Graham Spanier was born July 18, 1948 in Cape Town, South Africa, where his father had escaped from Nazi Germany. He grew up on the south side of Chicago, graduated from Iowa State University (B. A., sociology with minor in psychology and mathematics, 1969; M.A. sociology, 1971) and Northwestern University (Ph.D., sociology,1973). He worked as a journalist during his education, as well as working as an instructor and research assistant at Iowa State from 1969 to 1971. At Northwestern, he was an instructor in sociology (1971-1973) and assistant professor of human development and sociology (1973-1977). He came to Penn State as the divisional professor-in-charge and professor-in-charge of the undergraduate program in the division of individual and family studies (1977-1979), moving to the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he served as vice provost for undergraduate studies (1982-1986). He then served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Oregon State University (1986-1991), and chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (1991-1995) before coming back to Penn State as the university's 16th president. As president, Spanier's goal is for Penn State to be the top institution in the United States in the integration of teaching, research, and service. Spanier is recognized for enhancing shared governance, promoting a campus climate of tolerance and diversity, expanding distance education and information technology, developing new management practices in the areas of long-range planning, budgeting, program review and quality improvement, developing comprehensive facility planning, enhancing the campus landscape, and improving student services through information technology and customer service. During his tenure, Penn State enrollments grew from 70,000 to over 80,000. He created the School of Information Sciences and Technology, expanded many of the two-year branch campuses into four-year colleges, added the Dickinson School of Law, and reorganized the university's agricultural extension to provide information to a wide range of Pennsylvania residents. He is a jazz musician, a pilot, a six-time defending intramural co-ed racquetball champion, a radio-television show host, a magician, and plays the washboard for the Deacons of Dixieland. Popular with students, he readily joins their activities, bunking with freshman students in the dorms for move-in weekend each year and eating with students in the dining commons across campus.
From the description of Graham Spanier papers, 1972-2007. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 472475627
