Kenyon L. Butterfield

Kenyon Leech Butterfield (June 11, 1868 – November 25, 1936) was an American agricultural scientist and college administrator known for developing the Cooperative Extension Service at the Land Grant Universities. He was president of the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (1903-1906); the Massachusetts Agricultural College (1906-1924), and the Michigan Agricultural College, (later Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, which is now Michigan State University) from 1924 to 1928. [1]

Kenyon Leech Butterfield
Head and shoulders photograph of a man in a Victorian suit. He has a beard, a large mustache and is slightly balding. He wears a serious expression and is looking slightly to the right.
Kenyon L. Butterfield c. 1922
President of the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, (now the University of Rhode Island)
In office
1903–1906
President of the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts Amherst)
In office
1906–1924
President of
Michigan Agricultural College,
(now Michigan State University)
In office
1924–1928
Personal details
BornJune 11, 1868
Lapeer, Michigan
DiedNovember 26, 1935(1935-11-26) (aged 67)
Amherst, Massachusetts
Signature

Biography

Kenyon Leech Butterfield was born June 11, 1868, in Lapeer, Michigan, to Ira H. and Olive F. (Davison) Butterfield. He married Harriet E. Millard of Lapeer on Nov. 28, 1895. He attended public schools in Lapeer and earned a bachelor's degree in 1891 and master's degree 1902 at Michigan Agricultural College.[1]

Butterfield began his academic career as an instructor of rural sociology at Michigan Agricultural College in 1902, and became president and professor of political economy and rural sociology at the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, serving until June, 1906. On July 1, 1906, he assumed the presidency of Massachusetts Agricultural College in Amherst, Massachusetts.[1] He eventually returned to his alma mater Michigan Agricultural College as president from 1924 to 1928.[2]

Butterfield was an early proponent of extension education programming at the Land Grant Colleges rather than extension activities being a direct responsibility of the U.S Department of Agriculture, an idea championed by fellow Extension pioneer Seaman A. Knapp.[3] Using state funds in April 1904, Butterfield created an Agricultural Extension Department at the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and in 1906 did the same at Massachusetts Agricultural College. The organizational structure of these two colleges formed the basis of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which authorized federal funding of comprehensive Cooperative Extension programming by Land Grant Colleges and Universities nationwide.[4]

He died from a heart attack at his home in Amherst on November 26, 1935.[5]

Legacy

Butterfield Hall at the University of Rhode Island, Butterfield House at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Butterfield Hall of the Brody Complex at Michigan State University are all dedicated in his name.

Selected works

References
  1. Motter, H.L., ed. (1912). "Who's Who in the World". New York: The International Who' Who Publishing Company. p. 218. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Google Books.
  2. "MSU Presidential Collection-Butterfield". Michigan State University Special Collections. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  3. Butterfield, K.L. (1901). "VII. Discussions: A Significant Factor in Agricultural Education." Educational Review 21:301-306 (March, 1901).
  4. Rice, M.A., S. Rodrigues and K. Venturini. "Philosophical & Institutional Innovations of Kenyon Leech Butterfield and the Rhode Island Contributions to the Development of Land Grant and Sea Grant Extension". Century Beyond the Campus: Past, Present, and Future of Extension A Research Symposium to Mark the 100th Anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act September 24 – 25, 2014, West Virginia University. Waterfront Place Hotel, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Sep. 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. "Dr. Butterfield Dies of Heart Attack". Holyoke Daily Transcript and Telegram. November 26, 1935. p. 17. Retrieved July 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

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