The 3rd president of Union College
Jonathan Maxcy (1768 – 1820)
(Union College Permanent Collection)
- Wikipedia entry
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A graduate—and later president—of Rhode Island College (then known as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island & Providence Plantations), Maxcy took office as Union's third president in 1802.
Maxcy was especially interested in teaching writing and public speaking; with his encouragement, students formed an association which met each day at sunset to practice extemporaneous speaking. The 1802 laws of the College introduced the requirement, presumably initiated by Maxcy, that "sophomores, juniors and senior shall exhibit compositions of their own in the English language, every Saturday morning."
The construction of a new building called "Stone College" was finally completed sometime in 1804, but at the July trustees' meeting that year, after less than two years in office, Maxcy submitted his resignation, citing the effects of the upstate New York climate on his health.
From the "Encyclopedia of Union College History"
