Mennonites in Illinois Brochura - 2001

Willard Harvey Smith, professor emeritus of history at Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana since 1972, was born to John J. and Catherine E. Smith on October 15, 1900, at Eureka, Illinois. He was married to Verna Graber at Wayland, Iowa, on September 3, 1930.

He received his formal education at Goshen College (BA), University of Michigan (MA), University of Chicago (postgraduate work), and Indiana University (Ph.D.).

At Goshen College he was Instructor in History (1929-35), Dean of Men (1932-35), and Professor of History (1937-72). He headed the Department of History and chaired the Division of Social Sciences from 1949-68.

Smith was director of the Mennonite Central Committee work in Paraguay (1944-45) and in Mexico (1955). He led student groups to Europe (1953) and to Mexico and Central America (1955-57, 1961, 1964, 1972).

He is author of Paraguayan Interlude (Herald Press, 1950); Schuyler Colfax - The Changing Fortunes of a Political Idol, Indiana Historical Bureau (1952); William Jennings Bryan, Christian Reformer (Bryan College, 1969); and The Social and Religious Thought of William Jennings Bryan (Coronado Press, 1975). He has contributed to Indiana Magazine of History, Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Proceedings of Indiana Academy of Social Sciences, Mennonite Quarterly Review, Journal of American History, and Journal of Negro History.

Smith's professional affiliations include Mennonite Historical Society (Board of Directors and Consulting Editor, 1940-); American Historical Association; Organization of American Historians; and Indiana Academy of Social Sciences (Board of Directors, 1963-65). He is a former member of the Indiana History Teachers Association (president 1954).

A member of College Mennonite Church at Goshen, he enjoys music and travel.