William Charles Roberts

William Charles Roberts (September 22, 1832 – November 27, 1903) was a Welsh American pastor and academic administrator. A graduate of Princeton University and Princeton Theological Seminary, he began his ministerial career at a Presbyterian church in Wilmington, Delaware. He spent nearly two years pastoring in Columbus, Ohio, before his wife developed an illness and the couple were advised to return to her home state of New Jersey, where Roberts continued preaching. He led churches in Elizabeth, New Jersey, for the following eighteen years before a four-year stint with the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) Board of Home Missions. He then was elected president of Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois, where he stayed for six years. During this period, he was elected moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly. After six more years working for the PCUSA, Roberts accepted the presidency of Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky, in 1898. He spent five years leading Centre before dying in office in November 1903; he presided over Centre's 1901 merger with Central University in Richmond, Kentucky, and finished his term as president of the consolidated Central University of Kentucky.

Early life and education William Charles Roberts was born on September 22, 1832, in Aberystwyth, Wales. He graduated from Princeton University in 1855 and then from Princeton Theological Seminary three years later.

Career Roberts began his ministerial career as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware, shortly following his graduation from Princeton Seminary in 1858. before departing to preach at First Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio, a position he had accepted several weeks earlier. During this period, Roberts's wife developed an illness which was considered to be "incurable in [that] climate", according to the Daily Ohio Statesman, and doctors recommended she return to her home state of New Jersey. As a result, Roberts and his wife left Columbus in late 1864 and moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church. the final territorial governor of Minnesota. Roberts preached in Elizabeth for eighteen years—until 1866 at the Second Presbyterian Church and from then until 1882 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. He left Westminster to become a secretary of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) Board of Home Missions, a position he held until 1886.

Roberts became president of Lake Forest University—now Lake Forest College—in Lake Forest, Illinois, in 1886. (The Chicago Tribune reported on September 28, 1886, that Roberts had accepted the presidency and that he "will probably enter upon his duties some time in October".) After this plan stalled in its second year and the payments became delayed, Roberts lost faith in the school's ability to implement the policy and ultimately resigned effective February 26, 1892. During his term at Lake Forest, Roberts was elected moderator of the PCUSA General Assembly in 1889. He was offered the presidency of Centre College by a five-person committee of the school's Board of Trustees some time before June 7, 1898, with the full board confirming his election the following day. Roberts attended the June 8 meeting to accept the presidency. Centre's presidency had become vacant following the death of William C. Young and Roberts succeeded John C. Fales, the dean of faculty who had been acting as interim president in the intervening period.

In addition to improving the college grounds and the landscaping of the campus, As a result, the colleges consolidated, with the Southern Presbyterian Synod formally approving the move on April 23, 1901, and the Central Alumni Association doing the same on June 18. The consolidated school began the 1901–1902 academic year as Central University of Kentucky, located in Danville, with Roberts as its president. Lindsay Hughes Blanton, the chancellor of Central at the time of consolidation, became the vice president of the joint institution and remained in that position until 1907. The school later reverted to the name "Centre College of Kentucky" on December 17, 1918.

Personal life and death Roberts married Mary Louise Fuller on October 19, 1858. The couple had three children, two of whom survived to adulthood. The cause of death was reported as paralysis. His funeral was scheduled for November 30, 1903.