Former Rice University and Texas A&M University history professor and president Frank E. Vandiver, who was one of A&M’s most prominent professors over the past quarter century, died Friday in College Station at the age of 79.
During Vandiver?s tenure as president from 1981 to 1988, Texas A&M exploded in growth, reaching the the $100 million mark in research volume and becoming one of the nation?s largest enrollment universities. A&M’s endowment also surpassed $1 billion during Mr. Vandiver’s tenure. Prior to moving to A&M, Mr. Vandiver was acting president of Rice University in Houston from 1968-70.
Mr. Vandiver wrote and edited more than 20 books, including Mighty Stonewall, Their Tattered Flags: The Epic of the Confederacy and Black Jack: The Life and Times of John J. Pershing, the latter of which was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Mr. Vandiver is legendary in Texas history circles for publishing his first professional article at the age of 15 and earning his master’s degree at the age of 19. Mr. Vandiver was the son of an academic, and his family lived next door to Albert Einstein for a time during Mr. Vandiver’s youth while his father was a visiting professor at Princeton. In addition to Rice and A&M, Mr. Vandiver also taught history at Washington University in St. Louis, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and Oxford University in England.
After stepping down as president of A&M in 1988, Mr. Vandiver continued to teach at the university as a distinguished professor and holder of the John H. and Sara Lindsey Chair in Liberal Arts. Mr. Vandiver also served as the director of the Mosher Institute for International Policy Studies, which is an A&M think tank.
Mr. Vandiver is survived by his wife, Renee, three children and six grandchildren, and was preceded in death by his first wife, Susie. Funeral services for Vandiver are pending with Hillier Funeral Home in Bryan.