Edward C. Merrill Jr. (January 29, 1920 – January 27, 1995) was the fourth President of

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Under his administration from 1969 to 1983, the College made preparations for the expanded population of deaf students due to the

Rubella Rubella, also known as German measles or three-day measles, is an infection caused by the rubella virus. This disease is often mild, with half of people not realizing that they are infected. A rash may start around two weeks after exposure and ...

epidemic in the 1960s. This was called "The Rubella Bulge." Dr. Merrill also oversaw the era of the Stokoe Linguistics Lab, when the use of

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

as a natural human language acquired increasing acceptance in Deaf education. He obtained a bachelor's in English from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

in 1942, a master's in Educational Administration and Supervision from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

in 1948, and a Ph.D. Degree in Educational Administration from George Peabody College for Teachers in 1954. He was awarded an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree by Gallaudet in 1969.Candid Interview With Dr. Merrill, ''Buff and Blue'', Vol. 91, No. 9
January 29, 1982
), p. 10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Edward 1920 births 1995 deaths Presidents of Gallaudet University University of Tennessee alumni University of North Carolina alumni Peabody College alumni