University of Berlin
Princeton University
Annhurst College. Photo: Tichnor Brothers, Publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greetings_from_Annhurst_College,_Putnam,_Conn_(75787).jpg)
University of Berlin
Princeton University
Annhurst College. Photo: Tichnor Brothers, Publisher, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greetings_from_Annhurst_College,_Putnam,_Conn_(75787).jpg)
economist educator professor university president author
Archibald Mulford Woodruff was born on July 30, 1912, in Newark, Ohio, to Archibald M. Woodruff and Eleanor B. Van Etten Woodruff. He later made Connecticut his home and died in Bloomfield, Connecticut, on August 26, 1984, at the age of 72. He was buried in Bridgton, Maine.
Woodruff earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College in 1933. He pursued postgraduate study at the University of Berlin in 1935 and received a Doctor of Philosophy from Princeton University in 1936. His later honorary degrees included Doctor of Laws from Williams College, Tarkio College, the University of Hartford, and Annhurst College, as well as Doctor of Humane Letters from Trinity College. His education brought together economics, public policy, urban land studies, and higher-education administration.
Woodruff began his professional career in the mortgage department of the Prudential Insurance Company, where he worked from 1936 to 1942 and again from 1944 to 1950. He then joined the University of Pittsburgh, serving as Kelly Memorial Professor of Urban Land Studies from 1950 to 1959 and as director of the Bureau of Business Research from 1954 to 1959. His research and published work addressed land policy, mortgage finance, business research, and the development of small manufacturing concerns. From 1959 to 1964 he was dean of the School of Government at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He moved to the University of Hartford in 1964 as provost, became chancellor in 1967, and served as president from 1970 to 1977. During his university and public-policy career he also chaired the National Capital Planning Commission, served as an advisory director of Western Pennsylvania National Bank, sat on the boards of Society for Savings and C.G. Fund Inc. in Hartford, and served as president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges.
Served as president of the University of Hartford from 1970 to 1977 after previously holding the positions of provost and chancellor.
Advanced the study of urban land policy, mortgage finance, business research, and small-manufacturing development through academic research and published work.
Helped guide the University of Hartford's consolidation onto a single location with comprehensive facilities and new academic programs.
Was recognized as a noteworthy university president in Marquis Who's Who.
Farm Mortgage Loans of Life Insurance Companies
(Author; published for Williams College by Yale University...)
1937(Co-authored with Thanis G. Alexander and published by the...)
1958He was affiliated with the Universalist Church and with the Unitarian Universalist tradition.
Woodruff participated in professional, civic, educational, and cultural organizations. His memberships included the American Economic Association, Phi Beta Kappa, Hartford Golf Club, and the Cosmos Club of Washington. He was a past chairman of the board of directors of Tarkio College and served as a board member or trustee of the Wadsworth Atheneum, Watkinson School, the Land Reform Training Institute in Taoyuan, Taiwan, the E.B. Foundation in Simsbury, Connecticut, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Mark Twain Memorial, and the Young Men's Christian Association. He was vice president of the Lincoln Foundation from 1965 to 1984 and served on the Hartford Board of Higher Education.
Member.
American Economic Association , United States
Member.
Hartford Golf Club , United States
Member in Washington, D.C.
Cosmos Club , United States
Member.
Phi Beta Kappa , United States
Past chairman of the board of directors.
Tarkio College , United States
Board member.
Wadsworth Atheneum , United States
Board member.
Watkinson School , United States
Board member in Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Land Reform Training Institute , Taiwan
Board member in Simsbury, Connecticut.
E.B. Foundation , United States
Board member in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy , United States
Trustee.
Mark Twain Memorial , United States
Trustee.
Young Men's Christian Association , United States
Vice president.
Lincoln Foundation , United States
1965 - 1984
Member.
Hartford Board of Higher Education , United States
Woodruff married Barbara Jane Bestor on July 13, 1940. They had four sons: Archibald Mulford III, Paul B., Nathan V.E., and Timothy R. Woodruff. His parents were Archibald M. Woodruff and Eleanor B. Van Etten Woodruff.
