Lemuel Herbert Murlin, Third President
from 1911–1924
Boston University’s third president was another midwestern Methodist minister from a rural background. Lemuel Murlin served as president of Baker University in Kansas from 1893 until 1911, when he assumed the Boston University presidency. He, like Huntington before him, dreamed of a University “in the heart of the city, in the service of the city.” In 1920, he purchased a large tract of land between the Charles River and Commonwealth Avenue, hoping to unite on a permanent campus the colleges and schools scattered throughout Boston. His campaign to raise funds for the new campus, however, fell short, and he resigned in 1924 to accept the presidency at his alma mater, DePauw University.
