Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

Page 22 text:

MANSFIELD MERRIMAN. IT IS a matter of congratulation for this University that, in the technical world, the name Mansfield Merriman carries with it the indetachable congeer, Lehigh Universitv - Merrim-an of Lehigh. or need the sat- isfaction that this brings to Lehigh men and Lehigh ' s friends be dampened by the apprehension that this is merely a working of the law of association. The connection has a psychological basis (for which, in this era of advertis- ing let us be thankful); but it has also a logical foundation that will bear critical examination. Other teachers have served more years in one col- lege and have had the fact published more widely; but hardly will you find one whose life and work have been more closely interwoven in the warp and woof of an institution ' s history. 14

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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Warren A. Wilbur, Chairman, EusHA P. Wilbur, William A. Lathrop, William H. Sayre, Rt. Rev. Ethelbert Talbot, Charles L. Taylor, A. N. Cleaver. COMMITTEE ON BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. Warren A. Wilbur, Chairman, A. N. Cleaver, Charles L. Taylor, Rembrandt Peale. COMMITTEE ON COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION. William H. Sayre, Chairman, Rt Rev Ethelbert Talbot, William A. Lathrop- Henry R. Price. COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND INVESTMENTS. William A. Lathrop, Charles L. Taylor, Chairman, Warren A. Wilbur. 13

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When he was called to the Chair of Civil Engineering at Lehigh Univer- sity in 1878, the young instructor in the Sheffield vScientific vSchool showed brilliant promise, as evidenced particularly in his work, Method of Least Squares. Far be it from us to say that Prof. Merriman would not have evolved in another sphere. But perhaps it is not too nmch to say that the struggling young institution furnished as favorable an environment as any; that its poverty was a stimulus and the absolutely free hand given him an inspiration. Prof. Merriman made the Department of Civil Engineering in Lehigh University. Likewise Lehigh made Prof. Merriman the teacher he became by furnishing a fertile field for the particular seed he had to sow. The benefit was mutual. A concrete instance of this is found in the matter of text-books written by Prof. Merriman. Some of his most impor- tant works, the books on the materials of engineering and on bridges, were largely the outgrowth of lectures in the classroom. The Treatise on Hvdraulics was prepared as the result of work in instituting the Univer- sitv ' s hydraulic laboratorv. Lehigh honors herself in honoring her great teacher. It has been said tha Prof. Merriman ' s influence in the development of the teach- ing of Civil Engineering in the United States has been felt as much as that of any one man. Lehigh rejoices in the unanimous accord given this declaration everywhere. vShe is proud of the men who, receiving their instruc- tion under Prof. Merriman at Lehigh, now hold positions of high responsi- bility as bridge engineers, railroad engineers, structural engineers, hydraulic engineers, sanitary engineers, consulting engineers and teachers of engi- neering. He is great who feeds other minds. Eleven of the instructors for- merly under Prof. Merriman at Lehigh have become Professors of Civil Engineering in other colleges. The practical men are seeking to promote sound engineering practice; the teachers to advance the interests of sound engineering education — both of which have been the express aim of Prof. Merriman at Lehigh. Prof. Merriman is now devoting himself to professional work entirely. But those who heard his Alumni luncheon speech last June and who know of his loyal support since, thankfully say It is still Merriman of Lehigh. R. W. W., 1907. 15