Robert Stanley Lambert: President 1953-1955
Robert Stanley Lambert was the unanimous choice of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees to become Berry’s fourth president. He and his wife, Sylvia, had a strong relationship with the institution. Dr. Lambert, who had been rector at Calvary Episcopal Church in Cincinnati since 1931, had delivered two baccalaureate addresses at Berry. In addition, he and Sylvia brought groups of potential donors, the Cincinnati pilgrims, to the school on several occasions.
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Dr. Lambert received his bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University. He studied at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary before receiving his doctor of divinity degree from Elon College in North Carolina. In addition, he served as a chaplain in World War I and World War II.
Dr. Lambert arrived at Berry in August 1953 and was inaugurated April 9, 1954. He was the first Berry president to have an inauguration ceremony. His tenure saw improvements in salaries, external reviews of Berry’s programs and operations, and improvements in faculty qualifications. Berry’s facilities improved as well, with the addition of a new men’s dormitory and several faculty houses. In addition, Dr. Lambert took the school further along the path to accreditation. Dr. and Mrs. Lambert were popular with students and alumni and hosted many events in their home.
Despite this popularity, there were still factions on campus who refused to support a president without Berry ties. The issue came to a head at the end of the 1954-55 school year when Dr. Lambert suggested that the trustees dismiss the principal of the boys’ high school. When the trustees refused, Dr. Lambert resigned, citing “the lack of support and cooperation on the part of the trustees and [his] assistants on campus.”
The Lamberts moved to Dade City, Fla., where Dr. Lambert became rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. He later became rector of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Clearwater, Fla., and retired in 1967. Dr. Lambert died in 1983 in Florida.