Francis L. Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Francis Leo Lawrence was the eighteenth president
of Rutgers University
, serving from 1990 to 2002.
, where he graduated from Mount St. Charles Academy in 1955. Lawrence earned his bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in French and Spanish in 1959. He was awarded an NDEA fellowship for graduate study and earned a Doctor of Philosophy
(Ph.D.) degree in French classical literature from Tulane University
in 1962.
Before his appointment as President of Rutgers University in 1990, Lawrence was Academic Vice President and Provost at Tulane University, where he had also served as Dean of Newcomb College and Dean of the Graduate School. He is married to Mary Kathryn Long Lawrence. They have four children and thirteen grandchildren.
Lawrence has served as President of the North American Society for French Seventeenth Centurey Literature, on editorial boards for several scholarly journals, as the board chair of a monograph series, on the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, and on the boards of several national higher education organizations. He retired from the office of president in 2002. As President Emeritus, he has returned to teaching, with an appointment as University Professor at Rutgers.
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, serving from 1990 to 2002.
Early years
Francis Leo Lawrence was born in Woonsocket, Rhode IslandWoonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts border....
, where he graduated from Mount St. Charles Academy in 1955. Lawrence earned his bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in French and Spanish in 1959. He was awarded an NDEA fellowship for graduate study and earned a Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(Ph.D.) degree in French classical literature from Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in 1962.
Before his appointment as President of Rutgers University in 1990, Lawrence was Academic Vice President and Provost at Tulane University, where he had also served as Dean of Newcomb College and Dean of the Graduate School. He is married to Mary Kathryn Long Lawrence. They have four children and thirteen grandchildren.
Presidency of Rutgers
Lawrence's twelve year tenure at Rutgers was received with a mix of criticism and praise. He was praised for impressive fundraising efforts,the improvement of undergraduate education and for the increased academic quality of incoming students, as well as the construction of new academic facilities for the Mason Gross School of the Arts, the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and the Rutgers-Newark Center for Law and Justice. He was criticized for promoting "big time" athletics, which, many objected, lowered university prestige and diverted funds away from academic purposes. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0271032936 Nevertheless, he was also credited with retaining some members of the distinguished faculty recruited by his predecessor Edward Bloustein, some of whom earned several prestigious awards (including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Science, the MacArthur Foundation "genius" prize, Guggenheim Fellowships, and Sloan Fellowships). Comments made in 1994, in which Lawrence urged that higher education should not be denied to disadvantaged students who might lack the "genetic, hereditary background to have a higher average" on standardized tests, were publicized in 1995 by a union in negotiations with the Rutgers administration and led to calls for his resignation and student protests,including one that brought a televised basketball game to a halt, as protesters staged a sit-in on the court.Lawrence has served as President of the North American Society for French Seventeenth Centurey Literature, on editorial boards for several scholarly journals, as the board chair of a monograph series, on the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, and on the boards of several national higher education organizations. He retired from the office of president in 2002. As President Emeritus, he has returned to teaching, with an appointment as University Professor at Rutgers.
Selected publications
- Molière,The Comedy of Unreason. Tulane Studies in Romance Languages and Literature, no. 2. New Orleans, 1968.
- The Influence of Rhetoric on Seventeenth Century French Literature. (Co-Editor) Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature, no.3 Seattle, 1975.
- "Dom Juan and the Manifest God: Molière's Anti-Tragic Hero." PMLA 93, 1978.
- Visages de Molière. (Editor, Author) Oeuvres et Critiques V.1: Paris: Editions Jean-Michel Place, 1981.
- Actes de New Orleans. (Editor) Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature/Biblio 17, Paris-Seattle-Tuebingen, 1982.
- Leadership in Higher Education: Views from the Presidency. Transaction Publishers, 2006.
External links
- Francis L. Lawrence at Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...