William E. Slemmons was a prominent 19th century clergyman and academic in Western Pennsylvania. Slemmons was born in Cadiz, Ohio on December 1, 1855. He graduated from Princeton University in 1877 and from the Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) in 1887. He earned a Doctor of Divinity from Grove City College in 1900 and W&J awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1936.