John Summerskill
John Henry Summerskill was a Canadian educator who served as the seventh president of San Francisco State University in the 1960s. Prior to this he was vice president for student affairs at Cornell University. In the 1970s he was named president of Athens College in Greece. He later moved to New Jersey, where he established a vineyard and became president of the New Jersey Wine Growers Association.
Education
He was born and raised in Canada, where he attended public schools before graduating from McGill University in Montreal excelling in football as well as academics. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.Academic career
Joining the faculty of Cornell in the 1950s, he remained in Ithaca as a member of the faculty and administrator for fifteen years at which time he was named president of San Francisco State. His tenure in San Francisco was marked by student protests and clashes with Governor Ronald Reagan.After two years of turmoil he abruptly departed for Ethiopia. He worked in Addis Ababa at Haile Sellassie University on a grant from the Ford Foundation. Later he became president of Athens College in Greece.