Herman B. Wells

Prominent educator and statesman Herman B. Wells was born in Jamestown, Indiana. During the Great Depression, he directed research for the Indiana Bank Commission, producing state banking reforms. In 1938, Wells was elected president of Indiana University. Over his 24-year tenure, he expanded university programs and facilities in Bloomington and throughout the state. As IU president, Wells promoted academic freedom, supporting Alfred Kinsey’s research on sex, and fought racial discrimination on campus, in Bloomington, and in college sports. He became IU’s first chancellor in 1962. He worked in the Office of Foreign Economic Development during World War II, advised on education in post-war Germany, and was a delegate to the United Nations.

Jamestown, Indiana · United States