Robert Anthony Corrigan (born 1935) is an American academic who served as the 12th president of

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

from 1988 to 2012. Before that, Corrigan served nine years as chancellor of the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Massa ...

from 1979 to 1988.

Early life and education

Corrigan attained an A.B. from Brown University and later completed a A.M. (1959) and Ph.D. in American civilization (1967) from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Career

Corrigan has been a provost at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, and dean at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

, in addition to holding faculty positions at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, Bryn Mawr, the

, and the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

in Sweden. Corrigan is a member of the National Cancer Institute's Comprehensive Minority Bio-medical Branch Task Force and the National Advisory Council for Campus Compact. He is immediate former chair of the board of directors of the

Association of American Colleges and Universities The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. It works to improve quality and equity in undergraduate education and advance liberal education. ...

(AAC&U). In January 2007, Corrigan began his second and final term as chair of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the San Francisco Mayor's Biotechnology Advisory Council. He is a former member of the San Francisco

Economic Development Corporation An economic development corporation ("EDC") is an organization common in the United States, usually a 501(c)(3) non-profit, whose mission is to promote economic development within a specific geographical area. These organizations are complementary ...

, the

California Historical Society The California Historical Society (CHS) is the official historical society of California. It was founded in 1871, by a group of prominent Californian intellectuals at Santa Clara University. It was officially designated as the Californian state ...

Board of Directors, and the Private Industry Council of San Francisco. In between 1994 and 1995, he served on the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Budget Task Force; furthermore he is a past co-chair of the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative/Annenberg Challenge. In the fall of 2011, Corrigan announced plans to retire by the end of that academic year concluding in May 2012. On April 17, 2012, Lynne Woolsey spoke before the Assembly to announce Corrigan's retirement, and to acknowledge achievements and contributions during his 24-years of service and tenure at San Francisco State University. Subsequently, Leslie E. Wong succeeded Corrigan as president of San Francisco State University. On May 24, 2015, Brown University awarded Corrigan an honorary doctorate ( honoris causa) for his work in promoting diversity and tolerance.

Personal life

In 1970, Corrigan met Joyce Mobley at the

. The two were married in 1975. Mobley had children from previous relationships; her oldest son is George Russell Jr., a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

responsible for murdering three women in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in 1990. Corrigan had a daughters and two sons from his first marriage.

References

External links

CalState bio

"Robert Corrigan: The man who diversified SFSU

''Voices on Antisemitism'' Interview with Robert A. Corrigan
from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Corrigan, Robert A. 1935 births Living people Presidents of San Francisco State University University of Massachusetts Boston faculty University of Maryland, College Park faculty University of Missouri faculty University of Iowa faculty Bryn Mawr College faculty University of Pennsylvania faculty Academic staff of the University of Gothenburg Brown University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni