Robert L. Ketter
Encyclopedia
Robert L. Ketter was an authority on earthquake engineering
research and a former president of the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB, University at Buffalo).
A graduate of Lehigh University
, Ketter went to UB, then known as the University of Buffalo, in 1957 to inaugurate and head the school's first Department of Civil Engineering
. He went on to become the Dean of UB's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS), and became University President in 1970, after years of student unrest associated with the Vietnam War
closed the campus during the spring semester.
A favorite with Civil Engineering students for his earthy style and wit, Ketter designed the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
building and wrote several engineering texts while at UB. His practical, engineering-based approach as university president was a calming influence on campus during his eleven-year tenure. In 1981, he retired as president and took a one-year sabbatical before reurning to UB's CEAS as a professor of engineering and applied sciences. He died April 18, 1989. Robert L. Ketter Hall, on the UB campus, is named in his honor.
Earthquake engineering
Earthquake engineering is the scientific field concerned with protecting society, the natural and the man-made environment from earthquakes by limiting the seismic risk to socio-economically acceptable levels...
research and a former president of the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB, University at Buffalo).
A graduate of Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
, Ketter went to UB, then known as the University of Buffalo, in 1957 to inaugurate and head the school's first Department of Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
. He went on to become the Dean of UB's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS), and became University President in 1970, after years of student unrest associated with the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
closed the campus during the spring semester.
A favorite with Civil Engineering students for his earthy style and wit, Ketter designed the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
Buffalo & Erie County Public Library
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library is located on Lafayette Square, Buffalo, New York. The current facility, built in 1963, replaced the original Cyrus Eidlitz Buffalo Public Library Building dedicated in February 1887. The first Buffalo Public Library, in turn, replaced the Erie County, New...
building and wrote several engineering texts while at UB. His practical, engineering-based approach as university president was a calming influence on campus during his eleven-year tenure. In 1981, he retired as president and took a one-year sabbatical before reurning to UB's CEAS as a professor of engineering and applied sciences. He died April 18, 1989. Robert L. Ketter Hall, on the UB campus, is named in his honor.