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Jean Mayer becomes President of Tufts, 1976 Dr. Jean Mayer (1920-93), was the tenth president of Tufts, serving from 1976 until 1992. A renowned nutritionist, he was born in Paris to noted physiologists Andre and Jeanne Eugenie Mayer. During World War II, Mayer entered the French army as a cadet and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the field artillery before being captured by German forces in 1940. After shooting a guard, Mayer escaped prison camp and joined the French underground From 1955-69, Mayer participated in a number of relief and advisory missions to India, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and West Africa. In 1969, Mayer was tapped by President Nixon to organize and chair the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health. This conference is credited with creating the impetus which led to the introduction of food stamps for the poor and an expansion of the school lunch program for needy children. In 1971, Mayer chaired the nutrition division of the White House Conference on Aging, and in 1974 he coordinated the U.S. Senate National Nutrition Policy Study. On September 18th, 1976, Mayer was inaugurated as the tenth president of Tufts University. At Tufts, Mayer created the first graduate school of nutrition in the United States and New England's only school of veterinary medicine. Mayer also developed the Tufts United States Department of Agriculture Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston as well as the Center for Environmental Management. Mayer was elevated to chancellor on September 1, 1992, after 16 years as the university's president. He died of a heart attack on January 1, 1993, in Sarasota, Florida at the age of 72. The Elizabeth Van Huysen Mayer Campus Center, which opened in 1985, was named in honor of his wife. |
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