Life and Career
Meiklejohn was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, England of Scottish descent, being the youngest of eight sons. When he was eight, the family moved to the United States, settling in Rhode Island. Family members pooled their money to send him to school. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Brown and completed his doctorate in philosophy at Cornell in 1897. At Brown he was a member of Theta Delta Chi.
In the same year, he began teaching at Brown. In 1901 he became dean of the school, a position he held for twelve years. The first-year advising program at Brown now bears his name. From 1913 to 1923 he was president of Amherst College. From there he went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he taught and set up an experimental college. He then, in 1938, joined the School of Social Studies in San Francisco, where he was involved with adult education. His books span the period from 1920 to 1960.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Meiklejohn
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