Herman B Wells
Herman B Wells | |
|---|---|
| 1st University Chancellor of Indiana University | |
| In office 1962–2000 | |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Gros Louis |
| Interim President of Indiana University | |
| In office 1968–1968 | |
| Preceded by | Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Sutton |
| 11th President of Indiana University | |
| In office 1938–1962 | |
| Preceded by | William Lowe Bryan |
| Succeeded by | Elvis Jacob Stahr Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 7, 1902 Jamestown, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | March 18, 2000 (aged 97) Bloomington, Indiana |
| Resting place | Jamestown, Indiana |
| Parent(s) | Joseph Granville Wells Anna Bernice (Harting) Wells |
| Alma mater | Indiana University (Bloomington) |
| Occupation | Indiana University president, administrator, and faculty member |
| Monuments | Herman B Wells Library |
| Years active | 1930–2000 |
| Board member of | Indiana University Foundation; Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (1936–71); Lilly Endowment (1972–2000) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Business administration |
| Institutions | Indiana University |
Herman B Wells (June 7, 1902 – March 18, 2000), a native of Boone County, Indiana, was the eleventh president of Indiana University Bloomington and its first university chancellor. He was pivotal in the transformation of Indiana University from a small, locally oriented college into a world-class institution of higher learning through expanded enrollment, recruitment of new faculty, construction of new buildings, new program offerings, and campus beautification projects. He remained steadfast in his support of IU's faculty and students, especially in the areas of academic freedom and civil rights.
Wells began his career in banking, but served the university in a variety of faculty and administrative capacities during his seventy-year career at IU Bloomington: instructor and assistant professor, department of economics (1930–35; dean and professor of administration, school of business administration (1935–37); acting president (1937–38); and president (1938–62). He gave up control in 1962 to become university chancellor (1962–2000); interim president (1968); and chairman of the board of the Indiana University Foundation (1969–72), as well as other leadership roles at the IU Foundation.