Ray Lyman Wilbur retired, he took over as president. He served as president of Stanford from 1943 until 1948 and brought the school through the difficult years of World War II. He often said that his main job at Stanford was fundraising for the school. Tresidder set up a professional fundraising organization and streamlined administrative and accounting practices. He established a scholarship program and upgraded the music program to a full department. Tresidder also abolished the sorority system on campus in 1944, after female students voted to support the move, saying there was "serious disunity" between women who pledged sororities and women who lived in dormitories. Tresidder also helped establish the Stanford Research Institute. The organization's first director, William F. Talbot, was initially instructed by Tresidder to avoid work that would conflict with the university's interests, particularly federal contracts that might attract political pressure. The drive to find work and the lack of support from Stanford University faculty caused the new research institute to violate this directive six months later through the pursuit of a contract with the Office of Naval Research. As a result, Talbot was fired and replaced by Jesse Hobson, who had previously led the Armour Research Foundation, but the pursuit of contract work remained. Tresidder died of a heart attack at The St. Regis Hotel in New York City on January 28, 1948, while on University business. Recognition Tresidder Peak in Yosemite National Park is named for him. The Tresidder Memorial Union at Stanford University, dedicated in 1962, is named for him. The Tresidder Bollards, also at Stanford University, are named for him. The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite has a Mary Curry Tresidder suite and an Underwood/Tresidder suite which incorporates the Tresidder Library. References Further reading Edwin Kiester, Jr., Donald Tresidder: Stanford's Overlooked Treasure (Stanford Historical Society, 1992) Shirley Sargent, Yosemite’s Innkeepers (1975, 2000). 1894 births 1948 deaths Presidents of Stanford University Stanford University alumni People from Tipton, Indiana Stanford University School of Medicine alumni American people of Cornish descent SRI International people Stanford University trustees 20th-century American academics