Leslie Stephen Wright (1913–1997) was an American educator.
/ref> He served as the President of

Samford University Samford University is a private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama. In 1841, the university was founded as Howard College by Baptists. Samford University describes itself as the 87th oldest institution of higher learning in the United Sta ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

from 1958 to 1983.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

in 1913. He received a B.A. in 1936 and an M.A. in 1939, both from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Career

From 1936 to 1941, he taught in schools in Kentucky and Alabama. In 1941, he worked for

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

and, in 1942, for the

War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Sup ...

. He served as the state director for the Civilian Production Administration and the Alabama Savings Bond division of the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

from 1947 to 1950. From 1950 to 1954, he worked for Democratic Senator J. Lister Hill. From 1954 to 1958, he was executive secretary of the Baptist Foundation of Alabama. He served as President of Samford University from 1958 to 1983. From 1964 to 1965, he served as the seventeenth President of the

Alabama Historical Association The Alabama Historical Association (est. 1947) of Alabama, United States, is an historical society that aims to "discover, procure, preserve, and diffuse whatever may relate to the natural, civil, literary, cultural, economic, ecclesiastical, and p ...

. He was also President of the Alabama Writers Conclave from 1965 to 1967. He was a member of the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

, the

Association of American Colleges The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It works to improve quality and equity in undergraduate education and advance liberal education. ...

, the

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education ...

, the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and the Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools. He also belonged to the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

and the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

. He served on the Alabama Selection Committee for

Rhodes Scholars The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, the Alabama Educational Television Commission, and the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 by ...

. He was awarded honorary degrees by

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

and the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. The Leslie S. Wright Fine Arts Center at Samford University is named in his honor.Leslie S. Wright Fine Arts Center
/ref>

Personal life

He was married to Lolla Catherine Wurtele, and they had two sons, Leslie Stephen and John King.

Bibliography

*''The Origin and History of the Louisville and Portland Canal'' (1939) *''Henry Ford and Muscle Shoals'' (1960) *''Samford University: From Far Belt to Space Age'' (1969)

References

1913 births 1997 deaths People from Birmingham, Alabama University of Louisville alumni Samford University people {{ULouisville-stub