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Oliver Carmichael
20th President of the University of Alabama
In office
1953–1957
Preceded byLee Bidgood (acting)
Succeeded byJames H. Newman (acting)
3rd Chancellor of Vanderbilt University
In office
1937–1946
Preceded byJames H. Kirkland
Succeeded byHarvie Branscomb
4th President of Alabama College
In office
1926–1935
Preceded byThomas Waverly Palmer
Succeeded byArthur Fort Harman
Personal details
BornOctober 3, 1891
Goodwater, Alabama, United States[1]
DiedSeptember 25, 1966(1966-09-25) (aged 74)
Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Alma materAlabama Presbyterian College (BA)
Wadham College, Oxford (BA)
University of Alabama (MA)

Oliver Cromwell Carmichael (October 3, 1891 – September 25, 1966) served as the third chancellor of Vanderbilt University from 1937 to 1946. He also served as the President of the University of Alabama from 1953 to 1957.

Early life

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Oliver Cromwell Carmichael was born on October 3, 1891, the son of a farmer. He received a B.A. from Alabama Presbyterian College and an M.A. from the University of Alabama.[2][3] He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, following Harvie Branscomb (1894–1998).[2] He was the first Rhodes Scholar from Alabama.[3]

He was the younger brother of mathematician Robert Daniel Carmichael.[4]

Career

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Carmichael worked in a YMCA in India and East Africa.[2] During the First World War, Carmichael and later Vanderbilt Chancellor Harvie Branscomb worked for the American Commission for Relief in Belgium under Herbert Hoover. He joined the British Army in 1915[5] and served in the East African campaign and commanded a field canteen. He returned to the United States but then joined the United States Army shortly after the American entry into World War I, serving as a first lieutenant with the 321st Regiment of the 81st Division on the Western Front from August 1918 onwards.[6]

After the war, Belgium awarded Carmichael and Branscomb the Médaille du Roi Albert and Médaille de la Reine Élisabeth for their service.[3] On his return, he became a high school principal.[2] From 1926 to 1935, Carmichael served as the fourth president of Alabama College, now known as the University of Montevallo.[7]

Carmichael became Dean of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1935, and he was elevated to serve as the third chancellor of the university from 1937 to 1946.[3][2] In 1939, he was also elected to the board of trustees of Duke University.[8]

Carmichael served as the President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching from 1945 to 1953.[2][9] During his tenure, he wrote an article entitled What Makes a Good College President.[10]

Carmichael served as the President of the University of Alabama from 1953 to 1957.[11] During his tenure, the football team lost consistently.[9] He resigned over a "violent controversy" after expelling Autherine Lucy, an African-American student.[9] While he broadly hinted that UA might have to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision against segregation, the board of trustees did not agree. He ultimately resigned over the issue.[12]

Death

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Carmichael died on September 25, 1966.[11]

Legacy

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Carmichael Towers (1970–2019 and 1966–2021) on the campus of Vanderbilt University were four residential buildings named in his honor. In 2024, construction of the Oliver C. Carmichael Residential College was completed, replacing the Carmichael Towers and allowing students to move in for the 2024-2025 academic year.[13][14]

The campus library at the University of Montevallo, on Bloch Street, completed in 1968, bears Carmichael's name.[15][16]

Bibliography

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  • Mead, Gary (2000). The Doughboys: America and the First World War. New York: Overlook Press. ISBN 1-58567-061-8. OCLC 44426879.

References

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  1. ^ CARMICHAEL, Oliver Cromwell, in Who's Who in America (1926 edition); p. 426
  2. ^ a b c d e f Vanderbilt University biography
  3. ^ a b c d Doll, G.N. Spies Like Us. Vanderbilt Magazine, accessed June 3, 2019.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Marquis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Mead 2000, p. 81.
  6. ^ Mead 2000, pp. 80–81.
  7. ^ "LibGuides: Anna Crawford Milner Archives and Special Collections: UM Presidents".
  8. ^ Duke University: Board of Trustees 1930s Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b c Kemper, Kurt Edward (2009). College Football and American Culture in the Cold War Era. U of Illinois P. p. 123. ISBN 9780252034664. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  10. ^ Carmichael, Oliver C. (Winter 1947). "What Makes a Good College President". Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors. 33 (4): 681–687. doi:10.2307/40220242. JSTOR 40220242.
  11. ^ a b Dr. Oliver Carmichael, 74, Dies; Ex-President of U. of Alabama; His Reign Was Marked by a Violent Controversy Over Admission of Negro, The New York Times, September 27, 1966
  12. ^ "Education: Goodbye to 'Bama". Time. November 19, 1956. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  13. ^ "Opening of Vanderbilt's Oliver C. Carmichael College completes 12-year West End Neighborhood construction".
  14. ^ Vanderbilt University Campus Dining: Carmichael Towers
  15. ^ "Carmichael, Oliver C." Social Networks and Archival Context. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  16. ^ "Library". University of Montevallo. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
Academic offices
Preceded by Chancellor of Vanderbilt University
1937–1946 		Succeeded by
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