John Paul Leonard (1901–1995) was an American educator, and university president. He was the 5th President of

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

(SFSU) serving from 1945 to 1957; and the 5th President of

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

serving from 1957 to 1961.

Early life and education

John Paul Leonard was born on December 2, 1901, in Lockwood,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Leonard attended

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,590 undergr ...

(formerly Drury College), and received a degree in 1923. After his undergraduate graduation he taught in the Springfield Public Schools. Leonard attended

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

, and received a master's degree in 1927, followed by his Ph.D.. His dissertation was titled "The Use of Practice Exercises in Teaching Capitalization and Punctuation."

Career

Leonard taught at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

; and at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

academic administration Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Som ...

. In 1945, Leonard became San Francisco State University's president. During his 12-year tenure Leonard moved the SFSU campus from Haight and Buchanan streets in

Lower Haight The Lower Haight is a neighborhood, sometimes referred to as Haight–Fillmore, in San Francisco, California. Location Referred to as "Pine Valley" in the 70s because of all the pine trees, the Lower Haight lies generally along Haight Street ea ...

to its present location in the Parkmerced neighborhood. The move allowed for the school to grow and accommodate the

post-World War II The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementati ...

influx of students, up to 10,000 enrollees. In order to accomplish this goal, Leonard and students needed to appeal to then-mayor

Roger Lapham Roger Dearborn Lapham (December 6, 1883 – April 16, 1966) was a shipowner and businessman who served as the 32nd mayor of San Francisco from 1944 to 1948. Life and career Lapham was born in New York City, the son of Antoinette N. (née Dearbo ...

, which only narrowly won legislative approval. Additionally Leonard reorganized SFSUs academics by combining related academic departments into seven divisions, and they started offering master's degrees. From 1961 until 1967, Leonard was a professor at the Teachers College, Columbia and worked on the "India Project", which resulted in the publishing of academic periodicals, ''The Indian Educational Mental Measurement Yearbook,'' and the quarterly ''The Journal of Indian Education.'' Leonard received honorary degrees from Columbia University in 1954, Drury College in 1962, and the University of the Pacific in 1968.

Death and legacy

He died on February 24, 1995, in Walnut Creek,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The main library at SFSU was named in his honor in 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, J. Paul 1901 births 1995 deaths People from Walnut Creek, California San Francisco State University faculty College of William & Mary faculty Stanford University faculty Academic staff of the American University of Beirut Teachers College, Columbia University faculty Teachers College, Columbia University alumni Drury University alumni 20th-century American academics People from Dade County, Missouri 20th-century American educators American educational theorists