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George F. Zook
(1925-1933)
Dr. George Frederick Zook was born in Fort Scott, Kansas on April 22, 1885. After working on his family’s farm and graduating from high school he worked his way through college doing odd jobs. Zook received an A.B. and A.M. degree at the University of Kansas in 1906 and 1907, respectively. He also received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1914 and a LL.D. from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1931.
Zook was a Fellow in European History at the University of Kansas from 1906 to 1907 and an Assistant in Modern European History at Cornell University from 1907 to 1909 before going to Penn State University in 1909. While there he worked his way up from Instructor in History to full Professor of History by 1920.
In 1918, Zook went to Washington, D.C. and served first on the Committee on Public Information and the following year as Assistant Director of the Section on Educational Institutions of the United States Treasury Department. He then taught another year at Penn State before returning to Washington where he became Chief of the Division of Higher Education with the U.S. Bureau of Education.
In 1925, Zook was appointed 8th President of The University of Akron where he served until 1933. Zook strove to change the institution into a great university that served the community and focused his attention on the institution’s problems of overcrowding, inadequate facilities, and lack of equipment. The majority of his presidency was consumed by his unsuccessful effort to relocate the University to West Akron.
Throughout his career, Zook served on numerous national education boards, including the National Advisory Committee on Education and as Secretary and Vice Chairman of the Commission on Higher Institutions of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. He also authored numerous reports and pamphlets on higher education.
After Zook left UA, he was named U.S. Commissioner of Education and lived thereafter in Washington where he later served for nearly 16 years as President of the American Council of Education. He retired in December of 1950 and died on August 17, 1951. He was married to Susie Gant in 1911.
“It is the University’s business to foster and develop liberal education for the purpose of enabling the young people of Akron to . . . take their places as leading and intelligent citizens in national, state, and local affairs.”
– George F. Zook
From The University of Akron President’s Office Records in Archival Services of University Libraries
On January 22, 1926, George F. Zook was inaugurated as the 8th President of The University of Akron (then the Municipal University of Akron). After being inducted by Board Chairman Francis M. Cooke, he delivered his inaugural address, “The Contribution of the Municipal University.”
From The University of Akron Photographs Collection in Archival Services of University Libraries
In 1924, J. Edward Good, president of a local hardware company, deeded his 180-acre farm in West Akron for a new university campus. This project consumed much of Zook’s presidency. While the student body and Board backed Zook’s proposal to move the campus, the public was opposed defeating the bond issue and ending the project.
From The University of Akron Photographs Collection in Archival Services of University Libraries
In spite of the financial problems of the 1920s and ‘30s, specialized programs and new departments were added under President Zook’s administration. This included four new departments and the Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute. It opened in 1929 providing students with research opportunities relating to lighter-than-air flight, heavier-than-air flight, and meteorology.
From The University of Akron Photographs Collection in Archival Services of University Libraries
While one of President Zook’s goals was to reduce the number of faculty due to financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression, he added many new faculty to the University’s payroll. This included Warren W. Leigh as Professor of Commerce & Administration and later first Dean of the College of Business. In 1975, the College of Business building was named in his honor.
From The University of Akron Faculty Publications Collection in Archival Services of University Libraries
After Zook’s presidency, he was named U.S. Commissioner of Education and lived thereafter in Washington, D.C. where he later served for 16 years as President of the American Council on Education. When he retired from that post in 1950, American Education Faces the World Crisis was published in his honor.
From The University of Akron Photographs Collection in Archival Services of University Libraries
Twenty-seven years after President Zook’s passing, in 1978, the Education Building was renamed in his honor. Construction on the building started in September 1961 under President Norman P. Auburn and it was dedicated in March of 1963 providing the College of Education its first home in a building especially designed for its needs.
“Dr. Zook was sedate in appearance and temper, cool in his administrative judgments, unflappable in personal demeanor. He was liked and respected . . . and could express his beliefs in language that rang true to the times.”
– George W. Knepper