William P. Gerberding

William Passavant Gerberding (September 9, 1929 – December 27, 2014) was an American educator. He served as the 2nd chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1978 to 1979 and as the 27th president of the University of Washington from 1979 to 1995.

Biography Gerberding was born in Fargo, North Dakota. He was the youngest of four children born to Lutheran minister William Gerberding and his wife Esther Habighorst. He received his BA from Macalester College in 1951, and went on to earn an MA in 1956 and a Ph.D. in 1959 from the University of Chicago.

Gerberding was a professor at Colgate University, and at UCLA, where he was chairman of the political science department. He served as vice president of academic affairs at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, in 1972. In 1975, he was the executive vice-chancellor at UCLA. In 1978, he was the chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Memorials In 1995, the 1949-built Administration Building at the University of Washington was renamed Gerberding Hall in his honor.