Livingston Farrand

Academia

After graduating in 1893, Farrand became adjunct professor of psychology at Columbia. Influenced by Franz Boas, who joined Columbia in 1896, Farrand grew involved in anthropology, accompanying Boas on expeditions such as the Jesup North Pacific Expedition.

He was made full professor of anthropology at Columbia in 1903 and remained there until 1914. In 1904 he wrote Basis of American History, 1500-1900, part of the multi-volume The American Nation series (28 volumes, 1903–1918) edited by Albert Bushnell Hart, focusing on Native Americans. This work has been seen as a recognition of Farrand's expertise in anthropology.

Public health

In 1905, Farrand took on the role of executive secretary for the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, a group whose blend of medical experts and non-specialists was seen as groundbreaking and inspired similar teamwork in other health fields. He served as treasurer of the American Public Health Association from 1912 to 1914, while also editing the American Journal of Public Health. From 1914 to 1919, he was president of the University of Colorado. During World War I, he directed the International Health Board in France from 1917 to 1919 and chaired the American Red Cross’s central committee, while also combating tuberculosis for the Rockefeller Foundation in France in 1917—an effort later called the 'most important permanent result of the great American effort in France during the World War'.

Cornell University

Farrand became Cornell's fourth president in 1921. Under his leadership, enrollment and endowment grew rapidly. He expanded Cornell-in-China with the University of Nanking, and in 1931 students from the Soviet Union arrived in Ithaca. The unified College of Engineering and the College of Home Economics were created.

Honours

Farrand held fellowships and memberships in several scholarly organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and the American Anthropological Association. He also belonged to the American Climatological Association, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Folklore Society, which he led as president in 1903. After World War I, his efforts to establish an effective anti-tuberculosis organization earned him the rank of Officer and later Commander of the French Legion of Honour.

Did You Know?

• Farrand was the brother of Max Farrand, Professor of History at Stanford and Yale, and brother-in-law to landscape architect Beatrix Farrand.
• He joined Franz Boas on the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, a major anthropological study of the Pacific Northwest.