Walter Smith Kilpatrick
Files
Years of Service
1940-1943
Recommended Citation
"Walter Smith Kilpatrick" (1940). Presidents of Cedarville. 8.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/presidents/8
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Biographical Sketch
The Rev. Walter Smith Kilpatrick was selected by the Board of Trustees in 1940 to replace Dr. McChesney. Rev. Kirkpatrick had graduated from Cedarville College in 1934 with honors. He studied for the ministry at Western Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, where he again graduated with honors and received an award to study in England. Following that opportunity, he spent a semester at the University of Basil in Switzerland. In addition, he received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh and completed his residency for the Doctor of Philosophy degree at Pittsburgh. Kilpatrick was inaugurated on October 4, 1940, a gala occasion which included an address at the inaugural dinner by the governor of Ohio, John W. Bricker. Kilpatrick's brief tenure as president was plagued by growing financial difficulties, made more difficult by the impact of World War II. In October, 1942, Kilpatrick asked for a leave of absence to serve overseas with the European Student Relief Fund, leaving the operation of the College in the hands of the Business Manager, Mr. Ira Vayhinger, who would serve as Acting President. Kilpatrick departed the College in early 1943, but, due to personal difficulties, he did not complete the overseas assignment, and he resigned as President in February of 1943.