Melvin L. Oliver is an American academic administrator and professor who served as the sixth president of Pitzer College. He was the first African American to become president of one of the Claremont Colleges.[1]
Melvin Oliver | |
|---|---|
| 6th President of Pitzer College | |
| In office July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Laura Skandera Trombley Thomas Poon (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Jill A. Klein (interim) Strom C. Thacker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1950 (age 73–74) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | William Penn University (BA) Washington University (MA, PhD) |
| Academic background | |
| Thesis | More than a game: A case study of family orientations to community baseball (1977) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Sociology |
| Institutions | |
Early life and education
editOliver was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1950, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio.[2] Oliver earned his Bachelor of Arts at William Penn University and his Master of Arts and PhD from Washington University in St. Louis.[3]
Career
editOliver served as the executive dean at the UCSB College of Letters and Science, where he was also the Sara Miller McCune Dean of Social Sciences and a professor of sociology. In addition to his career in academics, Oliver has served as the vice president of the Asset Building and Community Development Program at the Ford Foundation. Oliver worked as a professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1978 to 1996, and helped establish the UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty.[4]
Oliver's tenure at Pitzer included the controversial vetoing of a vote to suspend the college's study abroad program at the University of Haifa to protest Israel's occupation of the West Bank.[5]
On February 3, Oliver announced his plans to retire from his post as the president of Pitzer College at the end of the 2021–2022 academic year.[6]
References
edit- ^ Tran, Julie (2 April 2017). "Pitzer's Melvin Oliver Inaugurated First Black President at 5Cs". The Student Life. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- ^ "Interview with Melvin L. Oliver of the Ford Foundation". Shelterforce. 1997-01-01. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
- ^ "Melvin L. Oliver | Office of the President". Retrieved 2019-09-15.
- ^ "UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty". GOOD BLACK NEWS. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
- ^ Liu, Patrick (12 April 2019). "Pitzer Senate demands school president reverse Haifa veto, rejects calls for his resignation". The Student Life. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ Engineer, Anushe (4 February 2022). "Pitzer President Melvin Oliver to retire at the end of 2021-22 academic year". The Student Life. Retrieved 11 February 2022.