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Presidents

Beatty, Ormand. Brief Sketch of the Life and Character of Ormond Beatty (1893)   (PDF, 5.6Mb)

Biographical sketch of Ormond Beatty, Centre President from 1868 to 1888.

Blackburn, Gideon. Letter to David G. Cowan (1827)

Letter of Gideon Blackburn addressed to Centre College Trustee David G. Cowan and John Green inquiring about the offer of the presidency of the college. Blackburn served as President of Centre College from 1827 to 1830.

Blackburn, Gideon. Letter to Danville Citizens (1830)

Letter from Gideon Blackburn to the citizens of Danville, Kentucky, expressing his gratitude for the gift of a saddle upon his resignation as president of Centre College. Blackburn was elected President of in 1827, and resigned in 1830 at the insistence of the Kentucky Presbyterian Synod. The exact nature of the problem is unknown, but his presidency was at the beginning of the New and Old School controversy within the Presbyterian Church, and Blackburn was strongly anti-slavery. Probably one of these, or both, were at the heart of the problems.

Breckinridge, William C. Inaugural address (October 14, 1864)

The inaugural address of William C. Breckinridge, Centre President from 1863 to 1868.

Green, Lewis W. Letter to Officers of Second Presbyterian Church (March 27, 1860)

Letter from Lewis W. Green, Centre President from 1857 to 1863, to the officers of Danville's Second Presbyterian Church on the relationship between Green and the church.

Groves, Walter A. Interview (1983)

  Part 1 (PDF, 25.4Mb)  Part 2 (PDF, 18.5Mb)  Part 3 (PDF, 9.1Mb)

Transcript of a 1983 oral interview with Walter A. Groves, President of Centre College from 1947 to 1956.

Hinitt, Frederick W. Letter to John A. Cheek (November 25, 1904)   (PDF, 2.0Mb)

Letter from Hinitt, President of Centre College, to John A. Cheek, Treasurer, authorizing the payment of $275.00 to H.A. Childs as coach of the football team for 1904.

Hinitt, Frederick W. Letter to Andrew Carnegie (March 24, 1905)

Letter from Hinitt, President of Centre College, to Carnegie, thanking him for his gift of $30,000 to construct a new library.

Hinitt, Frederick W. Letter to Andrew Carnegie (April 7, 1905)

Letter from Hinitt, President of Centre College, to Carnegie, asking for additional funds. Hinitt received an unsympathetic response from Carnegie's secretary.

McLeod, Robert L., Jr. Interview (1983)    (PDF 327 Kb)

Transcript of an oral interview with Robert L. McLeod, Jr., President of Centre College from 1938 to 1942. The interview took place in Danville on April 23, 1983, while McLeod was attending the inauguration of Richard L. Morrill as President of Centre College. The interview was transcribed in 1985.

Spragens, Thomas A. Interview (1982)

  Part 1 (PDF, 4.6Mb)  Part 2 (PDF, 5.3Mb)  Part 3 (PDF, 4.9Mb)  Part 4 (PDF, 4.8Mb)
Part 5 (PDF, 4.1Mb)  Part 6 (PDF, 5.4Mb)  Part 7 (PDF, 4.0Mb)  Part 8 (PDF, 4.0Mb)

Transcription of an oral interview with Thomas A. Spragens, President of Centre College from 1957 to 1981, conducted over several days in November 1982. The interview was transcribed in 1985, edited by Mr. Spragens, and then retyped.

Young, John C. Papers

John C. Young served as Centre's president from 1830 until his death in 1857. Given the length of his term in office, there are surprisely few papers that remain. This is a selection of his letters, speeches, and writings.