Phillip Shriver
Encyclopedia
Phillip Raymond Shriver (August 16, 1922 – April 23, 2011) was an American historian
and college administrator
who was president of Miami University
in Oxford, Ohio, from 1965 to 1981.
. After graduation in 1940 from John Adams High School
, where he was president and valedictorian
of his class, he received a four-year Cleveland Alumni Scholarship to Yale University
. At Yale, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, served as regimental commander of the Naval V-12 unit
, and graduated in 1943 with honors in history. During World War II
, he served as a lieutenant (j.g.) in the U.S. Navy aboard the Pacific Fleet destroyer USS Murray and participated in the Iwo Jima
and Okinawa
campaigns. After the war, he completed his master's degree in history at Harvard in 1946 and his doctorate in American history at Columbia University
in 1954.
From 1947-1965, he was a member of the history faculty at Kent State University
where he was initiated into Delta Upsilon
Fraternity as advisor to the Kent chapter. He wrote Years of Youth in 1960, a history of Kent State University. He also served as Kent State's Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1963-1965.
He left Kent State in 1965 to become the 17th president of Miami University. For 16 years, he oversaw enormous growth at Miami and was tremendously popular with students, who nicknamed him "Uncle Phil." While he was president, Miami opened new campuses in Middletown, Ohio; Hamilton, Ohio; and Luxembourg; 10 doctoral programs were initiated on the Oxford campus; and 42 new buildings were constructed on the Miami campuses.
During and after his presidency, he taught popular classes to standing room only on the history of Miami University and the history of Ohio, using The Miami Years, a history book by longtime Miami English Professor Walter Havighurst
as the text. His Miami history lectures became the basis of his 1998 book Miami University: A Personal History. Phil considered the 52 years he spent teaching in the classroom and the relationships he had with faculty, staff, and thousands of students to be his most important professional accomplishments, and his greatest joy. He continued to captivate audiences with his guest lectures up until his final days.
Besides authoring or co-authoring seven books and more than 200 articles, he is also remembered for his service as Chairman of the Council of Presidents of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cincinnati, President of the Ohio Historical Society and the Ohio Academy of History, a member of the Lakeside (Ohio) Board of Directors, an active member of the Oxford Rotary Club and the Oxford Presbyterian Church, and his lifelong association with Delta Upsilon fraternity.
He received the 1991 Distinguished Service Award from the Ohio Academy of History, the Ohio Humanities Council’s 2001 Bjornson Award for Distinguished Service in the Humanities, and the 2004 Cincinnati Society of Association Executives Statesman Award.
In 2009 he was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. He received honorary degrees from 10 universities as well as honors from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Federal University of Parana in Brazil.
Miami University's student center is named the Phillip R. Shriver Center in his honor.
On April 15, 1944, Phil married the, Martha Damaris Nye of Bellevue, Ohio
, whom he had first met while she was a student at Wellesley College. They became the parents of five children: Carolyn (Bill) Shaul, Susan, Melinda (David) Williams, Darcy, and Raymond Scott II (Vicki); eight grandchildren (Trevor and Ryan Helwig, Lindsay and Andrew LaVine, Katherine and Ryan Williams, and Cameron and Kyle Shriver); and four great-grandchildren (Taylor, Avery, Marin, and Anna Helwig). He is the son of Raymond Scott Shriver and C. Ruth Smith Shriver. His older sister, Barbara Ruth Shriver Taylor, lives in Tampa, Florida.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and college administrator
Academic administration
An academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities...
who was president of Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
in Oxford, Ohio, from 1965 to 1981.
Biography
Phillip R. Shriver was born in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. After graduation in 1940 from John Adams High School
John Adams High School (Cleveland, Ohio)
For schools with similar names, see Adams High School.John Adams High School is a public high school located on the east side of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.-History:...
, where he was president and valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of his class, he received a four-year Cleveland Alumni Scholarship to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. At Yale, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, served as regimental commander of the Naval V-12 unit
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
, and graduated in 1943 with honors in history. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served as a lieutenant (j.g.) in the U.S. Navy aboard the Pacific Fleet destroyer USS Murray and participated in the Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
and Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
campaigns. After the war, he completed his master's degree in history at Harvard in 1946 and his doctorate in American history at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1954.
From 1947-1965, he was a member of the history faculty at Kent State University
Kent State University
Kent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
where he was initiated into Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon is the sixth oldest international, all-male, college Greek-letter organization, and is the oldest non-secret fraternity in North America...
Fraternity as advisor to the Kent chapter. He wrote Years of Youth in 1960, a history of Kent State University. He also served as Kent State's Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1963-1965.
He left Kent State in 1965 to become the 17th president of Miami University. For 16 years, he oversaw enormous growth at Miami and was tremendously popular with students, who nicknamed him "Uncle Phil." While he was president, Miami opened new campuses in Middletown, Ohio; Hamilton, Ohio; and Luxembourg; 10 doctoral programs were initiated on the Oxford campus; and 42 new buildings were constructed on the Miami campuses.
During and after his presidency, he taught popular classes to standing room only on the history of Miami University and the history of Ohio, using The Miami Years, a history book by longtime Miami English Professor Walter Havighurst
Walter Havighurst
Walter Edwin Havighurst , critic, novelist, literary and social historian of the Midwest, professor of English at Miami University.- History :...
as the text. His Miami history lectures became the basis of his 1998 book Miami University: A Personal History. Phil considered the 52 years he spent teaching in the classroom and the relationships he had with faculty, staff, and thousands of students to be his most important professional accomplishments, and his greatest joy. He continued to captivate audiences with his guest lectures up until his final days.
Besides authoring or co-authoring seven books and more than 200 articles, he is also remembered for his service as Chairman of the Council of Presidents of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cincinnati, President of the Ohio Historical Society and the Ohio Academy of History, a member of the Lakeside (Ohio) Board of Directors, an active member of the Oxford Rotary Club and the Oxford Presbyterian Church, and his lifelong association with Delta Upsilon fraternity.
He received the 1991 Distinguished Service Award from the Ohio Academy of History, the Ohio Humanities Council’s 2001 Bjornson Award for Distinguished Service in the Humanities, and the 2004 Cincinnati Society of Association Executives Statesman Award.
In 2009 he was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. He received honorary degrees from 10 universities as well as honors from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Federal University of Parana in Brazil.
Miami University's student center is named the Phillip R. Shriver Center in his honor.
On April 15, 1944, Phil married the, Martha Damaris Nye of Bellevue, Ohio
Bellevue, Ohio
Bellevue is a city in Erie, Huron, Sandusky and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 8,193 at the 2000 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Bellevue as a Tree City USA....
, whom he had first met while she was a student at Wellesley College. They became the parents of five children: Carolyn (Bill) Shaul, Susan, Melinda (David) Williams, Darcy, and Raymond Scott II (Vicki); eight grandchildren (Trevor and Ryan Helwig, Lindsay and Andrew LaVine, Katherine and Ryan Williams, and Cameron and Kyle Shriver); and four great-grandchildren (Taylor, Avery, Marin, and Anna Helwig). He is the son of Raymond Scott Shriver and C. Ruth Smith Shriver. His older sister, Barbara Ruth Shriver Taylor, lives in Tampa, Florida.
External links
- Miami University Press Miami University: A Personal History, by Phillip R. Shriver, 1998
- Memorial Ceremony for Phillip R. Shriver, Millett Hall, Oxford, OH YouTube video
- MuredHawks.com Remembering Dr. Phillip R. Shriver, Miami University Athletics, Apr 25, 2011
- Miami Memory, Dr. Phillip R. Shriver YouTube video
- Kent State and the legacy of Phillip Shriver Kent State University, May 1, 2011
- The Miami Student Newspaper Phillip Shriver: the man behind Miami By Maura Wall, Apr. 26, 2005