Harold L. Enarson, president of Ohio State from 1972 to 1981, died Friday at his home in Port Townsend, Wash., at the age of 87.
Enarson will be remembered by friends for his positive relationships with students and faculty and his work to hire and enroll more women and minorities. He will be best remembered, though, for firing legendary football coach Woody Hayes in 1978.
“Enarson brought a very student-oriented approach to OSU from his previous jobs,” said Dick Stoddard, associate vice president for Government Relations and a former graduate student at OSU from 1970 to 1975.
According to his Oral History interview with University Archives, Enarson grew up during the Depression in New Mexico and, despite being poor, worked hard to receive a college education from the University of New Mexico and later enlisted in the Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
He was named president of Cleveland State University in 1965 and dramatically transformed the school. When he arrived, the school had 10 acres of land, about 100 faculty members and about 4,000 students. In addition, most buildings on the campus were in poor condition.
Six years later, Enarson had seen to the construction of new buildings, new majors and an increase of about 8,000 students, according to his Oral History interview.
In 1970, Enarson kept CSU open after the Kent State shootings. It was the only school to remain open immediately following the Kent State tragedy.
Enarson was named president of OSU in September of 1972 and was looked at to restore the confidence of both students and faculty in the school’s administration. That confidence had taken a big hit after OSU’s riots earlier in the decade.
He also improved OSU’s regional campus and introduced “Program 60,” which allowed people older than 60 to attend classes free of charge, but not for credit. He was also the first OSU president to live off-campus.
He created the Office of Women’s Services, the Center for Women’s Studies, the Office of Disability Services and the Black Cultural Center (now named for Frank W. Hale, Jr.). He appointed the first female provost at OSU, Ann Reynolds.
“He should be remembered for his advocacy for women and disabled persons,” said Dr. William J. Napier, senior advisor to the president at CSU and Enarson’s executive assistant during the latter part of his tenure.
He credited his “supporting cast” for much of his success: Provosts Al Kuhn and Reynolds; Vice President John Mount; Bill Vandament and George Baughman.
“He had a great sense of humor, keen insights and was an all-around good person,” Napier said.
