Wesley Posvar; Credited for Reviving University’s Finances

Wesley Wentz Posvar, 75, who served as the University of Pittsburgh’s chancellor from 1967 to 1991 and proved to be its financial savior, died of heart failure Friday in Pittsburgh while swimming.

The university was significantly in debt when Posvar became chancellor, and he retired the debt in 1976. The university’s operating funds increased sevenfold while he was in office, from $90 million in 1968 to $630 million in 1990.

Further putting the institution on firm financial footing, Posvar increased the university’s endowment threefold during his tenure, from $81 million to $257 million.