Former University president dead at 93

Harold Stassen, who spent four years as University president, died of natural causes on Sunday. He was 93. The former Minnesota governor had a long and distinguished political career, despite nine failed attempts to secure the Republican Party's presidential nomination. Stassen served as Penn's president from 1948 to 1952, in between his efforts to get on the Republican Party ticket in '48 and again in '52. "Stassen became a kind of running joke because of his numerous runs for the presidency, but he was a very talented and capable individual," College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman said. Stassen, who was born on April 13, 1907 on a farm near St. Paul, Minn., started off his career as a county prosecutor. In 1938, at the age of 31, he was elected to the first of his three terms as governor. He won reelection as governor in 1940 and 1942, but resigned in April 1943 to serve in the Navy as assistant chief of staff to Adm. William Hasley. "When he was governor of Minnesota there were many who wanted him to be president," Penn President Emeritus Martin Meyerson said. "He was regarded as a very sensible, thoughtful governor. He had an international law practice and they said 'It isn't wonderful that one of our lawyers is running for president.'" In his brief period at Penn, Stassen is credited with the University's emergence onto the Ivy League scene. "He really did help orchestrate Penn's movement into the Ivy League," Beeman said. "So in that sense I really do think he had an important impact." And others also noted Stassen's contribution to the Penn football team. When post-war financial problems plagued the University, Stassen thought big-time football could be a solution. He introduced the "Victory with Honor" campaign in 1950 to boost Penn's football revenues while maintaining a commitment to academics. Stassen selected former sportscaster and Philadelphia Eagles player Fran Murray as the new athletic director to carry out the plan. Murray, who also played football at Penn, scheduled games against powerhouses such as Penn State, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. But Meyerson noted that Stassen made other important contributions to Penn as well. "I thought he had a lot of imagination and he played an important role in getting the Ivy League flourishing," Meyerson noted. "He did certain things in the West Philadelphia community, but it was a different time." Beeman and Meyerson added that Penn's campus was quite different 50 years ago, leaving Stassen with a very different role than current University President Judith Rodin now fills. "The president was not really a terribly important figure until late 50s and 60s," noted Beeman, who is also a History professor. "The most important person up until that time was the provost, so the Office of the President was a very novel invention at Penn." Meyerson, who came to Penn during Stassen's final year as president in 1952, said that he had a unique relationship with Stassen. "There were those who were cruel to him, but I had a bit more to do with him than most," Meyerson said. "You could get answers quickly from him and that was an important attribute." And Meyerson added that Stassen thought it was important to maintain good president-student relationships. "There is lots of talk these days about the accessibility of presidents," Meyerson said. "He took pride in being accessible to students and was very excited when students and parents came to visit him." Stassen eventually left the University in 1952 to once again pursue the Republican nomination for president. He had made his first presidential bid in 1948 before heading to the University, traveling cross-country on a liberal platform only to lose to Thomas Dewey, who in turn was defeated by President Harry Truman. Stassen ran for president eight more times, the first in 1952 and the last in 1992. In the 1992 election, he won one delegate in the Minnesota primary, but later released the delegate to vote for whomever he desired. Meyerson kept in touch with Stassen over the years, and even brought him back to Penn for a visit. "He was very happy to be back. I would talk with him from time to time in Minnesota," Meyerson said. " He and I would talk about Penn becoming more international and that is something we both wanted." Stassen's wife of 70 years died last fall. They had two children. The Associated Press contributed to this article.