John V. Lombardi

John V. Lombardi
25th President ofLouisiana State University
In office 2007–2012
Preceded by	William Jenkins
Succeeded by	F. King Alexander
9th Chancellor of theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
In office 2002–2007
Preceded by	Marcellette G. Williams
Succeeded by	Robert C. Holub
9thPresident of the University of Florida
In office 1990–1999
Preceded by	Marshall Criser
Succeeded by	Charles E. Young
Personal details
Born	(1942-08-19)August 19, 1942 Los Angeles, California,U.S.
Spouse	Cathryn Lee Lombardi
Education	B.A.,Pomona College,1963 M.A.,Columbia University,1964 Ph.D.,Columbia University,1968
Occupation	Professor University executive
Academic background
Thesis	The decline and abolition of negro slavery in Venezuela (1820-1854)(1968)
Academic work
Discipline	Latin American history
Institutions	Indiana University Johns Hopkins University University of Florida University of Massachusetts Amherst Louisiana State University

John Vincent Paul Maher Lombardi(born August 19, 1942) is an Americanprofessorand former university administrator. He is a native ofCalifornia,and earned hisbachelor's,master'sanddoctoral degreesbefore becoming a professor ofLatin American history.Lombardi has served as the president of theUniversity of Florida,thechancellorof theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst,and the president of theLouisiana State University System.

Early life and education

Lombardi was born into a family of educators inLos Angeles, Californiain 1942.His father was the president ofLos Angeles City College,a California community college,and superintendent of the Los Angeles Community College District.His mother worked as a college librarian.He earned hisBachelor of Artsdegree fromPomona CollegeinClaremont, Californiain 1963, and hisMaster of Artsanddoctor of philosophydegrees fromColumbia UniversityinNew York Cityin 1964 and 1968, respectively.He also attended theUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoinMexico City,where he learnedSpanishwhile living with a Mexican family,as an undergraduate, and theUniversity of California, Los Angelesfor graduate school.While he was a graduate student, Lombardi spent several years living and researching in Venezuela as aFulbright Scholar.

Lombardi married the former Cathryn L. Lee in 1964, whom he met while they were attending Pomona College.They have two children: son John Lee Lombardi and daughter Mary Ann Lombardi.

Early academic appointments

Lombardi taught in the history department atIndiana University,first at theJeffersonville, Indianabranch campus and then at the main campus inBloomington, Indiana,from 1967 through 1987.At Indiana, he held various administrative posts, including director of Latin American studies,deanof international programs, and dean of arts and sciences.He served as theprovostandvice presidentfor academic affairs atJohns Hopkins UniversityinBaltimore, Marylandfrom 1987 through 1990.As the provost of Johns Hopkins, Lombardi played a key role in fund-raising and in resolving a financial crisis in which the university was then embroiled.

Lombardi is a specialist in Latin American history, and has a particular interest inVenezuela.He has written numerousacademic journalarticles and several books on Venezuela and Latin American history and affairs, as well as on many university administration-related subjects.He is a nationally recognized authority on Americanhigher education,and has been the co-editor of the annual editions ofThe Top American Research Universitiesfrom 2000 to the present.In addition to Latin American history classes, he has taught courses on intercollegiate sports, international business and university management.

University of Florida

Lombardi served as the ninth president of theUniversity of Floridalocated inGainesville, Florida,from 1990 to 1999.He was barely settled in his job at the beginning of the fall 1990 semester when Lombardi was confronted by one of the most serious crises in the university's history—the horrific murders of five students byserial killerDanny Rolling.He is remembered as both comforter-in-chief and as a "student's president" during his term as president.As part of his athletics reform agenda, Lombardi created the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, which ultimately removed responsibility for student-athlete academics from the control of theUniversity Athletic Association(UAA) and placed it under the control of the committee.Lombardi actively reinserted the office of the president in the UAA's chain of decision-making; the president retained final authority over all major decisions. He implemented further institutional controls intended to promote the welfare and academic achievement of student-athletes and continued compliance with the rules of theNational Collegiate Athletics Association(NCAA).Lombardi was also responsible for the selection ofJeremy Foleyas the newathletic directorin 1992,now recognized as one of the most successful athletic directors in NCAADivision Isports.His relationships with theFlorida Board of Regentsand theFlorida Legislaturewere characterized by a series of ups and downs, confrontation followed by conciliation, usually involving conflicts over declining state financial support and conflicting state education funding priorities of the legislature.Lombardi resigned as president in 1999, but continued to teach as a member of the historyfacultyuntil 2002.

Lombardi's enthusiasm for classic cars led him and a friend to operate Farmer's Garage, a specialty shop for older model automobiles.At the University of Florida, he is fondly remembered for driving about the Gainesville campus in an old red pickup truck.

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Lombardi served as thechancellor of the University of Massachusetts Amherstfrom 2002 to 2007.

Louisiana State University System

As president of the LSU System, Lombardi served as thechief executive officerof the five campuses, eleven institutions and ten hospitals within the system.He presided over the groundbreaking of theUniversity Medical CenterinNew Orleans.He also held an appointment as a history professor atLouisiana State University.He was terminated from the position on Friday, April 27, 2012.

See also

• Florida Gators
• History of the University of Florida
• List of Columbia University people
• List of Indiana University faculty
• List of Johns Hopkins University faculty
• List of Pomona College people
• List of University of Florida presidents
• Lombardi Scholars Program
• LSU Tigers
• State University System of Florida

Bibliography

• Capaldi, Elizabeth D., John V. Lombardi, Craig W. Abbey & Diane D. Craig,The Top American Research Universities,The Center for Measuring University Performance, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (2009).
• Pleasants, Julian M.,Gator Tales: An Oral History of the University of Florida,University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2006).ISBN0-8130-3054-4.
• Van Ness, Carl, & Kevin McCarthy,Honoring the Past, Shaping the Future: The University of Florida, 1853–2003,University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (2003).
• Berardo, M. Felix, "John Lombardi". InThe Italian Americans of the Twentieth Century,ed. G. Carpetto and D.M. Evanac. Loggia Press, Tampa, Florida, p. 210-11 (1999).

External links

• University of Florida– Official website of the University of Florida.
• Louisiana State University System– Official website of the Louisiana State University System.
• University of Massachusetts Amherst– Official website of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.