Denison University - Adytum Yearbook (Granville, OH)

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Our President It is especially fitting that the Adytum for 1902 should contain some word of the man in whom the interest of the University is centered, Our President. Emory William Hunt was born P ebruary 2, 18G2, in East Clarence, Erie County, New York. His father had been called to the pastorate of the Baptist church in that place in 1855, remaining there until his death in 1898. Here at the district school and later at the High School in the village three miles from his home, the boy received his early education. At the age of fifteen he left home to prepare for college, entering the BuiTalo State Normal School, from which he graduated in 1880. His college course was pursued at the University of Rochester, where, during the four years in which he remained there, he received many prizes in Mathematics and Latin, and gained an enviable repu- tation as a speaker and in literary work. The Alpha Delta Phi Fra- ternity claims Dr. Hunt as one of its most distinguished members, and he is also a member of the graduate fraternity. Phi Beta Kappa.. In preparation for his life work, Dr. Hunt, in 1884, entered Crozer Theological Seminary, completing his course in 1887. He went di- rectly from here to the pastorate of the Ashland Avenue Baptist church, of Toledo, remaining there thirteen years, during which time the church grew from a membership of 70 to 550, and became one of the strongest and most influential churches in the State of Ohio. Dr. Hunt was the first President of the B. Y. P. U. of Ohio, and was for six years Chairman of the International Board of Managers, and a member of its Executive Committee. For a number of years, up to his leaving Ohio, our President was one of the trustees of Denison University, and. while still pastor of the Ashland Avenue church, devoted a year to increasing the endow- ment of the University, for six months of that time being absent from the church, with the consent of his parishoners. In April, 1900, Dr. Hunt received a unanimous call to become the pastor of the Clarendon Street Baptist Church, of Boston, as the suc- cessor of the late Dr. A. J. Gordon. He accepted the call, and entered on his work September 1. His success here was very marked. In addition to the duties of his pastorate, he was actively engaged in Chris- tian work as President of the Gordon Bible and Missionary Training School. When, in June, 1901, the Trustees of Denison University met and unanimously elected Dr. Hunt President, to succeed Dr. D. B. Purin- 11

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Preface The editors of the Adytum will feel some satisfaction in the results of their work if this book extends to the new President the hearty welcome which the student body feels. It will add to their satisfaction if the members of the class of 1902 will find in it an ever-present, happy memory of their undergraduate days at Denison. Still further satisfac- tion will be felt if. through the influence of this book, many prospective students may be led to select Denison as the place of their education. A college annual without grinds would be regarded by the students as a failure. The editors have no enemies and desire to make none. So they have endeavored to remove the sting from the jokes presented to them and give a hearty laugh to all while injuring none. Do not be angry at the joke upon yourself. The poet Burns said : O wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us. There is probably a little ground for the extravagance of these jokes, and a thoughtful, calm consideration of them may give you valuable information about yourself. Better results would have been obtained if the editors had been able to know at the very first what they should seek to accomplish in the publication of a college annual. For the aid of those who may follow us in the publication of the Adytum, we would suggest these considerations as important : Make the annual representative of that which is truest and best in our Denison. Make it a volume which we shall love to peruse after our college days are over. Make it a volume which shall attract new students to our Alma Mater. Encourage and develop the literary and artistic talent among us. If such purposes as these had been set before us clearly at the beginning of our work, the results would be nearer what we desire. 10

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ton, resigned, a feeling of deep satisfaction was manifest among all the friends of the University. The wisdom of the choice was felt by all, but there was a doubt in the minds of many as to whether Dr. Hunt would give up his work as a pastor, for which he was so eminently fitted, to become the head of an educational institution. The question was most happily answered, however, when Dr. Hunt ' s letter accepting the Presidency was received. As President Hunt himself said, in his first chapel talk to the students, In accepting the Presidency of Deni- son University, I am not resigning my work a.s a Christian minister. I am only taking it up in another and a broader field. Dr. Hunt was married in 1887 to Miss Josephine M. Kendrick, daughter of Dr. A. C. Kendrick, professor of Greek in the University of Rochester. She lived only three years after their marriage, leaving one daughter, Helen K. Hunt. In 1892 he was joined in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Olney, of Waltham, Mass. They have two daughters, Harriet and Carolyn. Mrs. Hunt is a lady of culture and of charming personality, and combines rare social and intellectual gifts. A woman of engaging presence, a warm and sympathetic friend, she will add much to the life of the University. Dr. Hunt entered upon his work here in January, 1903, the Claren- don Street Church having made a special request that he remain in Boston until the end of the year. President Hunt is a fine type of Christian manhood and his genuineness, his simplicity of manner and his unfailing courtesy and tactfulness have already secured for him a strong hold on the affections of faculty and students. He is keenly alive to the modern improvements in educational methods and one instinctively feels that he will keep Denison abreast of the advance movement. President Hunt has come among us as a leader, not only by virtue of his exceptional executive and intellectual ability, but also by virtue of his magnificent physical strength and his power as a Christian gentleman. Personal magnetism he possesses in a marvel- ous degree, and the wholesomeness of his manhood is feh by all with whom he comes in contact. With his earnestness and deep conviction of duty, his breadth of sympathy and his power of exertmg persona! influence over others, he combines many of the virtues of an ideal college president. C. A. M., ' 03. 12