“We wrote a play one summer, and they put it on,” he recalled. It was something of a variation of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” He remembered how the Dramatic Society would write its own plays, melodies and all. Although, as he recalled, members did hire a professional to arrange the music for an orchestra.

As chairman of the Stevens Board of Trustees, Bissinger had to wrangle with the professors during a strike in the 1970s, and he remembers quite simply just not having enough money to please everyone. Somehow, as he recalled, a union official told the professors to stay on strike, and they’d get paid. Mr. Bissinger had a different view. “No work, no pay,” as he put it, “so they went back to work.”

The first female trustee was under his watch, although that presented its own problems. Besides the concerns about finding someone who wasn’t just out to make a name for herself (they side-stepped that issue by picking someone from the Stevens family), Bissinger recalled the concern of what to do with bathrooms and how that had to be addressed in the dorms when Stevens went co-ed in 1971.

Of his younger years in Corporate America, Mr. Bissinger spoke of traveling to Europe frequently in an effort to gather industrial information. He told one story of taking a photo of a Russian soldier who was on duty in the Russian zone of Berlin. After Mr. Bissinger took the photo, the soldier got angry and started to confront him. Pretending not to understand German, Bissinger slowly walked across the sidewalk that served as the border, even though he can recall some other foreigners thinking that it would be a good idea to confront the soldier, or as he remembered it, “Give him hell, Yank!”

Finally, I asked about his house in Rhode Island or “the farm,” as he called it. He still had plans to spend the summer months up there, even though he could no longer make the drive himself. A picture nearby showed him sitting in a rocking chair, smiling at his farm from a summer past.

He had seen quite a bit in his life and, in the time I spent with him, he seemed to be making the most of this current stage, as I can imagine he always did. He seemed to be quite happy in his role as a grandfather; he had those stories down pat.

Toward the end of my last visit, I asked him of another alumnus, Alexander Calder ’19. He was quick to remember that they were both in Delta Tau Delta, albeit years apart. The words he left with me to describe Calder are ones that I find equally fitting to describe Mr. Bissinger: He was a very good guy, and very down to earth.

Michael Lutkenhouse ’08 served as editor in chief of The Stute from 2006 to 2008 and now works as an engineer with the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Maryland.

 

Bissinger’33 left ‘remarkable record of devotion’ to Stevens

Frederick L. Bissinger, M.S. ’36, Hon. D.Eng. ’73 of Chevy Chase, Md., a true Stevens stalwart who served as president of Allied Chemical Corporation, was a former chairman and longtime member of the Stevens Board of Trustees and a supporter of the Institute for more than half a century, died on March 3, 2009. He was 98. Mr. Bissinger enjoyed a long and distinguished professional career, as both a top executive and attorney. He showed remarkable talent and drive early on. Fresh out of Stevens in 1933, Mr. Bissinger served as a chemistry instructor at Stevens until 1936, while also earning his master’s degree in chemical engineering from Stevens and attending Fordham University Law School at night. He earned his law degree in 1938 and had started his career earlier as a patent attorney with the law firm of Pennie, Davis, Marvin & Edmonds in New York in 1936, working with the firm until 1942. He then joined the Industrial Rayon Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio, where he rose from patent counsel to vice president of Research and, later, president. Following a merger of Industrial Rayon with the Midland-Ross Corp., he became a group vice president of Midland-Ross and later served as vice president and director of the Stauffer Chemical Corporation. In 1965, Mr. Bissinger joined the Allied Chemical Corporation in New York, where he served as president and retired as vice chairman in 1976. After his retirement, he served as counsel to Pennie & Edmonds. Mr. Bissinger held directorships with the National Association of American Manufacturers, Midland National Bank, Otis Elevator Corp., Societe de Chimie Industrielle, Walter Power Corp. and the Selas Corporation of America. For his outstanding achievements in his field, he received the Stevens Honor Award in 1974. Mr. Bissinger joined the Stevens Board of Trustees in 1963 and served as chairman from 1971 to 1983. He was a generous supporter of Stevens and was a member of the Edwin A. Stevens Society, the Institute’s prestigious donors group. Mr. Bissinger made a major donation to renovate the Bissinger Room inside the Wesley J. Howe Center in the 1980s. This well-loved room, with its wonderful views of Manhattan and the Hudson River, serves as the home for many important events on campus, from Alumni Weekend dinners to Stevens Jazz Band concerts and other special events. “Fred Bissinger, during a lifetime of high achievement, continued to give selflessly of his time and resources to his beloved alma mater,” said Stevens President Harold J. Raveché. “He remained active and engaged in affairs of the university as a student, alumnus, trustee and, finally, a trustee emeritus for more than 75 years—a remarkable record of devotion to our institution.” Mr. Bissinger served as a trustee and member of the executive committee of Fordham University, a trustee of the Foundation of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and as a member of the New York State Economic Development Board. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society and the New York Academy of Sciences, among others. A profile of Mr. Bissinger in Chemical Week, published when he became president of Allied Chemical in 1969, spoke of his management skill, his approachability with his employees and his fairness. “His reputation for ethics and strong moral character stood out even in an age of higher business standards,” according to the Saknonnet Times of Portsmouth, R.I. As a Stevens student, Mr. Bissinger served as editor in chief of The Stute and The Link and was a member of Khoda, the Student Council, the Stevens Dramatic Society, the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, Pi Delta Epsilon, the journalism honor society, the Glee Club and the Interfraternity Council. Born in New York City, he lived in Bronxville, N.Y., for many years before moving to Chevy Chase, Md. He had a summer home at Bayberry Farm in Little Compton, R.I. which he enjoyed surrounded by his children and grandchildren. “He never really became old,” his family told the Sakonnet Times. “His enthusiasm and talent for playing the piano allowed him to accompany the singing of ‘Happy Birthday’ at his 98th birthday party in January.” Mr. Bissinger is survived by his wife, Barbara Simmonds Bissinger; a son, Frederick L., Jr., of Villanova, Pa.; a daughter, Elizabeth Vianna of Northville, N.Y., and Placido, Fla; three stepsons, Albert C. Simmonds, IV, of Maryland, John H. Simmonds of Maryland and Mark C. Simmonds of California; a stepdaughter, Noelle S. Wood of Maryland; a sister, Elsie Lienau of Buenos Aries, Argentina; three grandchildren; 11 step grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. His first wife, Julia Stork Bissinger, died in 1989.

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