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Newspaper Recalls 1873 Graduate George Bovard, the University of Southern California's Fourth President

Newspaper Recalls 1873 Graduate George Bovard, the University of Southern California's Fourth President

September 10, 2016

"The Bovard-Wilson-Hayes House in San Gabriel has been a part of San Gabriel longer than the city itself," begins an article in the Mid Valley News of El Monte, California. "Built in 1887 by Reverend George Bovard, the house personified the importance of its first owner ... Its elegance is reflective of Reverend Bovard and his importance not only in the San Gabriel area but to greater Los Angeles itself."

Joe Castillo writes, "Bovard earned a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University in Indiana [in 1873, when it was Indiana Asbury], then became a teacher and minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He then moved to the Los Angeles area and enrolled at the University of Southern California where he earned his second bachelor’s in 1884 and a master’s degree in 1887, the same year he built his San Gabriel home. He graduated as a member of the first graduating class of USC, and then established the initial alumni association of the university. Eventually, Bovard became a member of the USC Board of Trustees before reaching the pinnacle of the university being appointed as president of USC in 1903. By this time, Bovard had sold his San Gabriel home in order to live closer to the university where he defined the roadmap for USC to follow for generations to come." (at left: the Bovard-Wilson-Hayes House)

The feature notes that Bovard dissuaded USC's board from moving the university away from the city.  He stated in 1917 that USC should endeavor to be a "city institution -- the university which tries to solve the problems of the city."

He died in 1932.

Read more at the newspaper's website or in this online biography.

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