Former OU President Paul Sharp Dies

Associated Press

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Former University of Oklahoma President Paul Sharp has died after a lengthy illness.

OU spokeswoman Catherine Bishop confirmed the 91-year-old Sharp died Wednesday night in Norman.

Sharp served as the university's ninth president from 1971-1977. The Paul F. Sharp Concert Hall in the Catlett Music Center is named in his honor.

Born in 1918 in Kirksville, Mo., Sharp earned his bachelor's degree from Phillips University in Enid and his doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

Sharp came to OU after serving for five years as president of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Before that, he served as chancellor of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and president of Hiram College in Ohio.