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Frederick W. Hinitt
Frederick William Hinitt (November 21, 1866 – October 25, 1928) was an American Presbyterian pastor and academic administrator who was president of Parsons College, Central University of Kentucky (now Centre College), and Washington & Jefferson College for various periods between 1900 and 1918. He was educated at Westminster College, McCormick Theological Seminary, and the University of Wooster (now the College of Wooster), and he began his career in the ministry at Presbyterian churches in Warrensburg, Missouri, and Ottumwa, Iowa. Already a member of the board of trustees of Parsons College, in Fairfield, Iowa, he was elected president of that school in July 1900. In spite of a fire that destroyed one of the school's few buildings, a new women's dormitory was constructed and funds were raised to build a Carnegie library. He left Parsons in 1904 to take the presidency of Central University, where he worked to improve admissions and academic standards and began the process of overhauling the curriculum. As part of the process of improving campus, a new science building was constructed and Central got a Carnegie library of their own, completed in 1913. Amidst declining enrollment, Hinitt resigned in 1915 to take the presidency of Washington & Jefferson. His three-year presidency there was dominated by the effects of World War I, and he left in 1918 to become pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Indiana, Pennsylvania. After completing a one-year leave of absence working in war camps in England, he returned to Indiana and continued preaching until his death in 1928. Early life and educationFrederick William Hinitt was born in Kidderminster, England, on November 21, 1866. He moved with his family to Missouri when he was fourteen years of age and shortly thereafter began studying architecture.[1][a] He studied for the ministry at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1889. He earned another bachelor's degree from Westminster the following year and a Master of Arts degree the year after that.[1] While at Westminster, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.[2] In May 1892, he earned a degree from McCormick Theological Seminary.[3][1] Finally, he received a Doctor of Divinity degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Wooster, now known as the College of Wooster.[b] CareerPastor and Parsons president, 1892–1904Following his graduation from McCormick, Hinitt became pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 1895, he relocated to become pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Ottumwa, Iowa,[6] and he joined the board of trustees of Parsons College in 1896.[7] He was elected president of Parsons by the board on July 27, 1900; he succeeded Daniel E. Jenkins, who left to take a faculty position at the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary.[7] His inauguration was scheduled for June 1901 but ultimately delayed until October 15, 1901.[6] The construction of a women's dormitory had been an issue at Parsons since at least 1883, when the board had determined that such a building was needed.[8] The cornerstone was laid under Hinitt's administration on April 8, 1901, and the completed building, named Ballard Hall, opened as a women's dormitory and student union at the beginning of the 1901–1902 academic year at a total cost of over $17,500 (equivalent to $641,000 in 2023).[9][10] Disaster struck on the morning of August 19, 1902,[c] when a fire began on the second floor of Ankeny Hall and destroyed everything except the exterior walls of the building. It burned for four hours and threatened Hinitt's house, located nearby, though ultimately the house sustained damage only to its chimney. The damage to the school totaled $55,000 (equivalent to $1,937,000 in 2023), of which the school's insurance covered approximately half.[11] Hinitt was vacationing at the time of the fire and the school did not reopen until after his return.[12] While the fundraising and rebuilding efforts were ongoing, Hinitt traveled to meet with Andrew Carnegie in New York to ask for $15,000 (equivalent to $528,000 in 2023) to aid in the construction of a library; Carnegie agreed, provided the college matched that sum on their own. While Parsons was not initially able to satisfy this condition, Carnegie later agreed to the donation in 1905.[13] Central University of Kentucky, 1904–1915 Hinitt was offered the presidency of Central University of Kentucky, in Danville, Kentucky, on April 7, 1904.[14][d] He arrived in Danville, greeted by a crowd, on April 14[17] and officially accepted the position on April 18.[18] Upon his arrival, it was seen as relatively certain that he would accept the job, though this was temporarily cast into doubt as the result of a prank by Central students which involved letting loose a hog in the chapel prior to Hinitt's address.[19] He chose to accept Central's offer over similar competing offers from Lane Theological Seminary and his alma mater of Westminster College.[14] Hinitt gave the commencement address at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary on May 6, 1904,[20] and while he was not able to be present for Central's 1904 commencement exercises, he did travel to Danville to give the sermon at the school's baccalaureate service on June 5.[21] Hinitt's salary as president began July 1, 1904,[22] and he moved to Danville before the start of the 1904–1905 academic year.[23] He was formally inaugurated on October 20, 1904.[24] He was the school's first president to hold a Ph.D.[25] Major priorities of Hinitt's at Central were a reorganization of the curriculum and a strengthening of the school's academic standards. The school joined the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of Southern States in his first year,[26] and Hinitt's administration pushed to increase the requirements for admissions as well.[3] He also worked to increase the quantity and quality of public secondary schools in Kentucky,[3] ultimately resulting in the opening of Danville's first public high school in 1912. The curriculum at the time was in a transitional period between the classics-oriented focus of the college's early years and the modern-day major/minor system, with four tracks for students to choose from. According to Centre College historian William Weston, these tracks were the "classical course", the "Latin-Scientific" course, the "chemical-biological" course", and the "mathematical-physical" course.[27] The classical curriculum was eventually completely phased out in 1915, and Central began to offer the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees.[28] This change was finalized in 1916, the year after Hinitt departed Danville, when students were permitted to declare majors and minors for the first time.[29] In 1905, Hinitt received another financial offer from Andrew Carnegie, though this time in the amount of $30,000 (equivalent to $1,017,000 in 2023), in order to construct a new library building on Central's campus. As with the offer at Parsons, this was contingent on Central matching the amount of the gift through fundraising of their own.[30] The board of trustees accepted this deal unanimously at their March 31, 1905, meeting.[31] This was one of the several significant improvements to the campus during Hinitt's tenure, which also included the construction of Young Hall, the school's first science-specific building, in 1909.[28] A new gymnasium was constructed in the place of the old library and the new Carnegie library was constructed in 1913 in the place of the old gymnasium.[32] These improvements were in spite of a March 2, 1908, fire that caused approximately $10,000 worth of damage (equivalent to $339,000 in 2023) to Breckinridge Hall,[33] a dormitory building constructed in 1892.[34] Hinitt's correspondence with Carnegie was not limited to the library, as the president also wished for Central to join the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. This required Centre to be independent of the Presbyterian Church, and at the time they were not independent to the satisfaction of the Carnegie Foundation. By 1908, Centre had gained membership to the Foundation and by 1910, all references to Central as a Christian school had been omitted from the college catalogue.[35] This change was controversial, and it was ultimately reversed nearly a decade later.[36] Enrollment began to experience a decline around the time Central severed ties with the church and reached a low point of 80 in 1915.[37] Hinitt resigned effective January 1, 1915.[3] He was succeeded by John W. Redd, dean of the college, in an interim capacity before William Arthur Ganfield was hired as Central's eleventh president later that year.[38] Washington & Jefferson and later career, 1918–1928
Frederick W. Hinitt, 1918 Washington & Jefferson commencement address[39]
While still in office at Central, Hinitt had been unanimously elected president of Washington & Jefferson College by their board of trustees on September 23, 1914.[39][40] He accepted the offer on September 30.[41] He was received for an introduction on November 6 and addressed the W&J student body on November 20.[42][43] He took office upon the opening of the college on January 5, 1915,[44][45][e] and he was officially inaugurated on June 15 of that year.[39] His tenure as president of W&J was dominated by the United States' entry into World War I.[39] Total college enrollment dropped to 180, a decrease of 50 percent.[39] The 1918 commencement exercises were held early to accommodate men who were deployed to Europe, but only 24 students were able to attend.[39] Hinitt resigned the presidency of W&J in May 1918, effective June 1, 1918.[47] He was made pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on May May 28, 1918,[48] but shortly afterward took a one-year leave of absence to work with the YMCA in army camps in England and to serve as an army field secretary in the American Expeditionary Force.[39][47][49] He returned to the United States no later than June 4, 1919, when he presented diplomas at the Indiana High School graduation ceremony.[50] He gave the commencement address for Indiana Normal School's exercises several weeks later on June 25.[51] Personal life and deathHinitt married Effie Humphreys in 1892,[1][f] and the pair remained married until Effie's death on December 23, 1918.[53] Hinitt died around 2:00 p.m.[54] on October 25, 1928, in Indiana, Pennsylvania.[55][g] Notes
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