Francis Leo Lawrence (August 25, 1937 – April 16, 2013) was an American educator and scholar specializing in French literature and university administrator. A graduate of Saint Louis University and Tulane University, Lawrence taught at Tulane for over 30 years and held posts as academic vice president, provost, and dean of the graduate school before being appointed as the 18th president of Rutgers University (1990–2002). During his career, Lawrence authored several books and articles on French classical drama and baroque poetry with a focus on the works of Molière. For his contributions to this field, Lawrence was awarded the honor of Chevalier dans L'Ordre des Palmes Académiques by the French government. Early years Francis Leo Lawrence, “Fran”, as he was known by all, was born in 1937 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the fifth child and only son of Anthony and Eldora Lawrence. He attended Mount Saint Charles High School (now Mount Saint Charles Academy) where he played hockey and was a star pitcher on the baseball team. He was inducted into the Mount Saint Charles Hall of Fame in 2005. Lawrence earned his bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in French and Italian in 1959, where he met his future wife Mary Kay at the beginning of his freshman year. He was awarded an NDEA fellowship for graduate study and earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in French classical literature from Tulane University in 1962. He rose through Tulane University's academic and administrative ranks to full professor, chairman of the French and Italian department, Dean of Newcomb College, Dean of the Graduate School and chief academic officer/Provost. In 1990, he was appointed president of Rutgers, the state university of New Jersey. He was married to Mary Kathryn Long Lawrence. They have four children and thirteen grandchildren. Lawrence died peacefully following an illness on April 16, 2013, at his home in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, with his wife of 54 years, Mary Kay, by his side as well as his daughter, Naomi; he was 75 years old. Presidency of Rutgers Among his many accomplishments as president of Rutgers included: a strategic plan to further excellence in learning, research, and service that built upon Rutgers' strengths and offered a new vision of the university; the first university-wide curriculum committee assembled in over two decades to evaluate Rutgers' general education curriculum and to make recommendations that would focus the curriculum on the