Thomas B. Day
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Brennock Day (March 7, 1932June 15, 2021) was an American scientist and university administrator. He served as the president of
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
(SDSU) from 1978 to 1996.


Early life

Day was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
on March 7, 1932. He was the youngest of six children of an insurance salesman and department store clerk. His father died when Day was three years old. His interest in mathematics and science was piqued after reading
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
and listening to stories from his older brother, an engineer who was employed on railroad bridges and tunnels. Day later attended Catholic boarding schools and was awarded a scholarship to attend college. He studied at the
University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
on the recommendation of his mother, graduating with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
in Physics in 1952. He went on to obtain a
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in Physics from
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
in 1957.


Career

Day first worked as a research assistant and later a professor in the physics department at the
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
in College Park, specializing in theoretical and experimental physics. In 1970, Day became the Vice Chancellor for Academic Planning and Policy at the College Park campus and was later appointed the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the Baltimore campus. Eight years later, he was appointed the sixth president of
SDSU San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
. During his tenure, Day was credited with turning SDSU into a major public research university on par with the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...
system by increasing grants and research awards. He was also responsible for expanding the campus infrastructure of SDSU, inaugurating a
North County North County is a region in the northern area of San Diego County, California. It is the second-most populous region in the county (after San Diego), with an estimated population of 869,322. North County is well known for its affluence, especial ...
campus in
Vista Vista usually refers to a distant view. Vista may also refer to: Software *Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007 * VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...
– the precursor of
California State University San Marcos California State University San Marcos (CSUSM or Cal State San Marcos) is a public university in San Marcos, California. It was founded in 1989 as the 21st campus in the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. CSUSM offers 43 bachel ...
– and helping to establish the present-day School of Public Health and the School of Communication. He advocated for affirmative action programs and selected Mary Alice Hill in 1983 to be the first female athletic director at a university with a
Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...
football program. Facing budget shortfalls in 1992, Day proposed sharp cuts that would have eliminated whole departments and laid off faculty. In August 1992, faculty passed a vote of no confidence in Day and asked the California State University Board of Trustees to replace him. An improvement in the budget situation led to the cuts being rescinded, but Day remained unpopular on campus, and was ultimately asked to resign, ostensibly for health reasons. Day was a member of the
National Science Board The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. The NSB also serves as an ind ...
from 1984 to 1996 and a vice-chairman from 1990 to 1994. He was also a Senior Fellow of the
California Council on Science and Technology The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization designed to offer expert advice to the California state government and to recommend solutions to science and technology-related pol ...
and a former board member.


Personal life

Day married Anne Kohlbrenner (June 19, 1930 – March 9, 2013) in 1953. They met at a party while attending Notre Dame. Together, they had nine children. They remained married for 60 years until 2013,Anne Day's obituary
/ref> when she died at the age of 82 due to complications from renal failure. Day died on the evening of June 15, 2021, at an assisted living center in Rancho Bernardo, San Diego. He was 89 years old.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Thomas B 1932 births 2021 deaths Cornell University alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Scientists from New York City University of Maryland, College Park faculty Presidents of San Diego State University Fellows of the American Physical Society