Paul J. Olscamp (August 29, 1937 – October 14, 2014) was a

Canadian-American Canadian Americans () are Citizenship of the United States, American citizens or in some uses residents whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadians, Canadian, or citizens of either country who hold dual citizenship. Today, many Canadian American ...

academic and university administrator, born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. While attending the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

, Olscamp was a member of the

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek-letter organization founded in North America ...

fraternity. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and Master of Arts degrees in 1958 and 1960, respectively. He received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1962, the first such degree awarded there. His continuing love of the subject was evident during his time at

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

(BGSU) because he taught a philosophy course almost every semester, despite managing all his duties as president. While studying at the University of Rochester, Olscamp was a student of Colin Murray Turbayne. He served as Dean of Faculties at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The university enrolls arou ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, from 1970 to 1972. He also taught one course each semester, including seminars on the philosophy of George Berkeley. Olscamp served as president of

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

for seven years, from 1975 to 1982. While president of BGSU, he held a position on the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of the

American Association of State Colleges and Universities The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is an organization of state-supported colleges and universities that offer degree programs leading to bachelor's, master's or doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning ...

. He was appointed to the National Council on the Humanities by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

in 1987. In 1989 he was elected as the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

representative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Presidents' Commission. Following his retirement from BGSU in 1995, Dr. Olscamp served as interim president of the

University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is t ...

and then went on to hold the same position at

Mayville State University Mayville State University (MSU or MaSU) is a public university in Mayville, North Dakota, United States. It is part of the North Dakota University System. History Founded as a normal school by provision of the North Dakota Constitution in 1 ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. He died at the age of 77 on October 14, 2014, in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the most populous city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 54,628 at th ...

Publications

Books

* ''The Moral Philosophy of George Berkeley''(1970) * ''An Introduction to Philosophy'' (1971) * ''Moral Leadership: Ethics and the College Presidency'' (2003)

Translations

* Descartes' ''Discourse on Method, Optics, Geometry and Meteorology'' (1965) ''Rene Descartes Discourse on Method, Optics, Geometry and Meteorology'' Rene Descartes, Paul J. Olscamp translator Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, 1965 on Google Books
/ref>

References

External links

Publications by Paul J. Olscamp on jstor.org

Publications by Paul J. Olscamp on Worldcat.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olscamp, Paul J. University of Western Ontario Bowling Green State University faculty 2014 deaths University of Western Ontario alumni Western Washington University faculty Philosophy academics People from Montreal 1937 births University of Rochester alumni Presidents of the University of South Dakota Delta Upsilon members