Samuel Avery served as Chancellor of the University from 1908-1928 having served as professor of Chemistry from 1895-1908. He graduated from Doane College in 1887 and the University of Nebraska in 1892, he was awarded his M.A. from the University of Nebraska in 1894 and Ph.D. from the University of Heidelberg in 1896. He died on January 25, 1936, in Lincoln, Nebraska.