Background

William Beardshear was born on November 7, 1850, in Dayton, Ohio, United States; the son of John and Elizabeth (Coleman) Beardshear.

Education

William was educated in the Ohio public schools. Described as big for his age, he enlisted in the Union army at the age of 14. Following military service, he graduated from Otterbein University, in Westerville, Ohio, United States, in 1876. He attended Yale Divinity School for two years, then held United Brethren pastorates at Arcanum and Dayton in Ohio, United States.

Career

In 1881 Beardshear headed west to Iowa, becoming president of Western College in Toledo, Iowa, United States. In 1889 he was hired as a superintendent of the West Des Moines public schools. Two years later he worked as president of Iowa Agricultural College in Ames, Iowa, United States. Forty years old at the time, Beardshear was described as “impressive in appearance and manner, tall, broad shouldered, with black hair and beard and piercing eyes.” He was known as an excellent speaker and a man of great vitality.

Beardshear became president of Iowa Agricultural College in Ames, Iowa, United States at a crucial point in the young school’s history. The passage of the Morrill Act provided land to underwrite the new college, in 1862. Founded by the Iowa General Assembly in 1858, the school opened for classes in 1869, but for the next several decades suffered from a shortage of money and faculty. College officials found it difficult to satisfy the state’s many different agricul- tural, educational, and economic interests.

Once in office, Beardshear immediately began dealing with the many problems facing the young college, including lack of support for agricultural programs, financial difficulties, and lack of prestige. In his first report to the college, he stated that officials were responding totally to the needs of the farming industry in Iowa. The college had created new departments of dairying, animal husbandry, and farm crops and developed curricula for veterinary science, engineering, and domestic economy.

Beardshear’s administration marked the turning point in the history of Iowa Agricultural College. Before 1891, Iowans had limited knowledge of the land grant school, and the legislature’s support was limited. Beardshear began to publicize the college by taking the college to the people and bringing the people to the college. The president himself traveled the state, delivering commencement addresses and speaking at teachers’ institutes and farmers’ clubs. He convinced the state’s railroads to put on excursion trains at low rates, making it possible for tens of thousands of Iowans to visit the school. Before Beardshear’s tenure, the state supported only the physical plant and its upkeep. Limited money came from the federal government for the support of the Agricultural Experiment Station. Beardshear persuaded the legislature to provide more money for the school, including support for a major building program. His efforts bore fruit: when he arrived in 1891, there were only a handful of buildings on campus. Eleven years later the campus had expanded to 17 buildings, including Morrill Hall (1891), the Campanile (1899), Old Botany (1892, now Catt Hall), and Margaret Hall (1895). The college had grown from 336 to 1,220 students, and the teaching staff increased from 25 to 78.

Beardshear’s contemporaries lauded his ability to relate to students. Drawing on his ministerial background, Beardshear frequently preached at the nightly chapel meetings. His talks reflected both his deeply held religious views and his love of poetry. Beardshear was also in step with the growing interest in college sports. In 1891 he spearheaded the foundation of an athletic association to officially sanction athletic teams. During his administration, the college built a gymnasium and athletic field. In 1895 the men’s basketball team became formally known as the Cyclones. Beardshear also dealt effectively with the divisive issue of whether to have fraternities on campus. His predecessor, William I. Chamberlain, had favored the presence of fraternity activity. Beardshear decreed that present fraternity members could continue their activities, but no more students could join fraternities, essentially dooming the groups to extinction.

A continuing issue throughout Beardshear’s tenure at ISC was curriculum duplication at the three state institutions of higher learning. Because Iowa State Normal School in Cedar Falls had been founded as a teachers’ college, the main curriculum conflicts were between Iowa Agricultural College and the State University of Iowa. In his 1898, 1899 report to the governing board, Beardshear gave assurances that the goal of the Iowa Agricultural College, that year changing its name to Iowa State College, was to create a major technological institution, not to develop liberal arts courses. Beardshear suffered a heart attack in the spring and died in August, 1902.

Achievements

• William has fittingly been called the “father of Iowa State College.” In his honor, Iowa State College’s Central Building was renamed Beardshear Hall, in 1925.

Works

More photos

• book

  • A Boy Again And Other Prose Poems 1904

Views

Quotations: "Thank God, I am an enthusiast".

"Some books are the livest things in the world, and of such poetry furnishes the largest proportion, for poets are the rulers of men's spirits".

Membership

Beardshear was active in numerous state and national organizations. He served on the executive committee of the Iowa State Teachers Association and was director and later president of the National Educational Association, president of the Iowa State Improved Stock Breeders Association.

• United States Indian Commission , United States

  1897 - 1902

Personality

Beardshear was a physically impressive man who combined hard common sense with sentimentality and a robust sense of humor.

Connections

William married Josephine Mundhenk. They had four children.

Father:

John Beardshear

Mother:

Elizabeth (Coleman) Beardshear

Sister:

Marcella (Beardshear) Coover

Wife:

Josephine (Mundhenk) Beardshear

Daughter:

Constance (Beardshear) Moye

Daughter:

Metta Gertrude (Beardshear) Burt

Daughter:

Hazel Leoni (Beardshear) Chambers

Son:

Charles Levega Beardshear

Brother:

Aurilla M. Beardshear

References

• The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa Iowa has been blessed with citizens of strong character who have made invaluable contributions to the state and to the nation. In the 1930s alone, such towering figures as John L. Lewis, Henry A. Wallace, and Herbert Hoover hugely influenced the nation’s affairs.
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