Melvin L. Oliver facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Melvin Oliver
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| 6th President of Pitzer College | |
| In office July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Laura Skandera Trombley Thomas Poon (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Jill A. Klein (interim) Strom C. Thacker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1950 (age 74–75) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | William Penn University (BA) Washington University (MA, PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | More than a game: A case study of family orientations to community baseball (1977) |
Melvin L. Oliver is an American professor and leader in education. He served as the sixth president of Pitzer College. He was the first African American to become president of one of the Claremont Colleges.
Early Life and School
Melvin Oliver was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1950. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts, from William Penn University. Later, he received his Master of Arts and a PhD from Washington University in St. Louis.
Career Highlights
Oliver has had a long and important career in education. He worked as an executive dean at the UCSB College of Letters and Science. There, he was also a professor of sociology. Sociology is the study of how people live together in groups.
Besides his work at universities, Oliver also helped lead programs at the Ford Foundation. This foundation works to build assets and improve communities.
From 1978 to 1996, Oliver was a sociology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He also helped start the UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty. This center studies issues faced by people living in cities.
As president of Pitzer College, Oliver made many important decisions. One of these decisions involved a vote about the college's study abroad program.
On February 3, 2022, Oliver announced his plan to retire. He stepped down as president of Pitzer College at the end of the 2021–2022 school year.
