- Fred Pierce Corson
Fred Pierce Corson was an American
bishop of The Methodist Church, elected in 1944. He also distinguished himself as aMethodist pastor and district superintendent; as the twentiethpresident ofDickinson College ,Carlisle, Pennsylvania ; and as anecumenical Christian leader .Birth and Family
Fred was born 11 April 1896 in
Millville, New Jersey [viaAssociated Press . [http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F20A16F83E5D0C7B8DDDAB0894DD484D81 " FRED CORSON, RETIRED BISHOP"] , "The New York Times ",February 18 ,1985 . AccessedDecember 6 ,2007 .] , the son of Jeremiah and Mary Payne Corson. Jeremiah was a glass manufacturer. Fred married Frances Blount Beamon ofCharlotte, North Carolina in 1922. They had one son, Hampton Payne Corson, who graduated fromDickinson College in 1949 and went on to become aphysician .Education
Fred graduated from Millville High School in 1913 [ [http://www.co.cumberland.nj.us/facts/history/people_century/viewpeople.asp?id=23 Our People of the Century - Millville's Class of 1913: Fame, Power, Influence Await Three High School Graduates"] ,
Cumberland County, New Jersey . AccessedDecember 6 ,2007 . "The legendary Millville High School Class of 1913 turned out a business leader, a political leader, and a religious leader. Collectively known as the “Big Three,” William M. Dougherty, Leon Henderson, and Bishop Fred Pierce Corson, all schoolboy chums, went on to shape a good chunk of 20th century America."] and enrolled inDickinson College ,Carlisle, Pennsylvania . While at Dickinson he was a member ofKappa Sigma Fraternity , as well asOmicron Delta Kappa ,Tau Kappa Alpha andTau Delta Kappa . He graduated Dickinson in 1917 with anA.B. degree, "cum laude " andPhi Beta Kappa . His nickname while in college, spawned by his seriousness, was ironically, in light of later events, "The Bishop."Fred went on to study at
Drew Theological Seminary ,Madison, New Jersey , earning aBachelor of Divinity degree in 1920. He received an M.A. degree from Dickinson also in 1920. He received an honoraryD.D. degree fromSyracuse University in 1933.Ordained Ministry
Fred entered the ministry of the
New York EastAnnual Conference of theMethodist Episcopal Church . He wasordained in 1919 and was appointed to pastorates onLong Island, New York ; inNew Haven, Connecticut ; and inBrooklyn, New York . He was appointed a District Superintendent in 1929.Presidency of Dickinson College
The Rev. Dr. Corson was elected the twentieth President of Dickinson College 8 June 1934. He had no previous experience in academic administration. In light of this, he often relied on the President of the Board of Trustees, Boyd Lee Spahr. Corson also operated in a firm and hierarchical fashion in relations with the faculty. Nevertheless, during his decade of presidency, in often difficult times (e.g., during
The Great Depression andWorld War II ), Corson gained respect for his careful financial stewardship.He also reintroduced some of the reforms in services and curriculum his predecessor,
Karl Waugh , had proposed. For example, in 1936 he established a student health services program. He reinstated the policy of departmental honors with the requirement of a thesis. During the War, Corson worked hard to maintain enrollment, and was instrumental in Dickinson being chosen in 1943 as the site of anU.S. Army Air Force Aircrew Training Program, a move which helped ensure the fiscal health of the institution during the crisis of war.Episcopal Ministry
The Rev. Dr. Corson was elected Bishop by the 1944 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The Methodist Church. He was assigned the
Philadelphia Episcopal Area , where he served until his retirement in 1968. This election, of course, necessitated his resignation from the Presidency of Dickinson, a move which angered some and reopened old wounds concerning the College's relationship with the Methodist denomination.By all accounts, Bishop Corson led a sterling career as an Episcopal Leader. He was elected President of the
Council of Bishops in 1952. He also served as President of theWorld Methodist Council in 1961. In 1962 he sat on the Ecumenical Council to repairProtestant -Roman Catholic relations at the Vatican. He held private audience several times withPopes .Honors
Bishop Corson received
honorary degree s from fifty different institutions of higher learning. He was named Kappa Sigma Fraternity's "Man of the Year " in 1951, the first time this honor was bestowed upon a religious leader. He remained a Trustee of Dickinson College as well as of other institutions.Bishop Corson died
February 16 ,1985 inSt. Petersburg, Florida from acerebral hemorrhage suffered following a fall.elected Writings
* "Introduction,"
John Wesley 'sNew Testament (Anniversary Edition), Philadelphia, the John C. Winston Co., 1938.References
ources
*Encyclopedia Dickinsonia: Fred Pierce Corson [http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/c/ed_corsonFP.htm]
*Leete, Frederick DeLand, Methodist Bishops. Nashville, The Methodist Publishing House, 1948.External links
* [http://chronicles.dickinson.edu/encyclo/c/ed_corsonFP.htm Photo of Bishop Corson]
ee also
*
List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.