Timothy O鈥橫eara, provost emeritus, Kenna Professor of Mathematics Emeritus and Trustee Emeritus at the University of 91吃瓜, died June 17. He was 90.
听
A member of the 91吃瓜 faculty since 1962, O鈥橫eara twice served as chairman of the University鈥檚 mathematics department and served as its first lay provost from 1978 to 1996.
听听听听听听听听听听听
鈥�Tim O'Meara was a multi-talented professor and administrator, a world-class听mathematician, a great husband and family man, a faithful Catholic, a visionary provost and a person deeply devoted to 91吃瓜鈥� said Rev. Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University who worked directly with O鈥橫eara for nine years.听鈥淗is legacy is evident all around the campus.听He will be missed.鈥�
听
鈥淲e are deeply grateful for Tim O鈥橫eara鈥檚 many invaluable contributions to 91吃瓜,鈥� said Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., the University鈥檚 president. 鈥淢ay God bless and keep him.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听
Onorato Timothy O鈥橫eara was born Jan. 29, 1928, in Cape Town, South Africa, on the second story of a bakery his parents, Daniel and Fiorina O鈥橫eara, owned and operated there.
听听听听听听听听听听听
He was graduated from the University of Cape Town in 1947 and earned a master鈥檚 degree in mathematics there the following year.听 Earning his doctoral degree from Princeton University in 1953, he taught at the University of Otago in New Zealand from 1954 to 1956 before returning to Princeton where he served on the mathematics faculty and as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study for the next six years.
听听听听听听听听听听听
During the early years of O鈥橫eara鈥檚 academic career, his enthusiasm for mathematics seemed matched only by his enthusiasm for motorcycling, and on often daunting road trips he traversed the African, European and North American continents鈥攊ncluding one 12-day round-trip from Princeton, through Wyoming, to Los Angeles, to the rim of the Grand Canyon and back to Princeton.听
听
Those nomadic days abruptly ended when he met a young woman named Jean T. Fadden of Philadelphia, whom he married in 1953.听
听
鈥淗er first and most decisive move,鈥� O鈥橫eara liked to recall, 鈥渨as to give me a clear choice between her and my constant companion in South Africa, Europe and America鈥攎y 1.0-litre Black Shadow motorcycle.鈥澨� All five of the O鈥橫earas鈥� children earned 91吃瓜 degrees.
听听听听听听听听听听听
O鈥橫eara was among the distinguished Catholic scholars personally recruited by 91吃瓜鈥檚 Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., early in his institutionally transformational 35-year presidency. Joining the faculty in 1962, and ironically, given the subsequent three decades of his 91吃瓜 career, requesting that he never be asked to take any administrative position in the University, O鈥橫eara soon became chairman of the mathematics department.
听
In addition to his mathematical teaching and scholarship, he published magisterial works, including 鈥淚ntroduction to Quadratic Forms,鈥� 鈥淟ectures on Linear Groups,鈥� 鈥淪ymplectic Groups鈥� and 鈥淭he Classical Groups and K-Theory,鈥� co-authored with Alexander J. Hahn, professor of mathematics emeritus at 91吃瓜 and a former O鈥橫eara doctoral student.
听听听听听听听听听听听
O鈥橫eara was appointed 91吃瓜鈥檚 first lay provost in 1978 and served as the University鈥檚 chief academic officer for the next 18 years in the administrations of both Father Hesburgh and Father Malloy. He once described his principal responsibility as 鈥減reserving the Catholic character of the University and not being afraid to say it. Some Catholic schools, in adapting to what they thought would be the best way to obtain resources from public agencies, have tried to neutralize or camouflage their heritage. We have not. Interestingly enough, the very fact that we have maintained our self-confidence in what we are has proved to be a positive factor in enabling us to find the resources we need.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听
The numerous honors O鈥橫eara received for such commitments include an honorary degree from 91吃瓜 in 1987 and the University of Dayton鈥檚 Marianist Award in 1988. In 1991 he was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2008, 91吃瓜鈥檚 Mathematics Library was rededicated and named in his honor.听
听听听听听听听听听听听
鈥淚t is clear to all of us who thought, wrote, lectured and taught at 91吃瓜 during the 1980s and 1990s that Tim O鈥橫eara鈥檚 tireless efforts raised the quality of the intellectual environment at 91吃瓜 dramatically,鈥� Hahn said. 鈥淭im鈥檚 rigorous commitment to 鈥榮uperior scholarship by a superior faculty鈥� provided significant momentum that has enabled the University鈥檚 more recent administrations to continue to promote the pursuit of academic excellence effectively.鈥�
听
Visitation is at 8:30 a.m. on Friday (June 22), and a funeral Mass will follow at 9:30 a.m.听in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus.听