George W. Peavy

George Wilcox Peavy (November 12, 1869 – June 24, 1951) was an American forester and academic administrator in the American state of Oregon. Peavy was the eleventh president of Oregon State College, today's Oregon State University, serving in that capacity from 1932 to 1940. He also served as mayor of Corvallis, Oregon from 1947 to 1948 and formally in 1951, leading efforts to reorganize city government and greatly expand city services during his tenure.

A former professor of forestry at OSC, Peavy is the namesake of Peavy Arboretum, the school's demonstration forest.

Biography Early years

George Peavy was born November 12, 1869, near Howell, Michigan. He attended the University of Michigan from 1890 to 1895, He married the former Leona Bradley in 1894; together the couple would raise three sons.

Collegiate career

In February 1910, Peavy was appointed as a professor of forestry at Oregon Agricultural College, today's Oregon State University, to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of professor E.R. Lake. Peavy was elected by his mayoral peers as president of the League of Oregon Cities in 1948. Peavy easily captured the Republican nomination and won election to his second term in the fall.

Despite an easy election victory assuring Peavy of a second term in November 1950, health issues would intervene. In the middle of Christmas night, December 25–26, 1950, Peavy was stricken by a serious stroke which left his right side paralyzed and impaired his speech. His speech gradually returned and he became able to sit up for short periods each day but he did not resign as mayor of Corvallis, which was run by a strong city manager form of government, instead expressing hope to the city council that he would be able to resume his governmental activity shortly. The city's police and fire departments, recorder's department, and engineering department were said to have been brought under unitary control under the new system, with greater economic efficiency resulting. Peavy was also lauded for launching a program that saw the paving of 194 blocks of city streets and 24 blocks of alleys, thereby "lifting Corvallis out of the mud."

Peavy was also credited for working to establish a new $100,000 city swimming pool for youth recreation and a 4 million gallon river water filtration plant, to ensure an adequate drinking water supply into the future. A new sewage treatment plant was scheduled for completion in 1952, thanks in measure to Peavy's efforts, the editorialist noted. Street and traffic lights were also expanded and improved under Peavy's watch, it was asserted.

Peavy's papers are housed at Oregon State University in the OSU Archives.