Edward T. (Ted) Lewis Jr., Ph.D., fourth president of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, passed away on Thursday, Dec. 11, in Lewes, Delaware. He was 91.
Lewis served as president during a remarkable period in the College’s history. From 1982 until 1996, he led the College through a transition that firmly established St. Mary’s College of Maryland among the country’s most distinguished public liberal arts colleges.
Notably, he was principally responsible for the Maryland General Assembly’s naming of SMCM as the state’s public honors college in 1992. This new charter cemented SMCM’s academic recognition and provided for the College’s independence from the University of Maryland System.
Lewis’s impact on campus was nearly immediate. In 1983, he initiated a curriculum revision that emphasized the liberal arts, and in 1985 saw to the development of a new general studies curriculum.
Between 1983 and 1989, he increased the mean salaries for all faculty ranks by 70 percent, moving SMCM from last to first among public colleges in Maryland. In a five-year period around this time, nine of the College’s 75 full-time faculty received Fulbright Fellowships (four in 1984 alone). By the end of his tenure, 97% of the full-time faculty possessed terminal degrees in their fields.
Facilities also prospered under Lewis’s leadership. The Townhouses on the Green and Schaefer Hall were completed during his tenure. The library was expanded, and St. Mary’s Hall received a complete renovation.
His emphasis on curriculum development, faculty excellence and student recruitment saw a dramatic increase in the College’s academic reputation. One indicator of this was the College’s rise from 6th to 1st in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of regional liberal arts colleges between 1987 and 1989.
Lewis received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Union College in New York, a Master of Arts from Boston University and his Ph.D. in English literature (Shakespeare studies) from the University of Denver. After initially enrolling at North Carolina State University, Lewis dropped out and joined the United States Army, where he served for two years during the Korean War.
A lifelong poet with more than 500 published works, his academic career included serving as associate dean at the Graduate School of Business and Public Administration at Cornell University. After his tenure at SMCM, he served as president and CEO of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 2007 to 2009.
In 2015, Lewis was recognized by then-President Tuajuanda C. Jordan with the Trailblazer Award. The second such recipient, the Trailblazer Award was established by Jordan to recognize those who had made significant contributions to the College.
Lewis is survived by his beloved wife, Deborah DeLauro; his adored and devoted sons, Stephen Lewis (Patricia, nee O’Connell) and John Lewis (Nicole, nee Rohr), three beautiful granddaughters, Grace, Hazel and Penelope; his stepson, Jacob DeLauro (Jenna, nee Kamees); stepdaughter, Jessica DeLauro; and his nieces, Lisa Larracuente and Hilary Teague (Jeff).
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Jan. 9, at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Hwy., Lewes, Delaware. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m.
Obituary from the Cape Gazette.
