John W. Heston

[4] Soon after his graduation from present-day Pennsylvania State University, Heston joined its faculty, where he taught for 11 years.

He is remembered for modernizing the institution, adding academic majors and minors, new degrees, and enriching the agriculture curriculum with more scientific study.

In 1894, Heston received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Seattle,[12] given to recognize his efforts to address the pioneer problems of the west in education.

Since 1971, the administration building at Dakota State University, where he served as president for 15 years, has been called Heston Hall in his honor.

[13] On August 16, 1881, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Heston married Mary Ellen Calder, the daughter of Rev.