Glenn W. Ferguson

Glenn Walker Ferguson (January 28, 1929 – December 20, 2007) was an American diplomat and university president. He served as United States Ambassador to Kenya (1966–1969), chancellor of Long Island University (1969–1970), and president of Clark University (1970–1973), the University of Connecticut (1973–1978), and the American University of Paris (1992–1995).

Early life Ferguson was born in Syracuse, New York, on January 28, 1929, the only child of Forrest and Mabel Walker Ferguson. He grew up mostly in Bethesda, Maryland, where he graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. He served a stormy eleven months as chancellor of Long Island University, from which position he resigned in 1970 after the university's trustees rejected his proposal to split LIU into four autonomous institutions. He then served as president of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1970 to 1973. Effective September 1, 1973, he became the ninth president of the University of Connecticut.

University of Connecticut Ferguson had a difficult tenure as UConn president. He assumed the presidency just when the state government under Republican governor Thomas Meskill was demanding the university slash costs. The state's annual appropriation declined from $34.5 million in 1971–72 to $30.3 million in 1975–76, a cut of over 12 percent.

Faculty and staff unionized in the early 1970s amid declining compensation rates compared to other research universities. The University of Connecticut Professional Employees Association (UCPEA) for most staff and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) for faculty were established at the university for the first time. Ferguson opposed ultimately unsuccessful efforts by Governor Ella Grasso to consolidate all of Connecticut's public institutions of higher education under a single board of regents, which would have limited UConn's autonomy. Sherry Ferguson married Robert Zoellick, who served as the 11th President of the World Bank Group.

Ferguson died on December 20, 2007, from prostate cancer at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had lived since 1998. He was survived by his wife and children.