Lloyd Bertholf in 1999

Lloyd Bertholf, 103, Former Illinois Wesleyan President, Dies

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—Lloyd M. Bertholf, president of Illinois Wesleyan University from 1958-68, an era of marked growth and progress on campus, died Monday, January 20, at age 103.

Bertholf died at McLean County Nursing Home. His funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Wesley United Methodist Church, Bloomington, the Rev. David W. Gaffron officiating. Entombment will be in Park Hill Mausoleum, Bloomington. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Kibler-Smith Memorial Home, Bloomington.

Memorials may be made to Illinois Wesleyan University; Wesley United Methodist Church, Bloomington; or First United Methodist Church, Normal.

• Read an interview with Lloyd Bertholf from Illinois Wesleyan's magazine

• The Pantagraph story on Bertholf's death

• Obituary from The Pantagraph

• Obituary from The Chicago Tribune

"Illinois Wesleyan University and American higher education have lost a great man," said IWU President Minor Myers, jr., commenting on Bertholf's death. "The entire campus community mourns his passing. Personally, I will miss his wise counsel, humor, and friendship."

"Lloyd Bertholf was deeply committed to giving Illinois Wesleyan students the best education possible," Myers added. "All you have to do is walk around campus to see how he turned that commitment into tangible assets—many new buildings, an expanded library, the 'May Term' program, the School of Nursing—assets that students today still benefit from more than three decades after he left office."

Craig Hart, president of the University's Board of Trustees, said, "Lloyd Bertholf was a man of strong integrity and great vision. There is no doubt that his long and dedicated work on behalf of Illinois Wesleyan will forever be part of the university's legacy.

"All of us in the Illinois Wesleyan family extend our deepest condolences to the Bertholf family," Hart added. "We hope that our warm and fond memories of Lloyd Bertholf—our beloved friend and colleague—will comfort the family in their moment of profound sorrow."

Bertholf, Illinois Wesleyan's 14th president, succeeded Merrill D. Holmes, who retired after serving as president from 1947-58.

A nationally regarded biologist, Bertholf was renowned for his research on the physiology and behavior of honeybees. A graduate of Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan., he received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he studied zoology and chemistry. Under a Rockefeller fellowship, Bertholf conducted post-doctoral research into insect behavior in 1930-31 at the University of Munich in Germany, where he worked with famed scientist Karl von Frisch, who discovered how insects communicate.

Bertholf taught biology at North Carolina Women's College in Greensboro from 1922-24. He was professor of biology and later dean of the faculty at Western Maryland from 1924-48. He became professor of zoology and dean of the college at College of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., in 1948, and was named academic vice president there in 1957 before being elected president at Illinois Wesleyan in October of that year.

During Bertholf's presidency, Illinois Wesleyan experienced significant growth. Enrollment grew from 1,148 students to about 1,500. The faculty increased from 75 to 109. Total value of the campus grew from $6.5 million to $14.3 million. Campus acreage increased by 31 percent to 33.8 acres at a cost of nearly $650,000.

A construction spurt characterized Bertholf's presidency with 10 new buildings added to the campus (including four academic buildings and three residence halls), two additions were made to the Memorial Student Center and the power plant, the old science building was transformed into Stevenson Hall. Westbrook Auditorium in Presser Hall was also refurbished.

The University’s School of Nursing was established during Bertholf's presidency. He also pioneered Illinois Wesleyan’s "May Term," an intensive, month-long period when students take a single course or work on an internship.

Bertholf’s faith in the University’s students was reflected in his introduction of two new policies — one gave the Student Senate full authority over student activity fees while the other initiated student membership on university committees.

In his last published interview, published in Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine in March 2000, Bertholf noted that "the biggest job of a college president is to keep the spirit of cooperation and the joy of work." Throughout his life, Bertholf remained a firm believer in the liberal-arts education offered by Illinois Wesleyan. As he said in his 2000 interview, "You've got to vote, you've got to do your duty as a citizen, and you just can't do that without a pretty broad knowledge of what mankind has accomplished."

Following his retirement from Illinois Wesleyan, Bertholf was president for one year of the Central States College Association, a consortium of 11 Midwest campuses. He also served as a science consultant to Ewha Women's University in Seoul, South Korea, in 1969-70. He was the recipient of an honorary doctor of humanities degree from Illinois Wesleyan in 1975.

He was a member of four academic honor societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, and Beta Beta Beta, the national biology honorary, serving as the group's national president from 1946-53.

Bertholf was active in Methodist activities. He was a member of the Wesley Methodist Church in Bloomington and served on its Board of Stewards and the Commission on Stewardship and Finance. Bertholf also was a member of the General Board of Lay activities of the Methodist General Conference. In 1966, he was a delegate to the World Methodist Conference in London.

Among his other civic activities, Bertholf served as president of Region 3-B, Comprehensive Health Planning Agency, an organization encompassing 16 counties in east-central Illinois. He was a member of the board of directors of the Rotary Club of Bloomington and was president of the IWU Federal Credit Union.

Born on December 15, 1899, in Wichita, Kan., Bertholf's 100th birthday in December 1999 was celebrated with receptions both at Illinois Wesleyan and at Bloomington's Rotary Club. Sorely missed at those celebrations was the presence of his wife Martha, who died in August 1999 at the age of 101.

Surviving is a daughter, Dr. Lynn B. Westcot of Normal; a son, Dr. Max E. (Nancy) Bertholf, Daleville, Va.; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and a sister, Faye McCoy, Wichita, Kan.