Biography

William Cullen Dennis served as president from 1929 to 1946.

Dennis was the only child of beloved biology professor David W. Dennis. He graduated from Earlham in 1896, at the age of 18. He went on to Harvard Law school. Dennis, an authority on international law and serving as a U.S. State Department counselor, was practicing in Washington, D.C. when asked to become Earlham’s next president. In contrast to previous presidents, Dennis had never taught at a Quaker institution, and was the first Earlham president who was not a recorded Quaker minister.

Dennis shepherded Earlham through the turbulent times of the Great Depression and World War II, defending Japanese-American students from local hostility.