Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

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E? I T0MF VPh J tstorp of tl)c Hclngl) WLniotxgify EHIGH UNIVERSITY was chartered by the Legislature of Penn- sylvania by act dated February 9, 1866. It was formally opened at exercises held September 1, 1866. The founding of Lehigh was the outcome of a movement inaugu- rated in 1865 by the Hon. Asa Packer of Mauch Chunk, with the purpose of affording education in the learned professions as then recognized, and likewise training in technical branches, the importance of which was then just becoming apparent in the economic readjustment follow- ing the close of the Civil War. Judge Packer was a pioneer in a most significant phase of industrial development, the transportation of coal from the anthracite mines of Pennysylvania to tide-water. He became the recognized master of canal boat transportation. Then, foreseeing the supplanting of boat by train as a carrier of coal, he built the Lehigh Valley Railroad from Mauch Chunk to Easton, later extending it to the port of Perth Amboy and deeper into the coal region of the Wyoming Valley and into Xew York State. The crowning work of the life of this great industrial leader whom President McCrea of the Pennsylvania Railroad once termed conspicuous among great men and public benefactors was his conception of a university in the Lehigh Valley which should provide for a complete professional education. His purpose, as set forth in the first Register of Lehigh University, included this statement: While such an institution promises to be of peculiar benefit to the Lehigh Valley, and to the numerous other districts of Pennsylvania which are rich in mineral resources of many kinds, its usefulness will not be thus limited. It is intended for the benefit of the whole country: the instruction which it imparts will enable its graduates to play intelligent parts in exploring and developing the resources of all portions of the United States. From its early years to the present, the University fulfilled this aim; Lehigh has always been more than local in enrollment, appeal and influence. Judge Packer ' s initial donation to Lehigh included S.500,000 and a large tract of land, to which he added largely during his lifetime and by his will. He did not permit his name to become a part of the corporate title of the institu- tion, believing, as has recently been brought out, that, the new University would be called upon for service far in excess of what could be done by the original endowment, and he did not intend, through self-glorification, to deny others the opportunity of forwarding the work. Since its foundation, the equip- ment and resources of Lehigh have steadily increased, due to the continued interest of the University ' s trustees, alumni and friends. J

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Lehigh ' s Daddy. Asa Packer 2S

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fJlTQME The first President of Lehigh University was Dr. Henry Coppee, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, who served with distinc- tion in the Mex ' can War, and had experience as an educator at West Point and at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Coppee served both as President and as Professor of History and English Literature. The general plan of study as originally outlined and carried out up to 1872, provided for two years in elementary branches, in which the students were called First and Second Classmen, and two years in professional subjects, in which the students were called Junior and Senior Schoolmen. There were five schools: General Literature, leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts; Civil Engineering, to the degree of C. E.; Mechanical Engineering, to the degree of M. E.; Metallurgy and Mining, to the degree of E. M.; Analytical Chemistry, to the degree of A. C. In 1871 Judge Packer increased his original gifts to the University and the original tuition fees were discontinued. In 1891 the Board of Trustees was again compelled to charge for tuition. The Wilbur Scholarship, a prize of S200 given annually to the student in the Sophomore Class having the highest general average, was established in 1872 by the late E. P. Wilbur, for many years a trustee of the University. Dr. Coppee resigned the Presidency in 1875, retaining the chair of the English Language and Literature. Dr. J. M. Leavitt was President of the University from 1876 to 1880. During his administration the Lucy Packer Linderman Library was built. The third President of Lehigh, Dr. Robert A. Lamberton, served from 1880 to 1893. These years were marked by an enlargement in the scope of the School of Technology, including the establishing of Separate chairs of Mining and Geology, Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, subjects which had formerly been given in other departments. The buildings erected in Dr. Lamberton ' s administration were a gymnasium, completed in 1883, a chemical and metallurgical laboratory in 1884 and Packer Memorial Church, the gift of Mary Packer Cummings, daughter of Judge Packer, in 1887. For eighteen months following the death of Dr. Lamberton in 1893, the duties of the President were carried by the Senior Professor and the first President of Lehigh, Dr. Coppee. Upon Dr. Coppee ' s death in March, 1895, Dr. W. H. Chandler, as Senior Professor, was acting President until the inauguration, in June, 1895, of Dr. Thomas Messinger Drown. Ten years of service were devoted to Lehigh by Dr. Drown, years in which the University steadily advanced in reputation in the world of technology. Dr. Drown ' s incumbency left, as has been said, an abiding impression on the University, of his refined, gentle and cultured personality. Williams Hall, devoted to the Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Geology and Biology, was erected in 1902. It was named in honor of the donor, Dr. E. H. Williams, Jr., of the class of 1875, for many years Professor of Mining and Geology. It was during the days of Lehigh ' s financial stress, in the nineties, that the alumni came forward with substantial aid and began the era oi direct alumni participation in University affairs, that which found expression in the election 30