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James T. Matthews Endowed Chair in Mathematics

James T. Matthews was born near Penzance, Cornwall, England in 1864. In 1872 he moved to Oregon with his family and completed high school at the age of sixteen in The Dalles. He began his teaching career after passing the county teacher's exam at the highest level and being awarded a certificate. In 1883 Matthews began life at WU as a student, where he lived and cooked in the attic of Waller Hall, in cozy rooms built by himself and other male students. He struggled financially, surviving his first year doing substitute teaching in a local school. Over the next five years, he spent intervals attending WU (as money permitted), and graduated with an A.B. in 1889. By 1893, Matthew's was one of the trustees of WU and in 1895 was asked to fill the vacancy of Professor of Mathematics. He remained as WU's Professor of Mathematics until his death in 1942.

In the beginning of his career as WU's Math Professor, he often taught Psychology and occasionally Logic, English, Latin, History, Commercial Law, Ethics, Cicero, and whatever else was needed. Later in his career, he limited his formal classroom teaching to Mathematics and Astronomy. During his time as the WU Math professor he made dozens of guest sermons, high school commencement addresses, and gave general inspirational talks.

In 1923 as their part in the first endowment campaign ever run by the University, WU students and alumni pledged more than $50,000 to endow the James T. Matthews Chair in Mathematics. At the May convocation that year, it was announced that Matthews himself would be the holder of this new Chair. The Willamette Alumni Magazine that year reported: "The students rallied nobly in their efforts to raise the fifty thousand dollars for the endowment. It was a hard pull and it meant tremendous sacrifice, but the thought of the money making possible a worthy memorial for the name of a beloved teacher nerved them to achieve success regardless of its cost in sacrifice." The overall campaign raised an endowment fund of $1,250,000.

His autobiography and other records show that Matthews was an important influence on the WU students - far beyond whatever mathematics he was able to teach them. He spoke and stood as an example of what WU meant a person to be. Over the years, he was honored by WU with a M.A. and a D.Sc. In 1933, just shy of turning 70, Matthews gave the commencement address and was awarded an honorary D.Sc. degree. The telescope he used to teach Astronomy is on display on the 3rd floor of Waller Hall.

In the past, Professors Chester Luther, Richard Iltis, and R. Samuel Hall held the James T. Matthews Chair.