Merle Middleton Odgers (April 21, 1900 - September 6, 1983) was president of

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

from 1954 until his retirement in 1964, when he was named president emeritus.

Biography

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on April 21, 1900, Odgers was a son of David Odgers and Elizabeth (Ramsay) Odgers. He graduated with first academic honors from Central High School in Philadelphia in 1918 and then from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

with class honors in 1922. He was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. After receiving his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Penn in 1924 and 1928, respectively, he taught Latin at the university until 1933, when he was named dean of Penn's College of Liberal Arts for Women. Odgers was then named president of

Girard College Girard College is an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded and permanently endowed from the shipping and banking fortune of Stephen Girard upon h ...

, a Philadelphia secondary school for orphan boys. He held that position from 1936 to 1954. Odgers authored ''Alexander Dallas Bache: Scientist and Educator,'' which was published by the

University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press (or Penn Press) is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The press was originally incorporated with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 26 Ma ...

in 1947. From 1954 until his retirement in 1964, Odgers was president of

. He was then named president emeritus of the university.

Illness, death and interment

Following a brief illness, Odgers died at the Oak Cove Health Center in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

on September 6, 1983. His remains were returned to his home state of Pennsylvania, where he was interred at the Lewisburg Cemetery in Union County.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odgers, Merle Middleton Presidents of Bucknell University University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty 1900 births 1983 deaths Educators from Philadelphia 20th-century American academics