Thaxter, Benjamin A., 1873-1964

Benjamin A. Thaxter was a native of Maine who had earned a BA and an MA in literature at Yale. Thaxter taught in New England and Missouri before accepting a job as an English instructor for Oregon's Portland Academy in 1906. In 1912, Thaxter was hired as the principal of Portland Public School District's Chapman School, and later at the Couch Street school. In 1939, Albany College hired Thaxter as professor of English and Dean of the College. In 1941, while Albany College was in the process of finding a permanent campus in Portland, its President, Clarence Greene, resigned. Thaxter was appointed as acting President until Morgan Odell was hired in 1942, and the College moved to its new Fir Acres campus in Southwest Portland. Thaxter retired in 1958.