William A. Ganfield
Centre College President (1915-1921)
Born in Dubuque County, Iowa, on September 3, 1873, William A. Ganfield graduated from Cornell College and the McCormick Theological Seminary, and studied at the University of Chicago graduate school. He served as pastor in Green Bay (1901-04) before resigning to become professor of history and political science at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin (1904-15). Ganfield was elected President of Centre College in 1915, soon adding the responsibility of President of the Board of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Upon assuming the office, Ganfield pushed for a increase in Centre's endowment, and began a large scale fund-raising campaign. The General Education Board (Rockefeller Foundation) promised $200,000, provided the college could raise $400,000. By 1922 the campaign was successful, largely through the efforts and gifts of the Presbyterian Educational Movements and the citizens of Danville and Boyle County. The college now possessed an endowment of over one million dollars. Centre's glory years in football began during Ganfield's administration as the famous "Praying Colonels" became a football dynasty. The pinnacle of Centre's football history occurred on October 29, 1921, when a visiting Centre team beat mighty Harvard by the score of 6 - 0. Ganfield resigned to accept the presidency of Carroll College in 1921, a position he held until retirement in 1939. Ganfield was a member of the Republican National Advisory Committee, and in 1922 ran for the United States Senate, losing to Robert M. LaFollette. Ganfield died on October 18, 1940.
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