John Gabbert Bowman

John G. Bowman circa 1935

John Gabbert Bowman (May 18, 1877 – December 2, 1962) was the tenth Chancellor (1921–1945) of the University of Pittsburgh and the ninth President (1911–1914) of the University of Iowa.

He is best known for initiating and completing the 42-story Cathedral of Learning, the centerpiece of Pitt's campus, over the objections of many faculty and community members. At the time, it was the tallest educational structure in the world. He also established the University of Pittsburgh Press and oversaw the institution of controversial athletic policies that resulted in the resignation in popular head football coach Jock Sutherland.^[1]

Early life

Bowman was born in Davenport, Iowa. He married Florence Ridgway Berry and they had two children.

He also worked as a journalist in Iowa and Illinois, taught in a one-room rural Iowa school and at Columbia University.^[2] From Columbia, he worked at the newly founded Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Career

In 1915, he became the founding director of the American College of Surgeons, where he served until 1921.

Bowman was the first University of Iowa alumnus to become its President, as well as the school’s first Iowa-born chief administrator. He earned the B.A. degree in 1899, the M.A. in 1904,^[2] and the Litt.D. in 1934. He became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity as an undergraduate.

He arrived on campus in 1921.^[3] Bowman resigned as chancellor from the University of Pittsburgh in 1945. The trustees named him President Honorarius and awarded him an honorary doctorate of laws.^[4]

Death and legacy

He died at age 85 on December 2, 1962 in Bedford, Pennsylvania.^[5][6]

He is mentioned in the book, Jewels in Your Crown: Mining the Treasures Within.^[7]

Books

• The World That Was, nonfiction (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1947).
• Nationality Rooms of the University of Pittsburgh, with Ruth Crawford Mitchell and Andrey Avinoff, nonfiction (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1947).
• Happy All Day Through, poetry (Chicago: P.F. Volland Company, 1917).

Location of his papers

• The John G. Bowman Papers are housed at the University of Iowa Special Collections & University Archives.
• The Chancellor Bowman Administrative Files are housed at the Archives Service Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

References

1. "Boot for Bowman". Time. 1939-10-02. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
2. Ohles, Frederik; Ohles, Shirley M.; Ramsay, John G. (1997). Biographical Dictionary of Modern American Educators. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 36. ISBN 0313291330.
3. Kidney, Walter C. Oakland. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2005, p. 87, ISBN 0738538671
4. Geiger, Roger L. (2011). Iconic Leaders in Higher Education. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. p. 154. ISBN 1412846390.
5. "Deaths". Hospitals. American Hospital Association. 37: 98. ISSN 0018-5973. OCLC 1752305.
6. "[obit]". College and University Business. Chicago: McGraw-Hill. 34: 14. 1963. ISSN 0010-0900. OCLC 1564045.
7. Fowler, Craig. Jewels in Your Crown: Mining the Treasures Within. 2009, p. 68, ISBN 9781440191558

Bibliography

• Alberts, Robert C. (1987). Pitt: The Story of the University of Pittsburgh 1787-1987. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 0-8229-1150-7.
• Geiger, Roger L. (2011). Iconic Leaders in Higher Education. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. ISBN 1412846390.
• Kidney, Walter C. (2005). Oakland. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. ISBN 0738538671.
• Ohles, Frederik; Ohles, Shirley M.; Ramsay, John G. (1997). Biographical Dictionary of Modern American Educators. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313291330.