15 Facts About Paul Olum

Paul Olum was an American mathematician, professor of mathematics, and university administrator.

Reportedly, one reason he switched from physics to mathematics as his field was that compared to his office mate, future Nobel laureate Richard Feynman, Paul Olum did not think he was good at physics.

Paul Olum returned to Harvard after the war to complete his Ph.

Paul Olum made significant contributions in the area of obstruction theory.

In 1962, Paul Olum initiated the Cornell Topology Festival, an annual regional mathematics conference.

From 1963 to 1966, Paul Olum served as Mathematics Department chair, and recruited a number of talented faculty.

Paul Olum advocated the abolition of the House Committee on Unamerican Activities, was an early critic of the Vietnam War, and sought to remove the Reserve Officer Training Corps from the Cornell campus.

Paul Olum assisted in the establishment of Cornell's Women's Studies Program in 1972.

Paul Olum led the group which convinced the Trustees to adopt the plan, included a student-faculty-employee University Senate and the addition of Trustees elected by students and by that Senate.

Paul Olum served as Dean of the University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences from 1974 through 1976.

Those were turbulent years, as President Stephen Spurr, who had hired Paul Olum, was removed by the Board of Regents in fall 1974, and replaced by Lorene Rogers.

In 1976, Paul Olum was named provost at the University of Oregon.

Paul Olum oversaw construction of a $27 million remodeling of Oregon's library.

In 1987, the Executive Committee of State Board of Education required Paul Olum to retire by June 30,1989.

In 1990, following his retirement from the University of Oregon, Paul Olum moved to Athens, Greece, and lived with Margarita Papandreou.