Andrew Pumphrey Torrence (November 20, 1920 – June 11, 1980) was an African-American university administrator. He served as the third president of

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

, a historically black university in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, from 1968 to 1974, and as the executive vice president and provost of

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was ...

, another historically black university in

Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee () is a city in Macon County, Alabama, United States. It was founded and laid out in 1833 by General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, and made the county seat that year. It was incorporated in 1843. ...

, from 1974 to 1980.

Early life

Andrew P. Torrence was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

in 1920. He graduated from Tennessee State University in 1948. He subsequently attended the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, where he earned a master's degree in 1951 and a PhD in 1954.

Career

Torrence began his career as an agriculture teacher in

Almyra, Arkansas Almyra is a town in Arkansas County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 283 at the 2010 census. Geography Almyra is located at (34.405859, -91.411948). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all la ...

in 1948. He became an associate professor and head of the department of agricultural education at Tuskegee University, a historically black university in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1954. By 1967, he was a full professor and dean of academic affairs at Tuskegee. Torrence served as the third president of his alma mater, Tennessee State University, from 1968 to 1974. Under his tenure as president, "Dr. Torrence was involved in the Landmark Desegregation suit to dismantle Tennessee's dual system of higher education that was filed in 1968. The suit resulted in the 1979 court ordered merger of the University of Tennessee-Nashville into Tennessee State University." Torrence resigned in 1974. Torrence returned to Tuskegee in 1974, where he was provost and executive vice president until his death in 1980.

Death

Torrence died on June 11, 1980, in Tuskegee, Alabama, at age 59. His funeral was held at the Greenwood Missionary Baptist Church in Tuskegee, and he was buried in Oakwood Cemetery,

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

. He is the namesake of the Andrew P. Torrence Engineering Building on the TSU campus.

References

1920 births 1980 deaths People from Little Rock, Arkansas Tennessee State University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Presidents of Tennessee State University Tuskegee University faculty 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics 21st-century American academics 21st-century African-American academics {{US-academic-administrator-1920s-stub