28-year-old administrator was first to lead campus during St. Pat’s

We received the following information in an email from Greg Harris, senior development officer at S&T:

I recently discovered that there is a Lewis E. Young Scholarship at Missouri S&T. Dr. Young led this campus in 1908 when he averted a near riot by allowing himself to be knightedby student George Menefee as the first Honorary Knight of St. Patrick.

According to UM-Rolla: The History of MSM-UMR, Lewis E. Young was only 28 years old when he was appointed by the Curators in 1907 to lead this campus. He served through the first five St. Pat’s celebrations until 1913, then had a distinguished career in academia and industry.

The Lewis E. Young Scholarship was funded in 1964 from a $66,000 estate gift from Elizabeth Young, likely his widow. The monies were invested as an endowed fund to permanently provide scholarships in his name. The Lewis E. Young endowment has been helping generations of Miners and has grown to roughly $180,000. The scholarship has no restrictions.

Lewis E. Young had no way of knowing that his decision that morning would begin more than a century of St. Pat’s celebrations in Rolla. Those who would like to honor the memory of his leadership and good humor may add to his scholarship.