Heritage & History
- Otto Klitgord
- 1946-1960
Otto Klitgord had been affiliated with the New York City school system since 1932, serving as head of the electrical department of Textile High School, as administrator of the National Youth Administration for the City of New York Board of Education, and as administrator in charge of supervision of instruction, production and teacher training for the War Training Program during World War II. A graduate of the cooperative electrical course at Mechanics Institute in Rochester, NY, he was also a graduate of the Clarkson College of Technology’s electrical engineering program, held a master’s degree in education from Cornell University and was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from St. John’s University in Brooklyn.
Klitgord was named director of the newly created New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences in 1946. He held this title until becoming the school’s first president in an administrative reorganization during the 1950s. Serving longer than any of his successors, Klitgord headed the school through its transition from a fledgling experiment in higher education to the largest and most prestigious community college in America. He died suddenly in 1960 at the age of 50 while touring Puerto Rico with his wife.
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