Samuel Chiles Mitchell

Born: 1864
Education: University of Chicago
Position at VCU: Medical College of Virginia
Died: 1948

Samuel Chiles Mitchell, educator, and historian, was a native of Mississippi. He was educated at Georgetown College in Kentucky before earning a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Mitchell first came to Richmond, Va. to teach history at Richmond College before accepting the presidency of the University of South Carolina in 1909. His success in South Carolina appealed to the Board of Visitors at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) and they successfully recruited him to serve as the first president following the merger of MCV and the University College of Medicine, a rival medical school located just two blocks away. Mitchell brought an outsider’s perspective to the college that was struggling to unite following the merger. Mitchell remained for only a year before he left to become president of Delaware College.  

Artist: Slavin, John Daniel
Location: VCU Health Sciences Library