James Bashford

Biography

James W. Bashford, a native of Fayette, Wisconsin, received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He later took graduate study at Boston University and earned degrees in theology and oratory. In 1881, Bashford graduated magna cum laude from Boston with a Doctor of Philosophy degree, and he later received honorary doctorates from Wisconsin and Northwestern. Bashford served as a minister of several Methodist Episcopal churches throughout the Northeast before becoming president of Ohio Wesleyan University in 1889. He left his position fifteen years later in order to become a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church. During his tenure as bishop, Bashford served as a missionary to India and China and helped to plan the Peking Union Medical College. He was also instrumental in organizing a famine relief program in Asia. Bashford was one of the founders and editors of the University Press while he was a student at the University of Wisconsin. He also tutored students in Greek, was a member of the debate team, and served as class president. In 1887, Bashford was elected president of the Wisconsin Alumni Association