Washington College Presidents' papers, Charles J. Merdinger papers

Charles John Merdinger (1918-2013) was born on April 20th in Chicago, Illinois to Walter Frederick Merdinger and Catherine G. Phelan Merdinger. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1941, during his thirty years of service as a Navy engineer, he saw conflict in WWII including Pearl Harbor on the USS Nevada, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. During this time, he also received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in civil engineering. A Rhodes Scholar he earned his doctorate during his two years at Brasenose College, Oxford University. Merdinger authored Civil Engineering Through the Ages. In 1970 Merdinger retired from military service and became President of Washington College. Serving from 1970-1973 his term was reflective of the larger conflicts of the time. He implemented reviews of the faculty moving them from teaching to scholarship, he also wanted to restructure the semester and remove orientations for incoming freshmen. The larger issues of college campuses and the war in Vietnam along with the firing of several faculty members brought the students, faculty, and community to a head with the military-minded Merdinger. When the Director of Public Relations was fired a protest meeting was created and an ad hoc committee was formed to investigate the state of campus affairs. It became clear that there were feelings of mistrust among the students and faculty with the stern military style of Merdinger was not working for the college and he resigned. After Washington College, he took a position with the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies as vice president. Deputy Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Director of AVCO Corporation, and Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarships in Nevada. Charles married Mary McKelleget in 1944 and had four daughters. He passed away on December 28, 2013, and is buried in a military cemetery in San Diego, California.