Gaylord Harnwell Gaylord Probasco Harnwell CBE ( September 29 , 1903 - April 18 , 1982 ) , was an American educator and physicist , who was president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1953 to 1970 . He also held a great number of positions in a wide variety of national political and educational boards and committees , as well as senior positions in both the Office of the Governor of Pennsylvania and the United States Navy . In the later part of his life he also toured both the Soviet Union and Iran as a promoter of higher education . Career . Early life . Harnwell was born in Evanston , Illinois to Chicago born lawyer Frederick William and Anna Jane Wilcox Harnwell . After attending Evanston Township High School and Haverford College in Haverford , Pennsylvania in 1924 , Harnwell attended both Cambridge University and then Princeton University , gaining an M . A . and Ph . D . in physics in 1926 and 1927 respectively . From 1927 until 1928 Harnwell taught physics at the California Institute of Technology and then from 1928 to 1938 he taught at Princeton , becoming associate professor by 1936 . Then in 1938 Harnwell took over the physics department at the University of Pennsylvania . After the outbreak of the Second World War , Harnwell was given a leave of absence to serve as director of the University of California Division of War Research for the U . S . Navy Radio and Sound Laboratory in San Diego , California from 1942 until 1946 , earning the Medal for Merit the following year . University of Pennsylvania . Harnwell returned to the university ' s physics department until 1953 when he was elected as the university ’ s president , a position he held until 1970 . During his term he oversaw rapid expansion of the university during a period that is cited as " a new milestone in the history of the development of the University . " During his time as president , Harnwell also served in a number of positions within the United States Navy , including chairman of the Ordnance Committee of the Research and Development Board of the Department of Defense and chairman of the Committee on Undersea Warfare of the National Research Council . He was also a member of the Advisory Panel on Ordnance , Transport and Supply of the Department of Defense , Advisory Board of the U . S . Navy Ordnance Laboratory , Science Information Council of the National Science Foundation and congressional Subcommittee on Military Applications of Atomic Energy . In 1958 Harnwell was awarded the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award . Harnwell also toured educational facilities in the Soviet Union and Iran in 1958 and then 1960 and 1961 , discussing the proposal to found an American - style university in Shiraz . These tours gave Harnwell material for a number of published works , and fostered relationships between University of Pennsylvania and Pahlavi University in Iran . From 1958 until 1970 he was also a member of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company board , and in 1971 became president of the Penn Central Company . He also held a number of other influential positions , including Public Governor of the New York Stock Exchange , director of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia , First Pennsylvania Banking and Trust Company , Philadelphia CARE Committee , Rore - Amchem , Inc . , the United Fund of the Philadelphia Area , the Food Distribution Center Corporation , the National Society of Scabbard and Blade , and the Institute for Educational Management in Boston . Later life . Harnwell was also involved in the office of the state governor , as chairman of the Council of Science and Technology , Committee on Tax Administration , Tax Study and Revision Commission and Commonwealth Priorities Commission at various times in the last decade of his time as president of the University of Pennsylvania . His influence in the university and governors office continued after his retirement , until his death in April , 1982 . Published works and honors . Harnwell received over 34 honorary degrees , as well as the title of Commander of the National Order of the Ivory Coast , Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . In May 1965 he became the 42nd recipient of the Philadelphia Award , and the University of Pennsylvania contains a Harnwell College House named in his honor . In honor of Harnwell ' s support of and dedication to The Penn Glee Club both during and after his time at Penn , on May 15 , 1970 he was awarded the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit . Beginning in 1964 , this award " established to bring a declaration of appreciation to an individual each year that has made a significant contribution to the world of music and helped to create a climate in which our talents may find valid expression . " In addition , Harnwell was supportive of Penn ' s chapter of Alpha Phi Omega , a national service fraternity . The chapter inducted him as an honorary Brother in 1955 . A member of several academic institutions , including the American Physical Society , the Acoustical Society , the American Philosophical Society , the Newcomen Society of North America , and the National Education Association , many of which he was chairman , Harnwell published a number of works during his life . 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