 Sproul was inspired by predecessor Benjamin Ide Wheeler, who was president when he first began to work for the University of California.Sproul was a member of Abracadabra  (now Delta Chi Abracadabra), the Order of the Golden Bear, and the Bohemian Club - he sponsored Ernest Lawrence's membership in 1932.He died age 84 on September 10, 1975, at home in Berkeley, California.