Exley Classroom Dedicated to Late Professor Max Tishler

Members of the Wesleyan community gathered outside the Exley Science Center classroom Sept. 6 to remember the work, mentorship and memory of Max Tishler. The classroom is now named “Tishler Lecture Hall.”

Max Tishler touched countless numbers of chemistry students at Wesleyan. He was the president of Merck, Sharpe & Dohme Laboratories during the 50’s and 60’s before accepting a faculty position with Wesleyan’s Chemistry Department. He taught from the late ‘60’s to ’75, but stayed on afterwards to do research. He passed away in 1989. His widow, Elizabeth Verveer “Betty” Tishler, was a co-partner in her husband’s legacy and a living Wesleyan legend in her own right.

The room was named through of the generosity of Joshua ’73 and Amy Boger P’06 and P’09. At Wesleyan, Tishler was Boger’s mentor and with Tishler’s sponsorship, Boger rose to the leadership of Merck research before leaving to co-found Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Boger is currently the chair of Wesleyan’s Science Advisory Council and a member of Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees. The Bogers have also supported undergraduate financial aid at Wesleyan.