Nils Yngve Wessell, a former Tufts president who guided the university through a crucial period of change between 1953 and 1966, died on March 4. He was 92.
University President Lawrence Bacow praised the changes Wessell brought to Tufts and emphasized his influence on the campus today.
"President Wessell guided Tufts through its transformation from a small college to a research university," Bacow said in an e-mail to the Daily. "He was a true innovator. For example, the Experimental College began during his administration. He was the youngest dean and youngest president in Tufts history."
Wessell, who became Tufts' eighth president when he was only 39 years old, helped spearhead the school's transition from Tufts College to Tufts University in 1955, a change that represented a symbolic gesture of growth, said Bernard Harleston, a current trustee and former Tufts professor.
"He was the one that really took the lead in transforming Tufts from a small campus on the hill to a real university." Harleston said. "A president doesn't make a university, but he provides the leadership for that to happen. And that's what he did."
With a youthful demeanor and "twinkle in his eye," according to trustee emeritus and then-student William Meserve (A '62), Wessell had already spent 14 years at Tufts and was well-respected when he became the acting president in January 1953 and then the full president later that year.
Wessell arrived at Tufts at the age of 25 and was called the "boy dean" by local reporters. He held several staff positions, including dean of men and director of admissions, and rose to the rank of full professor in the psychology department by 1949.
"I think everyone that was at Tufts at the time had tremendous respect for him," Meserve said.
"He cared very much about undergraduates," Harleston said. "He was very easy to approach."
Building on the strong legacy of previous president Leonard Carmichael, Wessell was particularly good at recruiting faculty and strengthening research. "He provided resources for that to happen," Harleston said.
During Wessell's presidency, Tufts opened new chemistry and biology laboratories, as well as the Wessell Library, which has since been incorporated into the Tisch Library.
New dormitories were also constructed, and the Experimental College was founded.
Wessell also made efforts to increase Tufts' endowment, leading the university's first major capital campaign, Meserve said.
Harleston, whom Wessell hired to teach an experimental psychology course, was impressed with the former president from their very first interaction.
With no prior interaction, he said, "[Wessell] introduced himself and said 'I want you to know how happy we are that you are here with us,'" Harleston said. "That's first rate. That was class. That was the kind of man he was."
After retiring from Tufts, Wessell later served as the president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, an organization supporting science and higher education, and served as the chairman of a commission that considered merging the City University of New York with the state university system, according to an obituary for Wessell in The New York Times.
Wessell earned a B.A. from Lafayette College, an M.A. in psychology from Brown University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester.
He is survived by his son Nils H. Wessell, daughter Roberta McCuskey, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
