Fred Hargadon

Fred Hargadon (January 4, 1934 – January 15, 2014) was the Dean of Admissions at Swarthmore College from 1964-1969, Stanford University from 1969 to 1984, and Princeton University from 1988 to 2003. He was a national leader in the field of university and college admission. In 1984 The New York Times described him as "the dean of deans".

Early life Frederick Anthony Hargadon was born in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, the son of Bernard and Anna Hargadon. He had two brothers, Bernard and John, and two sisters, Anne and Judy.

Stanford Hargadon moved on to Stanford University in 1969. He drove around in a convertible with the license plate "ADMITS". He instituted a holistic evaluation of students under which admission was not merely based on academic credentials. Hargadon noted that while earlier generations of students had seldom attended universities more than from their home, by the 1990s students were increasingly considering universities around the nation and overseas. By 1984, only 42.3 percent of Stanford's freshman class was from California. He abolished personal interviews of applicants. "I'm not a believer in one-on-one interviews with self-conscious 17-year- olds," he explained, "The brightest person I've ever admitted uttered about 10 words. I'm wary of taking snapshots of kids at that point." As dean, he read 207,900 applications, and sent his 'YES!' letters to 17,400 of them. LeMenager was suspended, but later given another position at Princeton.

Hargadon died at his home in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 15, 2014.