Raymond B. Pinchbeck
Dean, Richmond College 1931-1957
President of the Board of Trustees, Richmond College, 1919-1920
Raymond Bennett Pinchbeck was born in 1900 in Amelia County, Virginia where he attended elementary and high school. He entered the University of Virginia in 1919. In 1922, he earned his bachelor of science degree “where he did his chief work in the fields of railroad transportation and economics history.” He earned a master of science degree and a Ph.D. in Economics from 1922–1925. During that time, he was “an instructor of economics, teaching banking, finances, and general economics. He served as head of the Economic Department during the 1922–1923 session and then of the Graduate Department during the 1923–1924 session.” He married Charlotte Edith Holt while finishing his graduate work.
From Charlottesville, Dr. Pinchbeck moved to Roanoke College where he served as Dean from 1927–1929 and professor and head of the department of business administration from 1928–1929.
In 1929, he accepted a positions as professor of Applied Economics at Richmond College. He saw “the need to establish an office to help graduates get jobs” and set about to make that happen. When Professor Prince resigned as dean of Richmond College, the board appointed Raymond B. Pinchbeck to be his successor, effective 1933. He served as Dean until 1957 with the exception of the war years. From 1942 to 1945 Benjamin C. Holtzclaw stepped in while Dean Pinchbeck served in the Navy.According to his wife, “Richmond College was his life. His principal reward was the knowledge that in some small measure, at least, he was helping mould men of character and industry who would serve well their day and generation.”
Reuben Alley tell us that: “His comprehensive report on enrollment by departments and grades given by professors, supplemented by an account of events during the session, furnished valuable information for the administration. As dean he inaugurated plans and schedules for Orientation Week… With a firm yet kindly spirit and well supported by the faculty, he formulated and successfully applied regulations pertaining to social activities by students, the honor system, and general conduct on the campus.”
Students described him “with a grey homburg perched upon his head and a pipe balanced between his lips, stroll[ing] the campus between classes and greet[ing] everyone in sight with a cheery, ‘Good monin’ neighbah.’” “With an attractive personality and an unusually pleasing manner,” Dean Pinchbeck was involved and visible as a campus administrator – even appearing with Dean Keller in the balcony scene from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Julie” when that play was staged on campus.
In 1974, “The Waltons” television show ,written by University of Richmond graduate Earl Hamner, introduced a new character named Dean Beck. The character, Dean Beck, was modeled after Dean Pinchbeck, who was Hamner's dean while at the University as well as lifelong friend.
As a civic leader, he served the city of Richmond in a variety of capacities. He served at the faculty advisor of the University of Richmond YMCA. He chaired the Henrico County school board from 1934–1942. After his death, the Henrico County School Board honored Dr. Pinchbeck by naming a new elementary school in his honor. He published works on state and county government and he served as president of the Virginia Association of Colleges. In 1926, he wrote Virginia Negro Artisan and Tradesman. He was editor of A Study of Richmond, VA., City Government in 1934.
Among Dean Pinchbeck's other affiliations were: The Virginia Social Sciences Association, of which he was past president; the American Economic Association; the Virginia Society of Public Accountants; the Virginia Association of School Trustees; the Southern Conference of College Deans, and past president of the Richmond First Club. He was a member of the Raven Society at UVA, Lambda Chi Alpha social fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Delta Kappa, Alpha Kappa Psi, Tau Kappa Alpha, Pi Gamma Mu, and the Masonic Order.
As a member of the Richmond Citizens Association and a “staunch advocate of the ‘Charter for Richmond’ campaign, Dr. Pinchbeck devoted much time and effort to selling the towns-people on the idea of city manager government – that in 1947, was adopted by the city in an overwhelming majority.”
In 1934–1935, he was connected with the NRA of Mr. Roosevelt's first administration, and in 1942–1943, he spent much time working with the Office of Price Administration. In 1942, he devised the OPA control system for the state of Virginia. He also worked with the State Tax Commission regarding the taxation system of Virginia.
Dean Pinchbeck died in February 1957, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The Collegian ran an article and photograph with the headline, “Loss of Our Good Neighbor.”
Mrs. Pinchbeck thanked students, faculty, and staff for their tribute with a response in the Collegian: “I think he would have me say that if you want to express your affection for him, your esteem and devotion to those things he held to be important, you can best do it by serving your God with all your heart and soul and by loving your neighbor as yourself.”