L. Jay Oliva

Born in Walden, New York{{cite web|title=Man in the News: Lawrence Jay Oliva; New President Is Chosen for N.Y.U.|date=December 12, 1990|accessdate=January 6, 2011|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/12/nyregion/man-in-the-news-lawrence-jay-oliva-new-president-is-chosen-for-nyu.html}} he earned a B.A. from Manhattan College (1955) and a M.A. (1957)/Ph.D. (1960) from Syracuse University. He was a University Fellow at Syracuse, a Fribourg Fellow at the University of Paris and a member of Phi Gamma Delta.{{cite web |url=http://www.phigam.org/page.aspx?pid=2060 |title = Phi Gamma Delta}}

His father was Italian and his mother was an Irish-speaker from County Galway, Ireland; he lent NYU to Irish-themed celebrations and exhibitions under the aegis of his presidency of New York University. He also supported the formal establishment of the university's Irish and Irish-American Studies program within [http://irelandhouse.as.nyu.edu/page/about_history Glucksman Ireland House NYU] in 1993.

Oliva authored and edited numerous works on Russian and European history, including, "Misalliance: A Study of French Policy in Russia During the Seven Years' War" (New York University Press, 1964) and "Russia in the Era of Peter the Great" (Prentice-Hall, 1969). His fields of academic specialization are 18th-century Russia, Russian diplomatic history and 18th-century Europe. {{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

Oliva was given honorary degrees by Tel Aviv University (Doctor of Philosophy, 1994);{{cite web|title=Honorary Degrees Conferment Ceremony|publisher=Tel Aviv University|url=http://www.tau.ac.il/honordoc/hondoc2008.pdf|date=May 17, 2008|accessdate=January 7, 2011}} University College Dublin (Doctor of Literature, 1993); Hebrew Union College (Doctor of Humane Letters, 1992); Saint Thomas Aquinas College (Doctor of Laws, 1989); and Manhattan College (Doctor of Humane Letters, 1987). He was decorated a chevalier of the French Legion of Honor (1997) and received the Premio Guido Dorso of Italy (1998).

Through Oliva's initiative, NYU was the founding member of the League of World Universities, established in 1991, whose membership now represents nearly fifty of the world's great urban universities. La Pietra, a cluster of five villas in Tuscany bequeathed to NYU by the late Sir Harold Acton, and the Lillian Vernon Center for International Affairs at Washington Square, serve as hubs for international activities that draw scholars and students from around the world. Oliva also created the "NYU Speaking Freely" program to provide students with opportunities for language learning outside the classroom. In recognition of this work, he received the Foreign Language Advocacy Award in 2001 from the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.{{cite web|title=The James W. Dodge Foreign Language Advocate Award |url=http://www.nectfl.org/awards-james-w-dodge-foreign-language-advocate-award |publisher=Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages |accessdate=August 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821193635/http://www.nectfl.org/awards-james-w-dodge-foreign-language-advocate-award |archivedate=August 21, 2014 }} He served as president of New York University from 1991 until May 16, 2002. Under his leadership the school's fund-raising efforts soared, increasing from approximately $100 million annually in 1991 to more the $350 million in 2001. In 1995 Oliva oversaw the completion of what was at that time the first billion-dollar campaign undertaken by an American university. Launched in 1985 under Oliva's predecessor, John Brademas, the campaign was successfully completed five years ahead of schedule.{{cite web|url=http://www.nyu.edu/about/leadership-university-administration/office-of-the-president/redirect/history-of-the-office.html|title=History of the Office|publisher=New York University|accessdate=January 7, 2011}} He signed the first contract between a private university and a graduate assistant labor union, the Graduate Student Organizing Committee of Local 2110/United Auto Workers. {{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

Oliva died on April 17, 2014, aged 80, of pancreatic cancer.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/nyregion/l-jay-oliva-who-led-the-rise-of-nyu-dies-at-80.html?_r=0|title = L. Jay Oliva, Who Led the Rise of N.Y.U. In the '90s, Dies at 80|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 23 April 2014|last1 = Martin|first1 = Douglas}}[http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2014/04/18/nyus-fourteenth-president-l-jay-oliva-passes-away Notice of death of L.J. Oliva], nyulocal.com, April 18, 2014.

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• {{Charlie Rose guest|6761}}
• {{C-SPAN|38167}}
• [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/archives/rg_3_0_11/index.html Records of the Office of the President (Oliva)], New York University Archives at New York University Special Collections

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{{New York University leaders}}

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Category:1933 births

Category:2014 deaths

Category:American people of Italian descent

Category:American people of Irish descent

Category:Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state)

Category:Manhattan College alumni

Category:People from Walden, New York

Category:Place of death missing

Category:Chancellors and presidents of New York University

Category:Syracuse University alumni