One of seven children, John Redd Hutcheson (1886-1962) was born to Robert Francis and Mary Claiborne (née Barksdale) Hutcheson near Charlotte Courthouse, Virginia, on January 13, 1886. Dr. Jack, as he was affectionately known, married Eleanor Parrott in 1917, and the couple had three children: Eleanor Barksdale (Mrs. Charles, III) Catlett, John Redd Hutcheson, Jr., and Robert Parrott Hutcheson, who died serving during World War II. Hutcheson served briefly during World War I, and he operated the Edgemont Farm with his brother T.B. Hutcheson.

John Hutcheson earned a B.S. degree in 1907 and M.S. in 1909 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI, now Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University or Virginia Tech) as well as honorary doctorates from Clemson College in 1937 and North Carolina State College in 1947. Following graduation from VPI, he taught and served as principal for schools in Virginia and Mississippi as well as lectured at the University of Virginia. In 1914, Hutcheson joined the Virginia Agricultural Extension Service (now the Virginia Cooperative Extension), becoming its director in 1919.

In 1945, Hutcheson succeeded Julian A. Burruss as VPI’s ninth president, serving until the Board of Visitors elected Hutcheson to become VPI’s first chancellor in 1947. The following year, the Board established the VPI Educational Foundation, Inc. (known today as the Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc.) and named Dr. Jack its first president. He left the chancellorship in 1956, while remaining the foundation’s president until his death on January 23, 1962.

External Sources:

Kinnear, Duncan Lyle. 1972. The First 100 Years: A History of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Blacksburg: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. (Call number: LD5655.K5)

Robertson, Jenkins Mikell. 1972. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Historical Data Book, Centennial Edition. Blacksburg: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. (Call number: LD5655.R69 1972)