William H. Payne

William Harold Payne (1836–1907) was an American educator and translator. As professor of the Science and Art of Teaching at the University of Michigan in 1879, he was the first university professor of pedagogy in the United States. He served as the chancellor of the University of Nashville and the president of Peabody College (both of which later merged with Vanderbilt University) from 1887 to 1901.

Early life
William H. Payne was born on May 12, 1836, in Farmington, New York. He was educated in state schools in New York, which offered classes in the winter months, until he attended an academy for three years and a seminary for a couple of months. Much of his education was self-taught.

Payne received a master of arts and a legum doctor from the University of Michigan. He received a doctorate from the University of Nashville.

Career
Payne taught schoolchildren in Victor, New York, in 1856-1857. He served as the principal of the Union School in Three Rivers, Michigan, from 1858 to 1864. He was the superintendent of schools in Niles, Michigan, from 1864 to 1866. He served as the principal of the Holy Ghost Seminary in Ypsilanti, Michigan, from 1866 to 1869. Meanwhile, from 1864 to 1869, he was the editor and publisher of The Michigan Teacher, a review of pedagogy. He served as superintendent of schools in Adrian, Michigan, from 1869 to 1879.

Payne was appointed as the first professor of the Science and Art of Teaching at the University of Michigan by the Board of Regents in 1879. He was the first holder of a chair in pedagogy in any university in the United States. He established the Department of Education.

Replacing the late Eben S. Stearns, Payne served as the second chancellor of the University of Nashville and the president of Peabody College from 1887 to 1901. He was critical in working with the Peabody Education Fund to shape the future of the college. Under his leadership, the faculty went from 12 to 38. When he stepped down, he was succeeded by former Governor James D. Porter, who moved the Peabody College campus across the street from Vanderbilt University. Meanwhile, Payne returned to the University of Michigan in 1901.

Payne was the author of several books on pedagogy. He "consistently supported compulsory education, financed and supervised by the state." Instead of experience, he encouraged "academic pursuits." Moreover, he believed education to be "the most conservative of all arts." Indeed, he opposed innovation in teaching methods. Furthermore, he believed women were not qualified to teach senior years, science or mathematics, nor were they qualified to serve as superintendent or chancellor.

Payne translated Emile, or On Education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and The History of Pedagogy by Gabriel Compayré from French into English.

Personal life
Payne married Eva S. Fort in October 1856. After she died in 1899, he married Elizabeth Clark in 1901. He had a son, W.R. Payne, and four daughters: Mrs Henry McClelland, Mrs Tillman Jones, Mrs John A. Murkin, and Mrs B.F. Fields.

Death
Payne died in June 1907.