JAMES A. BUSHNELL A Lifetime of Wisdom, Faith, and Service
During a multi-year exploratory process, University leaders talked to churches, alumni, donors, guidance counselors, prospective students, and others. Those conversations, along with significant market research and a lot of prayer, the Board of Trustees decided that a new “umbrella” moniker would enhance enrollment, alleviate name confusion, assist with job placement, and promote the growing breadth of University programs. In pursuit of a name that would meet those goals while representing our unchanging values and rich history, the discovery process led all the way back to our very beginnings; to James Addison Bushnell, the first president of the new institution’s Board of Regents. He was a person who exhibited characteristics of faith, tenacity, humility, generosity, and innovation – all of which illustrate the heart of this University. The following is his story, with portions told in his words.
James Addison Bushnell was born on July 27, 1826 in Chautauqua County, N.Y. His family moved to Erie County, Pennsylvania, and then on to the Western Reserve, now the state of Ohio. They lived in several communities there until the death of his father, Daniel, in 1842.
14 The Beacon / Summer 2020
In 1844, he and his family moved to Kirksville, Missouri, where young J.A. (now 16) began work as a cooper (flask and cask maker) in Hannibal. He was baptized in 1847, and later left us a record of his thinking on the matter. >