James Stanley Marshall

James Stanley Marshall (January 27, 1923 – June 8, 2014), known as J. Stanley Marshall, was an American physicist, science educator, administrator and college president.

Early life and education Born in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, Marshall grew up in rural Pennsylvania. His parents Walter and Mildred were farmers: Stanley was the last of seven children and the only male.

Marshall worked at the Duquesne Light Company while attending college. He enlisted in the Army in 1943 before his junior year in college and served in World War II as a combat medic. The army discharged him in 1946 and he returned to school, graduating with a BS from Slippery Rock State Teachers College in 1947. He was a high school science teacher at Mynderse Academy in Seneca Falls, New York while earning a MS in 1950 from Syracuse University. while pursuing his 1956 Ph.D., also at Syracuse. for the FSU campus. That decision brought protests by students and faculty who considered it suppression of artistic expression.

Activism Marshall's tenure at FSU matched the increase of student activism across the country as well as locally. Students held large demonstrations against the war in Vietnam and the Kent State shootings. A chapter of Students for a Democratic Society was formed and a Black Student Union. Students marched to change gender and racial policy, Marshall later said he was concerned about violence and didn't want FSU to be the "Kent State of the South." Many students and faculty considered his response to student protests to be an overreaction to a perceived threat.

Faculty The relationship between Marshall and the FSU faculty was sometimes difficult. He was often criticized for failing to communicate with the faculty who in turn opposed many changes that Marshall instituted, some of which were later reversed. Marshall was a member of the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission in 1997, from 2004 to 2012. who was born when the Marshalls were living in the President's Residence (now the Pearl Tyner Alumni Welcome Center). A pool and tennis court were added to the grounds by philanthropist Syde Deeb (at no expense to the state or FSU). The family had owned a southwest Georgia farm of 250-acres and Marshall relished working outdoors. He enjoyed cycling and was a competitive tennis player. For two decades he attended events of all kinds at FSU: celebrations, symposiums and alumni events. He was proud of his service as president and loved the university.

Books "The Tumultuous Sixties: Campus Unrest and Student Life at a Southern University." Tallahassee: Sentry Press, 2006. ISBN 978-1-889574-25-7.