Wilson, O. Meredith, 1909-1998

O. Meredith Wilson was born on 21 September 1909 in Chihuahua, Mexico, to Guy C. and Melissa Stevens Wilson. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1934 and received his Ph.D. from the University of California in 1943. He was named president of the University of Oregon in 1954, then became president of the University of Minnesota in 1961.

From the guide to the O. Meredith Wilson papers, 1961, (J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah)

Owen Meredith Wilson (1909-1998) was an educational consultant and university administrator who served as the ninth president of the University of Oregon, 1954-1959, the president of the University of Minnesota, 1959-1967, and the director of the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, 1967-1975. Wilson was a noted administrator, serving on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 12th District, the University of Notre Dame, and as a director of the Northrop Corporation, among many other educational and professional organizations. Wilson's writings on the philosophy of education, at the university level in particular, were widely published. He served on the Commission on Minorities in Higher Education, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the board of Jundi Shapur University (Dānishgāh-i Jundī Shāpūr) in Iran, and the Royaumont Foundation in Paris. He was also a member of President Johnson's advisory committee on labor management policy.

From the description of O. Meredith Wilson Papers, 1929-1989. (University of Oregon Libraries). WorldCat record id: 230388170

Owen Meredith Wilson (1909-1998), the ninth President of the University of Oregon, was born on September 21, 1909 to the educational director of the Colonia Juarez Mormon colony in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. Raised and educated in Utah, he received his BA from BYU in History in 1934. Wilson completed graduate work at the Universities of Heidelberg and London before receiving his Ph.D. from the University of California in 1943. After serving as President of the University of Oregon, the University of Minnesota, and the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Wilson and his wife Marian returned to Eugene upon his retirement in 1975 and lived there for the remainder of his life. O. Meredith Wilson died November 7, 1989.

Wilson’s academic career began at BYU, where he taught for a year before moving to the University of Utah. He was soon hired to the University of Chicago but returned to Utah after two years as Dean of the College, a post he held from 1947 to 1952. Wilson was appointed President of the University of Oregon in 1954 after serving as the Executive Secretary for the Ford Foundation’s Fund for the Advancement of Education. Wilson left the UO for the presidency of the University of Minnesota in 1960, where he served until 1967. He left Minnesota after a distinguished career to become the director of Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, where he served until retirement in 1975.

Wilson was a noted administrator, serving on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 12th District, the University of Notre Dame, and as a director of the Northrop Corporation, among many other educational and professional organizations. Wilson’s writings on the philosophy of education, at the University level in particular, were widely published. He served on the Commission on Minorities in Higher Education, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the board of Jundi Shapur University (Dānishgāh-i Jundī Shāpūr) in Iran, and the Royaumont Foundation in Paris. He was also a member of President Johnson’s advisory committee on labor management policy.

Throughout his career in education administration, Wilson was an unwavering champion of intellectual freedom. His advice was widely solicited, and his experience in administration made him an asset to organizations both national and international.

From the guide to the O. Meredith Wilson papers, 1929-1989, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Victor Pierpoint Morris served as interim president of the University of Oregon from 1953-1954 after University of Oregon's 8th president, Harry K. Newburn, resigned to become President of the Education and Television Center at the University of Montana.

Owen Meredith Wilson (1909-1998) became the ninth President of the University of Oregon (1954-1960). Wilson was known for his effort to make the the school a major university. To help achieve his goals for the university he worked hard to create a graduate school of high standing and to attract faculty members, deans, and department heads who had proven ability or high potential as scholars. Throughout his presidency he combined his noted ability to communicate with faculty members in their specialties with a solid belief that a university must offer a fertile ground for free exchange of all ideas. His efforts laid the groundwork for the the University of Oregon's election in 1969 into the prestigious Association of American Universities and moved it well on its way to becoming a distinguished university.

Source: "Presidential History" http://president.uoregon.edu/history

From the guide to the Office of the President: Victor Pierpont Morris (acting) and O. Meredith Wilson records, 1959-1961, (Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries)

Wilson was born in Mexico and raised in Texas and Utah. He attended Brigham Young University and earned a doctoral degree at the University of California, Berkeley. An historian specializing in American colonial history, he taught at the University of Utah and the University of Chicago. He was president of the University of Oregon for six years before becoming president at the University of Minnesota in 1960.

During his tenure at the University of Minnesota, President Wilson oversaw more than 40 building projects, including the creation of a new campus on the west bank of the Mississippi. In 1960 the University of Minnesota, Morris opened, offering four-year liberal arts degrees and in 1966 the Northwest School of Agriculture was transformed into the University of Minnesota, Crookston, offering two year degrees in agriculture and related fields. Wilson left the University in 1967 to become director of the Center for Advanced Study of Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He died in 1998.

From the guide to the O. Meredith Wilson papers, 1955-1967, (University of Minnesota Libraries. University Archives [uarc])