Research


Administrative History

Lewis A. Wilson was born in Bergen, N.Y. on February 3, 1886. He graduated from the academic department of Brockport State Normal School, then received further training at Mechanics Institute in Rochester, N.Y., Stout Institute in Menomonie, Wisc., and Teachers College, Columbia University. He began his educational career as a shop teacher in Rochester in 1908. He joined the New York State Education Department in 1912 as a Specialist in Industrial Education. He remained with the State Education Department for the remainder of his career, serving as Director of the Division of Vocational and Extension Education from 1918 to 1927; Assistant Commissioner for Vocational and Extension Education from 1927 to 1941; and Deputy Commissioner of Education from 1941 to 1950. During this time, he was deeply involved in the rapid expansion of the state's vocational education program. He served as Acting Commissioner of Education after the death of Francis Trow Spaulding, and, on October 20, 1950, he was officially sworn in as President of the University of the State of New York and Commissioner of Education. He held this position until his retirement in 1955.

Throughout his career, Wilson was deeply involved on both the state and national levels in the development of vocational education, adult education, and vocational rehabilitation. He made numerous studies and surveys of vocational education programs in New York State. From 1921 to 1923, he was president of the National Society for Vocational Education, and in 1925, he was appointed by the U. S. Department of Commerce as a delegate to the International Exposition of Decorative Arts in Paris, France. In addition, he served on the White House Conference Committee on Child Health and Protection in 1930, and the White House Conference on Children in a Democracy in 1939.