 "Photo: Courtesy of Whitworth Archives")
*This article contains corrections
R. Fenton Duvall, a former history professor and dean of men at Whitworth, died in his Florida home on Nov. 11 at the age of 96.
A memorial service was held for him on Nov. 15 at his home.
“It was a service that was eloquent and dignified and warm, and that affirmed the importance of faith in Christ in Fenton’s life, and spoke to his intellectual vigor and range,” said Kathy Storm, vice president for Student Life, who attended the service.
Duvall served at Whitworth from 1949 to 1981 and left many legacies in his wake.
“Fenton was a wonderful and warm mentor and friend,” Storm said. “He was just this wise and loving and gentle presence. The kind of a person to whom you could go for advice, who always had a kind and thoughtful response.”
Some of Duvall’s accomplishments include the creation of the Jan Term study abroad trips and Core classes.
“The Core program speaks to his commitment to encourage people to be broadly educated in the world of ideas, and not to be overly segmented, or specialized, but to appreciate intellectual heritage in all of its breadth as well as depth,” Storm said.
The last time Duvall visited the Whitworth campus was in fall 2006 when he attended the dedication ceremony for Duvall Hall. A group of alumni made contributions in Duvall’s name to the building fund and asked in return that the residence hall be named for him.
Duvall got a different start compared to other professors. After working as a founding professor and administrator at King’s College in New York*, he received a letter from former Whitworth president Frank Warren, asking Duvall to come to Whitworth.
“Dr. Warren was so impressed with my credentials and my recommendations that he offered me a job,” Duvall said, according to the Whitworth Archives.
For a period, he was unable to support his family on simply his professor’s salary, so he took up a position as interim pastor at a local Methodist church.
Struggling between writing sermons and preparing for class, Duvall accepted the position as dean of men, according to the Whitworth Archives.
According to an article in an April 1955 issue of The Whitworthian, talking about his recent hiring as dean of men, “Dr. Duvall has been at Whitworth since 1949 and has endeared himself to all. Not only has he proven to be a master teacher, but also an exceptional leader.”
After four years in the position, Duvall returned to the East Coast and earned his master’s degree in history from Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn.
“I wanted to teach history to help kids have that stretching experience that the way you and I live today is not the be and end all of life that is meant to be so I never shirked from making it clear that I was a Christian, was deeply committed but I did not go out of the way to try to bring that into every class that I taught,” Duvall said, according to the Whitworth Archives.
Duvall was forced to retire from Whitworth after 32 years of teaching due to a law that required all faculty over 65 to retire.**
After coming to Whitworth, Duvall left for a while to serve as dean at King’s College in New Castle, Del., and as vice president at Waynesburg College in Waynesburg, Penn.
He later returned to Whitworth to teach history.
“His warm sense of dedication and his sincere honesty with the students have been commented on by all those who have had dealings with him,” a former editor of The Whitworthian wrote in a 1962 article.
In the November 2005 “Of Mind & Heart,” Whitworth president Bill Robinson said, “Fenton was known as loving and supportive to his students, but rigorous and challenging as well in his expectations.”
One of the students on Duvall’s Italian study tour said of Duvall in the 1971 Whitworth Catalog, “He deserves all the admiration and respect anyone can give him.”
Storm said Duvall was committed to Whitworth.
“He was a person whose handprint is on this institution,” she said.
Contact Ira McIntosh at ira.mcintosh@whitworthian.com.
-Related article: Project by Duvall RAs to 'create a sense of identity in the Duvall community'
*Duvall did not come to Whitworth "fresh out of school," as the original article stated.
**The original article included the sentence "He also served as president and chief executive officer of the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) starting in 1995." Duvall's son, Dr. Robert Duvall, actually held this position.
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