William McChesney Martin, Jr.: Acting President 1955-1956
In March 1955, William McChesney Martin Jr. was elected chair of the Board of Trustees. 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 President Robert Stanley Lambert, Martin became acting president while continuing to serve as board chair.
Martin, a native of St. Louis, majored in English and Latin at Yale. After graduation, he returned to St. Louis to work for A.G. Edwards & Sons, where he became a partner. 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. He 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 the war ended.
Martin first met Martha Berry in 1934 through his friendship with her niece, Virginia Campbell Courts. Martha Berry asked Martin to become a member of Berry's Board of Trustees in 1936, but he initially declined due to his work and civic commitments. 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 responsibilities with the Federal Reserve Board. Under his leadership, Berry continued to pursue accreditation.
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. After he left the Federal Reserve in 1970, Martin remained active, serving on the boards of several organizations like IBM and National Geographic. Martin died in 1998.