Michael Hooker

Michael Hooker
8th Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
In office 1995–1999
Preceded by	Paul Hardin III
Succeeded by	William Octavius McCoy (acting)
President of the University of Massachusetts System
In office 1992–1995
Preceded by	Joseph Duffey
Succeeded by	William Bulger
President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County
In office 1986–1992
Preceded by	John W. Dorsey
Succeeded by	Freeman Hrabowski III
President of Bennington College
In office 1982–1986
Personal details
Born	(1945-08-24)August 24, 1945 Richlands, Virginia
Died	June 29, 1999(1999-06-29) (aged 53) Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Spouse	Carmen DeFrates
Children	Alexandra Hooker
Alma mater	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A., '69) University of Massachusetts-Amherst (MA., '72, Ph.D., '73)
Profession	Philosopher

Michael Kenneth Hooker (August 24, 1945 – June 29, 1999) was an American academic who served as the eighth Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and President of University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Bennington College.

Early life

Hooker was born in 1945 in Richlands, Virginia. A son of a coal miner, Hooker was the first in his family to attend college. He chose to study philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and went on to pursue his doctoral degree at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Academia

After receiving his Ph.D., Hooker began to teach philosophy at Harvard University and the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. In 1975, he became dean at Johns Hopkins University until 1982 when he moved to Vermont to become the president of Bennington College. Four years later, Hooker returned to Baltimore to become the president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and then left in 1992 to become the president of the University of Massachusetts system. At UMBC, Hooker enhanced the quality of the university by attracting more students from around the state. Finally, in 1995 he became the eighth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill until his death in 1999. At UNC Chapel Hill, he made computer literacy a top priority, preparing students for the technological changes of the twenty-first century.

Death

Michael Hooker died from complications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.