Established in 2017 by the widow and daughters of CAPT Charles J. Merdinger Dr. Charles J. Merdinger, was a civil engineer, naval officer, and academic administrator. He attended Marquette University, and was awarded a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Naval Academy, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Doctor of Philosophy from Brasenose College, Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He held honorary degrees, Doctor of Letters and Doctor of Humane Letters, from the University of Nevada, and from Sierra Nevada College, respectively. He served in the Navy from World War II through the Vietnam war, and then pursued an academic and business career.
During World War II he was a line officer at sea – initially aboard the USS Nevada when it was sunk at Pearl Harbor – and then aboard the USS Alabama in combat operations in the north Atlantic and the south Pacific. At the close of the war, he transferred to the Navy Civil Engineer Corps and embarked on a series of public works and construction assignments in Panama, the Aleutian Islands, Japan, and the U.S. He was in charge of building the Navy’s first master jet air station at Miramar, and headed the Navy’s largest Public Works department in the world, headquartered in Da Nang, Vietnam. His most important research/academic posts were as director of the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory at Port Hueneme and head of the English, History, and Government Department at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he also taught. At the conclusion of his tour as commanding officer of the Western Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command, he retired from the Navy in 1970.In his new civilian career, Dr. Merdinger served as President of Washington College, Vice-President of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, Deputy Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and as a Director of AVCO Corporation, a multinational conglomerate. Dr. Merdinger passed away in 2013.
Endowed Scholarships allow our investors to build a lasting legacy, impacting Seabee children and grandchildren for generations to come. Endowed Scholarships often honor or memorialize family members, Seabee leaders, NAVFAC units, organizations or corporations. Perpetual Named scholarships can be funded at three levels, $60,000, $120,000 and $150,000 and are named by the donor.
Contact Dan Miller at danmiller@seabee.org to start a endowed scholarship.