the merging of various Methodist branches in 1939 (healing the split in 1844 over the differences between north and south on the criminality of slavery) and again in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church.
In 1970, Arthur succumbed after a long battle with cancer. His funeral was held in the newly opened Vaughn Chapel; classes were suspended, but with all students on campus to pay their respects to the man who had utterly transformed the campus from a mountain primary school to a prestigious junior college. Arthur was interred in a vault beneath the chapel bell tower.
=== Ferrum College ===
With the passing of Arthur, the ambitions of the board of trustees turned them to Joseph Hart for the eighth president. A historian and political scientist by training, Hart began his tenure by explaining to the board of trustees that Ferrum would continue to grow in academics, but also as a cornerstone of the local community, likely a change brought about by Arthur's insistence that the faculty live within the bounds …
