Robben Wright Fleming (December 18, 1916 – January 11, 2010) was the President of Wisconsin-Madison from 1964 to 1967, and the University of Michigan from 1968 to 1978.
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He was born in Paw Paw, Illinois on December 18, 1916.[1][2][3][4] In 1934, he received a B.A. from Beloit College, and an LLB from the Law School at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1941.[2][3]
He worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the War Labor Board.[1][3] During the Second World War, he served as a Captain in North Africa and Europe for six years.[1][3] In 1947, he served as the head of the Industrial Relations Center in Wisconsin.[2] In 1952, he became Assistant Professor and Director of the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Illinois.[2][3] In 1958, he became a Professor of Law at Illinois.[2]
In 1964, he became the Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he helped assuage student protests in 1964.[1][2] He also expanded university projects in Nigeria, France, Germany and Japan.[3] In 1967, he paid the bail for students who had been arrested for blockading a university building.[1] In 1968, he became the ninth President of the University of Michigan.[1][4] He led discussions during the Black Action Movement strike, with students demanding more African-American students on campus.[1][3] He also helped turn the campuses at Dearborn and Flint into four-year institutions.[5] He stepped down as President in 1978.[1] From 1979 to 1981, he worked for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.[3] In 1981, he became a full Professor at the U-M.[3] In 1988, he served again as interim President of the U-M, tackling concerns over racial, sexual and gay-lesbian discrimination, to no avail.[3] From 1985 to 1990, he worked as a representative for Michigan Governor James Blanchard.[3]
He died in Ann Arbor, Michigan in January 2010.[1]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fred Harvey Harrington |
President of the University of Wisconsin 1964-1968 |
Succeeded by William H. Sewell |
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Harlan Hatcher |
President of the University of Michigan 1968–1978 |
Succeeded by Allan Frederick Smith |
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