Former ASU President, who elevated university’s status, dies at 89

Dr. Lattie Coor Jr., who was Arizona State University’s 15th president, died at the age of 89 on Thursday, the college announced.

Coor led ASU from 1990 to 2002 after being president of the University of Vermont for almost 14 years.

While he was president, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching granted ASU its Research 1 status, which opened the door for rapid advancement.

“ASU would not be the institution it is today without Lattie Coor’s vision, leadership and commitment to the community,” ASU President Michael Crow said in a news release. “Our university’s advancement in research growth, semiconductor R&D, workforce development, community partnerships, public health and service to learners across Arizona and around the globe — is all rooted in Lattie’s foresight and dedication to what ASU could become.

“With his passing, the university and the state have lost a grand champion, and Sybil and I have lost a dear friend and colleague.”

Coor was born in Phoenix in 1936 and graduated as salutatorian of his class at Litchfield High School.

He majored in social science at Arizona State College at Flagstaff, which is now known as Northern Arizona University. Coor then got his master’s degree and PhD from Washington University in St. Louis.

Interestingly, Coor shared in a 2018 Arizona Historymakers Project interview that he almost didn’t take the job at ASU because he thought it was time for him to start doing something else.

In addition to Coor helping raise $560 million through Campaign for Leadership for the university, he and his wife, Elva, also supported multiple ASU colleges, programs and causes.

They include:

• Barrett, The Honors College
• Arizona PBS
• Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions
• ASU Library
• Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
• The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
• ASU Athletics
• ASU Gammage
• ASU Alumni Association
• ASU President’s Club
• ASU Women and Philanthropy

Additionally, when Coor retired, he founded a nonprofit called the Center for the Future of Arizona.

“Lattie recognized the significant role private support plays in helping student, advancing research and extending the university’s geographic footprint,” ASU Foundation for a New American University CEO Gretchen Buhlig said. “He and Elva touch a lot of lives through their generosity over the years.”

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