Background
Tolley was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania to Adolphus and Emma Tolley and grew up in Binghamton, New New York
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William Pearson
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Education
Tolley graduated from Syracuse University in the class of 1922. He put himself through college partly with the money he made playing saxophone in a group called the Synful Syncopators. He received four advanced degrees in total, including a doctorate from Columbia University.
He earned a Master of Philosophy degree in 1924 and was ordained a deacon.
In 1925, he obtained a Master of Divinity degree from Drew University. He earned master"s and doctoral degrees from Columbia University in 1927 and 1930.
Career
At the age of 30, he was named president of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania and became the nation"s youngest president of a four-year college. In 1942, he became the chancellor of Syracuse University and served in this position for 27 years. During his time, the university"s gross assets went from $15 million to $200 million and its endowment increased from $5 million to $56 million.
Tolley loved reading, typically reading about 300 books a year.
He collected rare books and donated many to the university"s library. Tolley died in Syracuse in 1996.
He is survived by two daughters, Nelda T. Price and Katryn T. Kritz. She was also a graduate of Syracuse University as part of the class of 1922.
