, personal communication
15
The Anti-Saloon League of Virginia was a temperance organization founded in 1901. It argued for the closure of saloons, bars,
distilleries, and other drinking establishments, but not for complete abstinence from alcohol. It was very successful in closing these
businesses in Virginia; see Presley 1992: 63-64.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 3
Friends of the League of Nations
Friends of Peace in America
Negro Rural School Fund, Anna T. Jeanes Foundation (Trustee, 1908-1937)
Phi Beta Kappa (honor society)
Phi Gamma Delta (social fraternity)
Richmond College (Trustee, 1912-1914)
Richmond Education Association
Richmond School Board
Richmond Women’s College (Trustee, 1896-1908)
Southern Conference for Human Welfare (Virginia Delegate, 1938)
Southern Educational Board
Southern Sociological Conference (President, 1920)
State Conference of Charities and Commissions (Virginia Delegate)
University Commission on Southern Race Questions
Virginia Commission on Interracial Cooperation
Virginia Normal and Industrial Institute (Trustee, 1901-1907)
Virginia Union University (Trustee, 1898-1909)
Virginia War History Commission
16
Publications
BOOKS AND MONOGRAPHS
SCM, ed. 1909. The South in the Building of the Nation: Volume X, History of the Social Life of the
South. Richmond: Southern Historical Publication Society.
SCM. 1954. An Aftermath of Appamattox: A Memoir of the Life of Samuel Chiles Mitchell. Atlanta:
privately printed.
ARTICLES AND PAPERS
SCM published a number of articles and papers, primarily in newspapers and non-academic periodicals.
These papers primarily covered social and racial issues and education. He also was a renowned public
speaker and delivered numerous public addresses and lectures in his efforts to promote educational and
racial reform, the League of Nations, and world peace.
17
Honors and Awards
1905 Doctor of Divinity, Furman University
1905 Doctor of Laws, Hampden-Sydney College
1910 Doctor of Laws, Brown University
1913 Doctor of Laws, Baylor University
1914 Doctor of Laws, University of Cincinnati
1930 Mitchell Hall at the University of Delaware named in honor of SCM
1942 Doctor of Civil Laws, University of South Carolina
1943 Doctor of Letters, Medical College of Virginia
1977 Samuel Chiles Mitchell-Jacob Billikopf Professorship at the University of Richmond
created in honor of SCM
Objectives and Accomplishments
16
References for this section: Presley 1992.
17
References for this section: Alumni News January 1915; Delaware College Review March 31, 1920; Hunter, personal
communication; Lancaster, personal communication; Munroe 1986: 211; Slater-Herod, personal communication; University News
September 1948.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 4
The following items were accomplished during the administration of SCM:
ADMINISTRATION
Edward Laurence Smith was appointed as the first Dean of Arts and Science in 1915 and Allan R.
Cullimore was appointed as the first Dean of Engineering in 1917. The creation of these positions
allowed for greater administrative centralization of Delaware College and control of the faculty during
the absence of the president, which frequently occurred as SCM traveled throughout the country
18
doing work to support the peace movement and the League of Nations.
William Langhorne was appointed as the first Business Manager in 1917; he resigned shortly
thereafter and was replaced by Arthur G. Wilkinson, who instituted new accounting practices for the
college and began publication of an annual treasurer’s report. This provided greater consistency of
19
and transparency into the financial arrangements of Delaware College.
ACADEMICS AND STUDENTS
The Department of Education was created in 1914. This allowed for the standardization of teacher
training in Delaware, spurred the growth of high schools in the state, and replaced the college’s
earlier unsuccessful experiments with normal school programs. Increased funding from the state
government, the Service Citizens of Delaware, and other private donors for teachers attending the
Summer School for Teachers was obtained. A two-year training course in elementary education was
20
developed for students of the Women’s College of Delaware.
Entrance requirements were raised by making high school graduation mandatory for enrollment in the
college. This furthered the development of public high schools in Delaware and was the culmination
of a process of raising entrance requirements that began during the Raub administration in the
21
1890s.
A Student Self-Help Committee was appointed in 1914 to assist students in obtaining employment
while attending the college. A Student Loan Fund was established in 1916 to provide emergency
funds to impoverished students. These developments enabled poorer students who ordinarily would
22
have not possessed the financial resources to attend Delaware College.
GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS
A master plan for the development of the Newark campus was developed, beginning in 1914, in order
to incorporate and utilize the large tracts of land bought with funds donated to Delaware College by P.
S. du Pont. At the outset of SCM’s administration, du Pont began a series of large monetary gifts to
the college, eventually totaling over one million dollars, to allow for its physical expansion through the
purchase of the properties that now comprise the northern section of the Green and the construction
of buildings. In close cooperation with H. Rodney Sharp and Henry B. Thompson, President of the
Delaware College Board of Trustees, SCM assisted with the creation of a master plan for the campus’
growth and layout, which essentially was used, with modifications, for the expansion of the central
23
part of the Newark campus during the twentieth century.
Construction of Harter Hall was completed in 1916. It was built to provide more residential facilities
for the male students of Delaware College and allowed greater room to be provided in Old College for
24
the establishment of a student commons and dining facilities.
Construction of Wolf Hall was completed in 1917. It was built to house the expanding scientific
25
(excluding engineering) and agricultural programs of Delaware College.
18
Mitchell 1954: 182; Munroe 1986: 229; University News September 1948; Vallandigham 1920: 85. The title of Dean of Arts and
Science subsequently was changed to Dean of Delaware College.
19
Mitchell 1918: 7-8, 1919: 8, and 1954: 182; Munroe 1986: 230; University News September 1948; Vallandigham 1920: 84-85.
20
Delaware College 1917; Lewis 1961: 136; Mitchell 1919: 15 and 1954: 187; Munroe 1986: 220, 230; Robinson 1948: 31-35;
University News September 1948; Vallandigham 1920: 83, 86.
21
Mitchell 1918: 6; University News September 1948; Vallandigham 1920: 83.
22
Evening Journal March 7, 1916; Every Evening November 30, 1915; Mitchell November 24, 1914: 2-3; Munroe 1986: 219-220.
23
Every Evening November 30, 1915; Hoffecker 2000: 16-22; Mitchell 1954: 184-185; Munroe 1986: 214-221, 228-229; University
News September 1948; Vallandigham 1920: 82-83, 86-87.
24
Munroe 1986: 218-219; University News September 1948; Vallandigham 1920: 84.
25
Mitchell 1954: 185; Munroe 1986: 219; University News September 1948; Vallandigham 1920: 85.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 5
The “Knoll” property and house was purchased for use as the president’s residence in 1917. Prior to
that time, no property in Newark served as an official house for the president. The Knoll was used
intermittently for this purpose until John Alanson Perkins became President of the University of
26
Delaware in 1950.
A private residence was converted for use by the Women’s College of Delaware as a home
management demonstration house in 1917. This alleviated crowded classroom conditions in Science
27
Hall.
Construction of Sussex Hall was completed in 1918. It was built to provide more residential facilities
for the female students of the Women’s College of Delaware and relieve overcrowded conditions in
28
Residence Hall.
Major renovations of Old College were completed between 1916 and 1918. These renovations
converted the building from a dormitory into the “social center of Delaware College” through provision
29
of a dining hall and student lounge.
MISCELLANEOUS
An infirmary was created in 1917. This served to maintain the health of the students of Delaware
College and, along with a student-operated ambulance service, provided valuable service to the
30
citizens of Newark during the influenza epidemic of 1918.
The Cooperative Extension Service was extended throughout Delaware with the hiring of the first
31
county agricultural agents.
Between 1917 and 1918, many soldiers were trained for service in the armed forces of the United
States during the First World War, either under direct contract with the War Department or through
the Student Army Training Corps. After the close of the conflict, a rehabilitation program, financed by
the Federal Government, was implemented at Delaware College in order to train veterans in
32
agriculture.
The Women’s College of Delaware, which opened with the beginning of SCM’s administration in
1914, operated successfully and attracted many new students during the remainder of his presidency,
graduating its first class in 1918. Much of its success also was due to its management by Winifred
Robinson, its first dean; during the administration of Walter Hullihen, SCM’s successor, the Women’s
33
College would come under more direct control of the administration of Delaware College.
The general extension activities of Delaware College (as distinct from its Cooperative Extension
agricultural programs) were increased dramatically, with many lectures on a variety of topics being
offered throughout the state. This public programming was the forerunner of academic extension
34
work that would be offered by the University of Delaware later in the twentieth century.
The following items were goals for Delaware College held by SCM that remained unfulfilled at the close of
his administration:
Obtaining accreditation for Delaware College from the Carnegie Advancement for the Advancement
35
of Teaching.
Construction of a Memorial Library as a monument for Delawareans who served in the First World
War and as an improvement over the separate libraries for Delaware College and the Women’s
36
College of Delaware.
26
Munroe 1986: 225-226; Vallandigham 1920: 85. The Knoll was demolished in 1959 and Smith Hall now stands on its site; see
Lewis 1961: 143, 224. When the Knoll was not used as the president’s residence, it was converted to a men’s dormitory.
27
Mitchell 1919: 15-16; Munroe 1986: 225-226; Robinson 1947: 39. The Home Management House also was known as the
Practice House. Science Hall now is known as Robinson Hall.
28
Mitchell 1918: 10-11; Munroe 1986: 225; Robinson 1947: 62; Vallandigham 1920: 84. Residence Hall now is known as Warner
Hall.
29
Munroe 1986: 218; University News September 1948; Vallandigham 1920: 87-92.
30
Evening Journal March 7, 1916; Lewis 1961: 133, 229; Mitchell 1918: 8-10 and 1954: 198; University News September 1948;
Vallandigham 1920: 84.
31
Mitchell 1919: 13-14; Munroe 1986: 214.
32
Mitchell 1918: 4-7 and 1954: 192-193; Munroe 1986: 222-223; Vallandigham 1920: 97-104
33
Mitchell November 24, 1914: 1; Munroe 1986: 224-228; Robinson 1947: 31-48.
34
Every Evening November 30, 1915; Mitchell November 24, 1914: 3 and 1919: 7-8; Munroe 1986: 232.
35
Munroe 1986: 244-246.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 6
37
Construction of a new building to house the engineering programs of Delaware College.
38
Construction of new men’s and women’s residence halls to house the expanding student body.
39
Creation of endowed professorships.
In general, SCM’s administration started enthusiastically but his many absences from the college to
champion various social and political causes, especially the League of Nations, alienated him from many
of the faculty members and alumni, who held an investigation in 1919 after the resignation of Harry
Hayward, Dean of Agriculture. While SCM was not accused of anything directly, it seems that the event
40
and his increasing desire to return to Richmond College and teaching led to his resignation in 1920.
Quotations
SCM, from his inaugural address in 1914, on his view of the mission of Delaware College in service to the
state and its citizens:
Delaware College will fail in its mission unless as a result of its activities every acre of ground in
the State yields a richer harvest, unless all breeds of stock on the farm are improved, unless the
varied industries are quickened with new initiative and power, unless the life of the home is
sweetened, unless all the schools are strengthened, and unless the churches and all the
agencies that make for a sound social and moral life are reinforced. The influence of the College
should tend to string with energy the arm of every worker and impart a noble idealism to the
thought of every citizen. In fine, the task of an American college is to make publicists. When
men and women have public-mindedness, all reforms accomplish themselves through growth and
41
self-renewal of social agencies.
SCM, from his annual report to the Delaware College Board of Trustees in 1914, on the successful
opening of the Women’s College of Delaware:
The successful opening of the Women’s College on September 17 has justified the hopes and
efforts of the people of Delaware in establishing this institution. As it sprang out of the affections
and aspirations of the people of the State, it has signally enlisted sympathy and cooperation in all
quarters. Delaware has the distinction of being the first commonwealth to establish by State
funds a coordinate college for women.
Josiah Morse, Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina, from a tribute to SCM that was
included in the Delaware College yearbook for 1915, on SCM as a professor:
Some instructors, – we fear far too many, – lose sight of their students in their engrossment in the
subject they teach; Dr. Mitchell is pre-eminent among those true teachers who use their subjects
as instruments for laying hold on their students’ souls, for moulding them and stimulating them to
put forth their best energies and become the largest-minded and biggest-hearted men and
women for themselves and their communities. Dr. Mitchell always clearly perceived that Latin
and Greek and History and all the subjects of the curriculum, and all the instructors and
laboratories and libraries and grounds and buildings exist for the pupils, and not the pupils for
them. His love for his pupils was paternal, and his faith in them boundless and sublime. Many of
them are to be found today in the different sections of the country holding high positions in the
various occupations and professions who would most certainly be living on lower and less
influential planes but for the initial and insistent urge and inspiration they derived from him. And
this fact they now gratefully and lovingly acknowledge, as if by prearrangement, by calling
42
themselves “Mitchell men.”
36
Mitchell November 21, 1918 and 1919: 5-6; Munroe 1986: 237-238.
37
Mitchell 1919: 4-5; Munroe 1986: 273-274.
38
Mitchell 1919: 5, 16.
39
Mitchell 1919: 4.
40
Delaware College Review March 31, 1920; Lewis 1961: 137142; Munroe 1986: 233-236; Vallandigham 1920: 104-111.
41
Mitchell, et al 1915: 27-28.
42
Morse 1915: 12.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 7
A writer for Alumni News, the Delaware College alumni newspaper, on SCM’s skill as an orator and his
role as a publicist for the college:
Dr. Mitchell is an accomplished and convincing public speaker, and it is in this field, especially,
that he will be able to do so much as the mouthpiece of the institution to popularize it wherever he
goes. Since he came to the college … he has been in great demand within and without the State,
his addresses reflecting his zeal for sound learning, for civic righteousness, and for that idealism
in life that leads to true moral worth. Delaware College and its expanding opportunities is ever his
theme and it must follow that this will win for it the confidence and affection of the people. This, it
43
seems, will be his great mission for the college.
SCM, from an introduction written in 1915 to the printed version of his inaugural speech given in 1914, on
Delaware College and its opportunities:
It is no longer a secret that Delaware College is to take rank among the foremost institutions of
the kind in America ... The strength of Delaware College lies in the compactness of its
organization and in the comprehensiveness of its courses. It is an educational unit, and yet it
offers instruction to both men and women in a rich variety of courses, such as Arts and Science,
Agriculture, Engineering, Home Economics, and Teacher-Training. While through its alumni it
has made a substantial contribution to the National life, Delaware College stands today on the
eve of a great era. It is destined to give effect to the ideals of the State in the service of the
Nation and of humanity. The measure of usefulness of the modern college “is not only its ability
44
to teach, but its willingness to serve.”
SCM, from a letter written by him to H. Rodney Sharp in 1918, on his ideas for the establishment of a
Memorial Library at Delaware College:
It occurs to me that a Memorial Library at the College would be a fitting way in which to
commemorate the Delaware men who have given their lives or services to the war and also the
45
agencies such as the Red Cross, State Council of Defense , Christian Associations, etc., that
46
have shared in the victory of right. As the Library would be used by both Colleges it would be
the dynamo of the whole institution, and would perpetuate through a living purpose the memory of
the men and women in this state who took part in the war. This [commemorative] sentiment
would be the soul of the Library, and the architecture would take shape accordingly. Possibly the
outline of Independence Hall might be followed, as this building would dominate the whole
development by reason of its central position and universal use … It is thought also that a Library,
perpetuating the past and building itself into the manhood and womanhood of the state would be
47
more appropriate than marble and bronze monuments here and there throughout the state.
Edward Noble Vallandigham, historian and former Professor of Political Science and English Language
and Literature at Delaware College, from Fifty Years of Delaware College, on Pierre S. du Pont’s
donations to Delaware College during the administration of SCM:
Mr. Pierre S. du Pont, after watching with interest and approval the fashion in which Dr. Mitchell
had taken hold of his new duties, decided to come to the aid of Delaware College with a
comprehensive plan of development and expansion, to be amply financed by himself. In the
course of the next few years, he gave more than $1,200,000 for grounds, buildings, and
endowment. After various projects had been debated, it was decided that the College should
acquire the land between Old College, and the Women’s College, and that upon this area should
be planned the physical expansion of Delaware College for the next generation, and its
48
permanent site for all time.
43
Alumni News January 1915.
44
Mitchell, et al 1915: 1.
45
The State Council of Defense was an agency created by the State of Delaware to ensure that the state’s agricultural and industrial
productivity remained high during the First World War.
46
SCM, referring to “both Colleges,” here means Delaware College and the Women’s College of Delaware. Prior to the construction
of Memorial Hall, the institutions possessed separate libraries.
47
Mitchell November 21, 1918: 1-2.
48
Vallandigham 1920: 86.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 8
John A. Munroe, historian, from The University of Delaware: A History, on SCM’s reasons for coming to
Delaware College:
As he saw it, a renascence was taking place there, originated in two separate movements, one a
movement of women led by Emalea Warner to acquire the educational opportunities so long
denied them, and the other a movement of alumni led by Rodney Sharp to advance Delaware
College to the position and status it had long promised to attain. Mitchell had become a fervent
supporter of the “Wisconsin Ideal” (as he had heard it proclaimed by President Charles R. Van
49
Hise) of having the state college or university serve every side of life in the state.
John A. Munroe, historian, from The University of Delaware: A History, on SCM’s belief that Delaware
College should serve the citizens of Delaware:
As president of the University of South Carolina Mitchell had made strenuous efforts to expand
the usefulness of the university beyond the campus to all parts and peoples of the state and it
was only to be expected that he would exhibit the same enthusiasm at Delaware College. It is
“the function of a state college ... to meet the educational need of the people in all feasible ways,”
declared a college bulletin issued in September 1915. “If you can’t come to Delaware College,
50
Delaware College will come to you.”
John A. Munroe, historian, from The University of Delaware: A History, on SCM’s relationships with
students and views on being president:
At Delaware, as at [the University of] South Carolina, Mitchell’s effectiveness on campus was
somewhat diminished by the breadth of his interests off campus, as well as by his extraordinary
kindness and gentility. When he taught a course in English history at the Women’s College, his
students loved him. He made a great effort to learn to recognize every student on sight and
succeeded fairly well … But Mitchell was not so popular with the faculty as he was with the
students. He was apparently a lax administrator who left the chores of running the college to
others. He sought to rule students by love, not by fear of punishment for infringement of rules.
To professors engaged in the mundane chores of campus life, grading papers, making out
schedules, preparing lectures, Mitchell seemed to have his head in the clouds. And often he was
away … he was troubled by the removal from direct contact with students that a busy executive
schedule required. It was a strange fact that this man, brought to Delaware to be a full-time
executive and to cure a situation in which the president was also busy as a professor, really
preferred being in the classroom with a direct personal connection with students that a president
could not have.
John A. Munroe, historian, from The University of Delaware: A History, on SCM’s achievements as
President of Delaware College:
When Mitchell was asked in 1919 to note the achievements of his administration he mentioned ...
the annual publication of a treasurer’s report, the raising of entrance requirements by requiring
graduation from a four-year high school, provisions of expenses, under certain conditions, for
teachers attending summer school (for which he thanked Governor John G. Townsend, Jr., and
his secretary of state, Everett Johnson), the strengthening of the English department by additional
appointments, a state high school conference held annually on connection with an interscholastic
track and field meet, concentration of numerous events – alumni and alumnae reunions, a
meeting of the board of trustees, and a public meeting with a prominent speaker – on the
Saturday nearest Washington’s Birthday. He noted other developments ... the new development
plan for the campus, the construction of Wolf Hall and Harter Hall, the reconstruction of Old
College, the purchase of The Knoll as a president’s home, establishment of an infirmary,
separation of physics from mathematics, acquisition of a business manager, of a department of
education, and of a professor of economics and business administration, creation of new
deanships of arts and science and engineering, and some increase in salaries, though he was not
satisfied with what had been done in this regard.
49
Munroe 1986: 212.
50
Munroe 1986: 232.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 9
There was more to be said than Mitchell thought of or chose to mention. For instance,
the campus had been greatly expanded by purchase of what they then called the Green; the
Women’s College had not only been opened since Mitchell arrived, but successfully conducted
and even physically enlarged by construction of Sussex Hall and acquisition of the Practice
House (and if Mitchell preferred to leave credit for these developments to Dean Robinson, he was
at least her collaborator); a student loan fund and a faculty pension fund had been instituted, and
the endowment fund greatly enlarged. Mitchell, thanks to his enthusiasm and his willingness to
join movements, attend meetings, make speeches, had helped give Delaware College a national
visibility it had never known before. And before leaving, he planned a project that his successor
51
took up with enthusiasm – the idea of constructing a new memorial library.
Bibliography
UNPUBLISHED SOURCES
Delaware College Board of Trustees. 1904-1916. Minutes of Meetings: Volume III, 1904-1916.
Contained in University Archives, Records of the Board of Trustees, Minutes of Meetings (Record
Group 3/3/1).
Delaware College Board of Trustees. 1916-1930. Minutes of Meetings: Volume IV, 1916-1930.
Contained in University Archives, Records of the Board of Trustees, Minutes of Meetings (Record
Group 3/3/1).
Mitchell, Samuel Chiles. November 24, 1914. “Delaware College President’s Report.” Unpublished
manuscript. Contained in Hugh M. Morris Library, Special Collections, George Gillespie Evans
Papers, item 11745.
Mitchell, Samuel Chiles. November 21, 1918. Letter to H. Rodney Sharp, regarding the idea of building a
Memorial Library at Delaware College. Contained in University Archives, H. Rodney Sharp
Papers (Record Group 23, Box AR 31, Folder 4)
University of Virginia. March 2, 1908. “Facts Desired Concerning Former Students of the University of
Virginia Who Have Been Ministers of the Gospel.” Unpublished information form for University of
Virginia alumni completed by Samuel Chiles Mitchell. Contained in Albert and Shirley Small
Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
PUBLISHED SOURCES
Bolt, Ernest C., Jr. 1983. “Mitchell, Samuel Chiles” in Biographical Dictionary of Internationalists. Pages
501-502. Warren F. Kuehl, ed. Westport: Greenwood Press.
Delaware College. 1917. Announcement of the Department of Education. Delaware College Bulletin,
new series, volume 13, number 2. Newark: Delaware College.
Dennis, Michael. 2001. Lessons in Progress: State Universities and Progressivism in the New South,
1880-1920. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Hoffecker, Carol E. 2000. Familiar Relations: The Du Ponts and the University of Delaware. Newark:
University of Delaware
Lewis, William Ditto. 1961. “University of Delaware: Ancestors, Friends, and Neighbors.” Delaware
Notes 34: 1-242.
Mitchell, Samuel Chiles. 1918. President’s Report. Delaware College Bulletin, new series, volume 14,
number 2. Newark: Delaware College.
Mitchell, Samuel Chiles. 1919. President’s Report. Delaware College Bulletin, new series, volume 15,
number 2. Newark: Delaware College.
Mitchell, Samuel Chiles. 1954. An Aftermath of Appamattox: A Memoir of the Life of Samuel Chiles
Mitchell. Atlanta: privately printed.
Mitchell, Samuel Chiles, et al. 1915. Delaware College in the Service of the Nation, As Interpreted in the
Addresses Delivered on the Occasion of the Installation of Samuel Chiles Mitchell as President of
Delaware College, and of the Dedication of the Buildings of The Women’s College of Delaware,
and the Installation of Winifred J. Robinson as Dean, on October tenth, Nineteen fourteen.
Newark: Delaware College.
51
Munroe 1986: 236-237. For the list of SCM’s achievements that he himself described, see Vallandigham 1920: 82-86.
PRESIDENTIAL OBJECTIVES PROJECT: SAMUEL CHILES MITCHELL 10
Morse, Josiah. 1915. “Faculty: Samuel Chiles Mitchell, Ph.D., LL.D.” in The Blue Hen, Class of 1916,
Delaware College. Pages 11-14. Harold M. Foster, et al, ed. Newark: Delaware College.
Munroe, John A. 1986. The University of Delaware: A History. Newark: University of Delaware.
Robinson, Winifred J. 1947. “History of the Women’s College of the University of Delaware 1914-38.”
Delaware Notes 20: 1-69.
University of Virginia. 1891. University of Virginia Catalog of Session 1891-’92. Announcements for
Session 1892-’93. Richmond: Everett Waddey.
Vallandigham, Edward N. 1920. Fifty Years of Delaware College, 1870-1920. Newark: Press of Kells.
NEWSPAPERS
Alumni News (Newark). January 1915. “Our New President.”
Delaware College Review (Newark). March 31, 1920. “Dr. S. C. Mitchell Resigns as President.”
Evening Journal (Wilmington). March 7, 1916. “Infirmary for Delaware College is Recommended.”
Every Evening (Wilmington). November 30, 1915. “Significance of $500,000 Gift to Delaware College:
Appreciation Shown in President Mitchell’s Report to the Board of Trustees.”
University News (Newark). September 1948. “Dr. Mitchell – A Memorial.”
PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS
Hrabe, Margaret Downs. Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
Email, March 2003.
Hunter, Shaunna. Eggleston Library, Hampden-Sydney College. Email and telephone, February 2003.
Lancaster, Carolyn. Library Special Collections, Furman University. Email, February 2003.
Slater-Herod, Darlene. Virginia Baptist Historical Society, University of Richmond. Telephone,
September 2003.
Sumners, Bill. Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives. Email, March 2003.
Taul, Glen. International Programs and Archives, Georgetown College. Email, March 2003.
OTHER SOURCES
Presley, John Carroll. 1992. “Samuel Chiles Mitchell: A Biography of a Southern Educator.”
Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Education, University of Virginia.