Francis Wayland Tustin was born in 1834 in Philadelphia, Pennyslvania. He attended the Academy and graduated from the College of the University at Lewisburg in 1856 with highest honors. He became a tutor in the College in 1857, and was the first graduate of the University at Lewisburg to be appointed to the faculty. In 1859, he was promoted from tutor to adjunct professor of languages, and the following year he became Professor of Natural Sciences. In 1866, Tustin was ordained as a Baptist minister. In 1874, he was appointed Professor of Latin and Greek . In 1879, Professor Tustin served as acting President of the University at Lewisburg for six months after the resignation ofPresident Justin R. Loomis . In the same year, Tustin was awarded an honorary Ph.D. by the University at Lewisburg.

In the 1880's when the Alumni Association formed a building committee to raise funds for the construction of a gymnasium for men, Professor Tustin served as the chairman of this committee until his death on April 15, 1887, after which the Alumni Association committee decided to name the gymnasium in his honor. Francis Tustin is buried in the Lewisburg Cemetery.