Charles John GRAHAM

1929 - 2016 Charles (Chuck) Graham was a distinguished university educator and administrator in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Charles was born in LaSalle, Illinois. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois in 1950 (he earned a Phd in Political Science from Illinois in 1955), he moved to Washington, DC to work in the Naval Department. He subsequently moved into education in the State University System in Wisconsin serving as Chair of the Social Sciences Department at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls and then Dean of Arts and Sciences at University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. In 1960, he took a two year sabbatical to serve as Legislative Assistant to US Senator William Proxmire. In 1971, he became the President of St. Cloud State University in Minnesota where he served until 1981 when he was named President of Hamline University. After retiring from Hamline in 1987, he became Head of Overseas Programs for the State University System of Minnesota. During his tenure, he was instrumental in founding Akita International University in Japan, a joint venture between the Minnesota State University System and the Government of Japan. His last public service post was as Acting President of Metro State University. Charles was a past president of the St. Paul Rotary and the recipient of several awards for distinguished service in education and public life. Chuck died peacefully after a brief illness in Minneapolis. He is survived by his wife, Bonnie, sons John (Martha), James (Jenny) and David (Therese) as well as 10 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. A memorial service for Chuck's life will be held at 12:00 on January 11 at Centennial United Methodist Church in St. Paul. Memorials may be given to one of his former universities.