Marion L. Brittain | |
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 Brittain fromThe 1944 Blue Print | |
| Born | Marion Luther Brittain (1866-11-11)November 11, 1866 Wilkes County, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | July 13, 1953(1953-07-13) (aged 86) |
| Occupation | University president |
Marion Luther Brittain Sr. (November 11, 1866 – July 13, 1953[1]) was an Americanacademic administrator and longest servingpresident of theGeorgia Institute of Technology from 1922 to 1944.[2] Brittain was born inGeorgia and, aside from a brief stint at theUniversity of Chicago for graduate school, spent most of his life serving the educational community there. After receiving aBachelor of Arts degree fromEmory College in 1886, Brittain worked his way up the ranks fromprincipal of anAtlanta high school tosuperintendent of education for the entire state of Georgia.[3]
In 1922, Brittain accepted the position of president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, then called the Georgia School of Technology, an office he would hold until his retirement in 1944. During his 22-year tenure at Georgia Tech, Brittain was credited with doubling student enrollment, establishing what is now the second-largestaerospace engineering faculty in the United States, and playing an influential role in securing Georgia Tech's position as a leadingtechnical institute andresearch university. After his retirement, Brittain wroteThe Story of Georgia Tech (1948), a history of the Institute published shortly before his death in 1953.[4]
Marion L. Brittain was born inWilkes County, Georgia in 1866 to Dr. J. M. Brittain, aBaptist minister, and Ida Callaway, granddaughter of Baptist minister Enoch Callaway.[5] Brittain's childhood was spent in a variety of towns and cities throughout the state of Georgia due to his father's career as a minister.[6] He attendedEmory College for his undergraduate studies, graduating in 1886 with the commendation that he was the "best student in his department the college had had in ten years."[7][6] Brittain then spent ten years as anadministrator of severalhigh schools in theAtlanta, Georgia area. In 1897, he gained local fame for his erudition after winning a contest held by theAtlanta Constitution in which he was able to identify the missing word from a passage taken from an obscure book onEnglish literature.[7] Brittain later graduated from theUniversity of Chicago in 1898.[8]
On December 5, 1899, Brittain and Lettie McDonald, daughter of Baptist minister Dr. Henry McDonald, were married.[9] He returned to academic administration, first assuperintendent of theFulton County School System (1900–1910) and later, at the appointment ofJoseph Mackey Brown,[6] the education system for the entirestate of Georgia (1910–1922).[10] In this role, Brittain became well known for fightingcorruption and generally improving the education system.[11] Throughout this time, Brittain earnedLL.D. degrees fromMercer University (1919), and, later, theUniversity of Georgia (1927) andEmory University (1928).[12] He was also president of the Georgia Education Association in 1906, of the Southern Education Association in 1913, and of the Council of State School Superintendents of the United States in 1917.[10] He earned the wrath of SenatorTom Watson during these positions, who attempted to remove Brittain from his position as superintendent of education.[10]
On August 1, 1922, Brittain was electedpresident of theGeorgia School of Technology (Georgia Tech).[13] During his tenure, Brittain was able to convince the state of Georgia to increase funding for the Institute. He had noted in the 1923 annual report that "there are more students in Georgia Tech than in any other two colleges in Georgia, and we have the smallest appropriation of them all."[10] Additionally, a $300,000 grant (equivalent to $5,646,812.75 in 2024) from theGuggenheim Foundation allowed Brittain to establish the David Guggenheim School of Aeronautics at Georgia Tech. In 1930, Brittain's decision to use the money for a School of Aeronautics was controversial; today, the David Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering boasts the second-largest faculty in the United States behindMIT.[14]
Other accomplishments during Brittain's administration included a doubling of Georgia Tech's enrollment,[1] the firstROTC unit in theSouthern United States, accreditation for the Institute by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and the creation of a newceramic engineering department, building, and major that attracted the American Ceramics Society's national convention to Atlanta.[10][11] Perhaps most significantly, Brittain is attributed with providing the vision and securing the finances to move Georgia Tech away from its roots as a teaching-oriented trade school and towards a new focus on science and technology research.[15]
Brittain was known by reputation as a kind, gentle man and was well-liked by students and faculty. He was especially remembered for his dedication to theGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team, attending nearly every game including those taking place out of state. Outside of Georgia Tech, Brittain taughtSunday school classes and maintained active membership in a number ofservice organizations.[11] Brittain retired from his position as president of Georgia Tech in 1944, after which he penned a history of the Institute entitledThe Story of Georgia Tech, completed in 1948.[16] He died in 1953, survived by three children: McDonald, Marion Luther Jr., and Ida; three grandsons, and a great-granddaughter.[4] Flags at the university were flown at half-staff for a month in remembrance of Brittain, and classes were cancelled for the rest of the school week.[4]
Long after his death, Brittain continues to be remembered through several prestigious awards named in his honor. The Marion L. Brittain Fellows Program, established in 1990, awardspostdoctoral fellowships to teach in the Communications Program at Georgia Tech's School of Literature, Communication, and Culture for up to three years.[17] AtEmory University, the Marion Luther Brittain Award is presented annually atcommencement to a graduate "who has demonstrated exemplary service to both the university and the greater community without expectation of recognition" and is considered the university's highest student honor.[18][19]
A pair of buildings bears the name of Brittain as well. The Dr. Marion Luther Brittain Sr. House, built in the Neoclassical Revival style and located at 1109 West Peachtree Street in Atlanta, was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on September 23, 1993.[20] The building served as Brittain's home from its construction in 1911 until Brittain and his family moved to the Georgia Tech president's house in 1922. It was later converted into office space and is privately owned.[21] By 2018, the house had been demolished to make way for1105 West Peachtree.[22] TheMarion L. Brittain Dining Hall, erected in 1928, is one of two dining facilities for students living inresidence halls on the east side of Georgia Tech's campus.[23]
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Received the degrees of A.B. from Emory of Georgia in 1886, LL.D. from Mercer University in 1919, University of Georgia in 1927, and Emory University in 1928.
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