Lattie Coor, 15th ASU president, dies at 89
During Lattie Coor’s tenure at Arizona State University (1990–2002), the university was granted Research 1 status by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching — a major milestone in its evolution that cleared the way for rapid advancement. Archive photo
Lattie F. Coor Jr., the 15th president of Arizona State University whose tenure achieved major milestones for ASU as a research institution, died Thursday evening at age 89.
“ASU would not be the institution it is today without Lattie Coor’s vision, leadership and commitment to the community,” ASU President Michael M. Crow said.
From ASU President Michael Crow
Yesterday evening, the ASU family lost Dr. Lattie Coor at the age of 89.
Lattie’s leadership of ASU between 1990 and 2002 was pivotal to the ASU we are today.
He built a university faculty of stature, and he laid the track for ASU to emerge as a unique institution of higher learning.
I have known and worked with Lattie for more than three decades. His experience, his commitment to education, his creativity and his love of Arizona made Lattie a special person to so many of us. I am personally indebted to Lattie for his support, wisdom and kindness in my years as president.
We will recognize his service, with his family, in the fall. Please join me in keeping Lattie and his family in our thoughts and prayers.
Michael
“Our university’s advancements in research growth, semiconductor R&D, workforce development, community partnerships, public health and service to learners across Arizona and around the globe — is all rooted in Lattie’s foresight and dedication to what ASU could become. With his passing, the university and the state have lost a grand champion, and Sybil and I have lost a dear friend and colleague.”
Coor almost didn’t take the job.
Before he became president of ASU in 1990, he held the same post at the University of Vermont for nearly 14 years. In a 2018 interview for the Arizona Historymakers Project, Coor admitted, “I really did not intend to take another presidency. My thinking … was that it was about time for me to start doing something else.”
His decision to reconsider was a turning point for ASU. When Crow dedicated the five-story Lattie F. Coor Hall on ASU’s Tempe campus in 2004, he said, “This building’s grand stature lives up to its namesake. Lattie Coor elevated the university’s status as a major research institution with high-quality academics and a diverse student body.”
Part of the legacy of Coor’s 12-year tenure is evident in the need to specify ASU’s Tempe campus — or the West Valley, Polytechnic or Downtown Phoenix campuses. In his 1990 inaugural address, Coor stated, “Arizona State University is now ready to take that great step, one that I believe will mark the beginning of a new era. We are ready to move ASU forward as a world-class university functioning in a multi-campus setting.”
It was his vision for ASU’s future that brought Coor back to his hometown, where he was born in 1936 to schoolteacher parents. His father had earned his teaching degree from ASU, then named Tempe State Teachers College. Lattie Coor Jr. was salutatorian of his graduating class at Litchfield High School, where his favorite subjects were history and social science.
“I was intrigued by the window it gave into the world,” he said in a 2006 interview for the Living History Video Project by the ASU Retirees Association.
Coor majored in social science at Arizona State College at Flagstaff, now Northern Arizona University, planning on a law degree, and possibly a political career, until his sophomore year and what he called his “burning bush” moment. Coor recalled in his 2006 interview for the ASU Retirees Association being “so moved by the power of intellectual exploration that I absolutely, completely planned to be a faculty member.”
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Lattie Coor (shown in 1990) served as ASU's president from 1990–2002; before that, he had held the same post at the University of Vermont for nearly 14 years.
Archive photo
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Lattie Coor poses for a photo with officers of the Associated Students of Arizona State University on the Tempe campus on May 3, 1990.
Archive photo
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At the 1993 spring commencement, Lattie Coor awards an honorary degree to Jesse Jones.
Archive photo
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In 1998, Lattie Coor (second from right) accompanies former President George H.W. Bush (left) and others as they leave the Carson Student Athlete Center.
Photo by Tim Trumble
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Lattie Coor (left) with Barbara and Craig Barrett. In 2000, Intel CEO Craig Barrett and his wife Barbara, an ASU alumna, endowed the honors college with a $10 million gift for special programs. Barrett, The Honors College was named in recognition of the gift, which, at the time, was the largest personal gift ever given to ASU. Barbara Barrett would go on to serve as a U.S. ambassador and the secretary of the Air Force.
Archive photo
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On March 4, 2002, Lattie Coor takes part in an ASU Cares event, a longstanding series of annual volunteer community service projects organized across the country by the ASU Alumni Association.
Photo by Tom Story
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Lattie Coor shares a laugh with ASU President Michael Crow at the Jan. 7, 2004, dedication of Lattie F. Coor Hall on the Tempe campus.
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At the dedication of Coor Hall (shown in a 2026 photo), President Michael Crow said: “This building’s grand stature lives up to its namesake. Lattie Coor elevated the university’s status as a major research institution with high-quality academics and a diverse student body.”
Photo by Samantha Chow/Arizona State University
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From left: ASU President Michael Crow, former ASU President Lattie Coor, Elva Coor and Sybil Francis, now president and chief executive officer of the Center for the Future of Arizona and the wife of Crow, pause for a photo at the dedication of Coor Hall on Jan. 7, 2004.
Photo by Tom Story
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Lattie Coor chats with graduating students in an undated file photo.
Archive photo
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Lattie Coor laughs at his introduction before he accepts the Sue Clark-Johnson Leadership Award at the Morrison Institute for Public Policy’s State of Our State conference Nov. 19, 2018, in Phoenix.
Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
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Elva and Lattie Coor supported several ASU colleges, programs and causes during their time with the university. Elva died in 2024 at age 85.
Courtesy photo
Coor went to Washington University in St. Louis for his master’s degree and PhD. He became assistant to the chancellor, coordinating an initiative to assist minority students from the St. Louis area in entering the nearly all-white university with the help of Saturday seminars and preparatory classes. He advanced through several academic positions to become vice chancellor, before being recruited by the University of Vermont for a university presidency of his own.
During Coor’s tenure at ASU, the university was granted Research 1 status by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching — a major milestone in its evolution that cleared the way for rapid advancement. The university’s endowment grew tenfold, and his full-throated dedication to the Campaign for Leadership that began in 1995 helped the university raise $560 million; the goal had been $300 million.
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In addition to the university’s hitting several philanthropic milestones during Coor’s tenure, he and his wife, Elva, supported several ASU colleges, programs and causes, including Barrett, The Honors College; Arizona PBS; Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions; ASU Library; Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication; The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts; ASU Athletics; ASU Gammage; ASU Alumni Association; ASU President’s Club; and ASU Women and Philanthropy.
“Lattie recognized the significant role private support plays in helping students, advancing research and extending the university’s geographic footprint,” said Gretchen Buhlig, CEO of the ASU Foundation for a New American University. “He and Elva touched a lot of lives through their generosity over the years.”
When he retired from ASU in 2002, Coor founded the Center for the Future of Arizona, a nonprofit he called a “do tank” rather than a think tank. “Drawing on policy,” Coor said at the time, “we will do very deep research and problem definition but work toward solutions that will be measurable.”
It was another example of his dedication to the state he returned to and its people.
“When Michael and I came to Arizona, Lattie and Elva were warm and welcoming and became great friends,” said Sybil Francis, president and chief executive officer of the Center for the Future of Arizona and the wife of Crow.
“Lattie’s passion and commitment to his home state of Arizona inspired his idea for the Center for the Future of Arizona. I am proud to have worked side by side with him since 2002 in building the center into the visionary and impactful organization it has become, one that will continue to drive a stronger and brighter future for our state. Lattie’s legacy will be felt for generations of Arizonans to come.”
Written by Erik Ketcherside
Share your memories
Have a favorite story about Lattie Coor? Share your memories online, and read what others had to say below.
Jane S Burtnett: “Dr. Coor took time to smile at an employee (me) and say hello as we were both walking to our cars (in different garages) after a long day of work.”
Deborah N Losse: “Lattie was a leader who modeled for others the importance of taking responsibility for one’s actions. He was kind and generous with his time. It was a privilege to have served on the faculty when he was President of ASU.”
Stuart Lindsay: “Lattie, a single dad at the time, was at every McKemy choir concert for his daughter, despite the demands of his job. This was where we got to know the family side of this remarkable man. In 1994 he declared the somewhat lavish President's residence on College a waste of taxpayers' money and moved his family to South Phoenix. At the time South Phoenix was regarded as a 'bad area' but Lattie's move helped change the trajectory of the neighborhood. Inspired by him, we moved there too, and would often meet Lattie and Elva walking by the HIghline canal. Ever the gentleman, he once volunteered to carry a doggy poop bag for Christine. 'Certainly not!' said Christine and Elva in unison. The area is still wonderfully diverse, reflecting how Lattie chose diversity in his family life just as he enabled it in education.”
Neal Woodbury: “President Coor was deeply committed both to ASU and the community. I remember years ago we were working to build joint graduate programs between the science and engineering colleges, building off the advances in nano biotechnology that were taking place at the time. President Coor and his administration supported the effort strongly and helped us break down the traditional barriers that existed between the disciplines, a radical idea back then. This established the kind of collaborations that later made things like the Biodesign Institute more possible when President Crow came.”
Nancy Grimm: “My fondest memory of Lattie (and Elva) was the 13-mile hike we took through the newly protected Agua Fria National Monument with Bruce Babbitt. Five of the people on that hike — including Lattie and Elva — were septuagenarians and they braved it as well as the rest, including some places where we had to swim! Lattie and Elva loved hiking in Arizona and would organize monthly hikes during the cooler parts of the year, beginning with a bagels and coffee tailgate party. As President of ASU Lattie presided over a large increase in external grants and interdisciplinary research, including the CAP LTER led by Chuck Redman and me, and we appreciated his support. He was a wonderful, kind person, an effective leader, and a lover of Arizona and the desert. He will be missed!”
Cindy LeBlanc Gardner: “I attended the University of Vermont (UVM) when Lattie Coor was president. My Bachelor's degree diploma is signed by him. I received a Master's and Doctorate from ASU. Lattie Coor's signature is on my doctoral diploma. When I walked across the stage at ASU graduation I thanked him for my 2 wonderful university experiences at UVM and ASU. He was very gracious, as always.”
Craig Weatherup: “I had just turned 40 and been promoted to a senior leadership position at Pepsico. As if on cue, Lattie called out of the blue and suggested it was time for me to engage in my alma mater. He hosted me on campus and we began a friendship for 40 years, including Elva and my wife Connie. He also immediately mentioned a campaign he had underway and that a lead gift would be great way to kick off my engagement with ASU. As I learned very early Lattie could be, and was, incredibly charming and persuasive. Connie and I will always have deep affection and appreciation for our years with Lattie and Elva.”
Adelaida V. Severson: “Lattie and Elva were near and dear to me as when I was a grad student at ASU, I was his Director of Special Events and 'friendraiser' for a good eight years. I remember when he first met Elva and he had a different lilt in his step. The events we held were intentional and the start of actual and real fundraising efforts. We launched the first capital campaign of $150M back in 1995 — and at that time, it was a daunting and daring number for the Valley, let alone a public university. Not so much now! He was such an intelligent, caring and kind soul who remembered everyone’s name, family endeavors and didn’t hesitate to ask about them whenever he saw you. He even knew the janitors’ names and families. I admired his resilience in the face of criticism at a time when ASU was making its first foray into becoming a research institution and disbanding the branding we had as a 'party school.' He was definitely a statesman and helped to lay the foundation to jettison ASU and the state of Arizona to where it is today. May he rest in paradise and prayers for his family as they go through this difficult time. He will truly be missed.”
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