[Letter] 1953 May 13, The White House, Washington [to] President M.D. Whitaker, Bethlehem, Pa. / Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The letter is typed on official White House letterhead. See also Eisenhower's official White House biography (http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/de34.html).

Eisenhower thanks Whitaker for his letter regarding the conferring of an honorary degree upon Dr. A. V. Astin, Director of the National Bureau of Standards; Eisenhower assures Whitaker that this action will not be misconstrued. The decision to honor him "confirms his high standing in the scientific world." Eisenhower also mentions the Secretary of Commerce's public approbation of Astin as well as an ad hoc inquiry at the Bureau. A lifelong military man, Eisenhower made his reputation as the Supreme Commander of troops invading France on D-Day, 1944 at the end of World War II. Postwar, he accepted an appointment as President of Columbia University, and then moved on to assume command over NATO forces assembled in 1951. In 1952 he ran for President, an office which he held for two terms (1953-61). During his Presidency he negotiated the dangers of nuclear proliferation during the Cold War. He retired in 1961 to his farm in Gettysburg. Before becoming President of Lehigh University, Whitaker directed the Atomic Energy Commission Laboratory in Tennessee and helped to develop the atomic bomb. At Lehigh, he facilitated the University's postwar growth, tripling its assets, doubling its endowment, renovating buildings, and increasing professorships by 75 percent.