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NU Family Close-up

	From left, Wally Scott, John Scott Jr., Mary Lou Gent Scott, Walter Dill Scott and Anna Miller Scott (WCAS1895) in 1953

Brothers Walter Dill Scott, left, and John Scott, circa 1880

"John, the elder, entered Northwestern in 1887, and he talked Walter [Dill] into coming in 1891," says John "Jack" Scott Jr. (WCAS49), grandson of Walter Dill Scott (WCAS1895), who served as president of Northwestern from 1920 to 1939. 

Both brothers excelled in their fields and became professors at Northwestern -- John (WCAS1892) in Greek from 1897 to 1938, and Walter in applied psychology from 1902 to 1916. After taking leave to teach at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and to direct the Committee on Classification of Personnel in the U.S. Army, Walter Scott returned to Evanston in 1919 and was offered the presidency. He turned it down twice before accepting the following year.

"John liked to tell a story about how Walter became president of Northwestern," says Jack Scott, a retired business-person in Naples, Fla., who spends his summers in Wilmette, Ill. "At first neither Walter nor John had any interest in the position, but they changed their minds and agreed to use their influence on behalf of one another. John would finish the story by saying that Walter got the job because he didn't have as much influence."

Walter Scott, known for saving Northwestern from a financial crisis and making it one of the nation's best universities, had a reputation for being "a serious, scholarly man who wasn't overly warm," says Gordon Scott (WCAS89), Walter's great-grandson and a fourth-generation Northwestern graduate from the Scott family. "But the story goes that he would go out on the football field and lead cheers, which is counter to his reputation." In fact, the president had been a football player during his undergraduate days.

"He entertained many celebrities in his home for fundraising and PR purposes -- people like Herbert Hoover and [actor] Fredric March," says Jack Scott. 

"There was one embarrassing thing Walter did," Jack Scott continues. "He flunked the famous Chick Evans [WCAS13] in his psychology course. Chick later became world famous as an amateur golfer -- almost the equal of Bobby Jones -- but he was not the greatest student. This very sweet man later founded the Evans Scholarship fund, giving college scholarships to deserving golf caddies. More than 500 have gone to Northwestern [through the scholarship]."

Walter's first son, John M. Scott (EB24), attended Northwestern while his father was president. Despite the son's status, "he was something of a cutup at NU," says Jack Scott, who is John Scott's son. "He and several other Betas [Beta Theta Pi fraternity members] painted the Beta colors -- pink and blue -- on some pigeons, who immediately dropped dead off University Hall."

John Scott, who later became a successful business leader in Chicago, married Mary Lou Gent (WCAS24). Gent was the first student to drive an electric automobile on campus -- a gift from her father as an incentive to gain 15 pounds, according to Jack Scott. Walter Scott's second son, Sumner (WCAS29, G34), an English professor who died in 1983, married Helen Grescheidle (WCAS33, G34, 48), who is an artist.

Jack Scott entered Northwestern in 1945, six years after Walter Scott had retired as president. Having a grandfather who had been president of the University "was sort of an ego trip" at first, he says, but he managed to forge his own identity at Northwestern. During his undergraduate days, his grandparents still lived in the area, and he visited them often. 

Jack's younger brother, Walter "Wally" Scott (EB53), a former business executive and associate director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, became a professor of management and Senior Austin Fellow at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management in 1988. 

"My brother Wally takes after his grandfather in many ways besides having the same name," Jack Scott says. Both Walter Scotts joined the faculty of their alma mater and taught there for many years.

"Wally, like his grandfather, is a tough grader," Jack says. "No inflated grades, but fair." Today, Scott's managerial leadership course at Kellogg is among the most popular in the school partly because he is able to draw on his extensive background as an executive.

The work of brothers  Dr. Walter Dill Scott (1869-1955), a President of Northwestern University, Dr. John Adams Scott (1867-1947)  a Northwestern Classics Professor, continues to have an influence through their published work. Homeport is pleased to host biographies, pictures and links to their work. Scott of Northwestern the biography of Walter Dill Scott, which has been out of print for many years, is available in web format on HomePort, as is the magazine article Northwestern's Number One Alumnus.