author
A. S. (Andrew Sloan) Draper
1848–1913
A leading American education reformer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he helped shape public schooling in New York and guided the University of Illinois through an important period of growth. Trained in law but drawn to public service, he built a reputation as a forceful administrator and writer on education.
1 Audiobook
Report of the Committee of Fifteen Read at the Cleveland Meeting of the Department of Superintendence, February 19-21, 1884, with the Debate
by William Torrey Harris, A. S. (Andrew Sloan) Draper, H. S. (Horace Sumner) Tarbell
About the author
Born in Westford, New York, in 1848, Andrew Sloan Draper studied at the Albany Academy and Albany Law School before moving into public life. Over time he became known not just as a lawyer and jurist, but as an influential voice in education.
He served as superintendent of schools in Cleveland, then as New York State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and later became the first Commissioner of Education in New York State. His career was closely tied to efforts to organize and strengthen public education through statewide oversight and reform.
From 1894 to 1904, he led the University of Illinois as its president, becoming the first head of the institution to hold that title rather than regent. He died in 1913, remembered as a major figure in American educational administration and as the author of many addresses and papers on schooling and public policy.