University of the South - Cap and Gown Yearbook (Sewanee, TN)

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Dr. B. F. Finney I ice-Chan cellar Dr. B. F. Finney was first associated with Sewanee as a student in 1885. After graduating from Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg and engaging in private business for some years, he was made vice-chancellor of the university in 1922. During these eight years as vice-chancellor Dr. Finney, or Uncle Ben, as he is affectionately called by the students, has been able to liquidate the debts of the university and secure an endowment which easily removes the possibility of financial trouble in the future. He has likewise been responsible for much material development on the mountain — three new dormitories, including the new Tuckaway Inn, have been construc ted and improvements have been made in the athletic field house and Sewanee Military Academy. Throughout his entire life Dr. Finney has been interested and active in church and educational work. Before coming to Sewanee he devoted much time to the Brotherhood of St. Andrews, of which organization he has been secretary and vice- president. In 1 9 13 he was elected to the Board of Regents of the University and at the present time is a trustee of St. Katherine ' s, a girls ' school at Bolivar, Term., and also the executive head of the Board of Trustees of Columbia Institute, a girls ' pre- paratory school at Columbia, Term. Both of these institutions are connected with the Episcopal Church. In recognition of his valuable services, he was given the hon- orary degree of LL.D. from Hobart College, Geneva, New York. mg

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Rt. Rev. Thomas F. Gailor Chancellor Bishop Thomas F. Gailor, throughout his long connection with the univer- sity, has taken an active part in its development, and to a large extent has moulded its sentiments and traditions. Among his varied activities have been the laying of the cornerstone of Wash Hall in 1890, and that of Thompson Hall, the Union, a few years later. He also has written the Sewanee Hymn and has composed several beautiful Sewanee Apostrophes. In 1882 he was appointed professor of ecclesiastical history and in the next year chaplain of the university. He continued in these positions until 1890, when he was made vice- chancellor, serving for three years. In 1908 he was elected chancellor, and has continued uninterruptedly in this place for the past twenty-two years. Bishop Gailor has likewise been active in the general work of the church during this period. He was made a deacon in 1879 and a priest the next year. In 1898 he succeeded to the bishopric of Tennessee on the death of Bishop Quintard. Since then he has been chairman of the House of Bishops, presiding bishop and president of the National Council. He is again attending the Lam- beth Conference in England this spring and summer. He holds the following degrees: A.B. and A.M., Racine College; S.T.B. and S.T.D., General Theological Seminary; S.T.D., Columbia; D.D., Trinity, University of the South, and Oxford; LL.D., Oglethorpe.

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Dr. George M. Baker Dean Dr. Baker has spent his entire life in educational work (with the exception of several years during which he was connected with the American expeditionary force in France). He graduated from Yale University in 1900, obtaining his Ph.D. degree from that institution a few years later. For nine years he was an instructor of German at Yale, after which he became head of the German Department at the William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia. During this period he also studied at the Universities of Berlin and Munich. Dr. Baker came to Sewanee in 19 17 as professor of Germanic languages and was appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1920. During the ten years he has held this position the requirements for entrance, classroom work and degrees have been raised considerably, the number of transfer students has been reduced and the general scholastic tone of the college has been improved. During the war Dr. Baker was connected with the General Staff College of the American expeditionary force in France, later seeing general staff duty in Germany with the army of occupation. He is well known as a student of Germanic literature, being the editor of Ger- man Stories and Kleist ' s Prinz von Hotnnurg. He has also contributed articles to the Journal of Germanic Philology, Modern Philology, the Sewanee Re view and Modern Language Notes. Because of his knowledge of international affairs, Dr. Baker was sent to Geneva by the Carnegie Institute for International Peace in 1927 for the purpose of studying the organization of the League of Nations, World Court and other institutions.