Peter Likins Explained

Peter William Likins (born July 4, 1936)^[1] was president of the University of Arizona from 1997 until his retirement in summer 2006.^{[2] [3]}

Previous posts in order of most recent were:

• President of Lehigh University^{[4] [5]}
• Provost for professional schools at Columbia University,^[6]
• Dean of Columbia's engineering school.^[6]

At each of these universities, Likins was a professor of engineering.

Likins graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1953, where he was captain of the wrestling team and co-captain of the football team.^[7] He attended Stanford University and became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.^[8]

During the last semester of his presidency, a wire from his pacemaker poked a hole in his heart, causing him to nearly faint during an emergency drill being conducted on campus at the time. He underwent open heart surgery soon thereafter. Under different conditions emergency medical personnel might not have been able to respond in time to save him.^[9]

Likins was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (1984) for contributions to spacecraft dynamics and control, and for leadership in engineering education through teaching, research, writing, and academic administration.

Sources

• 4.lehigh.edu

Notes and References

1. Book: American Men & Women of Science. 2008. 9780787665234.
2. https://archive.today/20110727024434/http://media.wildcat.arizona.edu/media/storage/paper997/news/2006/04/19/LikinsLegacy/Important.Moments.In.Likins.Term-1861065.shtml Important moments in Likins' term, DailyWildcat.com
3. Web site: Past Presidents. arizona.edu. 2009-07-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20100629071836/http://www.president.arizona.edu/university_past.cfm. 2010-06-29. dead.
4. Web site: The Crossroads Conference . 17 March 2006 . 15 June 2011 . University of Arizona . University of Arizona . University of Arizona . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927005642/http://fp.arizona.edu/sac/crossroads_conference/crossroads_speakers_page.html . 2011-09-27 . dead .
5. During his administration at Lehigh, he and the Reverend John E. Brooks, S.J. of the College of the Holy Cross were the two university presidents contacted by the Ivy League in the first stage of the formation of the Patriot League during the early-1980s (Feinstein, John. The Last Amateurs. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 2000). This effectively removed Lehigh from contention for a Division I-AA playoff berth.
6. News: A former UA president tells the story of his diverse family. Tucson Weekly. Christine Wald-Hopkins. 2011-05-26. 2011-08-23.
7. News: October 31, 2018. Santa Cruz Hall of Fame inductees. Santa Cruz Sentinel. August 29, 2021.
8. The Rainbow, vol. 130, no. 2, p. 21
9. News: Likins rushed to UMC for surgery. Tucson Citizen. 2006-04-13. La Monica Everett-haynes. 2011-08-23.