Landrum Bolling, 'beloved' former Earlham College president, dies

Landrum Bolling, a 15-year president of Earlham College who also worked to achieve peace in the Middle East, has died at age 104.

Bolling's death was announced Thursday by current President Alan Price in an email to alumni.

"It is with great sadness that I share the news of the death of Landrum Bolling, one of the most beloved and longest-living presidents of Earlham," Price wrote.

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According to Price, Bolling was president from 1958 to 1973, helping to transform the college into a national and international institution. During his tenure, Earlham gained a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and hired its first African-American faculty member, William Cousins, Price noted. As off-campus and international programs grew, the campus added Lilly Library, Hoerner Residence Hall, Runyan Center, Noyes Hall and Stanley Hall.

In 2002, Earlham named its new social sciences building after Bolling, who actively served on the school's board of trustees well into his 90s.

After Bolling resigned Earlham's presidency, he was actively involved in global peace and justice issues, according to Price, including serving as president of Lilly Endowment, chairman of the Council on Foundations, senior fellow at Landrum Bolling Center for International Policy, rector of the Tantur Ecumenical Studies Center in Jerusalem, director-at-large for the international humanitarian agency Mercy Corps and on the Foundation for Middle East Peace board.

He was awarded the Peacemaker/Peace Builder award from the National Peace Foundation in 2000 and the James L Fisher Award for Distinguished Service to Education by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in 2005, Price wrote.

Bolling's work in the Middle East included serving on an international working group studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and serving as the primary channel of communication between former President Jimmy Carter's White House and Yasser Arafat, the former chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Bolling was principal author of the international working group's 1970 report, "Search for Peace in the Middle East."

In anticipation of Bolling's 100th birthday in 2013, Carter emailed The Palladium-Item a tribute to Bolling:

"A longtime friend and colleague, Landrum Bolling is renowned for his many achievements as an educator and journalist, leader in philanthropic, humanitarian, and interfaith efforts, and as a citizen peacemaker. Knowing of his personal acquaintance with Israeli and Arab leaders and his experience in the region, I turned to him for advice and assistance while negotiating the Camp David Accords while I was president. Throughout the years, he has remained a trusted and valued adviser in our work at The Carter Center."

As Bolling continued his peace work around his 100th birthday, he presented one of two DVDS on his work at the Breckinridge Film Festival and published the book "Ending the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Arab-Jewish Partnerships."

Speaking to about 200 people at Earlham on Nov. 13, 2013, Bolling said a divided Palestine "is not a solution that can be sustained," calling the idea of putting Jews on one side of a wall and Arabs on the other "futile nonsense."

"This is an issue that's not going to die," Bolling said. "These two peoples are fated to live alongside each other."