Julius Seelye Bixler (April 4, 1894 – March 28, 1985) was the 16th President of Colby College, Maine, United States, from 1942–1960. Early life Born Julius Seelye Bixler in New London, CT, to James William Bixler and Elizabeth J. Seelye Bixler. His father was a clergyman who was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives and Senate. His maternal grandfather was Julius Hawley Seelye, president of Amherst College from 1876–90, and his grand-uncle was Laurenus Clark Seelye, the first president of Smith College. J. Seelye Bixler attended the Classical High in New London, where he played football. He matriculated at Amherst College with the class of 1916, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, the senior honorary society "Scarab," won first prize in the commencement speaking contest, was song leader for his class. He also was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. After his graduation from Amherst in 1916, he became an instructor of Latin and English at The American College in Madurai, India, for a year, before returning to the States to attend Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. During World War I, he served in the army until December 1918. He soon returned to Amherst College for graduate study in the spring of 1919, and the following school year served as Director of Religious Activities, while completing the requirements for an MA, which he received from Amherst in 1920. In 1920 Bixler became a lecturer at the American University of Beirut, at that time located in the country of Syria. In 1922, he returned to the United States to study at Yale University, and the following year conducted research at Harvard University for his thesis on William James before returning to Yale to receive his Ph.D. in 1924. Career In 1924 he became a member of the Smith College faculty, acting as assistant professor of religion and biblical literature from 1924 to 1925, associate professor of religion and biblical literature from 1925 to 1929, and professor of religion and biblical literature from 1929 to 1933. From 1928 to 1929, Bixler took a leave of absence and conducted research at the University of Freiberg, Germany. In 1933, he became Bussey Professor of Theology at Harvard, a position that he held until 1942, when he accepted the position of President of Colby College. As president of Colby College, his achievements included relocating the