Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

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Benjamin W. Frazier, A.M., ScD. Born October 3, 1841. Died January 4, 1905. PROFESSOR FRAZIER came to Lehigh in 1871, and till 1881 taught everything connected with mining, metallurgy, ore-dressing, blow- pipirg, economic geology, lithology, mineralogy, and crystallography. These courses extended over three years, so that for ten years Prof. Frazier taught three classes nearly every da in the week, and generally two or three times during the day, and taught them thoroughly. In 1881, mining, geology, lithology and ore dressing were removed from Prof. Frazier ' s work; but the in- crease in the number of students obliged him to have two and three sections cf 16

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to give to the Lehigh graduate, particularly the engineering student, some appreciation of what was expected of the modern professional man. His lite and teaching were a constant protest against narrowing influ- ences. Broadminded himself, believing thoroughly in the general culture that belongs to the field of thought, as he did in the exact equipment required for those entering the engineering profession, he strove constantly to enlarge the purpose and content of Lehigh ' s Mission. The founder of the University declared as his object the giving to the young men of the Lehigh Valley a complete education, technical , literary and scientific and from the beginning insisted upon the upholding of all that was good in the old training and the maintenance of that which was to be conspicuous of the new in education. To Dr. Drown came the opportunity of giving to Lehigh a distinction that will make it unique among American colleges. The growth and expan- sion of the University, and that too in times of financial tightness is one of the remarkable features of his administration. There were many who, ten years ago, thought that Lehigh ' s star was set; that, at least, her work would have to be curtailed and all useless subjects cut out of the curriculum. But instead, the community saw the creation of additional professorships, new departments, more buildings, improved equipment and an atmosphere that meant that Lehigh had laid hold on life. How much of this was due to the quiet, patient, persistent courage of President Drown, is to be found in the spontaneous expressions of all sorts and conditions of men who knew Lehigh past and present. It is no exaggeration to say that he was the first president to realize the Mission of the University; by his training, his teach- ing, his sympathy with our national aspirations he was eminently the type of man fitted to bring her into the great currents of influence that are char- acteristic of our higher life, as well as to maintain all the relations of his office towards the Trustees, Faculty, Alumni and local community. Lehigh ' s jubilee, which is not many years away, will give her sons the opportunity to recall those nine years of illustrious and beneficent influence which made Dr. Drown ' s presidency an epoch-making period in the history of the University. Then will they recall the splendid example of the gentleman and the scholar that made our community all the richer for his living. J. L. S. 15

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each class. The relative amount ot work, therefore, remained the same; but its drudgery was increased. While Prof. Frazier had the subjects of metallurgy mining, ore-dressng and crystallography, there were no text books on the subjects, and they were taught by courses of lectures. Metallurg}- was always difficult to teach, as its growth was so rapid that no text-book could keep pace with it, and no set of lecture notes would be valuable twelve months afterwards. This entailed an enorm ous amount of work in reading a mass of periodicals in French, German, Swedish, and English; in adapting them to the purposes ot the lecture course, and in securing illustrative material. When Prof. Frazier came in 1871 there was very little of the latter for miner- alogy or crystallography; when he died he left a very large and admirably arranged museum and an ample supply tor class-room investigation, so that the courses in crystallography, mineralogy and blowpiping would be some- thing more than mere book-work, and each student had an ample opportunity to see and study a w ide variety ot types of the same species; to make com- parisons, and to work them up in laboratory experiments, with the result that his graduates carried awa} ' a very good knowledge of whatever he tauo ht. In the same way, the metallurgical lectures were illustrated by actual practice in the Bethlehem Iron Works, and in the various refineries and metallurgical plants between New York City and the center of the state. As a member of the taculty. Prof. Frazier was always a good friend of the students. Any man who had shown diligence or interest in any subject which he taught, was recognized and appreciated, and if by chance he failed in an examination and petitioned tor a re-examination, he always received it, and here enters a very peculiar feature of Prof. Frazier ' s work. If such a man had shown by his examination that he had only a slight perception of the subject, Prof. Frazier would always impress on him additional work, which in some cases amounted to nearly an entire review of the subject, to be taken out of regular hours and under his direction; so that he punished himself as well as the student in prescribing this extra work. Being himself a man of the strictest honor, he had a great interest in the honor system at the Univer- sity, and did all he could to further its good. His standard of work was so high and his examinations so rigid that the faculty and students were satis- fied that when a name was reported by him as a candidate for a degree, that its owner was very well prepared. While on the other hand, those who failed and were so reported, were accepted as being incompetent and passed over. Prof. Frazier made no enemies, and he died leaving a name of the strictest integrity, of justice, of impartialit)-, of enthusiasm for his work, and of a high standard of excellence. It will be many days before Lehigh will find a man who will willingly undertake so large an amount of work as he did, or who will be able to perform ever - part of it so thoroughly and so well as did Prof. Benjamin West Frazier. E. H. W. 17