Bruce Ryburn Payne

Bruce Ryburn Payne (1874-1937) was an American educator. He was the founding president of Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University) from 1911 to 1937.

Bruce Ryburn Payne
Born	(1874-02-18)February 18, 1874 Catawba County, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	April 21, 1937(1937-04-21) (aged 63) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Olivet Cemetery
Education	Patton School Duke University Columbia University
Occupation	Educator
Known for	Founding President of Peabody College
Spouse	Lula Carr ​ (m. 1897)​
Children	1

Early life

Bruce Ryburn Payne was born on February 18, 1874, in Catawba County, North Carolina.^[1][2] His father, Jordan Nathaniel Payne, was a Methodist minister and teacher.^[1] His mother was Barbara Anne Eliza Warlick.^[1]

Payne was educated at the Patton School in Morganton, North Carolina, graduating in 1892.^[1][2] He graduated from Duke University in 1896.^[1][2] He received a master's degree from Duke University in 1902 and a PhD from Columbia University in 1904.^[1]

Career

Payne taught at the Morganton Academy from 1896 to 1899, when he became superintendent for the county.^[2] He taught Latin and Greek at Durham High School in Durham, North Carolina, from 1899 to 1902.^[2]

Payne taught philosophy at the College of William & Mary from 1904 to 1905.^[1][2] He taught at the University of Virginia from 1905 to 1911.^[1][2] While he was at UVA, he created the summer school.^[2]

Payne served as the founding President of Peabody College in Nashville Tennessee from 1911 to 1937.^[1] He raised funds for the construction of the buildings and hired the initial faculty.^[1] He used the telephone to communicate with faculty and staff.^[2]

Personal life

Payne married Lula Carr on December 7, 1897.^[2] They had a son, Maxwell Carr Payne.^[1]

Death and legacy

Payne died of a heart attack on April 21, 1937, in Nashville, Tennessee.^[1] His funeral was conducted by Methodist Bishop Costen Jordan Harrell,^[1] and he was buried at the Mount Olivet Cemetery on April 23, 1937.^[3] In 1957, Peabody College dedicated a building on the north end of its campus to Dr. Payne, now called Payne Hall. Decades later, in 1979, Peabody College was acquired by Vanderbilt University.

Bibliography

• —— (1903). The ethical standard and its educational implications (Master's thesis thesis). Columbia University. OCLC 56165146.
• —— (1905). Public elementary school curricula : a comparative study of representative cities of the United States, England, Germany and France. New York: Silver, Burdett. OCLC 7229479.
• —— (1910). Common words commonly misspelled. B.F. Johnson Pub. Co. OCLC 003773424.
• ——; Mims, Edwin (1910). Southern prose and poetry for schools. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. OCLC 1319830.
• —— (1911). Five years of high school progress in Virginia. Charlottesville, VA. OCLC 7134816.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• ——; Garrison, Sidney Clarence (1931). The Payne-Garrison speller. Rand, McNally & Co. OCLC 613009403.