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Morton E. Sultzer Correspondence

 Collection
Identifier: SC MS 0070

Scope and Contents

This collection contains correspondence to and from Mr. Morton Sultzer and the following students: Paul Preston; Robert Sloan, Robert G. Weldon; Robert Bennett; Robert Eichner, Walter L. Finlay; Nelson Leonard; Harry Nelson; Ernest Mercer; John Gracik; Richard Rusk; Richard Lord; David W. Gordon; Jack Mercer; William Ellers; Robert Leavens.

Dates

  • Creation: 1927-1941

Creator

Language of Materials

English

Access Restrictions

Access Restrictions: Collection housed remotely. Users need to contact 24 hours in advance.

Use Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Copyright Notice

Please inquire about copyright information.

Biographical / Historical

Morton Ernest Sultzer, Class of 1912 in Electrical Engineering and the MS in 1917, was an active alumnus, who befriended and helped many students to complete their college educations. Mr. Sultzer was born in 1889 in Maryland. He was an Alumnus Trustee and President of Lehigh University's Alumni Association 1933-34. He and his wife, Dorothy resided in Mt. Vernon, Westchester County, New York where he served on the Mount Vernon School Board. They had three children: William Robb, LU Class of 1944, Mary and Harriett. He was employed by Western Electric and later Lucent Technologies Inc. He held two patents dealing with electrical condensers: No. 1,200,063 and 1,210,722. With the assistance of Andrew Buchanan, University's admission officer, Mr. Sultzer established a scholarship to aid students during the deep Depression Era. This scholarship was for one year with a potential yearly renewal. Each student was expected to work during the summer months to cover expenses not paid for by the scholarship. One of his students was Nelson Jordan Leonard (1916-2006), who Mr. Sultzer arranged to work summers at Bell Laboratories, and later became a Rhodes Scholar, prominent in the National Academy of Sciences for his work in the chemistry of nitrogen-containing molecules, later a professor and department chairman in chemistry at University of Illinois. Another, Robert Bennett was assigned to tutor Eugene Grace's son as a summer job and maybe teach Eugene Grace Sr. how to play golf. Mr. Sulzer had an easy-going relationship with his scholarship recipients - each seemed to appreciate having received the scholarship and enjoyed association with the Sultzers.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (1 flat box)

Abstract

Morton Ernest Sultzer, Class of 1912, was an active alumnus of Lehigh University, who befriended and helped many students to complete their college educations during the Great Depression era. The material here is compiled in a loose-leaf notebook with letters to and from Mr. Sultzer and 16 students that he helped during the 1930s, documenting the students' on-campus and off-campus lives and their personal, educational and economical struggles.

Arrangement

Material in the collection is bound in one notebook designated Vol. 1 and indexed by number assigned to each student. Each group of student letters is separated by tabbed pages 1 through 16 with a student name.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mr. Sultzer, 1985.

Title
Morton E. Sultzer CorrespondenceSC MS 0070
Status
Completed
Author
Eleanor Nothelfer.
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English.
Sponsor
Lehigh University Library and Technology Services.

Repository Details

Part of the Lehigh University Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Lehigh University
Linderman Library
30 Library Drive
Bethlehem PA 18045 USA
610-758-4506
610-758-6091 (Fax)