Alexander Guerry was born in North Carolina in 1890. He graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South in 1910, and completed a degree from the Chattanooga College of Law in 1914. In his early career, Guerry was an instructor at both McCallie and Baylor schools. Guerry became the headmaster at Baylor in 1920 and resigned in 1929 to assume the duties of president of the University of Chattanooga. Despite the hardships of the Great Depression, Guerry's leadership at the University of Chattanooga was marked by several defining successes: the completion of a student commons, public institutes that were available to both students and the community, an official affiliation with Cadek Conservatory, and the Semi-Centennial Celebration. Guerry left the University of Chattanooga in 1938 to assume the role of vice-chancellor and later president of his alma mater, The University of the South, where he worked until his death in 1948. Even after leaving the office of president, he maintained a positive relationship with University of Chattanooga, serving on the Board of Trustees until his death. Guerry married Charlotte Holmes, the daughter of John A. Patten, in 1914 and had two sons.

References

"Guerry, Alexander." In The National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1967.

Govan, Gilbert E. and James W. Livingood. The University of Chattanooga: Sixty Years. Chattanooga: The University of Chattanooga, 1947.