William F. (William Fletcher) Russell

Born in Delhi, New York, in 1890, he studied at Cornell University and earned a PhD from Columbia University in 1914. He went on to build a major career in education, serving as dean of the College of Education at the State University of Iowa before returning to Teachers College, Columbia, where he later became both dean and president.

Alongside his academic leadership, he wrote widely on schools and public life. Catalog and reference records connect him with works such as The Early Teaching of History in the Secondary Schools of New York and Massachusetts, Economy in Secondary Education, Schools in Siberia, and Liberty and Learning, showing an interest in both practical school questions and the larger role of education in society.

Russell died in 1956. Remembered mainly as an educator rather than a literary author, he left behind a body of writing that reflects early 20th-century debates about schooling, citizenship, and educational reform.