SINGLETARY, Otis Arnold, Jr. 1921-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born October 31, 1921, in Gulfport, MS; died September 20, 2003, in Lexington, KY. Educator, administrator, and author. Singletary was a former president of the University of Kentucky. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he graduated from Millsaps College with a B.A. in 1947; his graduate work, interrupted by another stint in the navy during the Korean War, was completed at Louisiana State University, where he earned an M.A. in 1949 and a Ph.D. in 1954. Having already taught history for two years at Louisiana State, he joined the University of Texas at Austin as an instructor in 1954. He became a full professor of history there in 1960, as well as serving as associate dean of arts and sciences from 1956 to 1959 and as assistant to the president from 1960 to 1961. That year, Singletary moved to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he was chancellor during the early 1960s and was the first director of the Job Corps, a federal government program. His association with the federal government also included being vice president of the American Council on Education from 1966 to 1968; later, his work in education was recognized by President Jimmy Carter, who invited Singletary to be head of the National Endowment for the Humanities. However, Singletary turned the job down because, at that time, he was serving as president of the University of Kentucky and did not want to leave the university. Singletary was president of UK from 1969 until his retirement in 1987. During his tenure there, he was credited with making the university a nationally ranked research institution, increasing the library's collection significantly and doing much to increase donations to the school. Singletary was also the author of Negro Militia and the Reconstruction (1957) and The Mexican War (1960), and he was editor of the 10th edition of American Universities and Colleges (1968).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chronicle of Higher Education, September 20, 2003.

Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), September 25, 2003, p. B1.