Frank Loucks Hereford Jr. (July 18, 1923 – September 21, 2004) was the president of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

from 1974 to 1985. He died in 2004 at the age of 81. Among the hallmarks of his presidency were a major capital campaign, which increased the university's endowment from $97 million to more than $250 million; and ending the traditional Easters Weekend party.

Biography

Hereford attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate, where he wrote a sports column for ''College Topics'' (the precursor of ''

The Cavalier Daily ''The Cavalier Daily'' is an independent, student-run daily news organization at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1890, under the name ''College Topics'', ''The Cavalier Daily'' is Virginia's oldest collegiate daily and the oldest daily new ...

'')Dabney, p. 244. and sang in the

Virginia Glee Club The Virginia Glee Club is a men's chorus based at the University of Virginia. It performs both traditional and contemporary vocal works typically in TTBB arrangements. Founded in 1871, the Glee Club is the university's oldest musical organization ...

. He received a B.A. in physics in 1943, became a physics fellow working under

Jesse Beams Jesse Wakefield Beams (December 25, 1898 in Belle Plaine, Kansas – July 23, 1977) was an American physicist at the University of Virginia. Biography Beams completed his undergraduate B.A. in physics at Fairmount College in 1921 and his mas ...

after the war, and received his Ph.D. from the university.Dabney, p. 264. During the war years, he worked on research for the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

with Dr. Beams, who called him "one of the best all around physicists with whom I have ever been associated." He subsequently became a professor at the university, then became head of the Physics Department and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1962. He was appointed provost in 1966.Dabney, p. 431. He was appointed vice-president of the university (one of five newly created VP-level offices) in 1970, but resigned his posts of vice-president and Dean to return to research in 1971.Dabney, p. 457. He was elected president to succeed Edgar Shannon in 1973 and took office a year later on the condition that he only serve for ten years; he extended his term by one year to oversee the completion of the university's first capital campaign, which began in 1981. At the university as an undergraduate, Hereford was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Secret societies at the University of Virginia#T.I.L.K.A., T.I.L.K.A., and the Alpha Tau Omega social fraternity, as well as the Raven Society and Phi Beta Kappa.Dabney, p. 595. Upon his death, it was announced that Hereford had been a member of the Seven Society. He was also a member of the whites-only Farmington Country Club. Where his predecessor Edgar F. Shannon Jr. had resigned from the club, Hereford stated that he preferred to remain and attempt to change the club from within.Dabney, p. 486. His membership caused controversy at the university in 1976, resulting in one faculty resignation."Jeffersonian Dilemma"
''Time (magazine), Time'', February 9, 1976. The incident became the catalyst for social change at the university including the establishment of an Office of Minority Affairs. Hereford was a recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Award in 1966,Dabney, 601. and the Raven Award. The Hereford College, Hereford Residential College at UVA is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hereford, Frank Presidents of the University of Virginia University of Virginia faculty University of Virginia alumni 1923 births 2004 deaths Burials at the University of Virginia Cemetery 20th-century American academics