John Usher Monro | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dean of Harvard College | |
| In office 1958–1967 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 23, 1912 North Andover, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | March 29, 2002 (aged 89) La Verne, California, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Dorothy Steven Foster
(m. 1936; died 1984) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Phillips Academy |
| Alma mater | Harvard College |
| Awards | Bronze Star Medal (1945) Doctor of Humane Letters (1967) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Navy |
| Rank | Damage control officer |
| War | World War II |
John Usher Monro (December 23, 1912 – March 29, 2002) was an American academic administrator and Dean of Harvard College from 1958 to 1967. He made national headlines when he left Harvard for Miles College, a historically black and then-unaccredited institution in Birmingham, Alabama.
Monro, born in Massachusetts and educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, worked as a journalist after graduating from Harvard University in 1935. When the United States entered World War II in 1941, he joined the United States Navy and later served on the USS Enterprise. He was honoured with a Bronze Star for his efforts as a damage control officer. After the war, he worked in various roles at Harvard, became the director of financial aid and co-founded the College Scholarship Service. He was made Dean of Harvard College in 1958, but his strong interest in supporting black students saw him leave Harvard to work as director of freshman studies at Miles College in 1967. In the late 1970s, he moved on to Tougaloo College, where he worked as the director of its writing center.