Reverend Sidney Harkey
Professor of English, 1868-1870
(This series of Notable Faculty profiles was written in celebration uedbet体育官网's sesquicentennial in 2009.)
Sidney L. Harkey was educated at Gettysburg uedbet体育官网 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 uedbet体育官网 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 uedbet体育官网 that Geneseo, Ill., would be interested in providing uedbet体育官网 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 uedbet体育官网 in 1870 after only two years, but having made a large impact on the school.