John S. Toll *52

John Toll, a physicist who presided over two major research universities, died of respiratory failure July 15, 2011. He was 87.

Toll graduated from Yale in 1944 and served in the Navy. He earned a Ph.D. in physics from Princeton in 1952, and then taught at the University of Maryland. In 1965, he became president of Stony Brook University at age 41.

Toll oversaw Stony Brook’s transformation from a state college of 1,700 students to one of the four major research institutions of the State University of New York under the aegis of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller. Its enrollment grew to 17,000, and it added schools of engineering, medicine, dentistry, nursing, and social work. When Toll left in 1978, its total faculty had grown from 240 to 1,250.

That year, he returned to Maryland and was its chancellor into 1988. Under Toll, the university grew from five to 11 campuses, and raised its national ranking. His political skills with state legislatures were invaluable. From 1995 to 2004, he was president of the 850-student Washington College (Md.), improving its finances to where half the students received scholarships.

Toll is survived by Deborah, his wife of 40 years; two daughters; and one grandson.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.