President Mendenhall accepted the presidency of Whittier College in California, leaving Friends University after 16 years. Students and faculty were devastated by the news. The Alumni Association hosted a farewell dinner honoring the Mendenhalls. During the event, they presented Dr. Mendenhall with a book of letters from hundreds of alumni and former students titled: Sixteen Years at Friends. The class of 1934 gifted a portrait of President Mendenhall, painted by William Dickerson, to the university.