Bucknell University - L Agenda Yearbook (Lewisburg, PA)

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We see in tlie new Professor tlic resultant of the forces at work in tlie first decade of tiie University. To judge tlieir work by his education, tliey must liave aimed at developing- an exalted type of consecrated manhood. Their cidture was no varnish or -enecr, but the evoking of all native powers, antl the (|uickening- of the whole man with lofty ideals. If the curriculum was not so full and elastic as that enjoyed by the student of the ' 90s, it was manifest that, as Aristotle says, Man ' s intellect is not formed so much b)- knowledge as l)v exercise. The voung Pro- fessor of the 60s had been trained in the classic languages and literatures by a teacher of profound linguistic attainments, and of peculiarly sensitive genius for interpretation and expression. But additional to the informa- tion and the discipline imparted in the class-room was the beautiful ]ier- sonality of the teacher, intluencing every student of open heart and mind, the daily life of the scholar and the gentleman, who reminded them of the divine man of Nazareth more than of Menelaus. No less marked was tlie training in Natural Sciences received from his illustrious predecessor in that Chair. The sciences have greatly developed in specialization, and in concrete methods of presentation in the last forty years; yet, for purposes of collegiate instruction, it may be honestly ques- tioned whether their use in the early Lewisburg class-room could be ex- celled. An acknowledged authority in Geology, a trained expert in Chem- istry, a devoted student of I hysiology, who had written text-books of wide use and celebrity, made his Chair distinguished by his masterful analysis, his .sublime generalization, and his powerful personality. Our young Professor ' s mathematical training was received from an instructor of remarkable talent and rare aptness to teach. There must be task-work in problems, and grind in formulae in any mathematical class- room; but there was much more in this one. Such claritv of demonstra- tion, such cogency of reasoning, such eloquence of exposition made many an impressible youth glow with the joy of discovery and the sense of achievement. .And these subjects. Languages, Sciences and Mathematics, were the field of his future instruction in his Alma Mater. Thus equipped, and thus ushered into the faculty of instruction. Pro- fessor Tustin, from the first, formed a link between the students and the Faculty, and between the Faculty and the Alumni. This intimate asso- •tion with the students, maintained throughout his thirtv years of instruc- tion, grew to be a veritable i)astoral office in its earnest moral and spiritual aim and result. Temporal interests were sure to claim consideration, where 13

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highest honors of liis class. In 1S57 lie was maile tutor in the College; elected Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences, i860; ordained to the work of the Gospel Ministry, 1866; elected to the Chair of Greek Lan- guage and Litera ture, 1874; served as President in the absence of Presi- dent Loomis, in 1878-79, and again in the absence of Dr. Hill in 1886, and gently fell asleep in Jesus on the 15th of April, 1887. Professor Tustin was connected with our University for thirty-seven years, and, in the language of one of his colleagues, ' literally gave his life for the success of the insti- tution. For fourteen years he was instructor in the Natural Sciences, though during this time he taught almost as many classes in Latin and Greek as in the sciences. Linguistic studies were his special delight, and it was said of him, dur- ing his student life, that ' he was a born linguist. ' In 1874, Professor Tustin ' s eyes Ijecoming seriously affected by the chemical fumes of the laboratory, he resigned the Chair of Natural Sciences, and was elected to the Chair of Greek Language and Literature, made vacant by the removal of Dr. Bliss to Crozer Theological Seminary. Dur- ing the years of Dr. Tustin ' s connection with the College, it was called to pass through varied and trying experiences, but amidst the most dis- couraging surroundings he never wavered in the discharge of the most arduous duties. It was enough for him to know a course of action was right, whether man approved or condemned. In the memorial published soon after Dr. Tustin ' s death, we find this tribute given by the Presi- dent of the L ' uiversity: ' . 11 our best energies go into the channel of the making of men. That was the object of our brother ' s life — to make men, to sacrifice himself, to gi ' e his time, his toil, his energies for the building up of other men. I suppose that not less than five or si.x hundred students have been under his instruction; and if they could speak they would say that his life had been a life well s]:)ent, full of fruit, full of the noblest and most lasting riches that the human mind can produce. ' Professor Tustin was the first graduate of the youthful College called to its Faculty. He brought to its service the training he had received in its halls. Up to this time the Faculty was the concentration of influences from varied sources. Men cjf various States, graduates of various colleges combined their best life-work to build an institution having unity in di- versity. They now ally to themselves an exponent of their own successful effort. 12

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higher help was so affectionately bestowed; and practical advice was sought and heeded by many. The peculiar temptation of college students, then as now, is to dis- couragement. The universe partakes of the coloring of the despondent spirit. The student loses confidence in himself, in his prospects and possi- bilities. Doors, which seemed about to open to his touch, now seem locked and double-bolted. Fortunate the student who remembered, in such a crisis, that Professor Tustin would be glad to see him! The kindly reception, the cheerv optimism, the hopeful reassurance of those interviews sent forth many a discouraged youth to battle more heroically, with fresh conviction of the worth of the fight, and the certainty of victory. It was a high and holv service to have been the encourager of so many needing help, soon to become, in turn, the helpers of their fellows. Professor Tustin was a conservator of the early traditions of the Uni- versity in the period of change, when the old order yielded place to the new. He prized the men and the methods of the early epoch. He was in close fel- lowship with the spirit of the founders, the aims and hopes of the good men who did so much hard work for God and humanity in these material founda- tions. No wonder that the spirit of conservatism possesses so strong a grasp on men who were acquainted with the greatness of beginnings. Hero-worship is spontaneous and genuine where the heroic abounds. But one element of this greatness is the hope that sees, afar, the ideal al- ready realized. Dr. Tustin had large visions of the importance of college work, and of the place this College was destined to hold in the Common- wealth, the denomination, and the national life. He cherished liberal plans for its development. In times of doubt he was thankful if he could aid in keeping the vantage gained: but he always looked beyond the difficulty to the future. He believed profoundly in the desirability of denominational administration of the higher education, because that meant Christian nurture for the educated youth of the land. Professor Tustin ' s valuable services in building the church-home for the great majority of the students likely to attend the University deserve the gratitude of all. He was the financial agent of the undertaking, and for years gave his leisure to caring for the accounts, the interest, and the indebtedness. He was an expert bookkeeper, and his services to the church were invaluable. To President Loomis is due the chief praise for the erection of an edifice, to which he gave, in royal fashion, time, thought, toil, and money. But Professor Tustin was his Secretary of the Treasury. - - n