Inventory to the Percy Lavon Julian Family Papers

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Percy Lavon Julian Family Papers
Series III: Folder 15
Julian Memorial Lecture: Edgar F. Beckham
April 9, 1991

     Edgar. F. Beckham, is a native of Hartford, Connecticut and a graduate of Weaver High School. In 1951 he enrolled at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He broke his academic studies after his junior year to serve in the United States Army as a neuropsychiatric technician. During the years of 1955-1957 he was stationed at the 5th General Hospital, Stuttgart, Germany. This duty in Germany complemented his future career when he returned to Wesleyan to receive his B.A. degree with honors in 1958 and his M.A. in Germanic Languages and Literature from Yale in 1959.  Continued study at Yale resulted in his completion of the doctoral course work and examinations in 1961.

     Mr. Beckman came back to Wesleyan in 1961 to begin his academic career as instructor in German. He was to spend the next 29 years there except for the academic year 1966-1967 when he taught English language and African-American history and literature at the University of Erlangen in Germany. At Wesleyan he has served in many positions including lecturer in German, Director of the Language Laboratory, Associate Provost, and from 1973-1990 he was Dean of the College. In addition to teaching courses in German language and literature he has also taught Freshman Humanities (Great Books) and courses in African-American Studies. During his year in Germany he lectured  in America Houses, which are cultural centers throughout West Germany, on the state of civil rights and racial consciousness in the United States.

     In addition to his many duties on the staff of Wesleyan University, Mr. Beckham has served his community and state in many ways. To name a few he has been a member of the Economic Development Task Force, city of Middletown; Governor's Task Force in Education; Co-Director, Wesleyan NAACP/Tutorial Program; Advisor, Youth Council, Portland-Middletown NAACP; National Board of Consultants, National Endowment for the Humanities; and the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (New England Association of Schools and Colleges). He currently serves as secretary, Board of Trustees, Vermont Academy; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc.; and a Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the American Association of teachers of German, Modern Language Association, The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and The New England Deans Association.

    Mr. Beckham resigned from Wesleyan in 1990 to accept a position as Program Officer in the Education and Cultural Program of the Ford Foundation. His responsibilities at the Foundation include the promotion of community service among students, encouraging students to pursue academic careers, and assisting programs that support intellectual and cultural diversity on campus.

    Mr. Beckham is married and has one son.