Marquis Lafayette Wood
Encyclopedia
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
who served as president of Trinity College, the predecessor of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, following the death of Braxton Craven. Wood raised the first endowment money for Duke. He is the only president of Duke who was also an alumnus, and submitted the 1889 resolution to move the school from Randolph County, North Carolina
Randolph County, North Carolina
-Notable people:*Naomi Wise, murder victim*Richard Petty - Nascar driver.*Lee Petty - Nascar pioneer. Richard Petty's father.*Kyle Petty - Nascar driver. Son of Richard Petty*Adam Petty - Nascar driver. Kyle Petty's son...
. Wood's one-sentence definition of the college presidency was that "All great enterprises require time and patience and labor and suffering and money." Following the end of his presidency in 1884, Duke was governed by a Committee of the Board of Trustees for three years, until John Franklin Crowell
John Franklin Crowell
John Franklin Crowell served as president of Trinity College, the predecessor of Duke University, from 1887 to 1894. Crowell studied economics at Yale University, Columbia University and the University of Berlin...
became president. Prior to his tenure at Duke, Wood served as a missionary in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
.