Fred was born April 11, 1896 in Millville, New Jersey, the son of Jeremiah and Mary Payne Corson. Jeremiah was a glass manufacturer. Fred married Frances Blount Beamon of Charlotte, North Carolina in 1922. They had one son, Hampton Payne Corson, who graduated from Dickinson College in 1949 and went on to become a physician.
The Rev. Dr. Corson was elected the twentieth President of Dickinson College 8 June 1934. He had no previous experience in academic administration. In light of this, he often relied on the President of the Board of Trustees, Boyd Lee Spahr. Corson also operated in a firm and hierarchical fashion in relations with the faculty. Nevertheless, during his decade of presidency, in often difficult times, Corson gained respect for his careful financial stewardship. He also reintroduced some of the reforms in services and curriculum his predecessor, Karl Waugh, had proposed. For example, in 1936 he established a student health services program. He reinstated the policy of departmental honors with the requirement of a thesis. During the War, Corson worked hard to maintain enrollment, and was instrumental in Dickinson being chosen in 1943 as the site of a U.S. Army Air Force Aircrew Training Program, a move which helped ensure the fiscal health of the institution during the crisis of war.
Episcopal Ministry
The Rev. Dr. Corson was elected Bishop by the 1944 Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference of The Methodist Church. He was assigned the Philadelphiaepiscopal area, where he served until his retirement in 1968. This election, of course, necessitated his resignation from the Presidency of Dickinson, a move which angered some and reopened old wounds concerning the College's relationship with the Methodist denomination. By all accounts, Bishop Corson led a sterling career as an Episcopal Leader. He was elected President of the Council of Bishops in 1952. He also served as President of the World Methodist Council in 1961. In 1962 he served as observer at the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, called by Pope John XXIII and wrote a response to the "Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office in the Church. He held private audience several times with Popes.
Honors
Bishop Corson received honorary degrees from fifty different institutions of higher learning. He was named Kappa Sigma Fraternity's "Man of the Year" in 1951, the first time this honor was bestowed upon a religious leader. He remained a Trustee of Dickinson College as well as of other institutions. Bishop Corson died February 16, 1985 in St. Petersburg, Florida from a cerebral hemorrhage suffered following a fall.
