University of Akron - Tel Buch Yearbook (Akron, OH)

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this kind ol duly more to the purpose of world betterment than that of many an institution of greater pretensions and outward signs of prosperity is ln a large measure due to the patient unobtrusive often unseen and sometimes unappreclated work of Dr Church I times of storm and stress equally as in sunshine and calm his quiet spirit of abnegatlon of self but of devotion to his charge has been made manifest and lives today an impulse and an inspiration to all who have come w1th1n the sweep of its influence And it will live and work although he is gone '.,' I - . , - 1 .- - . . . I ' . , , H 9 . . . 1 A . . 9 9 , . . I'1 . . ' I I Ou D V 9 . , ' I . ' 0 . ,- 9 . . . -. I I I 0 . . X 9 U 9 n Dr. Church's hold on those who came under his instruction was both hearty and stimulating. l-le entered into their studies and their sports with an equal zest. Their interests were his interests, and he made them feel that it was so. I-le verified the words of Solomon: A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. And he carried this con- tagious leaven of cheerful helpfulness out of the microcosm of the college into the larger world outside. Like Chremes of old, he counted nothing foreign to himself that touched humanity at any point. I-le was a citizen of mankindls commonwealth, the equal of any, and recognizing the equality of allfi' ' , - ' I The great loss that has come to Buchtel College in the passing away of Dr. Church, and the sincere appreciation of his character and work by faculty and students, are fittingly voiced in the following tribute by Professor Ay Spainton: l f ATRIBUTE.. The sudden death of President Church was a severe blow to Buchtel College, the institution he served so faithfully as president for eleven years. He is sorely missed on The Hill. The students miss his wise counsel and unfailing sympathy, for never was he too busy to see and listen to the individual student. During Dr. Church's administra- tion, the president's office was never closed to the Buchtel boys and girls, and at all times he entered into their difficulties and problems with a rare sympathy. The news of the passing of this large-hearted man came as a great sorrow to scores of Buchtel graduates and former ,students who remember, not Dr. Church the college president, so much as Dr. Church the personal friend and sympathizer, whose faith in them gave them faith in themselves, and whose noble' character moulded their lives to finer issues. Dr. Church is greatly missed by the teaching force at Buchtel. A recent member of the faculty, now no longer at Buchtel-a man who has taught in several colleges and universities-made the remark that he had never known a college president who treated his faculty with such kindness, sympathy, patience, and appreciation, 'as did President Church, and the men and women whose privilege it has been to teach in Buchtel College during the past eleven years will vouch for the truth of the statement. President Church endeared himself still further to the faculty by his devotion to high educational standards I7

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ed from July, less, to charge was the church at South Berwick, Me-, Whffeh heN5erftL Adams, Massachusetts, Septem church, where he continued until 189 7. y . U . 1. t In that year he was offered and accepted the pastorate of the First DIVCYSH IS church of Akron, in which he labored until his appointment as president of Bufzhtel Co lege, ' 1901 Prior to this he had been identified with the faculty Of the C0 6536, 1630 mg 1n . . I , mental and moral philosophy, and he entered upon his still more responsible duties with full comprehension of what they included. As a student, SCh016f HHC1 theologian, DT- Church was recognized honorably by many institutions of learning- In 1892 the degree of D. D. was conferred on him by his Alma Mater, in 1899 Buchtel College conferred the A. M. degree, and in 1904, Tuft's College of Boston conferredthe Ll... D. degree. ber, 1890, when he accepted the Pfwtofate 0 t e 0 On September IO, 18189, Dr. Church was married to Anne Atwood, daughter of Rev. Dr. I. M. Atwood, then president of the Theological school of St. Lawrence Uni- versity. ' As expressive of the high esteem in which Dr. Church was held throughout the community, we print the following tribute, part of an editorial in the Akron Times of November 18, by Judge C. LXR. Grant: ' g ' PRESIDENT CHURCH. In the death of Dr. A. B. Church not' only this community, but mankind, has ex- perienced a real loss. We who knew him, knew in him an accomplished scholar, a public- spirited citizen, a pure-minded patriot, an upright and trustworthy man. .Dr. Church was an- unassuming man, a plain man, not onlyof the people, but for the people. Thatiis, he was for the people in the same sense that he was with them-he was of them in sym- pathy and for them in helpfulness. Like every other true man of the people, he always put his cause forward, even to the overshadowing of his personality. ln his contemplation the office of a liberal education was of the old-fashioned sort-to make men and not ma- chines, gentlemen. and not apothecaries--at least not primarily. The impulse and the ultimate of collegiate equipping and discipline in his View was threefold-the acquisition of knowledge, the taking on of culture, the formation of character, each of these ranking above the other in the order named. The tendency of this 'conception is to gall out the whole man. And what calling in life can be nobler or more useful? And as it is trans- figured in usefulness, what more nearly divine? s Although Dr. Church did not leave his college opulent in money and although it remains, through no fault of his, one of the lesser lights of learning the Satisfaction Comes clear in remembrance of him that it shines with a clear ray and is doing according to that light its destined work-a work helpful and guiding, if not brilliant. i That it is doing I 6 A .H ff!! .iff 1 an . :fam wr :-,,. w ' ,A I khpi hifi , c ,g ft. -w Nth.. sta , JA

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for Buchtel College. While recognizing the need and the value of athletics and social diversions in college life, he ever insisted tht the fundamental business of the student is study, and the true measure of the worth of a college is the efficiency of its graduates in terms of ability and character and social service. It is mere justice to note that the unusually high ranking of Buchtel among the colleges of America-remarkable in so small an institution-is in large measure' 'due to the high academic standards maintained during Dr. Church's presidency. . h , i To the community at-large the loss is equally great, for Dr. Church was far more than minister and college presidentg he was ever the able and patriotic citizen, and the man of integrity and high worth. Able men who combine in themselves lofty ideals and a practical temper are all too fewg but Dr. Church was such a man. Akron, or any other city, can ill afford to lose men of this fine type. Keenly interested in the material growth and financial prosperity 'of Akron, and realizing-none more fullyj-what .these mean to the people, Dr. Church was interested even more vitally in whatever made for the higher life of the C0mmuf.ity+th0.s movements and institutions whose primary purpose is the intellectual and moral betterment ofthe city's life. Any endeavor for a better Akron 'readily enlisted his hearty support. Indeed, the illness which caused his death had its beginning in the strain and the exposure of the campaign to secure a municipal auditorium for Akron worthy of our growing city. Not only all friends and well-wishers of Buchtel College, but all workers for good citizenship, regret the passing from 'our midst of Dr. Church. i - . Z- A tribute, no matter how brief, to this great and good man, would be incomplete without mention of his genial nature, his unfailing optimism and cheer. Lover of books, he was no pedantg large of faith, he was never a, mere visionaryg deeply' serious, he ever remained sunny and thoroughly human. Dr. Church was the best of companions. 'His perplexities and discouragements he kept to himself. I-le did not wear his soul upon his sleeve. No matter how heavy the burden ion his mind and heart, he gave no outward sign, for his handclasp was as hearty, his smile as contagious, his words as kindly and bracing, as though he knew not trouble. The words of Lowell in his Commemoration Ode, descriptive of Lincoln, seem peculiarly htting to the character of Dr. Church' His was no lonely mountain peak of mind, Thrusting to thin air o'er our cloudy bars, A sea-mark-now, now lost in vapors blindg Broad prairie rather, genial, level-lined, Fruitful and friendly for all human kind, it :F H4 as as as as rs ac sg The kindly-earnest, brave, foreseeing man, 5-Hsacious. patient, dreading praise, not blame. I8