The 2026 Black History Month theme, “A Century of Black History Commemorations,” invites reflection on the people whose lives have shaped lasting change. Among them is Charles R. Fuget ’51, PhD whose scholarship and leadership strengthened STEM programs at Geneva and influenced generations of students far beyond our campus through his career in higher education.
Charles “Chuck” Fuget was raised in Rochester, PA, and attended Geneva College to study chemistry from 1947-51. While a student, Fuget was active in school activities. He was the vice president of his senior class and president of the chemistry club during his senior year. He was a member of the YMCA, the chess club, and Geneva’s track team, in which he was a standout performer.
Fuget graduated from Geneva in 1951 before obtaining his master's and PhD in physical chemistry from Penn State. He worked as a research chemist for Standard Oil of New Jersey (which later became Exxon) until he joined Geneva’s faculty in 1956 as assistant professor of chemistry. He worked in the department when Geneva first received approved status with the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 1958. Though he left Geneva for one year in the early ‘60s to work with the State University of New York in Buffalo, he returned to Geneva in 1964 as chairman of the Department of Physics.
He was instrumental in the growth of the physics department during his tenure. Under Fuget's leadership, the department received a grant from the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Science Foundation, the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the Duquesne Light Company, Ohio Edison and Pennsylvania Power Company, and the US Atomic Energy Commission. As part of this grant program, called “This Atomic World,” Fuget served as state coordinator to conduct high school and community programs on the use of atomic energy. Geneva was one of the few small colleges in the nation to receive this recognition.
“Dr. Fuget was one of our heroes,” shares two former students, Sally (Brown) ‘64 and Howard Peters ‘62. The Peters remember him as an excellent teacher who impacted the College in amazing ways. Brilliant and interesting, his chemistry courses were rigorous. He was the only professor who drove students to other college campuses to join in the American Chemical Society’s student meetings. Fuget attended the couple’s 1964 wedding and wrote recommendations for Howard for his post-college job at Gulf Oil near Pittsburgh and again for admission to Stanford University for a graduate program in chemistry. The Peters remember Fuget to be their first Black professor at Geneva. They remained in touch with him until his passing, having reconnected after he retired near them in California.
Fuget remained on faculty at Geneva until 1970, at which time he accepted the position of director of the Division of Natural Science and Mathematics at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. According to a 1970 issue of The Cabinet, Fuget’s new role gave him primary responsibility for the administration of five academic departments, which employed around 100 faculty members in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and geo-science. He retired from IUP as dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 1988 after 17 years of service, later returning from 1991-92 as interim president of the university.
He also served for six years as deputy secretary and commissioner for postsecondary and higher education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, from which he retired in 1991. In the role, Fuget acted as chief policy advisor for postsecondary education and supervised offices responsible for equal educational opportunity, teacher preparation and certification, postsecondary services, adult basic and literacy education, and correction education.
In 2002, he used his decades of experience in higher education as interim president at Bennett College in North Carolina (where he had previously served as special assistant to the president). A few years later, in 2004, he served as interim president of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Fuget’s administrative capabilities, leadership excellence, and good-natured personality were a blessing to many impacted by his presence in higher education.
Fuget was also active in the United Methodist Church, engaged in various roles throughout his years including service on the board of higher education and ministry in the denomination.
In 1974, Geneva awarded Fuget with the Distinguished Service Award, which celebrates alumni who embody the principles for which Geneva College stands and whose efforts on behalf of the college, community, and nation have been exemplary. Sixteen years later, in 1990, Fuget was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from Geneva.
Geneva celebrated 40 years of American Chemistry Society approval in 1998, marked by a ceremony which included a $4,000 donation to the ACS Scholars Program – the first gift from a higher education institution in support of the program. Geneva’s then-president John H. White presented the donation, explaining that “the gift represents a continuation of the school’s tradition of providing education and support for African American students.” To honor this ACS milestone, as well as Geneva’s 150 years of Christian higher education, Howard and Sally Peters organized the Geneva Chemistry Event in October 1998 on Geneva’s campus, at which three presidents from the National Chemistry Association were in attendance as well as Fuget, who traveled in from Detroit, Michigan.
Former chairman of the chemistry department, Dave Badger ‘64, PhD recalls having two-thirds of his chemistry classes with Fuget, who he remembers as “a great teacher and a great person.”
Dr. Charles Fuget passed away in 2016, yet his commitment to shaping the future through education endures through the institutions, programs, and lives he impacted throughout his career.
By Erika Kauffman '20
Historical information sourced by Kae H. Kirkwood '83, Geneva College Archival Librarian.
Sources include:
- Fisk/Imes: 100 Year of Building the Black Scientific Workforce Program Guide
- A Geneva College Tradition: 150 Years of Christian Higher Education & 40 Years of ACS Approval
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