Michael Eaton
Executive Director, National Model United Nations

“The establishment of the Melrose Center for Global Civic Engagement continues Ursinus College’s national leadership in graduating students who are truly global citizens, possessing not only competence in the skills needed to excel in an interdependent world, but also learning from experiences that propel them to civic engagement in areas of social responsibility. The story of the center’s namesake, Ambassador Joseph H. Melrose, Jr., exemplifies the impact a Pennsylvania student can have on international issues as a career diplomat. Equally important, the center will continue his later work as an Ursinus faculty member inspiring by his example generations committed to socially responsible citizenship, locally and globally.”

Travis High ’07
Planning Specialist, Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization

“Naming the center for Joe is very fitting. It will ensure that his many contributions to the Ursinus community during his lifetime will continue for a long time to come.”

Richard Murphy
Former U.S. Career Ambassador to Mauritania, Syria, Philippines and Saudi Arabia

“I had the great pleasure of working with Joe Melrose when we were both serving at the American Embassy in Damascus. He was the Administrative Counselor and I was ambassador when we reopened diplomatic relations with Syria in 1974. We both knew that restarting a relationship, cut for over seven years, with a government intensely suspicious of our activities would be slow and difficult.”

“Joe displayed a talent for listening and working out practical solutions for our presence, a skill which served him well in future years as Consul General in Karachi and in his assignment as ambassador in war torn Sierra Leone. Among his other assignments were helping reorganize our Embassy in Lebanon, devastated by a terrorist bombing in 1983 and as coordinator of the State Department’s reaction to the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington. He knew dangerous situations and unhesitatingly sought to participate in finding ways to their solution.”

“When he returned to his alma mater Ursinus, he energetically involved himself in mentoring his students and their involvement in activities such as model United Nations. Today in our shrinking world we are daily reminded of our interconnections with peoples and cultures different from our own. The promise of the center is great in its programs to involve students in domestic and international affairs. It is fittingly named after Joseph Melrose.”

Ellen Shippy
Former U.S. Ambassador to Malawi

“The project certainly represents the values Joe stood for and worked tirelessly to promote.”

Rabih Torbay
Senior Vice President for International Operations, International Medical Corps

“Having a center named after Ambassador Melrose is an amazing opportunity to show what a great diplomat and humanitarian he was, and how much Ursinus, his alma mater, recognizes the importance of the work he’s done, shaping the lives of many young future global leaders. It also highlights Ursinus’s commitment to global civic engagement.”