Charles T. “Tom” Male Jr. ’36, professor emeritus of civil engineering at Union, died July 5, 2007. A lifelong resident of Niskayuna, he was 93.
He joined Union in 1942, the first civil engineering professor at Union with a doctorate, then an unusual distinction in a field where a master’s degree and engineering experience were the norm, according to his longtime colleague, Professor H. Gilbert Harlow.
Male retired in 1984, but continued to teach, advise and attend department and campus gatherings long afterward.
Male came from a family with long ties to the College and its engineering programs. His father, Charles Sr., graduated from Union in 1913 and then taught surveying and engineering mathematics until 1954, when he founded a surveying firm.
He was perhaps most visible on campus as the instructor of a surveying course, which students sometimes referred to as “Fun in the Sun.” In nice weather, a dozen students would be spread around campus, clipboards in hand, as Male checked their progress on what was likely the most surveyed parcel in Schenectady.
Harlow recalled the day that Male’s students, with help from their instructor, lifted the rear end of a car and placed it on blocks so that its owner, a student, would find the wheels spinning in the air as he tried to drive. The next day, again with Male’s help, the students hid the car in the hydraulics laboratory.
Male sometimes cultivated a gruff persona which quickly gave way to a warm and jovial side and a keen interest in helping his students. As a partner in C.T. Male Associates, the surveying firm founded by his father, he offered internships and employment to a number of students and alumni.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from Union in 1936, and master’s and Ph.D. from Cornell University.
His wife, Mildred Garrett Male, whom he married in 1937, died in 1997.
Survivors include three children: C. Thomas Male III of Bridgeport, N.Y.; Gary R. Male of Niskayuna; and Judith M. Henerey of Niskayuna.
Funeral services are set for Monday, July 9, at 11 a.m. at Niskayuna Reformed Church. Calling hours are Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m., at Light’s Funeral Home, 1428 State St., Schenectady.