Second President of Ripon College, 1876-1891

Dr. Edward H. Merrell, a graduate of Oberlin College and Oberlin Theological Seminary, was appointed president at the June, 1876, meeting of the board of trustees. His affiliation with the College, however, had dated from 1862, when he was appointed principal of the preparatory department and professor of languages. During his sixteen-year tenure as president, the College grew dramatically. A new chemistry laboratory made it possible to discard the obsolete method of exclusive textbook-lecture instruction; East Hall was expanded to twice its original size; the College acquired its first athletic field; and the original $50,000 endowment was multiplied several times. Although he retired as president in 1892, he remained on the faculty until his death in 1910, and all of his seven children attended Ripon College.