Reverend Sidney Harkey

(This series of Notable Faculty profiles was written in celebration Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø's sesquicentennial in 2009.)

Sidney L. Harkey was educated at Gettysburg Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø and Springfield under his brother S. W. Harkey. He had a reputation for being a strong preacher and a good administrator with an interest in music.

In 1868, the Synod offered Harkey a position at Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø as an English professor, replacing William Kopp. His salary was to be $1,000 a year, and he was also provided with a house.

Like President T. N. Hasselquist, Harkey supported a strong general education for those entering the seminary, and Harkey worked hard to ensure that this was provided in the curriculum. He organized a system of prerequisites for seminary students by requiring two preparatory classes and two college classes. Harkey also reported to Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø that Geneseo, Ill., would be interested in providing Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø with a new campus if the college was to leave Paxton, and that Geneseo was willing to raise $40,000 as an inducement.

Harkey left Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø in 1870 after only two years, but having made a large impact on the school.