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Brigadier General
Archie Higdon
Permanent Professor 1958–1967
B.S., South Dakota State College
M.S., Iowa State University
Ph.D., Iowa State University
Archie Higdon, the Academy’s 4th Permanent Professor, was born in a log cabin in Saline, Missouri, in 1905. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Speech in 1928 from South Dakota State College (now University), Brookings. He entered graduate school at Iowa State University, Ames, where he earned his Master’s degree in 1930 and his PhD in 1936. His major was Applied Mathematics and his minor was Theoretical Physics. Archie taught at North Dakota State University, Fargo, for 4 years and Iowa State for 15 years, with an interruption from 1942 to 1946 when he served in the US Army Air Corps. He was recalled to active duty in 1951 during the Korean War and taught at the United States Military Academy for two years. (When he arrived at West Point his name was already well known in the Mechanics Department—they were using his textbook!) In 1954 Archie was recruited to come to the United States Air Force Academy as Professor and Head of the Department of Mathematics. However, mechanics was the field of his national reputation, so when the Department of Mechanics was formed in 1956, Archie was made the Professor and Head of that new department. He was appointed Permanent Professor in 1958. In the Academy’s formative years, Archie had a powerful influence on the curriculum and the facilities to support it. He served as Chair of the Basic Sciences Division and later Chair of the Engineering Sciences Division. As an additional duty, he was Acting Head, Department of Physics, from 1959 to 1961. While the Academy was still in Denver, he was given the lead to design the science and engineering laboratories for the new permanent site. He drew from colleagues across the nation and worked with the architects to ensure these top-rate facilities were built and ready for the Cadet Wing’s move in 1959. Over his distinguished career, Archie authored numerous articles on engineering education published in professional journals. His best-selling definitive textbooks include the co-authored Engineering Mechanics (1949) and Mechanics of Materials (1960), both of which were republished many times. From 1963 to 1964 he was on sabbatical as Assistant Director of Undergraduate Study Goals of Engineering Education for the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). In 1965 Archie returned to his position as Head of the Department of Mechanics, but that same year he moved to the Dean’s office as Associate Dean for Basic and Engineering Sciences. When that position was merged into the new position of Vice Dean in 1966, Archie was once again made Head of the Department of Mathematics, coming full circle back to the position he had founded a dozen years earlier. He was promoted to brigadier general and retired from active duty in 1967.
Following his retirement, Archie Higdon became Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology at California State Polytechnic College, San Luis Obispo, where he served until 1972. In his second retirement, he continued a varied career as an engineering and technical education consultant, working with the state-level commissions in Colorado, Florida, Arkansas, Utah, and California. He has received several awards from ASEE. In 1974 he became an Honorary Member. In 1977 the Mechanics Division of ASEE established the Archie Higdon Distinguished Educator Award and Archie became the first recipient. He received their Distinguished Service Citation in 1979. He died in 1989 and is buried in the Air Force Academy Cemetery..