Following 59 years of continuous service, Professor Frederick E. Griggs’ emphasis on education and his redemptive approach to the problems of young Seventh-day Adventist men and women, won for him the title, “Dean of Educators.” For 11 years, starting in 1938, he was Chair of the Boards of Trustees for the Loma Linda College of Medical Evangelists and the Pacific Press Publishing Association. He is the namesake of Griggs Hall.
Frederick E. Griggs was born in St. Charles, Michigan, on March 23, 1867. He died at the White Memorial Hospital on August 10, 1952. His father, Ezra Griggs, a major landholder in Michigan, was also an evangelist for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. At that time Adventist clergymen received little or no salary. Ezra not only provided for his family, but also generously supported the church and many of its leaders. Professor Griggs later acknowledged his father’s influence in the direction of his life. His home, his parents, and many of the family visitors all left their mark on him.
At age 16, Frederick became interested in the spiritual welfare of his young friends in his church. As he cultivated his father’s farm, he learned the dignity of labor, the value of work as a factor contributing to sound education, and the skill for preparing 10-minute talks. Griggs later earned an outstanding reputation for his inspirational and instructive talks.
After attending public schools in St. Charles, Griggs continued his education in a local normal school where he prepared for a teaching career. He later attended Battle Creek College, the University of Buffalo, and Washington Missionary College, where he earned Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees.
Professor W. W. Prescott, one of Frederick’s early teachers, greatly influenced him. Among other matters, his mentor introduced him to the value and methods of student discipline. Griggs adapted the principles he learned to various situations that he met throughout his career. While attending Christian schools, he learned to apply Christian principles of education and developed the ability to see an injustice—promptly.
Griggs was among the first to develop a normal department within the Seventh-day Adventist denomination for training teachers. As a result of his influence and instruction, many capable young men and women became teachers in the church’s secondary schools and colleges.
During his illustrious career with the denomination, because of his versatility Griggs occupied many executive positions. He served as principal of the Preparatory Department of the Battle Creek College and at South Lancaster Academy, South Lancaster, Massachusetts. As his professional knowledge and executive talent matured, he served several terms as educational director for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and president of two large SDA colleges: Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University), in Berrien Springs, Michigan. For many years Griggs was President of the China Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
At the turn of the 20th Century, Griggs led the development of an educational curriculum for the church that balanced practical preparation for life with the liberal arts. In addition, he designed a unified school system with a well-defined administrative structure that remains virtually unchanged to this day. He established a complete educational system, including elementary schools, academies, colleges, and a correspondence school (now known as Home Study International).
Throughout his career Professor Griggs served with distinction and demonstrated a vigorous and unabated zeal for the things of God. Many young people traced their religious and spiritual underpinnings to the professor’s inspirational chapel talks and sermons. His discourses were distinguished for their force, relevance, and brevity.
Perhaps one of Griggs’ most outstanding personal characteristics was that he loved people. This, along with other Christian attributes, not only endeared him to those with whom he became acquainted, but also made him one of the most sincere and happy men on earth. According to CME Dean Walter E. Macpherson, MD, Griggs had an unusual ability to discount and even forget disagreeable issues and to remember only the good. According to Dr. Macpherson, “He agreed with the Apostle Peter, ‘For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.’”
In his book, That Million Dollar Moment, published in 1951, Griggs compiled many of his inspirational 10-minute talks. In the foreword, Eldine Dunbar compared the messages from his heart to precious metal forged in the fire of experience.
In 1990, the Board of Directors of Home Study International, named its higher education division Griggs University in his honor. In so doing, it demonstrated its dedication to maintaining the standards for excellence in education promoted by Professor Frederick E. Griggs.