About Amherst Johnson Chapel South Wall

Arthur Curtiss James (June 1, 1867 – June 4, 1941) was an Amherst College  trustee from 1904 to 1941.

Theologian George Harris graduated from Amherst College in 1866 and Andover Theological Seminary in 1869, and received further degrees from Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Williams. He was the author of Moral Evolution, (1896) and Inequality and Progress (1897). 

Arthur Lincoln Gillett was an Amherst College trustee from 1909 to 1932.

Dwight Whitney Morrow was an Amherst College Trustee from 1916 to 1931.

Richmond Mayo-Smith was an Amherst College trustee from 1942 to 1949, and Chair in 1950.

Judge Arthur Fairbanks Ells was Chair of the Amherst College Board of Trustees from 1951 to 1959.

As Amherst’s president, Marx worked to strengthen the College’s commitment to diversity and service, ensuring access for accomplished students of all economic background and connecting the curriculum to research and internship/service experiences to inspire lifelong engagements. In July 2011, he became President of the New York Public Library.

As Amherst’s president, Gerety worked to strengthen the College’s admission standards and increase the diversity of its student body. He was a professor of philosophy and taught a first-year seminar on “Inner City America,” in which students volunteered at social service agencies in Amherst and Holyoke. 

Calvin Hastings Plimpton, Class of 1939, was president of Amherst College during the tumultuous decade from 1960 to 1971. During his presidency, the College introduced a new curriculum, raised $21 million in a capital campaign, and built major campus buildings, including the Arms Music Center. 

Born in Boston in 1922, John William Ward was educated at Harvard University (A.B., 1945) and the University of Minnesota (M.A., 1950; Ph.D. 1953). He taught at Princeton University (1952-1964), where he started as a professor of English but later changed his primary intellectual interest to history. At Amherst College, Ward was professor of History and American Studies and served as the 14th President of the College.