[4] In 1913, Philips faced charges of covering up inappropriate behavior by the school's steward, Harry S. Johnson, toward female staff and students.

In the most disturbing such incident, the married Johnson impregnated a student, Ruth M. Wolfe, and paid her medical bills after an unsuccessful abortion before eloping with her.

In September 1913, trustees voted to demand Philips' resignation, but protests by alumni and intervention by the State of Board Education restored him to office despite the scandal.

[5][6] Philips was dedicated to West Chester and declined offers of higher-profile employment, including the presidency of Bucknell University in 1888 and the position of Pennsylvania State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1899.

[8] He subsequently helped guide the Pennsylvania Department of Education's acquisition of the state's independent normal schools, including West Chester.

[9] After suffering a stroke six days earlier on the way home from a school dinner, Philips died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on March 11, 1920, at the age of 68.