regarded as
the personal idiosyncrasy of a great man. But with a majority of the
Regents definitely opposed to him from the first and with a growing
Faculty cabal in support, it weighed heavily against him. His every
action was criticized. Though he was a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed
Church, and was affiliated with the Presbyterian church in Ann Arbor, he
emphasized the University's non-sectarian character, and paid no
attention to the denominational affiliations of the candidates in making
appointments to the Faculty. He carried this policy so far that he took
no active part in the affairs of his own church in Ann Arbor, a course
which was resented by the Presbyterians, while it won him no friends in
the other churches which he attended impartially. His European habit of
serving wine at his table also was severely censured, particularly by
the local Regent, who was a Presbyterian and a strong prohibitionist.
Finally, his efforts to maintain a high standard in the Faculty by
holding in subordinate positions men who had not proved their ability
did not increase the number of friends among his colleagues.

A change was anticipated in 1864, when a new Board of Regents offered
promise of a different order. Dr. Tappan therefore, in spite of many
temptations to resign, continued to hold his position, largely because
of the appeals of his friends, particularly students and alumni, to
"stick it out." But certain members of the old Board, it was said, had
stated that they would bring about his removal before the end of their
term. The event proved their intention, for the retiring Board, on June
25, 1863, without warning, and only giving him a few hours to offer his
resignation, summarily removed him from the offices and duties of
President and Professor of Philosophy. At the same meeting Dr. Tappan's
son was also removed from the position of Librarian, which he had held
most successfully for some years, while Dr. Bruennow, who had married his
only daughter, was dismissed from the Professorship of Astronomy, where
he had contributed so much to the reputation of the University. The
Board then elected to the Presidency and the Professorship of Rhetoric
and English Literature Dr. Erastus O. Haven, who had served as Professor
of Latin, and later of History and English Literature, from 1852 to
1856, and who had afterward been engaged in the publication of a
religious paper of the Methodist Church in Boston. Dr. L.D. Chapin,
Amher