John Lincoln Stewart, 90; first provost of John Muir College at UC San Diego
John Lincoln Stewart, 90, the founding provost of John Muir College at UC San Diego, died Aug. 31 in Oakland after a long illness, the university announced.
An English professor, Stewart came to UC San Diego from Dartmouth College in 1964, four years after the San Diego campus officially joined the UC system and the first year students enrolled in classes. He was named provost of what would become John Muir College in 1965 and as chief administrator helped develop curriculum and recruit faculty to establish the second liberal arts college within the university. UC San Diego now has six colleges on campus.
A backpacking enthusiast, Stewart taught a popular course, Wilderness and Human Values, that concluded with a weeklong hike in the Sierra Nevada. He also played trombone and fluegelhorn with a faculty jazz band.
Born Jan. 24, 1917, in Alton, Ill., Stewart graduated from Dennison College in Ohio with a double major in English and music, then earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Ohio State University. During World War II he served in the Army Signal Corps. He taught English at UCLA from 1947 to ’49 before moving to Dartmouth.
He retired in 1987, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
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