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William Gordon Bowen (; October 6, 1933October 20, 2016) was an American academic who served as the
president emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, serving as its president from 1988 to 2006. From 1972 until 1988, he was the president of
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
. Bowen founded the digital library, JSTOR.


Early life

William Bowen was born on October 6, 1933 in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. He was the son of Albert and Bernice Bowen. Albert Bowen was a calculator salesman and Bernice Bowen worked as a dorm mother at the University of Cincinnati. Bowen graduated from Wyoming High School. He attended
Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...
, where he played championship tennis and was initiated into the
Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...
fraternity. He graduated from Denison in 1955 and from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
in 1958, where he earned a PhD.


Career

Bowen joined the Princeton faculty in 1958, specializing in labor economics. In 1967 he became the university's provost, and served as the seventeenth president of the university from 1972 to 1988. In 1988, Bowen left Princeton to become president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, where he created a research program to investigate doctoral education, collegiate admissions, independent research libraries, and charitable nonprofits in order to ensure that the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's grants would be well-informed and more effective. William Bowen was also partially responsible for JSTOR, the Mellon International Dunhuang Archive,
ARTstor Artstor is a nonprofit organization that builds and distributes the Digital Library, an online resource of more than 2.5 million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences, and Shared Shelf, a Web-based cataloging and image manageme ...
, and Ithaka Harbors, Inc. Bowen authored 19 books, including the
Grawemeyer Award The Grawemeyer Awards () are five awards given annually by the University of Louisville. The prizes are presented to individuals in the fields of education, ideas improving world order, music composition, religion, and psychology. The religion awa ...
-winning ''The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions'' (co-authored with
Derek Bok Derek Curtis Bok (born March 22, 1930) is an American lawyer and educator, and the former president of Harvard University. Life and career Bok was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Following his parents' divorce, he, his mother, brother and siste ...
). One of his books, ''Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education'' (2005), was coauthored with Eugene M. Tobin and Martin A. Kurzweil. Bowen's study of graduation rates at public universities in the United States culminated in the book ''Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities'' that was coauthored with Matthew M. Chingos and Michael S. McPherson. Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead appointed him and Julius L. Chambers to evaluate the performance of Duke University's administration in handling the alarming. Bowen died on October 20, 2016, fourteen days after his 83rd birthday, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. He is buried in the Presidents' Plot at the
Princeton Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. John F. Hageman in his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United Stat ...
.


Positions held

*Founding chairman of the Board of Ithaka. *Trustee on the Board of the ''Trust Committee'' that oversaw the
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brot ...
trusts. *Served on the following boards: JSTOR,
ARTstor Artstor is a nonprofit organization that builds and distributes the Digital Library, an online resource of more than 2.5 million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences, and Shared Shelf, a Web-based cataloging and image manageme ...
, Ithaka, Board of Overseers of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund. Former board member of American Express, Merck & Co, Inc., and the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development. *Former
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
of
economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
and public affairs at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
.


Awards and recognition

Bowen was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1973 and a member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1978. In 2013, he received a 2012
National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...
from President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
. In 2008, he received the José Vasconcelos World Award of Education for his lifetime's work creating educational opportunities. In 2001, he received 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 o ...
Grawemeyer Award The Grawemeyer Awards () are five awards given annually by the University of Louisville. The prizes are presented to individuals in the fields of education, ideas improving world order, music composition, religion, and psychology. The religion awa ...
for his book written with
Derek Bok Derek Curtis Bok (born March 22, 1930) is an American lawyer and educator, and the former president of Harvard University. Life and career Bok was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Following his parents' divorce, he, his mother, brother and siste ...
, ''The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions''.


See also

*
Baumol's cost disease Baumol's cost disease, also known as the Baumol effect, is the rise of wages in jobs that have experienced little or no increase in labor productivity, in response to rising salaries in other jobs that have experienced higher productivity growth ...


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, William G. 1933 births 2016 deaths American economists Cultural economists Denison University alumni Princeton University alumni Princeton University faculty Presidents of Princeton University National Humanities Medal recipients Burials at Princeton Cemetery People from Cincinnati Members of the American Philosophical Society