John Work Scott

{{short description|President of Washington & Jefferson College (1807-1879)}}

{{Other people|John Scott}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = John Work Scott

| image = John W Scott 1807.jpg

| order = Sixth

| title = President of
Washington College

| term_start = 1853

| term_end = 1865

| predecessor = James Clark

| successor = Jonathan Edwards

| birth_date = 1807

| death_date = {{death date|mf=yes|1879|07|25}}

| alma_mater = Jefferson College

| profession = Educator and Ordained Minister

| blank1 = Salary

| data1 = $1,500 per year

}}

John Work Scott, son of Andrew Scott and Mary Dinsmore, was the sixth and last president of Washington College before its merger with Jefferson College to form Washington & Jefferson College.{{cite web

|title = John W. Scott (1852-Union of the Colleges)

|work = U. Grant Miller Library Digital Archives

|publisher = Washington & Jefferson College

|date = 2003-09-04

|url = http://washjeff.cdmhost.com/u?/p4019coll8,20

|archive-url = https://archive.today/20120720073130/http://washjeff.cdmhost.com/u?/p4019coll8,20

|url-status = dead

|archive-date = July 20, 2012

|accessdate =

}}

A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Scott graduated from Jefferson College in 1827 and worked as a Presbyterian minister. He was elected president of Washington College on November 10, 1852 and was inaugurated in 1853. He earned a salary of $1000 per year and received a raise to $1500 per year in 1859. In 1860, he was elected president of the Maryland Agricultural College, but was unavailable to serve.{{cite web|title=Former President John Work Scott|work=University of Maryland Presidents 1859–present|url=http://www.president.umd.edu/pastpres/scott/|publisher=University of Maryland|accessdate=6 May 2012|archive-date=4 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504051428/http://www.president.umd.edu/pastpres/scott/|url-status=dead}} By 1862, Washington College's enrollment dropped by about two-thirds, as 90 students joined the armed services to fight in the American Civil War. Scott retired from the presidency in August 1865, ostensibly to smooth the merger between Washington College and Jefferson College. He continued his career in academia by teaching at West Virginia University, where he also served as acting president 1876-1877.{{cite book| title = Biographical and Historical Catalogue of Washington and Jefferson College| publisher = Elm Street Printing Company| year = 1889| location = Cincinnati, Ohio| page = 48| chapter = Scott, John Work| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-ahBAAAAIAAJ| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-ahBAAAAIAAJ}}[4]