G. Bromley Oxnam (1891 – 1963)^[1] was an American Bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1936.

He was a graduate of the University of South Carolina and of the Boston University School of Theology. He served as a Pastor for many years, including of a large Los Angeles church. He then served as a Professor of Social Ethics at Boston University.

He had been accused of being a communist by Donald L. Jackson and had gone to trial in the Committee of Un-American Activities, clearing his name with the use of direct logic and a steadfast demeanor.

He became the President of DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana in 1928. As President he achieved a high level of national and international recognition, bringing DePauw unprecedented public attention. He stepped down as President upon his election as Bishop.

In 1958, Bishop Oxnam was successful in helping to found the School of International Service (SIS) at American University, the national Methodist university in Washington, D.C. In that effort, Oxnam was able to convince the General Conference of The Methodist Church to contribute over $1 million for the school's creation. The founding of the SIS was part of a vision held by Oxnam to create an academic institution "pledged to the study, proclamation and practice of the principles of freedom and the maintenance of civil, economic, and religious liberty by training competent and consecrated men and women for the international service of the state, the community and the church."

Bishop Oxnam was also responsible for the relocation of Westminster Theological Seminary from Westminster, Maryland to a location in Washington, D.C. on land belonging to American University. Once relocated, the seminary was renamed Wesley Theological Seminary. After Oxnam's death in 1963, his ashes were interred at Wesley Seminary in the chapel that bears his name.

External links

• http://www.depauw.edu/univ/president/history.asp

Notes

1. ^ http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9202/reviews/brookhiser.html

See also

• List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church

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