BYRON C U M M I N G S , CLASSIC S C H O L A R FATHER OF UNIVERSITY BY W A L T E R A.
B
AND
ATHLETICS
KERR*
was born at Westville, New York, September 20, 1860, the youngest of seven children of Moses and Roxana Headley Cummings. His father, a Union soldier, was killed during the Civil W a r . After graduating from the Oswego Normal School in 1885, Byron entered Rutgers College, one of the most outstanding institutions of that day, receiving his A. B. degree in 1889, and his A. M. degree in 1892. In following years he studied at the University of Chicago (1896), and the University of Berlin (1910-11), and went on to receive his LL.D. from the University of Arizona in 1921, and his Sc.D. from Rutgers College in 1924. YRON CUMMINGS
Byron Cummings learned the fundamentals of school teaching in the public schools of New York and in the Rutgers Preparatory School. He came to the University of Utah in 1893, as instructor in Latin and Greek. A series of promotions raised him to assistant professor, 1894-95; professor, 1895-1915; dean of the school of arts and sciences, 1905-15; and dean of the medical school, 1910-11. Fate never did a better service for athletics in Utah than when Byron Cummings came to the university. T o many, a professor of Greek would seem far remote from college athletics. The life of Byron Cummings, however, combined an admiration for the Greek way of life, a love for athletics and a love for culture. He considered the development of one's body as vital as the development of one's intellect. He personified the ancient Greek scholar and citizen. Although he would have liked to have been a discus thrower or a marathon runner, his small frame 'Walter A. Kerr, professor emeritus, University of Utah, was a Latin student in one of Professor Cummings' classes, and his intimate friend for many years. He often helped Dean Cummings sort and put together his bits of pottery. Professor Kerr served for 21 years as chairman of the Athletic Council, which Dean Cummings organized and headed for many years.
