Robert Thornton Marsh, Jr.
(1901-1981)
Rector of the Board of Trustees, University of Richmond, 1957-1973
Robert Thornton Marsh Jr., a native of South Carolina and the son of a Baptist minister, earned a bachelor of arts degree in English and history from the University of Richmond in 1922 and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Virginia in 1923. He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Richmond in 1961.
Mr. Marsh served as rector of the University of Richmond’s Board of Trustees during the tenures of Dr. George M. Modlin and Dr. E. Bruce Heilman. Dr. Heilman said that Marsh was “one of the most dedicated, forceful and productive leaders for the good of the University in its long history.” In 1977, he received the Alumni of the University of Richmond Award for Distinguished Service.
Marsh was president of First and Merchants National Bank (now Bank of America) in 1952 and retired as its chairman in 1966. He was a director of Ethyl Corporation, the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad Company, Dan River Mills, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, First National Bank Building Corporation, Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation and the Life Insurance Company of Virginia. Mr. Marsh served a term as president of the Virginia Bankers Association.
Mr. Marsh also served on a number of state boards including the Virginia Industrial Development Corporation and the Central Virginia Education Television Corporation. He served for 18 years as chairman of the Virginia Public School Authority and on the state Education Assistance Authority.
Marsh Hall, a residence hall at the University of Richmond, was built in 1973 in honor of Robert T. Marsh Jr. The Marsh Art Gallery, located in the George M. Modlin Center for the Arts, was given by Dr. and Mrs. Robert T. Marsh, Jr. in memory of his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Robert T. Marsh.