Richard J. Stonesifer

Richard J. Stonesifer
Presidential Portrait of Richard J. Stonesifer
Fifth President of Monmouth University
In office 1971–1979
Personal details
Alma mater	Franklin & Marshall College University of Pennsylvania

Richard J. Stonesifer (1922–1999)^[1] was the fifth President of Monmouth University.^[2]

Early career

Stonesifer graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1944 where he was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. He then served in the Army Air Force during World War II.^[3] After the war he was a member of the Franklin and Marshall English Department from 1946 until 1960.^[4] During this time he earned his Doctorate Degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1954.^[5]

College leadership

In 1960, he was promoted to Assistant to the President of Franklin and Marshall. Through his efforts the college won an award from the American College of Public Relations Association for his newspaper series “Campus and Classroom” in 1962.^[6]

On March 1, 1963, he was named as the new Assistant To the Provost and Director Of the College of General Studies and the Summer School for the University of Pennsylvania. He also joined the faculty of the Annenberg School as an Associate Professor of Communications.^[7] During his time he wrote his book W.H. Davies: A Critical Biography which was published in 1965.^[8]

Stonesifer then moved to Drew University in 1965. He would serve as the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts until 1971.^[9]

College President

From 1971 to 1979 he served as the President of Monmouth University. Dr. Stonesifer has received some credit for developing the academic reputation of Monmouth.^[10] During this time several buildings on campus were added to the National Register of Historic Places and the college received some attention for being the home of the New York Knicks and New York Giants training camps.^[11]

His tenure was marred by a tight financial situation at the university. Like most private colleges in the 1970s, Monmouth suffered from declining enrollment,^[12][13] national economic inflation, and debt from a large building program in the 1960s.^[14][15] The faculty threatened strikes throughout the decade. There was eventually a two-week faculty strike in 1979 as well as a longer staff strike. These strikes strained his relationship with the college's regents which caused him to step down.^[16][17]

Publications

Other than his book, Dr. Stonesifer also published these articles:^[18]

• Stonesifer, Richard J. "The Catsup Factory Fallacy." Small College Annual, 1966: p. 11-12.
• Stonesifer, Richard J. "A Ritual of Restlessness." The Drew University Magazine, Summer 1970: p. 11-13.
• Stonesifer, Richard J. "TV Form and TV Sense." Television Quarterly, vol. 4, no. 2, Spring 1965: p. 19-27.

References