Thomas Van Scoy

Thomas Van Scoy (February 13, 1848 – February 11, 1901) was an American minister and educator in Indiana, Oregon, and Montana. A Methodist, he served as the sixth president of Willamette University and as president of the now defunct Portland University. He was also president of Montana Wesleyan University and served in the militia at the end of the American Civil War.

Early years Thomas Van Scoy was born in White County, Indiana, to William Van Scoy and his wife Mary (née Channel) on February 13, 1848. Thomas was the youngest of fourteen children in the family. Their father was a farmer from what became West Virginia, while their mother was from Ohio. Following two-years of study, he left to take the position of principal at Brookston, but resigned there three years later to return to college. and began working as a minister in Rensselaer, Indiana, for the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Oregon In 1879, he was hired by Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, to be chairman of the Greek department and to teach ancient languages. At Willamette he purchased the former home of the first graduate of the school for use as a school for women in 1880. He purchased the home with his own money and remodeled the home, with the building later moved to the campus and renamed as Lausanne Hall. Van Scoy resigned from Willamette in June 1891 to become dean at the new Methodist school in Portland, Portland University. and due to financial difficulties moved the school to East Portland, though some classes were held in Downtown Portland. Van Scoy was the first minister at the Montavilla Methodist Church in Southeast Portland, dedicating a new building on October 19, 1893.

Later years In 1898, Van Scoy left Oregon for Montana in order to be the new president of Montana Wesleyan University (eventually became part of Rocky Mountain College) near Helena. As president he moved the school to the city in 1900. Though he never held political office, he was a supporter of the Republican Party. Thomas Van Scoy died on February 11, 1901, in Helena at the age of 52 and was buried in that city.