Clifford Hardin served as Chancellor of the University of Nebraska from 1954-1968. His tenure as Chancellor was marked by unprecedented growth both in student enrollment and the physical plant of the institution. He also served during a time of marked social upheaval with students demanding more and more to be treated as young adults.
During Hardin’s tenure, seven high rise dormitories were constructed, and nearly a dozen academic buildings. It was also during Hardin’s tenure that Omaha University was added to the University system, a controversial and politically charged issue that became official in July 1968. Following the reorganization of the University in the fall of 1968, Chancellor Hardin became head of the three campus University system.
Before Chancellor Hardin had the opportunity to work within the reorganized University system, he was appointed by newly elected President Richard M. Nixon to serve in his Cabinet as the Secretary of Agriculture. Hardin resigned in June 1969 as one of the University’s most successful Chancellors.
Source Information:
Knoll, Robert. Prairie University, U of N Press, 1995.
