Paul G. Risser

Paul G. Risser
7th Chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education
In office 2002–2006
13th President of Oregon State University
In office 1996–2002
Preceded by	John V. Byrne
Succeeded by	Edward John Ray
President of Miami University
In office 1993–1996
Preceded by	Paul G. Pearson
Succeeded by	James C. Garland
Personal details
Born	(1939-09-14)September 14, 1939 Blackwell, Oklahoma
Died	July 10, 2014(2014-07-10) (aged 74) Norman, Oklahoma
Alma mater	Grinnell College University of Wisconsin–Madison
Profession	educator, ecologist

Paul Gillan Risser (September 14, 1939 – July 10, 2014) was an American ecologist and academic from Oklahoma. He served as president of Miami University and Oregon State University before becoming chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.^[1]

Early life

Risser was born in Blackwell in north-central Oklahoma on September 14, 1939.^[2] He grew up there, graduating from Blackwell High School.^[3] After graduating with a bachelor's degree from Iowa's Grinnell College in biology in 1961, he then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.^[1] At Wisconsin he earned a masters in botany in 1965 followed by a PhD. in 1967 in botany and soils.^[1]

Career

In 1967, Risser joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, where he remained until 1981.^[1] There he was a professor of botany, and later chairman of his department.^[4] Risser moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1981 where he served as Chief of the Illinois Natural History Survey. In 1986 he moved to the University of New Mexico where he was provost and later the vice president for academic affairs.^[1] His next post came at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he served as president from 1993 to 1996.^[1]

In 1996, Risser became the 13th president of Oregon State University in Corvallis, where he remained until 2002.^[5] At Oregon State he oversaw construction of the CH2M-Hill Alumni Center, Halsell Hall, and Richardson Hall, as well as an expansion in enrollment and The Valley Library.^[5] The school also added a satellite campus in Bend, OSU-Cascades.^[2] Risser also led the effort to improve the College of Engineering along with athletics, with the football team recording its first winning season in 28 years during his tenure.^[5] He left OSU to become chancellor of the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education in his home state, taking office on January 6, 2003 to replace Hans Brisch.^[4]

Later life and death

In 2006, he left the chancellor's office.^[6] He then served as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's acting director and the executive director of EDGE, Oklahoma's economic development agency.^[3] Risser died on July 10, 2014, at the age of 74 in Norman.^[7] He was married to Les, and had four sons and two step-daughters.^[2]

References