Former Yale historian Thomas Mendenhall remembered at service

A memorial service was held at Smith College in October for historian Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, a former Yale faculty member and president emeritus of Smith, who died on July 18 in Martha's Vineyard at age 88.

Professor Mendenhall received B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale in 1932 and 1938, respectively, and held B.S. and B.Litt. degrees from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He was a member of the Yale faculty 1937-59, serving as assistant to the provost 1943-50 and as master of Berkeley College 1950-59.

At Yale, Professor Mendenhall helped establish the Directed Studies Program, and, with other colleagues in the history department, initiated the "problem method" of teaching history, which stresses the analysis of source materials as the basis for the formation of historical generalizations.

As the sixth president of Smith College 1959-75, Mr. Mendenhall guided the institution through a series of changes that substantially altered the college's curriculum and social environment. He also continued to teach an introductory history course to Smith undergraduates and to conduct regular seminars on English economic and maritime history of the 16th and 17th centuries.

The scholar's interest in increasing the cooperation among Smith and its four neighboring institutions -- Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Hampshire colleges and the University of Massachusetts -- led to the establishment of Five Colleges, Inc., of which he was president from its inception until his retirement.

In 1962, Professor Mendenhall helped found Catalyst, the national, nonprofit organization that seeks to advance women in business and the professions, and he later chaired its board.

A sailing and crew enthusiast (he coached the Berkeley crew team while at Yale), Professor Mendenhall wrote three books about crew.

In addition to his wife, Cornelia Mendenhall, he is survived by two daughters, Bethany Mendenhall and Cornelia Small, and two grandchildren.