Samuel B. Gould

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Samuel Brookner Gould (1910-1997) was an American educator prominent for for promoting access to education through non-traditional means such as educational television, college teacher-mentor systems, and universities without walls. Positions he held include: the presidency of the Educational Broadcasting System (1962-64); the Chancellorship of the State University of New York (1964-70); and the chairman of the Carnegie Commission on Non-Traditional Study (1971-74).

Samuel Gould was born in Shelton, Connecticut, on October 11, 1910. He attended Bates College in Maine, graduating in 1930. He then attended Oxford University briefly in 1931 but left due to financial difficulties. He next worked for New England Telephone and Telegraph until accepting a teaching position in English at William Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut (1932-38). From 1938 to 1947, Gould headed the department of speech at Brookline High School in Massachusetts while working on his Ph.D. at Harvard University. He had previously completed his M.A. at New York University.

He served in the Navy as a Lt. Commander, PTD, during World War II. After the war, he helped establish Boston University's Communications Department and served as an assistant to the president from 1951 to 1953. In 1954, Gould became president of Antioch College in Ohio, a position he held until he was appointed Chancellor of the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1959. UCSB expanded its academic program under his leadership. In July of 1962, Gould became president of the Educational Broadcasting System in New York with the flagship station, WNDT-TV, channel 13.

In 1964, Gould was appointed chancellor of the State University of New York. During his administration, SUNY underwent its greatest physical and academic expansion and consolidation. Gould's vision for SUNY went beyond a desire to establish a traditional university system. He included in the university system new technologies such as television and non-traditional study opportunities such as those provided by the Empire State College teacher-mentor system. Under his tenure, the concept of granting academic credit for non-academic experience was initiated.

In 1970, Gould retired from SUNY, became Chancellor Emeritus and served briefly as a director at McKinsey and Company. From 1971 to 1974, he served as the chairman of the Carnegie Commission on Non-Traditional Study which attempted to modify and set new goals for education. During the 1970's Gould worked periodically with the Venezuelan Ministry of Education in developing that nation's university system. He accompanied Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, a close personal friend, on his 1977 tour of Latin America. From 1976 to 1977, he served as interim chancellor for higher education for the State of Connecticut. He has also served as a trustee of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association and on the Commission for Post-Secondary Educational Planning in Florida. Gould died on June 11, 1997.

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Academic offices
Preceded by
Douglas McGregor
President of Antioch College
1954 – 1959
Succeeded by
James P. Dixon
Preceded by
'
Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara
1959 – 1962
Succeeded by
'
Preceded by
Thomas H. Hamilton
President of the State University of New York
1964 – 1970
Succeeded by
Ernest L. Boyer