As Arkansas schools and universities developed, they went through a series of changes in leadership and direction.
It took many teachers and administrators to guide schools and colleges through challenges in enrollment, accreditation, and financing to be able to help students move ahead to promising careers. One of these leaders was James R. Grant, who served as president of two Arkansas colleges in their formative years.
Grant was born near Dover in western Arkansas in March 1880. As one of 10 children in a large farm family in this time period, his early life was one of hard work with few educational opportunities for rural children. He enrolled at the University of Arkansas in 1904. Though at age 24, he was older than many other students, he was determined to succeed.
He paid for his degree through a series of jobs at the university. He earned his bachelors degree in 1908. He married in 1910, and the couple had five children.
In 1911, he began teaching education at the university, even rising to head the education department in 1913 before moving on to other positions.
Grant took administrative positions at several different colleges while he worked his way through graduate school. He eventually earned a masters degree from the University of Chicago in 1914 and a doctorate from Peabody College in Tennessee by 1925. Along the way, he briefly served as superintendent of schools in Ola and Greenwood. By 1920, he began working as supervisor of rural schools for the Arkansas Department of Education.
In 1926, Arkansas Polytechnic College in Russellville (later Arkansas Tech University), hired Grant as its new president. Initially founded as an agricultural school, Grant saw many possibilities for the college. He shifted the focus of the college to include teacher education and the traditional courses in the liberal arts. The school gained important accreditation credentials under his leadership, and enrollment grew steadily.
The beginning of the Great Depression in 1929 hit the nation hard. In spite of the gains Arkansas Tech saw under Grant, state funding was suddenly limited. However, enrollment continued to grow. Enrollment reached a record 482 students by 1930. Serious problems surrounded the college, however, as money fell short and building maintenance was neglected as a result.
Arguments between Grant and the board of trustees grew. By 1931, the board of trustees decided to invoke a little-known rule in the clause of the 1909 bill that created the college and insisted that any president of the college had to have been educated at an agricultural school. Frustrated by the clashes with the trustees, Grant resigned.
Within a few months, Grant found a new position. Ouachita Baptist College in Arkadelphia hired him as a professor of education and registrar. Though a step down from college president, Grant was satisfied to find any work during the Great Depression. The Depression, however, had hit the college hard, and money problems abounded. Enrollment had dwindled, many professors had left, and the college lost its accreditation as a result.
The college was at its lowest point, and the Arkansas Baptist Convention considered closing the college. College president Charles Johnson instead asked that a committee be formed to study the college’s financial problems and possible solutions. Grant was placed on this committee and found a path forward through careful management and allowing the college more financial independence away from the convention.
Johnson stepped down as president in April 1933, and Grant was elevated to vice-president while a permanent replacement was found. In January 1934, trustees named Grant president of the college. Enrollment was down to 300 students, but Grant worked to stabilize the college and rebuild its enrollment and finances. Accreditation was regained, helping it revive its academic reputation. Slowly, enrollment improved. Grant managed to raise more than $2 million (or more than $40 million in 2022 dollars) in the midst of the Great Depression to keep the embattled college functioning and finances stabilized. The college survived.
The college faced a new challenge to enrollment with World War II. Young men enlisted in the military, causing enrollment to drop at many colleges around the country, causing some to close. Enrollment was strained at the college, but Grant guided Ouachita Baptist through difficult years for the college and for Grant personally. His oldest son, an army major, was killed in action on the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944. Grant persevered through the end of the war. After the war, thanks to scholarships for veterans provided through the 1944 Servicemen’s Adjustment Act, or the G.I. Bill, the college’s enrollment increased to more than 500 students, a welcome change for the college.
Grant’s health, however began to decline after World War II. In 1949, he retired from the college, with enrollment steady and its future bright. He and his wife moved to Little Rock where he continued to write and preach. He died in November 1951 at age 71. In honor of his service, OBU dedicated the new Grant Memorial Hall in 1953, but the building was torn down in 1995. His youngest son, Daniel R. Grant, would serve as OBU president from 1970 to 1988.
In his long career, J.R. Grant enriched lives and inspired young imaginations. His legacy impacted two important Arkansas universities. The career of any educator is ultimately measured not by reports or grades but by how they touch the lives of students.
In his long career, J.R. Grant enriched lives and inspired young imaginations. His legacy impacted two important Arkansas universities. The career of any educator is ultimately measured not by reports or grades but by how they touch the lives of students.
In his long career, J.R. Grant enriched lives and inspired young imaginations. His legacy impacted two important Arkansas universities. The career of any educator is ultimately measured not by reports or grades but by how they touch the lives of students.
