Nathan Pusey

Nathan Marsh Pusey (ˈpjuːzi; April 4, 1907 – November 14, 2001) was an American academic. Originally from Council Bluffs, Iowa, Pusey won a scholarship to Harvard University out of high school and went on to earn bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees in the classics at Harvard. Pusey began his academic career as a professor of literature at Scripps College and Wesleyan University before serving as president of Lawrence College from 1944 to 1953. Serving as President of Harvard University from 1953 to 1971, Pusey was the first president of Harvard from outside New England. After his time at Harvard, he was president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation from 1971 to 1975. Pusey was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa to John and Rosa Pusey. His great uncle William Henry Mills Pusey had served as an Iowa state senator and member of the United States House of Representatives. He shared a name with another great uncle, Iowa state senator Nathan Marsh Pusey. The younger Pusey was educated at Harvard College (B.A.), and received M.A. (1928) and Ph.D (1937) degrees from Harvard University, studying English literature and ancient history. During his freshman year in college, he lived in Stoughton Hall. He married Anne Woodward in 1936. The couple later had three children. Pusey's first teaching post after he graduated was at Riverdale Country School. He then taught at Lawrence College, Scripps College, and Wesleyan University. He served as president of Lawrence College (1944–1953), and later as the 24th president of Harvard University (1953–1971). During his presidency of Harvard, Pusey overhauled the admissions process, which had been biased heavily in favor of the alumni of New England-based boarding schools, and began admitting public school graduates based on scores obtained on standardized tests such as the SAT. This was highly controversial with the school's alumni population but set the stage for diversifying the student body and faculty. Pusey was a devout, lifelong Episcopalian who deplored the “almost idolatrous” secularism of his era.