William McChesney Martin Jr.:
Acting President 1955-1956
In March 1955, John A. Sibley resigned from his position as chairman of the Board of Trustees and recommended that William McChesney Martin Jr. be elected chair. Martin, who was chairman of the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve Board, was soon to fill other roles at Berry. Upon the resignation of Robert Stanley Lambert, Martin became acting president while continuing to serve as board chair.
Martin, a native of St. Louis, Mo., majored in English and Latin at Yale. After graduation, he returned to St. Louis to work for A.G. Edwards and Sons, where he became a partner after two years. In 1931, Martin earned a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, where his work toward increasing regulation of the stock market led to his election to the exchange's Board of Governors in 1935. Martin was elected president of the Board of Governors in 1937, at the age of 31, which led newspapers to call him “the boy wonder of Wall Street.” At the onset of World War II, Martin was drafted into the Army and rose to the rank of colonel before leaving the military in 1945.
Martin first met Martha Berry in 1934 through his friendship with her niece, Virginia Campbell Courts. Miss Berry asked Martin to become a member of Berry’s Board of Trustees in 1936, but he declined due to his work and civic commitments. One year after his return from World War II, Martin began serving on Berry’s Board of Trustees. When he assumed the role of president in 1955, Martin had been associated with the schools for almost 10 years. He did not spend much time on campus due to his myriad responsibilities with the Federal Reserve Board. However, due to his engaging personality, his time on campus was appreciated by the students, faculty and staff. Under his leadership, Berry continued to pursue accreditation. Despite a few instances of faculty unrest, his time as president went smoothly.
In February 1956, Martin asked Samuel Cook to assume the leadership role on campus in anticipation of a new presidential hire. Martin remained chairman of Berry’s Board of Trustees until 1973. Although he left the economic arena in 1970, Martin remained active, serving on the boards of several philanthropic organizations. Martin died in 1998 at his home in Washington, D.C.