Heritage & History
- Lawrence J. Jarvie
- 1960-1962
Dr. Lawrence J. Jarvie was named president of New York City Community College in 1960, following the four-month tenure of Acting President Murray H. Block. Following his service as an officer in the U.S. Army during World War II, Jarvie was instrumental in civilian life in leading the post-war expansion of New York State’s community college system during the late 1940s. He held the position of associate state commissioner of education for three years, helping to oversee the expansion of the statewide system to a total of 16 community colleges, and later served for another 11 years as executive dean of the State University of New York.
Following his two years at the College, Jarvie served as general superintendent for community education in Flint, Michigan, returning to New York City in 1965 to assume the presidency of the Fashion Institute of Technology, a position he held for more than five years. Jarvie, who had come to the United States as a boy from his native Scotland, earned his bachelor’s degree from Ohio University and his master’s and PhD degrees from Ohio State University.
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