Asa Smallidge Knowles (January 15, 1909 – August 11, 1990) was the ninth President of the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...

and the third President of Northeastern University. A graduate of

Thayer Academy Thayer Academy (TA) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory day school located in Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. The academy, conceived in 1871 at the bequest of General Sylvanus Thayer, known as the father of the United Sta ...

, Knowles went on to earn his AB from Bowdoin College in 1930 and his MA from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

a few years later. Knowles began his teaching career at Northeastern, leaving for several years to attend several administrative positions at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

, the Associated Colleges of Upper New York (1946–1948), Cornell University (1948–1951), and the University of Toledo. During his time as president of Northeastern, lasting from 1959 to 1975, he expanded the physical campus and changed Northeastern's image from a "technical school" to a more professional university. Significantly, during his tenure, enrollment at Northeastern was increased from 15,000 undergraduates all the way up to 35,000, and up to 50 academic programs were added.

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External links

Th
Asa S. Knowles papers, 1836–1990 (bulk 1920–1983)
are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Asa S. 1909 births 1990 deaths American industrial engineers University of Rhode Island faculty Cornell University faculty Bowdoin College alumni Boston University alumni People from Hancock County, Maine Thayer Academy alumni Presidents of the University of Toledo Presidents of Northeastern University 20th-century American engineers 20th-century American academics