First University President's Family visits C.W. Post Campus

From left: Tristram Walker Metcalfe III, Susan LaRock, Tristram Walker Metcalfe IV, Rosy Lea Metcalfe

It was Sunday afternoon in 1947 when Tristram Walker Metcalfe, then president of Long Island University, headed out to Nassau County in his maroon Studebaker with his wife, son, daughter in law and two grandchildren. The intent was not just another ride through the winding country roads of the North Shore. This man held a dream close to his heart: Metcalfe was searching for a location on which Long Island University could expand eastward into Nassau County. This was just one of many trips to Long Island’s famed Gold Coast for the man who would spend five years of his life making his personal mission come to fruition.

While exploring the area, Metcalfe visited many formidable estates with the potential to be converted into a college campus, but most were not maintained well enough for the university to easily move in and begin classes. Not a man to yield to disappointment, Metcalfe and his entourage continued on, taking another chance when they pulled their car into the Davies estate, the home of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. Immediately, it felt right. Metcalfe knew he found the ideal locale for a new college campus and he excitedly reported back to the Long Island University board of trustees.

Memories of that groundbreaking visit were relived recently as Metcalfe’s grandchildren, Tristram III and Susan – who accompanied him on many of his visits to the estate -- returned to the C.W. Post Campus for an informal tour on March 15, 2004. Needless to say, both were astounded and overwhelmed by the vast amount of growth the campus has experienced over its 50-year history, turning from a magical world of Gold Coast grandeur into a thriving educational forum.

In recounting their childhood visits, Susan stated how astonished she was to see how their grandfather’s vision had materialized from a gold coast estate into the beautiful campus it is today. She remembered vividly the many hours she and her brother, then 6 and 4 respectively, spent playing in the mansion while their parents and grandparents walked around the property discussing plans for the new campus.

The Metcalfes brought with them a treasure trove of documentation pertaining to the early years of the University, including rare 8mm color film showing their grandfather walking outside of the mansion just prior to its purchase by the University. The Metcalfes also loaned the University numerous never-before-seen photographs that they took during one of their visits.

President Metcalfe died in 1952 before seeing his dream of expanding the University fully realized. "I know my grandfather is looking down and is very pleased at the success the campus is today," stated Susan Metcalfe LaRock, now of Massachusetts.