Blayney, Lindsey, 1874-1971

An educator and a veteran of World War I; received an honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame.

From the description of Papers, 1959-1973. (University of Notre Dame). WorldCat record id: 23933437

The unexpected death of President Bralley led to the first interim appointment for leadership of the College of Industrial Arts (TWU) in 1924. Dean Edward Valentine White served as acting president for several months as the Regents sought a new leader for the college. On September 27, 1924, the Board announced their unanimous choice for the fourth president of CIA. The Board selected Lindsey Blayney, Professor of German at Rice Institute. Blayney began his service on January 1, 1925, and was inaugurated on January 11 of that year. At his inaugural ceremonies, Blayney pledged “the best that is within me.”

Lindsey Blayney was born in 1874 in Kentucky. He spent his youth in Europe and learned French and Italian. In 1894, Blayney graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. He then began graduate study in Europe. He studied philology and comparative literature in Germany, Spain, and Italy. He earned the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the University of Heidelberg. Dr. Blayney was appointed to the founding faculty of Rice Institute (now Rice University) in 1912, where he served until his appointment as President of CIA.

Dr. Blayney had a distinguished military career. He volunteered to serve in World War I, even though he was over draft age. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was decorated by the governments of France, Serbia, Greece, Italy, and the United States. Blayney was an accomplished and erudite person. He was honored as a soldier, humanitarian, educator, and public servant. He was an outspoken critic of the Ku Klux Klan. Blayney’s courage and abilities were recognized throughout the nation, and he was awarded honorary doctoral degrees by Notre Dame, Loyola University, Southwestern University at Georgetown, and Austin College.

The impressive credentials and documented accomplishments of Lindsey Blayney led the Board of Regents to entrust the presidency of CIA to him. Despite his distinguished career, the administration of Lindsey Blayney at CIA was short and tumultuous. He was caught in a political power struggle between advocates and opponents of Governor Miriam Ferguson.

Blayney was forced to work in an environment that defeated many of his plans for the advancement of the college. The management style of Blayney was also a key factor in his inability to lead the college. Blayney’s method of dealing with faculty and students in a military style was not accepted in an academic community. Lyndsey Blayney opposed graduate work at the college. He wrote in the college bulletin of March 1, 1925, “The administration refuses to be tempted by the allurements and consequent dangers of graduate training and of highly specialized scholarship.”

Students, faculty, and regents all questioned Blayney’s qualifications and fitness for continuing as President. By the fall of 1925, the Board of Regents, following a bitter meeting, called upon Blayney to resign, effective June 1, 1926.

Despite the controversy of the brief Blayney administration, the college advanced on several major goals. Funding for a library, sought for several years, was won by Blayney from the Legislature as an appropriation of $150,000 was authorized. The library was later named for Blayney’s predecessor, F. E. Bralley. Blayney also gained $40,000 to pave Bell Avenue. He initiated a plan for campus landscaping. Blayney reorganized the structure of the college into five schools – Liberal Arts, Industrial Arts and Sciences, Home Economics, Fine Arts, and Education. He also established the Department of Journalism and approved the four-year program that led to a degree in Journalism.

Lindsey Blayney, despite internal strife on campus, praised the purpose and spirit of CIA. He lauded the college for its originality, dedication to the ideals of the American home, and its effort to combine intellectual and cultural education with practical and vocational training.

After his stormy yet progressive year at CIA, Lindsey Blayney went to Carleton College in Minnesota, where he served as Dean of the College and Chairman of the Department of German. Highly regarded at Carleton College, Dr. Blayney remained there until his retirement in 1946.

Source: Dr. Phyllis Bridges, Marking a Trail: The Quest Continues, A Centennial History of the Texas Woman’s University. Denton: Texas Woman’s University, 2001, page 22.

From the guide to the Lindsey Blayney Papers Mss. 832., 1924-1929, (Texas Woman's University, the Woman's Collection)