Edward H. Merrell

Second president

1876-1891

He was a graduate of Oberlin College and Oberlin Theological Seminary and appointed principal of the preparatory department and professor of languages in 1862, then president in 1876. During his 16-year tenure as president, 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. He retired as president in 1892 but remained on the faculty until his death in 1910. His seven children all attended Ripon College.