Introduction
Presidential Contributions
Father of Engineering Economics
Alexander C. Humphreys Foundation
Early Years
Career
Family
Professional Societies
Father of Engineering Economics
Alexander C. Humphreys Foundation
Early Years
Career
Family
Professional Societies
Introduction
Alexander Crombie Humphreys was a notable scholar and educator. While holding the position of superintendent of the Bayonne Gas Light Company, Humphreys enrolled as a part time student at Stevens Institute of Technology. Following his graduation in 1881, Humphreys became a recognized leader in gas engineering and established his own engineering firms in London and New York.
In 1902, following the death of Henry Morton, Humphreys was elected President of Stevens Institute of Technology. His administration at Stevens was marked by great progress and growth of the student body. This earned Humphreys the highest respect and affection from faculty and graduates during his presidency.
Presidential Contributions
When Dr. Morton’s death in 1902 made it necessary to choose a successor to the presidency, there was overwhelming support that Dr. Alexander Crombie Humphreys was the ideal man for the position. Thus, by unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees and endorsement of alumni, Humphreys was elected President of Stevens Institute of Technology on June 5th, 1902. President Humphreys began his duties in September 1902 and was formally inaugurated on February 5th, 1903. Under the presidency of Humphreys, Stevens Institute of Technology grew, developed and prospered. The enrollment of Students in October 1902 was 291, and by 1926 rose to 436.
Physically, many additions to the campus were brought about. In 1909, Stevens seized the opportunity to acquire Castle Point from Richard Stevens inclusive of the prominent Stevens Family Castle constructed in 1853. Further, the athletic field was developed, the Morton Memorial Laboratory was built, and the Carnegie Laboratory of Engineering was organized. In 1908, President Humphreys formally introduced the Stevens Honor System to the institution. Since its adoption, the honor system has become a core value of the Institute with a mission to foster integrity, honor and fair play amongst the members of the Stevens community.
Additionally, Humphreys carried Stevens through periods of financial stress and prevailed to keep Stevens the one independent technical college in the greater New York metropolitan area, despite meager endowments.
Dr. Humphreys combined, in his rare personality, great natural charm and a sense of duty, which for him was the “pursuit of happiness.” Colonel Miller, a distinguished Stevens alumni and long time trustee writes: “Dr. Humphreys thought of and worked for others. He could not refuse help to anyone needing it; and for many years before his death he seemed to spend two-thirds of his time laboring for others, the strain of which greatly shortened his life.”
Although Humphreys lacked the temperament usually associated with fundraising, his unique qualities and objectives brought in contributions in excess of $3.5MM. Humphreys also included two scholarships of $5,000 each, and donated $20,000 to Stevens Institute of Technology in his will.
Father of Engineering Economics
Alexander Crombie Humphreys is the father of Engineering Economics. Engineering Economics has become a cornerstone of a Stevens education and is indispensable to its graduates in American Industry. Such knowledge has already become so fundamental to the operation of American industry that is its now recognized as a profession in itself, now called Engineering Economics. One cannot function in engineering today without knowing the methods of cost accounting, work simplification, distribution and marketing, business organization and finance, material handling, quality control, statistics, industrial relations, patent law, and depreciation.
In the publication “What Stevens and American Industry Owe to Alexander C. Humphreys”, it is stated that “ If industry is to look to Stevens for the new source knowledge, the informed leaders, and the implementation of the activity that Dr. Humphreys fathered, then we have a genuinely big job to do…We must go beyond the mere operating funds with which Dr. Humphreys’ concept has been developed over the past 50 years…It is time to fully endow the permanent chair of Engineering Economics.” Thus, the Alexander Crombie Humphreys foundation was established.
Alexander C. Humphreys Foundation
The Alexander C. Humphreys foundation was founded in 1950 to call attention to President Humphreys’ pioneer work in the field of Engineering Economics. The foundation endows a “Humphreys Chair of Economics of Engineering” as means continuing the legacy of Engineering Economic Education at Stevens Institute of Technology.
In a letter from an anonymous Stevens Alum who contributed to the endowment of the Alexander Crombie Humphreys Chair, it is stated:
“My own early training got no further than bookkeeping. I have always regretted my lack of fundamental knowledge in the Economics of Engineering. To my mind, there is no more important field in which to initiate research at Stevens Tech and in which to train young men of outstanding ability, than in the Economics of Engineering. President Humphreys was a pioneer in this subject and I believe no more fitting memorial to his memory could be established than a strong department carrying on the instruction and research in the field which was so near to his heart.”
Since the establishment of the foundation, there have been three Endowed Chairs: William Duane Ennis (appointed 1929), Arthur Lesser Jr (1955), Donald N. Merino (2002) William Rouse (2013).
Early Years
Alexander Crombie Humphreys was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and cameto the United States with his parents at the age of eight. Humphreys’ first home was in Boston, where his early education was obtained. At fourteen, Humphreys passed the entrance examination to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, but as he was not sixteen he was refused admittance. His first business position was in a trust company, but before long he turned his attention to chemistry, and engineering, and along those paths his career continued.
Career
After a few years in the employment of an insurance company, Humphreys became secretary and superintendent of the Bayonne Gas Light Company. While holding that position, Humphreys was determined to acquire a technical education. In 1877, Humphreys entered Stevens Institute of Technology as a part time student. He finished in four years a course which he had been told would take six years to accomplish. He graduated in 1881.
From there on, Humphreys became a recognized leader in gas engineering . In 1881, Dr. Humphreys became Chief Engineer of the Pintsch Lighting Company of New York and in 1885, Humphreys was made superintendent and Chief Engineer of the United Gas and Improvement Company of Philadelphia. In 1894, Humphreys established his own engineering firms in London and New York for the purpose of designing, constructing and supervising the operations of many extensive water and gas plants in the USA and internationally. In 1908, Humphreys retired from the London Branch, and two years later reorganized the New York office as Humphreys & Miller Inc.
Family
Alexander Crombie Humphreys was married Miss Eva Guillaudeu of Bergen Point, NJ. 
They had three children in total: Harold, Crombie and Dorothy Caroline Humphreys-Turnbull. Harold (1877-1901) and Crombie (1884-1901) drowned tragically in the Nile River on February 12th,1901. Harold Humphreys was a graduate of the Stevens Class of 1899 and was the first son of a graduate to go through the college.
Dr. Humphreys died at his home in Morristown, New Jersey on August 14th , 1927. He was battling cancer.
Professional Societies
Many of the leading engineering societies chose Humphreys to lead their organization and he had been president of the American Institute of Consulting Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Gas Institute, American Gas Light Association, the Engineers Club and other important technical and social organizations. Humphreys was also member and trustee of the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching and assisted in founding the American Society for Engineering Education. These affiliations brought Humphreys into intimate contact with leading men in many walks of life. His ability, high character and strong personality inspired the admiration and respect of many.
