John R. Park

John Rockey Park served as the first principal then president of the University of Deseret. He was born on May 7, 1833, in Tiffin, Ohio. He held a M.D. degree from New York University and began practicing medicine in rural Ohio. By 1860, he decided to leave medicine and head west, where he thought he would become a teacher. He was a well-known educator in Draper, Utah.

He came to Utah Territory in 1861. In 1862, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was appointed principal of the University of Deseret in 1869. The university, which had been closed for several years, began to thrive.

He taught coursework in professional pedagogy, introduced coursework in educational psychology, and created a laboratory school.[1]

He retired from the university in 1892, but was elected as Utah Superintendent of Education in 1895. Park died on September 29, 1900. The whole of his estate, including his library, was willed to the University of Utah.

He never married but adopted seven children.