Robert Maynard Hutchins (January 17, 1899 – May 14, 1977) was an American educational philosopher. He was president (1929–1945) and chancellor (1945–1951) of the University of Chicago , and earlier dean of Yale Law School (1927–1929). [ 1 ]

Jan 13, 2025 · Robert Maynard Hutchins was an American educator and university and foundation president, who criticized overspecialization and sought to balance the college curriculum and to maintain the Western intellectual tradition.

When the University faced charges of aiding and abetting communism again in 1949, Hutchins steadfastly refused to capitulate to red-baiters who attacked faculty members. Hutchins resigned in 1951 to become an associate director of the recently-created Ford Foundation.

But it is the legacy of Robert Maynard Hutchins which is still avidly discussed and debated. Although Hutchins brought his own ideas and innovations with him, he came to embody the spirit of the University in a way no one else has since Harper.

A major voice for general education in American higher education, Robert Maynard Hutchins wrote, spoke about, and influenced public policy during his almost fifty years as teacher, educator, and administrator.

May 16, 1977 · SANTA BARBARA, Calif., May 15—Robert Maynard Hutchins, founder and president of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, died last night at Cottage Hospital. He was 78 years old.

Jun 11, 2018 · Reform-minded educator Robert Maynard Hutchins (1899-1977) aroused controversy over his views on liberal education in America. Critical of overspecialization, he fought for a balance between college curriculum and Western intellectual tradition at the University of Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s.