William Carey Poland

William Carey Poland
5th President of the Rhode Island School of Design
In office
1896–1907
Preceded byHerbert W. Ladd
Succeeded byIsaac Comstock Bates
Personal details
BornJanuary 25, 1846
Goffstown, New Hampshire, U.S.
DiedMarch 19, 1929
Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Resting placeSwan Point Cemetery
SpouseClara Harkness
Children3
Alma materBrown University
OccupationClassical scholar, educator, academic administrator, former university president

William Carey Poland (1846–1929) was an American classical scholar, educator, academic administrator, and former university president. He was Professor Emeritus at Brown University starting in 1915; and the President of Rhode Island School of Design from 1896 to 1907.[1]

Biography

William Carey Poland was born on January 25, 1846, in Goffstown, New Hampshire.[1][2] His father was Baptist minister James Willey Poland.[3] Poland attended Brown University, where he received an A.B. degree and an M.A. degree in 1868.[2][1]

He served as the director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1891.[1] He taught Greek and Latin at Brown University from 1870 to 1890 and taught art history from 1892 to 1915.[1] In 1878, he worked as a private tutor for John Carter Brown's two sons to prepare them for college.[3][4] Brown's sons John and Harold traveled with Poland to Berlin, Paris, and Cannes to study classics.[3] When he retired in 1915, he was made Professor Emeritus of Art History.[2]

He was the fifth president of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), serving from 1896 to 1907.[1] During his time at RISD, the school acquired Memorial Hall on Benefit Street (in 1903), marking the school's physical expansion beyond a single building.[5]

Poland was married to Clara (née Harkness), daughter of Albert Harkness, and together they had three sons.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "William Carey Poland diaries and photographs". Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online (RIAMCO). Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  2. ^ a b c "Obituary for William Carey Poland (Aged 83)". The Journal (Meriden, Connecticut). March 20, 1929. p. 9. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Prof Poland of Brown Dead". The Boston Globe. March 20, 1929. p. 13. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  4. ^ "Poland, William Carey". Encyclopedia Brunoniana. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Dewing Schmid Kearns (March 2014). "RISD Campus Master Plan—State of the College Report: Phase I" (PDF).
  6. ^ Who's Who in New England: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men and Women of the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. A.N. Marquis Company. 1938. p. 1021.
  7. ^ "Prof. William C. Poland, Nationally Known Art Authority Dies at Eighty-three". Times Machine. The New York Times. March 20, 1929. p. 23. Retrieved July 29, 2022.