Birth Dates of Notable Kentuckians: October 31, 1921 – Otis A. Singletary

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From The Kentucky Encyclopedia –
Otis Arnold Singletary, Jr., historian and educator, was born October 31, 1921, in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Arnold and May Charlotte (Walker) Singletary. He was educated in the Gulfport public schools, at Millsaps College (B.A. 1947) in Jackson, Mississippi, and at Louisiana State University (M.A. 1949, Ph.D. 1954). He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during both World War II and the Korean War.

In 1954 Singletary joined the history department of the University of Texas, where he taught and served in a number of administrative capacities. In 1961 he accepted the position of chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. During 1964-65, on leave from the university, he directed the Job Corps of the federal government's Office of Economic Opportunity. The following year he resigned from the university to become vice-president of the American Council on Education. In 1968 he left this post to become vice-chancellor for academic affairs of the University of Texas system. In 1969 he became president of the University of Kentucky.

Singletary assumed his presidential responsibilities during the turmoil kindled by the Vietnam War. His entire tenure was beset by ruinous inflation in the national economy, crippling stringency in the education budget, and unsettling vicissitudes in state politics. Yet he was able, through vision, purpose, and personality, to achieve impressive gains in both the physical and financial resources and the academic quality of the university. He retired from the presidency in 1987.

He was married on June 6, 1944, to Gloria Walton; they have three children: Bonnie, Scot, and Kendall Ann.

CHARLES P. ROLAND, Entry Author

Selected Sources from UK Libraries:

Birdwhistell, Terry L., and Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. Otis A. Singletary Oral History Project. 1987.
Special Collections Library - Oral History Collection

Singletary, Otis A., and Kenneth K. Bailey. The South in American History. 2d ed. Washington: Service Center for Teachers of History, 1965. Print. Publication (Service Center for Teachers of History) ; No.3.
016.975 Si646s, Special Collections Library

Singletary, Otis A. Negro Militia and Reconstruction. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963. Print.
E668 .S59 1963, Special Collections Library