Former University of Louisville President Donald Swain dies

Donald Swain, a progressive changemaker who spearheaded the University of Louisville's transformation and sharp growth in the 1980s during his 14-year presidency, has died. He was 92.

Swain died Nov. 6 in Pleasant Hill, California, according to his daughter, Cindy Swain.

"I think his connection with U of L was so special. He loved the community," she said. "He really loved what he did. And I think people loved him back."

Swain was appointed U of L's president in 1981 and shepherded the university's growth in infrastructure, financial standing and campus' social progression throughout his tenure.

"Under his watch, [U of L] began the transformation from an urban commuter school to the Research 1 powerhouse it is today," Kim Schatzel, current U of L president, said in a letter Monday to the university's campus community.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released a statement expressing grief at Swain's death and giving condolences to his family.

"He ushered in a golden era of unprecedented growth – from establishing a nationally recognized athletics program to steering the university hospital toward success to jump-starting the McConnell Center on campus together," McConnell said. "Those of us fortunate to work with Don remember his knack for getting things done and his honorable stewardship of our beloved university."

During his tenure, U of L erected more than a dozen new buildings, including the College of Business and the Swain Student Activities Center, which bears his name.

Built in 1990, that building was originally designed to provide safe passage over the railroad tracks for those who were commuting into campus. Since then, it has taken on a new life as a connector for those in the university with multiple dining options, event spaces, lounges and student activities.

"He was so proud of that," Cindy Swain said of the SAC building.

Swain also helped strengthen the university’s endowment, which grew tenfold – from $18 million to $183 million – during his tenure.

"Donald Swain moved the institution beyond its commuter-college roots, inspired the greater community to value its university as never before, demonstrated it could raise funds in amounts never before seen, and brought to it a financial stability it had lacked," William J. Morison, former faculty member with a 40-year career at U of L, wrote in a 2016 guest column in The Courier Journal.

Swain also oversaw a slate of social changes at the university.

In 1990, he established a system of incentives at U of L to increase the number of Black faculty members, according to the Greensboro News and Record. Part of this system included providing financial support to help job candidates complete doctoral degrees. He is credited by Schatzel with increasing the hiring of minority faculty and staff at the university.

In the early 1990s, Swain appointed the Task Force on the Status of Women to assess the status of women faculty and staff at U of L and recommend a slate of improvements. From that group emerged an in-depth study of issues within the workplace for U of L's female employees.

In her letter, Schatzel said the creation of this task force directly led to more than $1.1 million in salary adjustments approved by Swain's successor, John Shumaker.

Following the release of the task force's report, the Commission on the Status of Women was created and it still exists at the university.

Swain also established an agreement with Humana Corp. and University of Louisville Hospital that saved the hospital from steep financial debt in the mid-1980s, a feat cited in a 1985 Los Angeles Times article.

Humana co-founder David A. Jones Sr., who served as co-chair of the U of L search committee that recommended Swain for the presidency, wrote in a 2016 letter to the editor that "Swain was a gifted, honorable, and trusted academician who served with distinction as president, and left the school in 1995 in far better condition than he found it."

Swain retired from the U of L presidency in 1995. That year, he was honored as Louisvillian of the Year for his work and impact.

"He loved his family. He loved the Sierras. He loved his job," Cindy Swain said. "He was just so gregarious and sincere."

Prior to coming to U of L, Swain was a history professor at the University of California, Davis (UCD) in the early 1960s. He later served as the vice chancellor of student affairs at UCD as well as the vice president of academic affairs for the larger University of California system.

According to his obituary, his memorial service will be held at Aegis of Pleasant Hill, 1660 Oak Park Blvd. in Pleasant Hill, California, on Jan. 20 at 11 a.m.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Donald Swain, former University of Louisville president, dies