Ohio Northern University - Northern Yearbook (Ada, OH)

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Dr. Samuel Lewis Meyer Retires but His Dreams Live On From this day forward, we must dedi- cate ourselves to that margin of ex- cellence which separates education of the highest quality from that which is any- thing else, said Dr. Samuel L. Meyer at his inauguration as the seventh president of Ohio Northern University in October 1965. In the Ohio Northern Lexicon, this statement is probably the most famousg certainly it is the most significant, a dream even more prominent, at least for the speaker, than the dream of a new West Campus. Buildings are only a means to excellence in education, not an end: an essential means no doubt and one that cannot be slighted in any way but a means nonetheless. Dr. Meyer's highest priority and the one that is always at the back of his mind is excellence in education. From the beginning he wanted it evident at Ohio Northern University and he wanted it v 1 7... l'2 f' .1 us f a is faux? a 3 recognized. The national honoraries that established local chapters on the Ohio Northem campus during Dr. Meyer's ten- ure are important to him. They are visible proof of a sometimes elusive ideal: ex- cellence in education. Dr. Meyer knows, as he once said to me, that buildings are easy to see but it is sometimes difficult to see those intangible things that are in- volved in teaching excellence. What has given Dr. Meyer the greatest personal satisfaction is the recognition that other institutions in Ohio and across the country have accorded Ohio Northern as it exists today. To accomplish goals that are called dreams, Dr. Meyer had to possess sources of energy most of us do .. . ff. 4x V! piffaf 4 .,., fyyipfejo If .- x ,j,L':-M , ig Q! W -I -.1 ff i Aluif 2-wil ,F a i ,ggi 'fi-,j I I' , I f fR'F ' s f ff ' .-if N we-, ,.' 0, ,V .- ' f - f r Q ff . lfxy i - O - A' ' . 7'7 ' ,' 599 f ' - '36 ' ,435 -yi? a - X .. lr! i 7 ',1-,V - is X - fe W. aa an 4' f 7 .'. wl-Mfy, ff' ' or 'Q f f l f - I 1 f' .-'N I ' , - X XS? fl ,fly , ,N .Ml M gffy x ' ,sc , Ay . ,Q . s. . Qt . ff,f-vw. Est f f l fy 5' Q fp fy, '- ,af gig 1 ' W! 1 's J' X ,I fi , EQ, 1 , ,ax ifgg qI I I ! f I Lvfff Wa '. . -'Aft vfffff Q 1, fl I , . . , Zf:'.fff ' ,. 1 - xi t ' 44-A I j 11- x 9 lv-fu . X356 , .1 .A : ,I A Ms. , .W-'-A fr .Q . i 1 42.137 f I . r , . . U My. 1, ,fs 1439 0 ff 7 fu, , 4 W 3151. 7, .-A! . ,, , V , X4 ' -' ff 17

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X C I For his years of loyal service, we dedicate the 1977 NORTH- ERN to Dr. Samuel L. Meyer. The Editor Dr. and Mfrs. Samuel L. Meyefr' 131'

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not have to expend, to draw upon an indomitable force of direction. At times the job had to feel like a marathon race that demanded the speed of a sprinter. As a nation, we are impatient. Why can't our dreams come true at once? Why wait? And it almost seems as if Ohio Northern was recreated overnight, with new buildings and more students. A dream come true. Yet there had to be times when the moments of the dream seemed like an eternity. The impossible dream. But Dr. Meyer never doubted the rightness of the dream and had the power to convince others of its inevitability. What is the source of his power? Ora- tory, a lost art, one made obsolete by microphones and television. If you have ever heard Dr. Meyer speak, you know the magic of the human voice to excite, to stimulate, to persuade. The silence of words on a page is transformed by the voice of Dr. Meyer into something close to drama. A biologist with a love of lan- guage and a fear of 1984 newspeak is a rarity and pleasure to hear. Audiences, especially alumni audiences, love to hear him speak about his love: Ohio Northern University. To sing its achievements, to articulate its dream, to reflect upon its past. If you never heard Dr. Meyer speak, to listen to a voice free of the inarticulate noise of today's speech, you missed some- thing. Presidents of universities, of corpo- rations, of the United States are lonely people, isolated by the power and pres- tige of their offices, they appear unapproachable even if they do not want to be. The buck stops here was made famous by one of Dr. Meyer's fellow Mis- sourians, Harry S. Truman. All presidents know the isolation of this imperative. No leader can be all things to all people, to please everyone and thus accomplish nothing. Dr. Meyer believes with an unequivocal firmness that the university's commitment to its past, to its roots and heritage, cannot be compromised. It is the way he sees problems and conflicts, makes plans and decisions. And if you do not understand his commitment to the ideals and purposes of Ohio Northern as they develop over the university's one hundred and six years, then you do not understand the man. What is the Meyer legacy? How will he be remembered? There is the physical plant, of course. And the man who could no more compromise a principle than he could step on a summer flower. But let us hope, it will be the man who believes in the ideal of excellence in education. That islwhat matters most to him after all. - jon Saari 18