Gregory Baker Wolfe (January 27, 1922 – December 12, 2015) was a United States

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

during the

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

and

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

administrations,Bill Douthat and Dave Schultz, "Foreign affairs specialist in line for FIU presidency", ''

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'' (February 16, 1979), p. 5A. and later

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of two urban institutions of higher education,

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

,"College President", ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-De ...

(June 16, 1968), p. 10A."President of PSC Named", ''

Albany Democrat-Herald The ''Albany Democrat-Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Albany, Oregon, United States. The paper is owned by the Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, a firm which also owns the daily ''Corvallis Gazette-Times,'' published in the adjacent market of ...

'' (June 12, 1968), p. 1. and

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...

(FIU) in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Early life, education, and military service

Born in

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, to Russian immigrant parents, Wolfe received an undergraduate degree from

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

in Portland, and a doctorate from the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

in Massachusetts. Wolfe served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and was thereafter an

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for the U.S. State Department.Florida International University Office of the President - Past Presidents
.

Academic career

In 1968, Wolfe was named president of Portland State University, which position he held until 1974, when he ran for Congress in the Democrat primary in Portland. He finished third out of seven candidates, and then moved to teach at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

. Wolfe was appointed president of Florida International University in 1979, over the objection of some state legislators who preferred a local candidate for the position. He served until his resignation in 1986, during which time he oversaw significant growth as the university progressed from being an exclusively upper-division school (having no freshman or sophomores) to becoming a four-year college granting post-graduate degrees. He also oversaw the addition of the university's engineering, nursing, and journalism programs. The

State Legislature recognized Wolfe's contributions to the growth and emergence of FIU by naming the Gregory Baker Wolfe University Center, located on FIU's

Biscayne Bay Campus The Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC), located in North Miami, Florida, is a branch campus of Florida International University. With a student body of more than 7,000, it is the largest branch campus in Florida's State University System. FIU's nation ...

, in his honor.

Personal life

Wolfe and his wife Mary Ann had three children. Wolfe died in Coral Gables, Florida.

References

1922 births 2015 deaths American diplomats Presidents of Florida International University Presidents of Portland State University People from Los Angeles The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni Reed College alumni American military personnel of World War II {{US-academic-administrator-1920s-stub