Grayson L. Kirk
Encyclopedia
Grayson Louis Kirk was president of Columbia University
during the Columbia University protests of 1968
. He was also a Professor of Government, advisor to the State Department, and instrumental in the formation of the United Nations
.
. He originally intended to become a foreign correspondent
, but fell into educational administration when he served briefly as a high-school principal in New Paris, Ohio
during his senior year at college. He graduated from Miami University
in 1924, earned a master's degree from Clark University
, and studied at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques
before completing a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
in 1930. During his graduate studies, he edited his college fraternity's national magazine, The Laurel of Phi Kappa Tau
, to earn money for tuition. He married the former Marion Sands, a schoolteacher and daughter of an official of the B&O Railroad, in 1925. They raised one son, John Grayson.
, Kirk began a long association with the U.S. Federal Government when he served in the Security Section of the Department of State's Political Studies Division. Kirk became involved in the formation of the United Nations Security Council
, attending the Dumbarton Oaks Conference
and the United Nations Conference on International Organization
where the United Nations Charter
was signed.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
, Columbia's then-president, appointed Kirk to the position of University Provost in 1949. In 1951, when Eisenhower took leave to serve as Supreme Commander of NATO, Kirk became acting president of the University. He assumed the presidency in 1953 after Eisenhower was sworn in as President of the United States.
During his tenure at Columbia, he quadrupled the University's endowment, added a dozen new buildings to the Morningside Heights campus, and doubled the University library's holdings.
Kirk's relationship with the student body began to degenerate in the early 1960s as students got caught up in the civil rights and anti-war movements and began to protest openly on campus.
In 1959, Kirk started to pursue the construction of a gymnasium suitable for intercollegiate sports competition. Construction was delayed for several years due to lack of funds, during which time community resentment over the University's crowding out its poorer neighbors festered. When construction began in February, 1968, Harlem community activists and civil rights figures protested vigorously enough for the University to fence off the site and post a police guard.
Also in 1959, Kirk entered Columbia into its relationship with the Institute for Defense Analyses
, which would draw much fire from the anti-war movement, particularly the Students for a Democratic Society
, nearly a decade later.
In 1967, the University and Kirk came under fire for attempting to patent and promote a "healthier" cigarette filter developed by one of the medical faculty. Questions regarding the filter's effectiveness began to surface just before Kirk was to testify before Congress as to its benefits.
On April 23, 1968, student protesters began what would become an eight-day, five building takeover of campus. Kirk initially agreed to address some of the protesters demands, but ultimately filed trespass charges against them and called in police to clear the occupied buildings. After the incident, Kirk resisted calls for his resignation, but stayed away from graduation and eventually announced his retirement before the start of the next academic year.
, serving as its president until 1971 and the Association of American Universities
. Kirk was the recipient of honorary degrees from a number of institutions including: University of Wisconsin–Madison
, 1953; Yale University
, 1953; Harvard University
, 1954; University of North Dakota
, 1958; Bates College
, LL.D., 1964; Waseda University
, 1965.
Kirk died in his sleep at his home Plashbourne Estate
in Bronxville, New York
in 1997. He is buried next to his wife in Jeffersonville, Ohio.
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...
during the Columbia University protests of 1968
Columbia University protests of 1968
The Columbia University protests of 1968 were among the many student demonstrations that occurred around the world in that year. The Columbia protests erupted over the spring of that year after students discovered links between the university and the institutional apparatus supporting the United...
. He was also a Professor of Government, advisor to the State Department, and instrumental in the formation of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Early life
Kirk was born to a farmer and schoolteacher in Jeffersonville, OhioJeffersonville, Ohio
Jeffersonville is a village in Fayette County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2000 census.Jeffersonville was the birthplace of Grayson L...
. He originally intended to become a foreign correspondent
Foreign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
, but fell into educational administration when he served briefly as a high-school principal in New Paris, Ohio
New Paris, Ohio
New Paris is a village in Preble County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,623 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :The area was in the tribal grounds of the Pottawatomi, Miami and Wyandot Indians....
during his senior year at college. He graduated from 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 1924, earned a master's degree from Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
, and studied at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques
École Libre des Sciences Politiques , often referred to as the École des Sciences Politiques or simply Sciences Po was created in Paris in February 1872 by a group of European intellectuals, politicians and businessmen, which included Hippolyte Taine, Ernest Renan, Albert Sorel, Pierre Paul...
before completing a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
in 1930. During his graduate studies, he edited his college fraternity's national magazine, The Laurel of Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau
Phi Kappa Tau is a U.S. national collegiate fraternity.-History:Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity was founded in the Union Literary Society Hall of Miami University's Old Main Building in Oxford, Ohio on March 17, 1906...
, to earn money for tuition. He married the former Marion Sands, a schoolteacher and daughter of an official of the B&O Railroad, in 1925. They raised one son, John Grayson.
Columbia
Kirk spent the next decade teaching at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before taking a position as an Associate Professor of Government at Columbia in 1940. During World War IIWorld 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...
, Kirk began a long association with the U.S. Federal Government when he served in the Security Section of the Department of State's Political Studies Division. Kirk became involved in the formation of the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
, attending the Dumbarton Oaks Conference
Dumbarton Oaks Conference
The Dumbarton Oaks Conference or, more formally, the Washington Conversations on International Peace and Security Organization was an international conference at which the United Nations was formulated and negotiated among international leaders...
and the United Nations Conference on International Organization
United Nations Conference on International Organization
The United Nations Conference on International Organization was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, California. At this convention, the delegates reviewed and rewrote the Dumbarton Oaks agreements...
where the United Nations Charter
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the international organization called the United Nations. It was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, United States, on 26 June 1945, by 50 of the 51 original member countries...
was signed.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, Columbia's then-president, appointed Kirk to the position of University Provost in 1949. In 1951, when Eisenhower took leave to serve as Supreme Commander of NATO, Kirk became acting president of the University. He assumed the presidency in 1953 after Eisenhower was sworn in as President of the United States.
During his tenure at Columbia, he quadrupled the University's endowment, added a dozen new buildings to the Morningside Heights campus, and doubled the University library's holdings.
Kirk's relationship with the student body began to degenerate in the early 1960s as students got caught up in the civil rights and anti-war movements and began to protest openly on campus.
In 1959, Kirk started to pursue the construction of a gymnasium suitable for intercollegiate sports competition. Construction was delayed for several years due to lack of funds, during which time community resentment over the University's crowding out its poorer neighbors festered. When construction began in February, 1968, Harlem community activists and civil rights figures protested vigorously enough for the University to fence off the site and post a police guard.
Also in 1959, Kirk entered Columbia into its relationship with the Institute for Defense Analyses
Institute for Defense Analyses
The Institute for Defense Analyses is a non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers to assist the United States government in addressing important national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise...
, which would draw much fire from the anti-war movement, particularly the Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
, nearly a decade later.
In 1967, the University and Kirk came under fire for attempting to patent and promote a "healthier" cigarette filter developed by one of the medical faculty. Questions regarding the filter's effectiveness began to surface just before Kirk was to testify before Congress as to its benefits.
On April 23, 1968, student protesters began what would become an eight-day, five building takeover of campus. Kirk initially agreed to address some of the protesters demands, but ultimately filed trespass charges against them and called in police to clear the occupied buildings. After the incident, Kirk resisted calls for his resignation, but stayed away from graduation and eventually announced his retirement before the start of the next academic year.
Later years
After relinquishing the presidency, Kirk served out terms in Council on Foreign RelationsCouncil on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
, serving as its president until 1971 and the Association of American Universities
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities is an organization of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education...
. Kirk was the recipient of honorary degrees from a number of institutions including: University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, 1953; 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...
, 1953; Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, 1954; University of North Dakota
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...
, 1958; Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
, LL.D., 1964; Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
, 1965.
Kirk died in his sleep at his home Plashbourne Estate
Plashbourne Estate
Plashbourne Estate is a historic estate located in the Lawrence Park West section of Yonkers, Westchester County, New York. It was designed in 1911 by the noted architectural firm of Carrère and Hastings and built for artist Violet Oakley in the Tudor Revival style. It is a -story stone building...
in Bronxville, New York
Bronxville, New York
Bronxville is an affluent village within the town of Eastchester, New York, in the United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately north of midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County. At the 2010 census, Bronxville had a population of 6,323...
in 1997. He is buried next to his wife in Jeffersonville, Ohio.