Herbert Longenecker

Herbert Longenecker (born c. 1912 in Lititz, Pennsylvania; died September 18, 2010 in Birmingham) was a biochemist and former president of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Longenecker earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate at Pennsylvania State College, where he played clarinet, saxophone and violin in the Varsity 10 Orchestra. He conducted post-doctoral research in the chemistry of fats and oils in England, Germany and Canada before joining the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh in 1938. He served as a professor of biochemistry, dean of research in the natural science and dean of the graduate school. He was recognized by the American Chemical Society as one of the 10 most accomplished experts in his specialty.

During World War II Longenecker served on a committee which helped improve K rations and powdered foods for soldiers. Afterwards he recruited Dr Jonas Salk to Pittsburgh in 1947 to head a program in virology which later paid off with a polio vaccine.

In 1955 Longenecker left to become head of the colleges of dentistry, medicine and pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, including its nursing school and 620-bed hospital. After five years there he accepted the presidency of Tulane University. During his tenure the University was desegregated and anti-war protests rocked the campus. He oversaw completion of the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Percival Stern Hall for the science departments, and several dormitories. He also expanded the campus with the building of Tulane University Hospital and a primate research center near Covington, Louisiana.

From 1967 to 1969, Longenecker also directed the New Orleans World Trade Center. He established an award at Tulane in honor of his wife, Marjorie Jane Segar Longenecker. In 1983 he moved to Birmingham. He resided for some time at St Martin's in the Pines before his death in 2010. He was survived by his wife, two sons, Herbert, Jr and Stanton, and one daughter, Marjorie. He also had 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He was buried in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

References

• Pope, John (September 28, 2010) "Dr. Herbert Longenecker, former Tulane president, dies at 98." New Orleans Times-Picayune