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Columbus R. Melcher, former Dean of Men, has been known to students of the University of Kentucky since his entrance to the Modern Languages department in 1907, when he accepted the position of Assistant Professor, teaching both German and French.
In the twenty-seven years that. Dean Melcher has been associated with the University he has been teacher, friend, consultant, and advisor to his students. His versatility, brilliance, and the humanness of his ideals have endeared him to both student body and faculty alike.
In 1910, when the movement toward the creating of a Dean of Men's position began to be felt throughout the country, Kentucky searched its faculty for a man of ability and character for this office. In 1914, there were two schools in the, United States having a Dean of Men. The third, Dean Melcher, took up his duties as such that year.
Last year marked another outstanding event, for Dean Melcher was made Dean Emeritus at that time, an honor he holds with only two other Deans, Dean Clark of Illinois, and Dean Coulter of Purdue. One of his most cherished possessions is the monogrammed watch the students of the University presented to him on that occasion. There is an O. D. K. key dangling from the chain of that watch, a key xuorn bright with the passing of years.
Born in April of 1863, at Vevay, Indiana, of a German father and French mother, Dean Melcher was graduated from Vevay High School and Hanover College. He received both his A. B. and A. M. degrees from Hanover. He studied for