Rev. Charles T. Fox, an original faculty member of Findlay College, was hired by the University's first president in 1886 as professor of Latin and German. In 1895, the College and the country suffered from economic difficulties. After the resignation of President Yates, Fox, then academic dean, served as acting president at the request of the faculty until 1896 when Rev. Charles Manchester was named the fourth president of Findlay College. He also served as acting president briefly after the unexpected death of President Guyer in 1926.
Fox had a reputation on the College campus as both a scholar and firm believer in physical education. He wrote the Latin phrases on the Findlay College diplomas and was responsible for designing the Findlay College seal. Shortly after the College opened, he organized a class in gymnastics and played a creditable game of tennis for most of his 45 years on the campus. He was made dean of the College in 1897, continuing in that position until 1929. Findlay College granted him a Ph.D. in 1901. He was the only member of the original faculty of Findlay College to stay with the institution into the twentieth century.
From the beginning of his association with the College, he apparently was held in high regard by the students, faculty and townspeople. In 1982, 96 years after he was elected to the College staff, at least one of the faculty members was known to repeat an aphorism closely identified with Fox: “The first duty of a student is to be a student." In 1966, the Fox Residence Hall for men was constructed to honor Fox and his relative (first cousin once removed) H. Clifford Fox, the 10th president of Findlay College. Established in 1982, the Charles T. Fox Legacy Society for deferred gift donors was also named for him.
President C.T. Fox in his home