William Carrington Finch

Collection

Identifier: UA-2023-10-25-004

Staff Only

Dates

Majority of material found within 1892 - 1961

Conditions Governing Access

Open for public research.

Conditions Governing Use

Southwestern University Distinctive Collections and Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the collections and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from SU Distinctive Collections and Archives before any publication use. Distinctive Collections does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

Biographical / Historical

William Carrington Finch was born on December 21, 1909, in Chase City, Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He earned his undergraduate degree from Hampden-Sydney College in 1929, a master’s degree from Union Theological Seminary in 1936, and a Ph.D. from Drew University in 1940. His career was dedicated to education, beginning with a teaching position at Oklahoma City University. In 1941, he joined Southwestern University as an associate professor and head of the Department of Religion and Philosophy.

In 1944, Finch joined the U.S. Navy as a chaplain, serving in the Pacific Theatre on the U.S.S. Bingham until his discharge.

Finch served as president of Southwestern University from 1949 to 1961, steering the institution through a challenging period of declining enrollment and revenue following the post-war boom.

In 1961, Finch left Southwestern to become Dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, a position he held for four years before becoming president of Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia.

He retired in 1971 and moved back to Nashville, where he was actively involved in volunteer work with the Store Front Ministry and other community services.

William Carrington Finch passed away on June 13, 2007, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 98. He was survived by his wife of nearly 70 years, Lucy Bedinger Finch, who passed away on June 22, 2009.

Sources: https://www.southwestern.edu/live/news/37-former-southwestern-university-president-william https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/96487864/william-carrington-finch https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tennessean-obituary-for-lucy-finch-b/40815088/