A. Kenneth Pye

August Kenneth Pye was born in New York City in 1931.^[2] He graduated from the University at Buffalo with a B.A., and later received J.D. and LL.M. degrees from Georgetown University.^[2] While a student at Buffalo, he became a member of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.^[3]

He served as dean of Duke Law School from 1968 to 1970 and from 1973 to 1976.^[4][5]

In 1987, Pye accepted an offer to become president of Southern Methodist University. The university was in disarray in the wake of a football scandal and struggled with a budget deficit, uneven quality in its colleges, and a national reputation for mediocre academics.^[6] Pye put together a taskforce which developed a proposal it called Toward the 21st Century: Excellence and Responsibility, that would, among other things, require all SMU students to have a liberal arts major or minor.^[6]

Pye proved capable of standing up to the school's powerful alumni and boosters.^[7] He was active on the NCAA Presidents Commission.^[8] In 1994 he resigned, citing health issues.^[2] Pye died of cancer later in 1994 in Lake City, Colorado.^[2] D Magazine wrote that his death "left a gaping hole" at the university.^[9]