William F. Anderson

William Franklin Anderson (1860–1944) was an American Methodist pastor, writer, and educator who served as Bishop of Chattanooga, Cincinnati, and Boston and was Acting President of Boston University from January 1, 1925, to May 15, 1926.

Early life Anderson was born on April 22, 1860, in Morgantown, West Virginia. As a child he had a passion for law and politics, but his religious upbringing led him to enter the church. He attended West Virginia University for three years before transferring to Ohio Wesleyan University. He then went on to Drew Theological Seminary, where he earned a bachelor's degree in divinity in 1887. In 1887 Anderson was ordained a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. That same year he married Jennie Lulah Ketcham, the daughter of a Cincinnati minister and a classmate of his from Ohio Wesleyan. They would go on to have seven children.

Methodist ministry Anderson's first pastorate was the Mott Avenue Church in New York City. He then served at St. James' Church in Kingston, New York, the Washington Square Church in New York City, and at a church in Ossining, New York. and published verbatim in newspapers around the country. Among other things, he called for "stricter observance of the law and the preservation of the Constitution of the United States," in other words, for more zealous enforcement of Prohibition.

Academic career In 1924, Anderson was assigned to the Boston area. Soon thereafter, he was elected to the Boston University Board of Trustees. He remained acting president until May 15, 1926, when Daniel L. Marsh was inaugurated. While serving as president, Anderson was elected president of the Methodist Episcopal Church's board of education. He also held trusteeships at Drew Theological Seminary, Ohio Wesleyan University, Goucher College, Ohio Northern University, Baldwin–Wallace College, and Meharry Medical College.

In 1932, church regulations forced Anderson into retirement and he became chair of religion and college chaplain at Carleton College, where he remained until 1935. During the 1937 spring semester he taught religion at Tennessee Wesleyan College. From 1937 to 1941 he was an associate professor of religion at Florida Southern College.

Death Anderson died on July 22, 1944, at his summer home in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.