JimBob
10-10-2008, 08:29 PM
OSU President Emeritus Robert Kamm dies
By STAFF REPORTS
10/10/2008 8:33 PM
STILLWATER — Robert B. Kamm, the 13th president of Oklahoma State University, died Friday in Okmulgee. He was 89.
Services are pending with Strode Funeral Home.
Kamm served as a teacher, counselor and administrator at OSU for more than 45 years and was the university’s president from 1966 to 1977.
OSU President Burns Hargis said in a statement that “the Oklahoma State University community is saddened to learn of the passing of one of our university’s most beloved presidents.”
“Dr. Kamm made a lasting difference in the lives of students and had a real impact on the Stillwater community, our state and our world. He became president during my undergraduate days at OSU and truly inspired me to seek opportunities in public service.”
Kamm was born on Jan. 22, 1919, at West Union, Iowa. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and theater arts in 1940 from the University of Northern Iowa and completed his master’s degree in 1946 and his Ph.D. in 1948, both in counseling psychology and higher education from the University of Minnesota.
He began his career as a high school teacher in 1940 in his native state of Iowa. It was during his service in the Navy in World War II that he was first on the campus of Oklahoma A&M College — which became OSU — spending three months as part of a yearlong radar study.
After the war and his completion of his higher degrees, he was named dean of students at Drake University in Iowa and also served as both student personnel dean and freshman dean at Texas A&M University.
He came to OSU as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1958 and was promoted to vice president for academic affairs in 1965. He became president the next year.
Kamm resigned in 1977 to run for the U.S. Senate, losing to the incumbent, David Boren, who is now president of the University of Oklahoma.
On Feb. 1, 1977, Kamm joined the faculty of the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education. On Jan. 1, 1988, he was named president emeritus and professor emeritus.
When OSU began preparations for its 1990 centennial celebration, Kamm was named director of the Centennial Histories Project, which produced 26 books.
During his career, he wrote 72 journal articles and five books, including “The Best of Mind and Spirit,” published in 2002.
In 1976 he was appointed to the executive board of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. He was chairman of the U.S. delegation to the 19th general conference of UNESCO in Nairobi, Kenya.
Kamm served as president of the American College Personnel Association from 1957-58 and was chairman of the Council of Presidents of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges from 1974-75.
He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1972; the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame in 1987; and the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 1994.
He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 60 years, Maxine Kamm. They were the parents of two children, Steve Kamm of Okmulgee and Susan White of Boulder, Colo.
By STAFF REPORTS
10/10/2008 8:33 PM
STILLWATER — Robert B. Kamm, the 13th president of Oklahoma State University, died Friday in Okmulgee. He was 89.
Services are pending with Strode Funeral Home.
Kamm served as a teacher, counselor and administrator at OSU for more than 45 years and was the university’s president from 1966 to 1977.
OSU President Burns Hargis said in a statement that “the Oklahoma State University community is saddened to learn of the passing of one of our university’s most beloved presidents.”
“Dr. Kamm made a lasting difference in the lives of students and had a real impact on the Stillwater community, our state and our world. He became president during my undergraduate days at OSU and truly inspired me to seek opportunities in public service.”
Kamm was born on Jan. 22, 1919, at West Union, Iowa. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and theater arts in 1940 from the University of Northern Iowa and completed his master’s degree in 1946 and his Ph.D. in 1948, both in counseling psychology and higher education from the University of Minnesota.
He began his career as a high school teacher in 1940 in his native state of Iowa. It was during his service in the Navy in World War II that he was first on the campus of Oklahoma A&M College — which became OSU — spending three months as part of a yearlong radar study.
After the war and his completion of his higher degrees, he was named dean of students at Drake University in Iowa and also served as both student personnel dean and freshman dean at Texas A&M University.
He came to OSU as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1958 and was promoted to vice president for academic affairs in 1965. He became president the next year.
Kamm resigned in 1977 to run for the U.S. Senate, losing to the incumbent, David Boren, who is now president of the University of Oklahoma.
On Feb. 1, 1977, Kamm joined the faculty of the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education. On Jan. 1, 1988, he was named president emeritus and professor emeritus.
When OSU began preparations for its 1990 centennial celebration, Kamm was named director of the Centennial Histories Project, which produced 26 books.
During his career, he wrote 72 journal articles and five books, including “The Best of Mind and Spirit,” published in 2002.
In 1976 he was appointed to the executive board of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. He was chairman of the U.S. delegation to the 19th general conference of UNESCO in Nairobi, Kenya.
Kamm served as president of the American College Personnel Association from 1957-58 and was chairman of the Council of Presidents of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges from 1974-75.
He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1972; the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame in 1987; and the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 1994.
He was preceded in death by his wife of more than 60 years, Maxine Kamm. They were the parents of two children, Steve Kamm of Okmulgee and Susan White of Boulder, Colo.