Delaware Valley University Archives

“Agribusiness includes those industries which supply products and services for food production; the record keeping, financing and marketing of food and fiber; the processing, packaging, distribution and maintenance of quality as well as the safety of food.” Thus Dr. John Avery summarized the department at Delaware Valley College where he served eleven years of his career.

Born and raised on a farm in Michigan, John Avery graduated from Michigan State University, earned his Masters Degree from the University of Wisconsin and earned his Doctorate in Agribusiness from the University of Illinois. For a time he was District Sales Manager of the seed department for Cargill, Inc., then the largest agribusiness in the world. He was made chairman of the Agribusiness Department at Delaware Valley College in 1985. For the next eleven years he was the Agribusiness Department.

After starting an Agribusiness Club on campus, Dr. Avery still desired an organization that would give students an opportunity to connect with leaders in the Agribusiness field. He found it in the National Agri-Marketing Association, NAMA.

Students from the Agribusiness Club attended their first NAMA meeting in 1986 and promptly decided to begin a chapter at Del Val. The first officers of NAMA/DEL VAL were elected for the spring semester 1987.

In addition to his dedication to Agribusiness, Avery enjoyed working on the restoration of an 1832 farmhouse on a twenty-acre farm donated to the college by Edythe Roth in 1992. Avery wrote the Master Plan for the Roth Educational Center and Living Museum that is each day providing historical information on the food system in the United States to school children, organized groups and the general public.

Avery retired with the title of Associate Professor of Agribusiness in 1996, the college’s centennial year.

William H. Allison was the fourth child in a family of thirteen children who grew up on a farm in Harrison Township, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh. He would later note that having so many siblings gave him the chance “to develop quickly some skills in working with small groups of peers.” Allison entered Penn State University where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Agronomy in 1956 and a Master’s in Botany in 1957. Among the honor societies that claimed him as a member were Gamma Sigma Delta, Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Epsilon Phi, Phi Sigma and Sigma Xi.

Before earning his doctorate at Penn State, he served in the Army as a lieutenant and then as captain with the Chemical Corps. He moved to Doylestown in 1968 and began teaching at Delaware Valley College. He was made Assistant Professor of Biology in 1976, full Professor in 1987, and was named chairman of the Biology Department in 1990.

Over the years Dr. Allison served on the college’s Library and Research Committees, as faculty representative to the Student Government, and as advisor for both the Biology and the Chess clubs. He enjoyed chess so much that he began a Chess Club in Doylestown. He was a member of the Bucks County Historical Society and the Bucks County Conservancy. He was also an active elder for Doylestown Presbyterian Church where he taught an adult Bible class. He also served as scoutmaster for Troop 175 of the Bucks County Council of the Boy Scouts of America and was ecology and conservation director for Camp Ockanickon in Tinicum Township.

Dr. Allison attended international meetings in biology and some of his work was published in scientific journals. The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the American Phytopathological Society, the Botanical Society of America, and the Mycological Society of America all claimed him as a member. He also established the Mid-Atlantic Conference of College Biologists.

At DVC Dr. Allison became Chairman of the Biology department in 1990. He died at Philadelphia’s Temple University Hospital on September 6, 1993. He left Evelyn, his wife of thirty-five years, three children and seven grandchildren. According to his wishes, his body was donated to medical science through Humanity Gifts Registry. The college promptly established the William H. Allison Scholarship Fund. His active involvement in the college and community made him an unforgettable figure to students and residents of Bucks County.

Professor John C. Barnes taught food science from 1963 - 1982 at Delaware Valley College. He was a well-recognized food industry research scientist and contributed significantly towards the success of two favorite snack foods, Milky Way and Snickers candy bars. A demanding but caring teacher, he was well respected by his students and the staff at DVC.

A native of Memphis, Missouri, Barnes attended the University of Missouri. He received his Bachelors degree in Food Science from the University of Minnesota. At Minnesota, he worked in various aspects of dairy production and agricultural economics. Later, he earned a Master's degree in Food Packaging from Michigan State University, where he was involved in Food Engineering and Plant Management.

For many years, Barnes worked in various specialized areas of the food industry. He is credited with developing the kind of caramel found in the Mars candy bars that uses sweetened condensed milk. He also did work with drying cottage cheese and developed a process that gives most pretzels their golden luster. He served on the Minnesota Milk Council's Board of Directors and produced both dry whole milk and dry skim milk for WWII soldiers. In 1962, he won a "lifetime membership" award for his special contributions to the dairy industry.

In the spring of 1962, before he became an instructor of Ornamental Horticulture at Delaware Valley College, Dave Benner brought a house with two acres of partially-wooded land near New Hope, Pennsylvania with the intention of never having to use a lawnmower. So, he ripped up all the grass on the property and converted it to a mossy Garden of Eden. Eventually, the moss replaced the need for the regularity of maintenance that is required of typical lawns. Today the property, which sits along Route 263 in Solebury Township just up the hill from the Delaware River, is known as Benner Gardens, Inc., and is reputed to have the only fully-covered moss garden in the eastern United States. Between 50 and 100 varieties of moss cover the landscape and snake their way through the nearby woodlands. The business stands as not only a testament to a man who hates mowing, but as a legacy to a professor who preached to his students and colleagues at DVC the importance of our planet's environment.

Born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, Benner attended Lower Merion High School, just outside West Philadelphia. In 1951, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in horticulture from Penn State University. Over the next three years, Benner served with the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Clayton, Panama.

Upon returning to civilian life in 1954, Benner began his working life as a botanist for the Bowman's Hill Wildlife Preserve at Washington Crossing State Historic Park south of New Hope. From 1956 to 1966, he served as director of the preserve which covers over 100 acres of the park and is used primarily for the protection of wildflowers.

In 1967, Benner turned his love of gardening into a teaching career at Delaware Valley College that spanned the next 22 years. He became very active on campus and off and was affiliated with the Bucks County Audubon Society and the Bucks County Conservancy. He also completed a year-long survey of all the flora of New Jersey's state parks and forests. As both an instructor and assistant professor of Ornamental Horticulture, Benner was nominated twice to receive the school's Outstanding Teacher of the Year award and the A-Day committee dedicated their annual events in 1972 and 1983 to him. By the time he retired from DVC in 1989, Benner had taught over a thousand students in his courses.

Even after retiring from DVC, Benner still found himself busier than ever before. In the years since his retirement from the college, Benner's primary activities have been conducting lectures at botanical gardens, arboretums, garden clubs, and plant symposiums throughout the East. In 1992, he established Benner Gardens, Inc., which offers visitors, guided tours of this unique private garden. The company also provides systems for deer control and other kinds of pest management.

As an Associate Professor of Agronomy and Plant Science, as well as a Dean of Delaware Valley College, Clinton Blackmon's life was deeply rooted in agriculture. He understood the importance of the farming industry and how it affects every asset of American life. It was this devotion to the bountifully broad and diversified field of agriculture that was passed down to his students and peers at DVC, all of whom were fond of his sincerity, understanding, and educational and personal background.

Born in the farming town of Timmonsville, South Carolina in 1919, Blackmon attended nearby Florence High School. He enjoyed speech, played intramural baseball, and spent much of his free time evenings and Saturdays working on the family farm. He attended Clemson University in Clemson, SC, where he majored in General Science and was a member of the college's debate team. He minored in mathematics and economics (taking courses in agricultural economics) and graduated from Clemson with a Bachelor's degree in 1941.

Over the next five years, as World War II interrupted his studies, Blackmon served as an infantry officer for the US Army in the southwest Pacific, seeing action in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. After receiving his honorary discharge in 1946, Blackman attended graduate school at the University of Massachusetts, where he earned a Master's degree in Agronomy with a minor in Botany. During the year prior to his graduation, Blackmon served as an instructor, teaching botany of grasses to greens keepers and plant pathology to his fellow graduate students.

It was in 1948 that Blackmon began his long association with DVC. At the National Agricultural College, he became an Associate Professor and Chairman of the Agronomy Department. He taught courses in plant breeding, plant physiology, statistics, soils, soil fertility, soil conservation, ecology, field crops and horticulture. He worked in the summer programs at the college, teaching land preparation, seeding, fertilizing, and chemical weed control. In 1955, Blackmon received his Ph D in Farm Crops from Rutgers University, where he had also minored in botany.

From 1956 - 1964, he left the college and attended the University of Maine and later the University of Tennessee, where he was part of a team of instructors under the direction of the United States Agency for International Development serving in Panama. He was responsible for developing cropping plans and conducting research projects at a new agricultural station at Tocumen, Panama. He collected over a thousand species of native plants including tomatoes, potatoes, fruits, grasses, beans and weeds, and designed an air-conditioned herbarium at the University of Panama that housed thousands of species of these plants.

In 1964, Blackman returned to the States and rejoined the faculty at Delaware Valley College, this time as Associate Professor of Plant Science. In addition to his expertise in teaching plant breeding and plant pathology, Blackmon also taught courses in genetics, landscape surveying, and during the summers, farm machinery operation.

In 1975, Blackmon became Dean of the College and served in this capacity until 1983. He retired to Maine and lived there until his death in 2006.

A man of tireless energy and disciplined devotion to his many interests, Fred Blau made a lasting imprint on the lives of countless students. His lengthy career at the college began as a student at the National Farm School during the Depression and lasted to the century mark when he retired from teaching.

Born in April of 1919, Blau grew up in Yonkers, New York. At Yonkers High School, he was actively involved on both the swim team and track and field. He entered the National Farm School in 1937, majoring in ornamental horticulture. After graduating as the valedictorian of his class in 1940, Blau managed an estate in Media, Pennsylvania, and then briefly managed the retail sales department for the Clover Nursery in London, Ohio. 

The outbreak of World War II interrupted his career. Blau served four years in the Air Force (then a branch of the Army) as an aerial photographer and topographer. He saw action overseas, spending some time in China, Burma and India. While in China, Blau did the original bombing charts for the first B-29 raid on Japan. The B-29s were the first US planes over Japan after Doolittle's raid over Tokyo in the spring of 1942. Upon returning stateside, Blau attended Officer Candidate School, and then worked at the Signal Corp's photo center on Long Island, NY. He saw further service in both the European and Pacific theatres of war.

In 1947, after receiving his discharge from the Air Force, Blau entered Harvard Graduate School. While at Harvard, he worked on many landscape design projects in Boston and New York City. In New York, he helped to design landscapes for public housing and parks. While working for the Shortcliff landscape architectural firm in Boston, Blau participated in the design of a new superhighway that ran alongside the Charles River and also designed the landscaping for a public beach.

Graduating from Harvard with both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in landscape architecture, Blau returned to the National Farm School in 1950 to begin a teaching career that spanned over forty years. In 1950, he began the school's long-running tradition of exhibiting gardens and landscapes at the prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show.

A Philadelphia native, Blumenfield graduated from the National Agriculture College in 1950 with a Bachelor's degree in Horticulture. His class was the first in the school's history to complete a four-year program. Blumenfield was a member of the college's Horticultural Society for three years, and he served as its president during his junior and senior years. He was also secretary to Student Council between 1948 and 1950. A regular contributor to Cornucopia and The Gleaner, his classmates remembered him as an outstanding scholar who possessed "a determination and seriousness of purpose."

He earned his Master's (1956) and PhD (1959) in Horticulture from Rutgers University, where he was a research assistant. In 1959, Blumenfield returned to his alma mater to serve full-time as a professor of Horticulture. For many years, Blumenfield was the advisor to the same Horticulture Club he had served as president when he was a student.

An outstanding teacher, "Dr. B" received two awards from the National Association of Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture- the Teacher Fellow Award and the Eastern Distinguished Teacher Award. A member of the American Society of Horticultural Science, Blumenfield was elected to Sigma Xi, the national honorary society devoted to professionals in the field of Horticulture. Awarded emeritus status in 1992, he continued to teach Horticulture on an adjunct basis for several years after his retirement.

From his childhood in the farmlands of central Indiana to his 30 years as professor of Biology at Delaware Valley College, Paul Bowen's life was dominated by his interest in nearly every aspect of science and education. Under his leadership, his students gained a wealth of knowledge about the biological aspects of our world. His background in biology stemmed from his travels and his work across the country and around the world, but perhaps his greatest legacy rests in his contributions towards the growth of the National Agricultural College (now DVC) from a junior college to a senior college.

Born in Thorntown, Indiana, Bowen was educated in a one-room schoolhouse that housed grades one through eight. In 1920, he graduated from a small high school with a class of just twelve students. Without question, his education through intimate class sizes would later influence his decision to teach at Del Val.

Bowen began his academic career at DePauw University, where he majored in Biology and minored in Science and French. After graduation in 1925, he taught high school Biology in Washington and Montana before entering Yale University in 1928 to do graduate work. His master's thesis, entitled "A Maple Leaf Disease Caused by Crisulariella depraedaus," earned such high admiration from Yale faculty that it was not only published as a bulletin for the Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station but was also published in various American and European scientific journals.

Bowen also earned his doctorate at Yale, where he did research on a type of fungus that severely affected pine trees. After graduation in 1932, he taught at Biology at High Point College. He went on to head the Biology Department at Beaver College, and in 1942 he joined the faculty at Valley Forge Military Academy.

In 1946, upon the request of President James Work, Dr. Bowen assumed the position as the head of the Biological Sciences department at the National Agricultural College. When not teaching, Bowen found time for numerous hobbies and interests that ran the gamut from gardening to piano playing. He raised English Springer Spaniels for show and served as president of the Perkiomen Kennel Club in Montgomery County. 

Upon his retirement in 1976, Delaware Valley College recognized Bowen's accomplishment's to the college by naming him "professor emeritus."

In September 1970, the Animal Husbandry Department of Delaware Valley College added two new members to its faculty staff, Dr. Gary Lee Brubaker and Dr. Frederick R. Hofsaess. Strangely enough, both men followed nearly identical paths to their roles as professors in their department. They were both born in the same month, graduated from the same class at DVC, and earned PhDs from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (popularly known as Virginia Tech) in the same year.

Born in Du Bois, Pennsylvania in October 1945, Brubaker graduated from DVC in May of 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He received his Ph D in Animal Physiology from Virginia Tech in June of 1970.

Upon returning to DVC as a professor of animal husbandry, Brubaker became one half of the dynamic duo reputedly known to students as the "VPI Whiz Kids." Even the tests that they gave to their students gained rather provocative nicknames: the "Brubaker Bomb" and the "Hofsaess Hatchet." When he wasn't at his many committee meetings on campus, Brubaker enjoyed one of his favorite pastimes: tinkering with his collection of cars and antiques at his home in Gardenville, Bucks County.

Many of Brubaker's students went on to prominent graduate schools that offered extensive education in agriculture, particularly Penn State University. In 1983, Brubaker received the "Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award" from White Eagle Laboratories, a specialized farm located on Lower State Road just south of the DVC campus. One person who recognized Brubaker's special accomplishment was James E. Diamond, an assistant professor of Agricultural and Extension Education at Penn State, who later became a popular professor at Del Val.

He may always be linked to be part of an intriguing duo of popular professors in Animal Husbandry, but Gary Lee Brubaker will always be remembered for his passionate concern of students, his teaching abilities, and his involvement in many professional and community-related activities.

Bill Craver was as valuable an administrative leader at Delaware Valley College as he was on the football field. His leadership skills not only served him well as a head coach of the school's football, wrestling, track, and tennis programs, but they suited him perfectly as Director of Admissions, Director of Placement, and Dean of Students.

A native of Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, Craver received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education from the University of Delaware. He played varsity football for Delaware for three years and was also on the school's varsity wrestling team.

Craver joined the DVC staff in 1964 when he agreed to coach the Aggie football team. In his eight years as head coach, his team had more victories than any other coach in college history. A number of team and individual records were set during Craver's tenure and several players became All-Americans and played in the National Football League. During this period, Craver also coached wrestling, track and tennis.

In 1972, Craver moved away from the gridiron for good and into the role of Director of Admissions, a position he served admirably for 10 years. Under Craver's guidance, the school experienced its highest enrollment in history and graduated its first class of women (Women were not admitted into Delaware Valley College until 1971). He initiated the Special Student in Agriculture program and developed special programs for A-Day and Homecoming.

Between 1982 and 1988, Craver served as Director of Placement and was responsible for improving the overall percentage of employment for DVC graduates. In 1986, the placement figure reached 100 percent. He also improved the quality of careers, employers, and starting salaries for graduates. He started the first on-campus Career Day in 1982. President W.H. Rorer III named Craver Dean of Students in 1988.

A recipient of the Student Government Faculty and the Agricultural Dept. Chairman Awards for his outstanding service in career counseling and placement, Craver belonged to a number of committees on campus. Among these were the President's Advisory Committee, and other committees concerning Admissions, Audio-Visuals, Curriculum, Academic Standards, and Student Conduct.

Dr. Jesse Elson began teaching Chemistry at Delaware Valley in He held a B.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, an M.S. from North Carolina State College, and a B.S. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. His work included a patented paper on improved methods of the manufacturing of phosphate fertilizers through the addition of normally waste products and a Bond Energy Equation which allows one to predict the enthalpy charge for a chemical reaction; an analysis of data to show that atoms of elements 13 to 20 are oversized; and the relationship between covalent and crystal radii of elements. He received many awards for excellence in teaching.

Professor Byron W. Fraser had a distinguished career in industry before he joined the academic world. He was born in the mining community of Donora, Pennsylvania south of Pittsburgh. In 1928, Fraser matriculated at Penn State where he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in agricultural and biological chemistry. He also minored in bacteriology.

During the Great Depression years, Fraser worked for several major companies in the Pittsburgh area. He was an ice cream technologist for the Eskimo Pie Company and a chemist for the Applejack Distillery. From 1934 to 1939, he was the Food Bacteriologist for the H.J. Heinz Corporation. There, he conducted experiments on the causes of spoilage and its effect on various tomato and other Heinz products.

When the war began Fraser enlisted in the Army and served as a bacteriologist for the Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. where he taught bacteriology, microscopy, hematology, and other related courses at the Army Medical Department Professional Service School. In 1944, Fraser was sent to New Guinea and the Philippines as the clinical chemist for the 35th General Hospital Division. After returning to the US in 1946, Fraser became the Food Bacteriologist for the National Canner's Association in Washington, a position he held for three years. From 1950 to 1953, he served as Technical Service Representative for the Transparent Packaging Company (Tee Pak) in Chicago. Fraser also briefly worked for the Medical Arts Laboratory in Jenkintown and experimented with riboflavin fermentation for Publicker Industries.

In 1954, Fraser became Instructor of Food industry at Delaware Valley College. He taught courses in Food Bacteriology, Food Chemistry Fundamentals, and Cereal and Formulated Meat Production. Fraser was promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor of Food Industry in 1959 and Associate Professor in 1972.

An active, out-going person, Dr. Ellery W. French, Associate Professor and Chairman of the Biology Department, was a concerned environmentalist. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, French earned a Bachelor's degree in zoology. He completed his Master's degree at the University of Hawaii and his PhD at the University of Illinois.

Before coming to DVC in 1962, French was employed by the Rohm and Haas Company of Philadelphia in agricultural sales and development. He did extensive environmental research in a number of countries in Central and South America, as well as the United States, Europe, and the Far East. As a scientist in Rohm and Haas's Export Department, French conducted experiments in weed, chemical, and pesticide control.

In addition to his work overseas, French was involved with many environmental and entomological concerns much closer to his home in Wyncote and throughout Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1970, French published his findings on the then-abundant mosquito population in Bucks County for the Entomological Society of Pennsylvania. That same year, he was chairman of the first "Earth Day" activities at the college and was instrumental in organizing the school's participation in the "Earth Sunday" program sponsored by the World Council of Churches. He also served in the Doylestown Township Citizen's Committee on the Environment. In 1971, Pennsylvania governor Milton Shapp appointed French to serve on his Governor's Advisory Committee on the Environment.

Many well-known societies that dealt with environmental problems claimed French as a member. He not only served as president of the American Entomological Society, but claimed membership in the Pennsylvania Entomological Society, the Ecological Society of America, The American Institute of Ecological Studies, the National Audubon and Wildlife Societies, the American Society for the Advancement of Science, and the Pennsylvania Mosquito and Vector Control Society (where he was chairman of the society's Insecticides Recommendations Committee).

The author of a post-World War II era novel called The Aftermath, Dr. Peter Glick's interests in political affairs dominated much of his life. A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Glick used these experiences to shape his 38-year teaching career at Delaware Valley College. He was also involved in numerous college affairs and activities, and to his many students and staff, through good times and difficult times, he was both a peacemaker and a problem solver.

A native of Pittsburgh, Glick attended Shady Side Academy, where he participated in football and track. After graduation, he attended Princeton University, where he majored in political science and played varsity football and lacrosse. Immediately upon receiving his B.A. from Princeton in 1945, Glick joined the United States Marine Corps and served as a Rifle Platoon leader for the Sixth Marine Division in Okinawa. After the Japanese surrender, Glick worked for over six months in northern China as a civil affairs officer for the Marines.

After completing his civil service requirements, Glick returned to the US in early 1946 and attended Trenton State College (now known as the College of New Jersey) where he took courses in Education and coached football and track. He graduated from Trenton State College with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1948. Glick also received both a Master's (1949) and a Doctorate's degree (1962) in education from Rutgers University. During the summer months from 1948 to 1968, he served as captain of the Margate City Beach Patrol in New Jersey.

Glick joined the faculty at DVC in 1948 and served as Assistant Professor of Political Science, Associate Professor of General Studies and as Professor of Liberal Arts. He served as chairman of the Division of General Studies until 1967, only to head that division again (which had been renamed the Division of Liberal Arts) from 1980 until his untimely death in September 1986. He and his wife established a scholarship fund in their names in 1982.

Exceptionally active in college affairs, Glick served in many capacities, including Director of Graduate Placement, Director of Athletics, Recruiter for the Office of Admissions, Football Coach, chairman of DVC's Middle States Evaluation Coordinating Committee, and faculty adviser to Student Government. He taught Political Science, American History, Foreign Affairs and Speech. Willing to speak his mind about education and government, Dr. Glick published several books and numerous articles in various magazines and newspapers. For several years, he wrote a regular political column for The Intelligencer.

His novel, The Aftermath, was published by Vintage Press in 1965. Conceived by Glick during his tour of duty in China, it is the story of the relationship between a Chinese girl and a Marine Corps lieutenant living in Tsingtao, a city in Northern China threatened with occupation by Communist troops. This tale about the hidden perils of the aftermath of war was described as "timely, thoughtful, and disturbing."

A loyal supporter of Delaware Valley College for well over twenty years as a professor, and later, academic dean, Craig Hill was a devoted and enthusiastic educator. His passion for the profession can be summed up in his statement, "The best teacher remembers the awesome responsibility entrusted to him to help shape the career, and more importantly, the life of a fellow human being."

Hill graduated from the University of Delaware in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science and a minor in Pre-Veterinary studies. In 1972, he received his Doctorate in Animal Breeding at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

He began his association with Delaware Valley College in 1972 when he was appointed Assistant Professor of Animal Science. He was made Associate Dean of Academic Services in 1987 and served in that capacity until he was named Dean of Academic Affairs in 1989. Hill continued to serve as dean until his death from cancer on December 17, 1993, at the age of 48.

A staunch supporter of the college's many activities and athletic teams, he was particularly fond of A-Day and participated in the organization and running of the event. He helped his students build their exhibits, ready their demonstrations, and groom their show animals, and it is no wonder that the 1993 and 1994 A-Day festivities were specifically dedicated to Dr. Hill.

He was the recipient of the Student Government Faculty Award in 1986 and the Distinguished Faculty Member Award in 1987. In 1988, he was honored by the National Association of College Teachers of Agriculture with the Student Government Service Award as well as the association's Eastern Regional Outstanding Teacher of the Year award. In 1993, the college presented Hill with the Hall of Fame Special Recognition Award for his support of Aggie Athletics. Among various other organizations that claimed Dr. Hill as a member were the American Association of Animal Science, the Pennsylvania Cattleman's Association, the Bucks County Agriculture Extension Service.

As a well-liked veterinarian and a former Associate Professor of Poultry Pathology at Delaware Valley College, Dr. I. Howard Kahan always strived for the best possible outcome to all types of situations. This philosophy served him well in many of his endeavors.

Born and raised in New York City, Kahan attended Queens College where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. There, he majored in biology and chemistry. Kahan then took post graduate courses in bacteriology at Wagner Memorial Lutheran College on Staten Island. After working in a laboratory for four years, Kahan resumed his educational pursuits at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. He interned at New York's Ellin Prince Animal Hospital, operated by the city's League of Women organization.

After completing his education, Kahan took up residence in Horsham Township, where he became actively involved in numerous local affairs. Kahan owned and operated the Glenside Animal Hospital and worked part time inspecting poultry for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Through Penn State University, he taught chemistry to nurses at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville. Kahan was also a former treasurer for the Keith Valley Junior High School PTA in Horsham and a former vice president of the community's Scouter's Association.

Dr. Kahan's efforts and hard work were not lost on the residents of his community. As the owner of an animal hospital, he certainly enjoyed being in the company of dogs, cats, birds, and other pets. He once saved a tiny kitten that almost burned to death in a horrific plane crash in the township that killed seven people. Kahan spent the better part of two months nursing the kitten back to full health. He even removed a tumor from a large elephant that was used for a traveling circus.

But Kahan's concerns extend well-being treating sick animals. During the height of the cold war in 1964, he was appointed Horsham's director of civil defense by then Pennsylvania Governor James Scranton. This job entailed the inspection of local bomb shelters and the proper maintenance of communication and water systems in the township in the event of the unthinkable.

By the end of the decade, Kahan had been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Poultry Pathology at Delaware Valley College. He was also put in charge of the school's poultry diagnostic laboratory in Mandell Hall. He gained considerable recognition around campus for his dedicated service to the laboratory and the Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture, as well as his many pets.

Donald Miles Meyer played a significant role in the evolution of Delaware Valley College from a junior college into the National Agriculture College. Meyer was a proud educator, a former dean who was also an Associate Professor of Psychology and an instructor in the field of Education. His dedication to these fields was never lost upon his students and fellow faculty members.

A native New Englander, Meyer was born on March 21, 1922 in the fishing village of Cohasset, Massachusetts. He graduated from Cohasset High School in 1938 and Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1943. A graduate of Columbia University's midshipman's school in July of 1943, Meyer spent two years with the Fifth Amphibious Force in the Pacific. He also served as Battalion Commander at the Bainbridge Naval Training Center in Port Deposit, Maryland, and was elevated to Lieutenant before being discharged by the Navy in April 1946.

Meyer earned his master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Education in 1947, the same year he became Dean of Students and Director of Admissions at what was then known as the National Farm School. In 1948, he was actively involved with the school's transformation into the National Agricultural College, which later became the Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture in 1960. Under his leadership as dean, the Class of 1950 became the first class to graduate with four-year degrees. 

For over 15 years Meyer was a member of the teaching faculty as Associate Professor of Psychology. He served in many committees at the college, including those in curriculum, cataloging, student affairs, and academic standards. He was also on special committees that prepared self-evaluation reports for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.

In 1965, Meyer left the college to join Pennsylvania's New Commission of Higher Education. Under this program, he became Director of Approval of New Colleges and Programs, which were products of President Lyndon B. Johnson's aggressive campaign to offer higher education opportunities to all US citizens. In 1968, Dr. Meyer became the Director of Community Services and Continuing Education for the Commission of Higher Education in Connecticut.

In the early 80's, Meyer returned to DVC to teach Psychology as a full time professor, serving in this capacity until his retirement in 1986. A rare two-time recipient of the annual Student Government Faculty Award, he felt a special fondness to this award because it came from the students.

Meyer served in many local organizations: the Board of Directors of the Doylestown Rotary Club, the Advisory Committee of the Bucks County Prison Board, and the Executive Board of the Bucks County Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He was also a local and state judge for the Miss America Pageant.

James H. Popham was born in Canada. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry and a Masters Degree in Psychology from McGill University, Montreal, Canada. After coming to the United States he earned a Masters Degree in Chemistry from Princeton University. He taught at Indiana University and the University of Michigan. Then in 1955 he came to the National Agricultural College, which today is Delaware Valley College. He believed that a small college offers an opportunity for a professor to get better acquainted with his students and that less formality leads to better instruction. He enjoyed teaching, and his students respected him. While teaching at Delaware Valley College Mr. Popham resided in Carversville, Pennsylvania.

As head of the DVC Horticulure program for over 35 years, Dr. David Purmell benefited countless students with his extensive knowledge of all things horticulture. His contributions towards the growth of the college and the expansion in the field of horticulture were surpassed only by his sincerity in helping his students prepare for the future.

A native of the former Russian Republic of Latvia, Purmell graduated from the Minsk Agricultural School in 1907. There, he completed a four-year course in agriculture in just three and a half years and earned a traveling scholarship to the United States. Upon entering the US, Purmell enrolled at the Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School in Woodbine, New Jersey. In 1909, he entered Michigan State University where he majored in Pomology and Agricultural Education. He graduated from that institution in 1914 with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Education degree.

He then returned to the Baron de Hirsch School to serve as Professor of Horticulture and was later appointed Dean. From 1919 to 1922, he headed the research work for the Baron de Hirsch Foundation in Peekskill, New York and also did experimental work for the Jewish Agriculture Society of New York.

In January of 1922, Purmell began his long association with the National Farm School when he was appointed head of the school's newly created Horticultural Department. As an expert arbor culturist, he was put in charge of planting and cultivating trees and shrubs around the campus. He was responisble for the planting of over 100 acres of orchards, for the work done on vegetable production, and the designing of the three-story horticulture storage building. The building, constructed in 1925 at a cost of $17,000, enabled the school to store fruits and vegetables for extended periods of time, to house machinery, and allowed space for several classrooms.

In 1931, Purmell resigned his position at the school to operate a 230-acre farm he had brought in Hopewell, New Jersey, but he returned to the school in 1935. In 1940, Purmell sold the farm and turned the land into a summer camp for children called Camp Harmony. In addition to a busy schedule of lectures and labs, he also found time to lecture at various farm clubs and organizations in the area. He was instrumental in the founding of the Horticulture Society, the first such "society" on campus. He also helped start the Ornamental Horticulture department and in 1950, he helped to begin the college's long running tradition of participating in the prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show. He retired from teaching in 1959.

Born on May 24, 1916 on a small farm in Romania, Julian Prundeanu's agricultural interests took shape during his youth as he enjoyed the outdoors and working in the fields that supported his family. In 1933, he graduated from the Romanian equivalent of an American high school with a Baccalaureate degree, given to students who show outstanding ability and an intense desire for a college education. In 1939, upon graduating from the University of Bucharest with a degree in General Agriculture, he took a position in a Romanian experiment station, conducting research on various crops. 

However, the outbreak of World War II led Prundeanu into military service, where he spent six months as a reserve Lieutenant. After his military duties were over, he went to Germany to attend the University of Berlin to study for his doctorate. Unfortunately, the war would interrupt his educational plans once again, and this time, he would end up in a dire situation.

In December of 1942, after the German secret police had imprisoned all foreigners, Prundeanu was captured and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. He spent almost two years there suffering extreme hardships and the worst kinds of cruelty imaginable. Prudeanu later credited his miraculous survival at the hands of the Nazis to his courage and fortitude. 

In 1946, he resumed his studies at the University of Heidelberg, graduating from that famed German institution in 1950. He then came to the United States, where he worked as a research associate for the Mid-European Study Center in New York City. He later joined the Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service, conducting valuable field research in Maine and Pennsylvania.

In 1952, Prundeanu entered Cornell University, receiving his doctorate in agronomy four years later. But he also had a variety of interests outside agriculture. While at Cornell, he accepted a post as Instructor of Modern Languages. He was fascinated by world affairs and became a keen student of political science. His excelled in many of his interests, which included tennis, chess, and stamp collecting. In addition, he belonged to various scientific organizations, such as the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Conservation Society of America and the American Farm Economic Association.

In 1956, Prundeanu came to the National Agricultural College to head an Agronomy program whose total enrollment had dwindled to five students. Under his tutelage, the Agronomy department grew from five students and one faculty member to fifty students and five faculty members. He also helped establish the Agronomy Club, which is one of the College's most popular clubs

In 1961, Prundeanu embarked on what would become his ultimate contribution to the college. President James Work asked him if he could re-design what was then known as Archer Rosenthal Lake, which had fallen into severe neglect. Prundeanu and his students came up with an idea that they should drain the old lake and revive it as a pond to serve several functions, including use as a rainwater basin and a source for fire protection. The pond and its surrounding area would serve as an "outdoor laboratory" for students to conduct various forms of field study. Eventually, the reconstructed Lake Archer grew to cover an acre of water surface and have a total depth of about eight feet. 

The A-Day committee of 1975 dedicated its 27th annual event to Dr. Prundeanu. Upon his retirement in 1987, Prundeanu was bestowed with a number of honors from students and peers, including the Distinguished Faculty Member of the Year Award.

Turner's background in the field of food technology took shape during his early adulthood spent on the prairies of central Canada. Born in London, England, Turner migrated to Canada in 1923 at the age of 16 and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He spent the next nine years working on the farmlands of Manitoba and, for a while, he even owned a dairy farm. Realizing his need for higher education, Turner entered the University of Manitoba in 1932 and graduated in 1936. In 1938 he received a fellowship to the University of California in Davis, where he would graduate with a Master of Science degree in Dairy Industry three years later.

Upon returning to Canada in 1941, Turner was appointed to the staff of the University of Saskatchewan as an instructor in the school's Dairy Manufacturing and Bacteriology program. While enrolled at Saskatchewan, he served his country during World War II as a member of the Canadian Army Reserve. Once again, realizing the need for further education, Turner enrolled at Iowa State University from1946 - 1949 to earn his doctorate.

In September of 1949 he came to what was then called the National Agricultural College and appointed chairman of the college's Dairy Manufactures program. Under his guidance, the Dairy Manufactures program was expanded and converted into the Food Industry program. From 1961 to 1973 he served as Academic Dean. He then continued his duties as Professor of Food Technology until his retirement in 1978.

As an active member and former chairman of the Philadelphia chapter of the Institute of Food Technologies, Turner was a leading advocate of better food production techniques for mankind. In February 1971, Turner was awarded the honor of "Man of the Year" by his fellow members for his outstanding work in promoting the goals of the organization. In addition, he was the author of a number of papers related to food technology and was actively involved in the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce and St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Doylestown.