John A. Randall

For other people with the same name, see John Randall (disambiguation).

John Arthur Randall (July 25, 1881 – June 9, 1968) was the fourth President of the Rochester Institute of Technology, succeeding Royal B. Farnum, from 1922 to 1936.^[1][2]

John Arthur Randall
4th President of the Rochester Athenæum and Mechanics Institute
In office 1922–1936
Preceded by	Royal B. Farnum
Succeeded by	Mark W. Ellingson
Personal details
Born	(1881-07-25)July 25, 1881 Durham, Maine, US
Died	June 9, 1968(1968-06-09) (aged 86) Boonsboro, Maryland, US
Resting place	Sweeney Cemetery, North Tonawanda, New York
Spouse	Georgiana W. Hathaway
Parent	Greenfield A. Randall Julia D. Penley
Alma mater	Wesleyan University
Profession	Administrator

Randall was born in Durham, Maine in 1881 and graduated from Wesleyan University, Phi Beta Kappa.^[3]

Randall began his career in education at the Cheltenham Military School. He served as the head of the Physics department at the Pratt Institute from 1913 to 1917.^[4]

During World War I, Randall served as Under Secretary of War (1918) to Secretary of War Newton D. Baker in the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. He also served in the War Plans Division of the United States Department of War. He and Dr. C.R. Mann developed the Army Alpha Intelligence Test, thought to be the first attempt of its kind to measure vocational and numerical ability. In 1932, he was commissioned as Colonel in the Special Reserves, assigned to the U.S. Army General Staff.^[4]

From 1932 to 1936, he served as a special consultant to the Senate Committee investigating crime and racketeering. He also served as President of the Science Department of the National Education Association.

Gravestone in Sweeney Rural Cemetery in North Tonawanda, New York

Randall was instrumental in introducing the method of "case study" to RIT, in further developing the co-op program at RIT, and in the decision that RIT would not grant degrees and would instead provide "short, intensive courses". In 1936, he left RIT to direct the Division of Educational Aids of the National Youth Administration.

He held memberships in many professional societies during his lifetime, including:

• the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education
• the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• the American Management Association

He married the former Georgiana Waldron Hathaway in 1936. His daughter, Marcia, married his successor, Mark W. Ellingson.

Randall died in Boonsboro, Maryland in 1968.^[5]

References

1. Saffran, Michael (March 2007), "RIT's presidential history", RIT News & Events, vol. 39, no. 11, Henrietta, NY: Rochester Institute of Technology, archived from the original on January 24, 2008, retrieved January 18, 2008
2. Gordon, D.R. (2007). Rochester Institute of Technology: Industrial Development and Educational Innovation in an American City, 1829-2006. RIT Press. p. 122. ISBN 9781933360232. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
3. "John A. Randall Dies; former RIT President", Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, p. 6B, June 10, 1968
4. "Office of the President". RIT. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
5. "John A. Randall", Hagerstown Daily Mail, Hagerstown, Maryland, p. 9, June 10, 1968

External links

• Works by or about John A. Randall at the Internet Archive

Academic offices
Preceded by Royal B. Farnum	President of the Rochester Athenæum and Mechanics Institute 1922–1936	Succeeded by Mark W. Ellingson