President Dwight Eisenhower’s Letter to Dean Lewis Akeley

President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a letter to University of South Dakota (USD) Dean Lewis E. Akeley dated May 26, 1958. At that time Dean Akeley was 97 years old. He arrived at the University of Dakota in 1887 (South Dakota became as state in 1889) and was a faculty member for 74 years. Akeley was Dean of the College of Engineering from 1908-1933. Many of his students that became world renowned. Eisenhower’s letter highlights two exceptional scientists, both Akeley’s students. The first was Carl A. Norgren a 1912 mechanical engineering USD graduate who was a designer and inventor of mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic devices. In 1926 Norgren formed the highly successful C. A. Norgren Company in Denver, Colorado. A long-time supporter of USD, Norgren donated funds to move the W. H. Over Museum from Slagle Hall to the Carnegie building and supported development of exhibits within the museum. In 1961, following Akeley’s death, Norgren also started the Akeley Scholarship in tribute to his mentor. Norgren was a close friend of Eisenhower’s. The other scientist Eisenhower highlighted was Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence, a Canton, South Dakota native, who graduated USD in 1922 under the mentorship of Dean Akeley. Lawrence went on to receive a doctorate in physics from Yale and spent his entire life at the University of California at Berkely. In 1939 he received the Nobel Prize in physics for his work on the cyclotron which helped disclose secrets of the atom. Lawrence and Akeley remained close friends for all of Lawrence’s life. Lawrence died on August 27, 1958, a few months after Eisenhower’s letter was written. An important message in Eisenhower’s letter regarded Akeley’s interest in mentorship of students and his passion to understand the atom’s secrets and its potential powers for society. In this regard, Eisenhower referred to the pioneering work of Ernest and his brother John Lawrence, MD known as the father of nuclear medicine. USD Archives and Special Collections has a copy of Eisenhower’s letter that lauds Akeley as a teacher and mentor for his support extraordinary scholars and entrepreneurs. A copy of President Eisenhower’s letter to Dean Akeley. USD Archives and Special Collections, Series 10, #9993.1