Spring 2002

Retired Chemical Engineering Head Sam Hite Dies

Sam Hite, known as a demanding teacher and a leader in the development of the Rose-Hulman Department of Chemical Engineering, died March 8 in Terre Haute at the age of 79.   Hite was chemical engineering department head and professor of chemical engineering at Rose-Hulman from 1966 until his retirement in 1989. 

As he reflected on years at Rose-Hulman, Hite said his biggest achievement as department head was, "to strengthen and stress the fundamentals of chemical engineering."  When asked to describe a good teacher, he replied, "To be a good teacher you've got to like your students and your subject.  You can't be an easy mark.  You must be demanding, but you must be realistic in those demands.  You must be helpful to the students." 

Rose-Hulman honored Hite several times for his teaching skills. He was a recipient of the Dean's Outstanding Teacher Award, the Inland-Ryerson Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award and he was named the Robert Shattuck Distinguished Professor of Engineering.    The Sam C. Hite Award is given each year by the Department of Chemical Engineering faculty to the senior who displays the greatest promise for a successful career in the chemical engineering field.