Olds, Glenn A. (Glenn Alvero), 1921-2006

Olds was born in Sherwood, Oregon, in 1921 and was a "magna cum laude" graduate of Williamette University in Salem, Oregon. He received his bachelor of divinity degree from Garrett Theological Seminary and his master of arts degree in philosophy from Northwestern University. In 1948 he received his Ph. D. from Yale University and was appointed a member of the DePauw University faculty. In 1951 he joined the University of Denver faculty and also served as chaplain there. He received an "outstanding citizen" award from the City of Denver and an "outstanding teacher" award from the University of Denver. He went to Cornell University three years later and then was appointed president of Springfield College. Under Olds' leadership, Springfield College, a private institution, developed a new curriculum in liberal arts, strengthened its doctoral programs in health and community recreation and pioneered international youth leadership programs in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Olds also worked at the national level with the VISTA program during the Johnson Administration, as an advisor to the Nixon Administration, and as a special ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In 1977 Olds left Kent State to become the president of Alaska Methodist University in Anchorage. He reopened the school that had been closed the year before with 70 students, and by 1984 the enrollment had increased to 2,700 students.