University of Kentucky - Kentuckian Yearbook (Lexington, KY)

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'Been Cfiflekler li c Rjesfteciful dedicate i us the iAlrA fift t ZoIume roffte fiKerduduar Columbus R. Mklchlr, former Dean of Men, has been known to students of the University of Kentucky since his entrance to the Modern Languages depart- ment in 1907, when he accepted the position of Assistant Professor, teaching both (ierman and French. In the twenty-seven years that Dean Melcher has been associated with the University he has been teacher, friend, consultant, and advisor to his students. His versatility, brilliance, and the humanness of his ideals have endeared him to both student body and faculty alike. In 1910, when the movement toward the creating of a Dean of Men's position began to be felt throughout the country, Kentucky searched its faculty for a man of ability and character for this office. In 1911, there were two schools in the United Slates having a Dean of Men. The third, Dean Melcher, took up his duties as such that year. ImsI year marked another outstanding event, for Dean Melcher was made Dean Emeritus at that lime, an honor he holds with only two other Deans, Dean Clark of Illinois, and Dean Coulter of Purdue. One of his most cherished pos- sessions is the monogrammed watch the students of the University presented to him on that occasion. There is an (). I). K. key dangling from the chain of that watch, a key worn bright with the passing of years. Horn in April of 1803. at Vevay, Indiana, of a German father and French mother, Dean Melcher urns graduated from Vevay High School and Hanover Col- lege. He received both his A. I. and A. M. degrees from Hanover. He studied for

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Published by THE SENIOR CLASS UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY LEXINGTON Vol. 35

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three years in Germany, attending the Universities of Munich and Leipsig. In 1896 Dean Melcher received his LL. B. from the University of Louisville. He studied at the University of Chicago during 1900 and 1901. Dean Melcher has held many and various positions in the educational field he has pursued. He was Principal of the Vevay High School from 1885 to 1886; Superintendent of Schools at Carrollton, Kentucky, from 1889 to 1895; he was secretary to a member of Congress during the Spanish-American War; Principal of Reynolds Presbyterian Academy at Albany, Texas, from 1901 to 1902; Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages at Hanover College from 1902 to 1907: Presi- dent of the Lexington School Board from 1912 to 1915: and President of the National Association of Deans of Men during 1925 and 1926. It is altogether fitting and proper that the student body of this campus should show thcii appreciation to this man by dedicating this year’s Kentuckian to him: for Dean Melcher has been one of the pillars of this institution for many years. He has always had the interest of the students in mind. You will recall that he had quite completed his own education when he came here. Dean Melcher s travel and various occupations have served to give him a keen appreciation of life. His German character is perfectly evident in his blue eyes and fair complexion, his kindly altitude, his pleasant sense of humor. Here is a man worth knowing, a man whose friendship should certainly be cherished by those who possess it, and above all, a man of whom Kentucky has just cause to be more than proud.