Alfred Bryan Bonds

Alfred Bryan Bonds (born November 3, 1913; died September 7, 1989) was a public servant, educator, and college administrator. He served as the fifth president of Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio from 1955 to 1981.

Early childhood and education

Alfred Bryan Bonds was born November 3, 1913 in Monroe County, Arkansas. Bonds began his education at Henderson State College, where he earned his A.B in 1935. He then earned a M.A. in English from Louisiana State University in 1936. Post graduate work continued at Louisiana State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1940.

Career

Bonds began his career in higher education administration, serving as assistant to the Dean while at Louisiana State, and a research project coordinator at Tulane University. World War II led Bonds into military service. He first served as an administrator under the War Manpower Commission before enlisting. Bonds served in the U.S. Navy and was separated in May, 1946 as a Lieutenant (s.g). While in the Navy, Bonds befriended sculptor Felix de Weldon, who was serving as an ensign under his command. Later, Bonds would help de Weldon secure the commission for the USMC War Memorial.

Political appointments and career

The war interrupted Bonds' work towards his Ph.D. His administrative skills found use in the federal government following World War II. He served in several White House political appointments under the administration of President Harry S. Truman, including Assistant Executive Secretary of the President's Commission on Higher Education, Chief of Reeducation and Training under the Department of Labor, Education Consultant to UNESCO, and training director of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Bonds returned to his native Arkansas served a term as the State Commissioner of Education. He accepted an appointment by Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve as Chief of the U.S. Educational Mission to Egypt. It was in Egypt that Bonds became enamored in the classics, as well as ancient Egyptian culture. Bonds accepted the position of President of Baldwin- Wallace College from Cairo, in 1955. He was the first lay president of Baldwin-Wallace College, succeeding Rev. John Lowden Knight.

Accomplishments

Bonds was a gifted administrator and fundraiser. Bonds oversaw the construction of dozens of buildings at Baldwin- Wallace and a doubling of the college's enrollment. Bonds received accolades during his entire life, including four honorary doctorates from Ohio Wesleyan University, Mount Union College, Cleveland-Marshall Law School, and Baldwin-Wallace College; The Officer's Cross of West Germany, and state honors such as being named a Kentucky Colonel, an Admiral of the Nebraska Navy, and an Arkansas Traveler. Bonds cultural contributions to Baldwin- Wallace included designing the campus in the colonial style of architecture, and commissioning long time friend Felix de Weldon to adorn the student union in bas relief sculptures.

Upon retirement, Bonds sat on numerous hospital and library boards around the greater Cleveland area.

BW facts

*Bonds was the first president of the college not to have been a minister, or to have earned a degree in religion or divinity.Fact|date=February 2007

*At the time of his retirement, Bonds was the longest serving college president in the United States.Fact|date=February 2007

References

*Clary, Norman J. Baldwin-Wallace College. Cradles of Conscience. Ed. John Wiliam Oliver, Jr. Kent State University Press, 2003. 39-51