Charles K. Edmunds
President of Pomona College
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Keyser Edmunds (September 21, 1876[2]–8 January 1949) was an American engineer and physicist who served as president of Lingnan University in Canton, China, and Pomona College in Claremont, California.[3]
Charles K. Edmunds | |
|---|---|
| |
| 5th President of Pomona College | |
| In office 1928–1941 | |
| Preceded by | James A. Blaisdell |
| Succeeded by | E. Wilson Lyon |
| President of Lingnan University | |
| In office 1907–1924 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1876[1] |
| Died | January 8, 1949 (aged 72–73) |
| Education | Johns Hopkins University |
| Profession | Academic |
Life and career
Edmunds was born in Baltimore and attended Johns Hopkins University, graduating in 1897.[3]
He taught physics at the University of Utah during the 1898–1899 academic year, and subsequently moved to China to teach physics and engineering at Lingnan University in Canton, China.[3] He became president of Lingnan in 1907, serving until 1924.[3]
He moved back to the United States in 1928, to serve as president of Pomona College,[3] becoming the college's first non-clergy president.[4] During his tenure, he focused on Pomona's residential life, overseeing the construction of several dormitories and dining facilities, including Frary Dining Hall and the Clark dormitories.[4] He also inspired a growing interest in Asian culture at the college.[4] He retired in 1941, and later that year received the Order of Brilliant Jade from China.[3] He died after being struck by a car while crossing Route 66 in Claremont in January 1949.[3]
Pomona's original student center was named the Edmunds Union in his honor; it was built in 1937 and demolished in 1997.[5] An academic building opened in 2007 was named Edmunds Hall in his honor.[6]
