"[1] Fairchild reinstated classics courses, recruited distinguished professors, and significantly increased both the number and quality of students, raising enrollment from 207 to 734 during his presidency.

Fairchild served as President until June 30, 1897, when he resigned following a contentious restructuring of the college by members of the Populist Party on the state Board of Regents.

In response, Fairchild published an influential article in The American Journal of Sociology, accusing party politicians of attempting to convert Kansas State Agricultural College into a "school of socialism.

"[3] He specifically criticized Regent Christian B. Hoffman, recently returned from the utopian community at Topolobampo in Mexico, as a key instigator.

During this period, his book Rural Wealth and Welfare: Economic Principles Illustrated and Applied in Farm Life was published by Macmillan Company in 1900.