advising the 69 enrolled students, acting as disciplinarian, answering letters from parents, ordering books, lobbying in Harrisburg for funding, writing public addresses to garner support, pacifying creditors, and calling meetings of the Trustees. At the end of 1861, 11 students were awarded the first American agricultural college degrees in the Bachelor of Scientific Agriculture after graduating under the direction of Pugh and four other supervising teachers. Not long after, in 1862, Pugh began a graduate program in agricultural chemistry and awarded the first Master of Scientific Agriculture only a year later. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1862. Personal life and death During his visits to discuss mineral composition of the Nittany Valley with notable Bellefonte ironworks master Abram Valentine, Pugh met Abram's daughter. Rebecca and Pugh met frequently to talk about books, German language, and current news, and by early 1863 the two were engaged. In preparation for their marriage, he began designing, hauling stone, and building a house that would later become the president's residence. The wedding, however, was delayed when both were injured in a carriage accident in June 1863 while returning from visiting William Shortlidge near Bellefonte. Pugh broke his arm and spent the summer and fall in local Philadelphia hospitals having treatments for improper setting of the limb. This injury, along with enormous stress due to General Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania, the already enormous academic and administrative workload for the School, and continuing construction of his house contributed to a weakened immune system unable to fend off an attack of typhoid fever. Pugh collapsed at his desk while penning a statement for Legislature and died a week later on April 29, 1864. Rebecca never remarried, and only visited campus twice after his death: once to present the first graduating class at an alumni reunion with his portrait, and the second time to attend a semi-centennial celebration of Penn State's founding. She died in 1921 and left all of Evan's books, correspondence, and memorabilia to Penn State. Evan Pugh Professors In 1960, Pennsylvania State University started the Evan Pugh Professorship program in which the university annually bestows its highest honor to a member of the faculty who "has displayed the courage to pioneer in his or her field, the discipline to remain at the forefront of research, and the generosity of spirit to share these accomplishments with students." References External