By MARTY LEVINE
George Ferguson Chambers, second president of the University of Pittsburgh–Greensburg campus (1980-1996), died July 24, 2024, at 97.
Lillian Beeson, now professor of communication emeritus, joined Pitt–Greensburg in 1977, and recalls Chambers’ tenure as transformative, particularly to campus facilities. She remembers coming to the campus for her interview, several years before Chambers’ arrival, and asking, “Where is the campus?”
“He was a reserved man, quiet, but one-on-one he was very personable,” she says. “We built our communications major under him.” Chambers also built up the regional’s board of directors.
But most memorably, she says, “He built things. I think the grandest thing he did was get the Millstein Library built,” taking the campus from the card-catalog era to an online research library.
Chambers’ focus on construction and facility improvement began early.
In 1982, University Court, a complex of three multi-story apartment buildings next to campus, was purchased to house 120 students. In 1985, the campus dedicated a new addition to the Student Activities Center, which would become the campus Computer Center in the future. The Alumni Pavilion opened the next year, and a new Faculty Office Building was completed. That year also saw the start of a $19 million capital fundraising campaign as a foundation for future projects.
Ground was broken in 1988 for a new student center to house a gymnasium, squash and racquetball courts, running track, weight room, dining room, snack bar, lounge areas, student affairs offices, a health center and a bookstore. Work also began on a $2.5 million residence hall, now called Robertshaw Hall. The year ended with construction of nine acres of athletic fields for football, baseball, soccer and lacrosse.
Perhaps Chambers’ most important campus improvement was indeed the addition of the Millstein Library, which opened in 1995. Chambers himself contributed funds to begin the Joan Chambers Children's Collection at the library in honor of his first wife, who had died during his term in office. Those funds also sparked a long-running children’s literature conference on campus.
But Chambers wasn’t done. His last two years in office saw the construction of the campus’s first real dorm, the 106-bed College Hall, and the purchase of 20 acres to expand the campus.
The campus also grew academically and in other areas during Chambers’ time. His inaugural year saw the first students to complete their degree requirements in seven programs taught entirely on the Greensburg campus, with the degrees being awarded through the College of General Studies in Pittsburgh. By 1983, the campus had three areas of concentration: applied mathematics, biology and natural sciences. In 1988, Pitt’s Board of Trustees voted to give degree-granting status to the Greensburg campus that fall. The next year the campus held its first graduation ceremony.
The year 1995 marked the reactivation of the Greensburg campus men's basketball program after a 21-year pause. In Chambers’ final year, four new intercollegiate athletic programs were inaugurated: men's baseball and golf and women's basketball and volleyball.
Chambers retired at the end of 1996.
Born Jan. 16, 1927, in Buffalo, Chambers earned his B.S. in chemistry, and MBA and Ph.D. in economics from the State University of New York–Buffalo. During the 1950s, he was assistant operations officer and pilot for the Buffalo Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.
In 1958, he began his academic career as director of development for the University of Buffalo, joining Pitt in 1962 as both associate professor and director of development. In 1965, he was chosen as president of Nassau Community College on Long Island, rejoining Pitt in 1980 as both professor of economics and president at Greensburg. He was named president emeritus in 1997.
“His biggest impact was a significant change in the physical development of the campus,” says Norman Scanlon, vice president of academic affairs under Chambers, who served as interim president upon Chambers’ retirement. “Having resident students changed the entire tenor of the campus.”
“He was a good boss,” Scanlon adds. “We were doing our jobs and he let us do it without any nitpicking. A lot was accomplished during his time. At that point in the history of the campus, he was the kind of guy that we needed.”
He is survived by son George Lee Chambers, daughter Susan Chambers Johnson and son-in-law James K. Johnson, and grandson Benjamin Chambers Johnson.
Memorial gifts are suggested to the Westmoreland County Food Bank.
Marty Levine is a staff writer for the University Times. Reach him at martyl@pitt.edu or 412-758-4859.
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