Philanthropy and Civic Activities
Melville settled in the Stony Brook area in western Suffolk County on Long Island, where he owned much land. He served as a member of the school board in Setauket, where he donated the land for the high school. From 1948 to 1949 he was the 66th President of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York.
Melville was very active in philanthropic works around the "Three Village" area (Stony Brook, Setauket, and Old Field) and the surrounding towns. He supported the restoration and preservation of historic buildings in the area to encourage his vision of a New England villages. Stony Brook was organized around a town green. He also supported conservation of natural areas, including the West Meadow Beach.
Another interest was education and he developed land for the high school in Setauket, which was named for him. His larger contribution was the donation of 400 acres of land and money to New York state to establish what is now the State University of New York at Stony Brook, which was founded in 1957. First operating with classes in Oyster Bay, its current campus opened in 1962. Emphasizing teacher education in mathematics and sciences, the university has developed as a major public research institution in medicine and science. Governor Averill Harriman appointed Melville as chairman of the Council of the university, where he served for some years.
Melville died in 1977 and is buried in Setauket at the Caroline Church and Cemetery.
Read more about this topic: Ward Melville
Famous quotes containing the words philanthropy, civic and/or activities:
“... the hey-day of a woman’s life is on the shady side of fifty, when the vital forces heretofore expended in other ways are garnered in the brain, when their thoughts and sentiments flow out in broader channels, when philanthropy takes the place of family selfishness, and when from the depths of poverty and suffering the wail of humanity grows as pathetic to their ears as once was the cry of their own children.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
“But look what we have built ... low-income projects that become worse centers of delinquency, vandalism and general social hopelessness than the slums they were supposed to replace.... Cultural centers that are unable to support a good bookstore. Civic centers that are avoided by everyone but bums.... Promenades that go from no place to nowhere and have no promenaders. Expressways that eviscerate great cities. This is not the rebuilding of cities. This is the sacking of cities.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)
“If it is to be done well, child-rearing requires, more than most activities of life, a good deal of decentering from one’s own needs and perspectives. Such decentering is relatively easy when a society is stable and when there is an extended, supportive structure that the parent can depend upon.”
—David Elkind (20th century)