Harold Trevor Colbourn (24 February 1927 – 12 January 2015) was an
Australian professor and
academic administrator
Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...
, who served as the second
president of the
University of Central Florida, previously named Florida Technological University.
Early life and career
Colbourn was born in
Armidale,
New South Wales,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
on 24 February 1927. As a young man, Colbourn and his family moved to
England where he earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree in history at the
University of London. Colbourn then moved to the United States, where he graduated with a
Master of Arts in history from the
College of William and Mary and a
doctorate in history from
Johns Hopkins University.
Colbourn taught history at
Penn State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
and
Indiana University Bloomington before he becoming the graduate dean at the
University of New Hampshire in 1967. In 1973, he was appointed Academic Vice President of
San Diego State University and served as Acting President from 1977 to 1978.
University of Central Florida presidency
On 1 July 1978, Colbourn took office as the second president of the University of Central Florida (UCF). He was appointed by the
Florida Board of Regents on 9 January 1978, to succeed
Charles N. Millican
Charles Norman Millican (October 9, 1916 – December 1, 2010) was an American professor and academic administration, academic administrator. He was the founding List of Presidents of the University of Central Florida, president of the Univers ...
, the founding president of UCF.
Under his leadership, and as the university's academic programs diversified and grew away from its strictly technological and scientific beginnings, Colbourn suggested that the university be renamed. In 1978,
Governor Reubin Askew approved the change of name from Florida Technological University to the University of Central Florida.
He established the university's football program, honors program, the
Central Florida Research Park
The Central Florida Research Park (CFRP) is a research park abutting the main campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, Florida, United States. CFRP is the largest research park in Florida, the fourth largest in the United Stat ...
and numerous satellite branch campuses. During his tenure, enrollment increased from around 11,000 in 1978 to over 18,000 in 1989.
Colbourn stepped-down as university president in June 1989, but remained on the faculty. He was given the title of "President Emeritus" in 1990 and taught classes in history.
Colbourn retired from UCF in 2006 but still remained active in the university community.
Personal life
Colbourn married Beryl Evans in 1949, and has two daughters. He enjoyed swimming, listening to opera and symphony music.
He died at the age of 87 on 12 January 2015.
See also
*
References
External links
Articles about Trevor Colbourn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colbourn, Trevor
1927 births
2015 deaths
People from Armidale
Alumni of the University of London
College of William & Mary alumni
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Presidents of the University of Central Florida