John Howard Van Amringe

John Howard Van Amringe

John Howard Van Amringe CC 1860 was a Math professor, then the first Dean of Columbia College.

Van Amringe was a passionate defender of the independence of the college from the university and of its liberal arts traditions, though some saw an elitism in this: part of New York's Knickerbocker elite, Van Amringe bought into its prejudices for the "well-read" man who came to college after a preparatory school education had ensured his ability to keep up with the classics. While it cannot be said that Van Amringe did much to increase the value of the college for social mobility, his stonewalling kept the likes of University President Nicholas Murray Butler from completely dissolving it into the university.

Van Am Quad is named for him.

Preceded by None

Dean of Columbia College  1894-1910

Succeeded by Frederick P. Keppel