Dr. Francis Horn was a prominent educator and world traveler who served as the sixth president of the University of Rhode Island from 1958 to 1967. Horn, a mid-westerner, held a doctorate in education from Yale and served in several posts including president of the Pratt Institute in New York prior to his arrival at URI. Horn’s election broke the continuous chain of agriculture-oriented administrators and paved the way for URI’s dramatic expansion. Among Horn’s innovations were the Bureau of Government Research and the Graduate School of Oceanography. In addition, he greatly expanded other areas of graduate study, presiding over the creation of a Graduate School of Library Science and a graduate program in Public Administration.
Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame
1445 Wampanoag Trail, Suite 203, East Providence, RI 02915-1019 | (401) 433-0044 | info@riheritagehalloffame.com