As a minister, educator, ecumenist, counselor, civil rights activist, and author, Benjamin E. Mays achieved national and international renown. After earning a Ph.D. in Christian theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School, Mays became dean of the Howard University School of Religion. Serving in that capacity from 1934 to 1940, his contributions gained national recognition for the School of Religion and earned him an invitation to become the sixth president of Atlanta's Morehouse College. From that post until his retirement in 1967, Mays inspired generations of students to strive for moral and academic excellence and to work for racial justice in America. His 1948 chapel address introduced a young student named Martin Luther King, Jr. to Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence. This and other contributions from his teacher led King to call Mays his most important "spiritual and intellectual mentor." Such a legacy made Benjamin Mays one of the most influential educators of twentieth century America.