David Pierpont Gardner (March 24, 1933 – January 2, 2024) was an American university administrator, and professor who served as the 15th president of theUniversity of California. He also served as president of theUniversity of Utah.

David Pierpont Gardner was born inBerkeley, California, on March 24, 1933,^[1] to Reed S. Gardner and Margaret Pierpont Gardner. He married Elizabeth (Libby) Fuhriman in 1958. They had four daughters (Karen, Shari, Lisa, and Marci) before Libby's death in 1991. He married Sheila S. Rogers in 1995.

Gardner was an active member ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)^[2] and contributed to theEncyclopedia of Mormonism.^[3]

Gardner's bachelor's degree inpolitical science,history, andgeography was earned atBrigham Young University in 1955. He went on to theUniversity of California, Berkeley, to obtain an MA in political science in 1959 and a PhD in higher education in 1966.

Gardner was appointed Assistant to the Chancellor atUniversity of California, Santa Barbara, (UCSB) before completing his PhD, and accepted a joint appointment as Assistant Chancellor andProfessor ofHigher Education at UCSB in 1967. He moved to UC Berkeley as the Vice President for Public Service Programs and University Dean of University Extension for UC Berkeley in 1971, then became the Vice President for Extended Academic and Public Service Programs in the Office of the President (UC system wide) in 1972.

Gardner left the University of California to become the president of theUniversity of Utah in 1973.^[4]

Gardner stayed there until he returned to the University of California in 1983 as President. His wife Libby was named Associate to the President, and he worked with her closely. He resigned after her death in 1991 (effective in 1992), stating that he could not continue without her. He was given a controversial retirement package worth nearly $2.4 million.^[5]

In 1983, Gardner was elected a fellow of theNational Academy of Public Administration.^[6] Gardner was then later elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1986 and theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1989.^[7][8] He served as President of theWilliam and Flora Hewlett Foundation from 1993 to 1999. He became a professor of educational leadership and policy in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Utah in 2001. He was also the chair ofNational Commission on Excellence in Education, whose members wrote the well-known educational document,A Nation at Risk.

Gardner died in Park City, Utah on January 2, 2024, at the age of 90.^[9][10]

• Gardner, David P. (1967).The California Oath Controversy. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.hdl:2027/mdp.39015014198496.
• Gardner, David P. (2005).Earning My Degree: Memoirs of an American University President. Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN 9780520931114.

• Biography from the University of California archives
• Biographical Information
• Guide to the David P. Gardner Papers atThe Bancroft Library
• David P. Gardner website

• 1933 births
• 2024 deaths
• Latter Day Saints from Utah
• Brigham Young University alumni
• Presidents of the University of Utah
• University of Utah faculty
• University of California, Berkeley administrators
• University of California, Santa Barbara administrators
• University of California, Berkeley alumni
• University of California regents
• Presidents of the University of California System
• People from Berkeley, California
• Latter Day Saints from California
• Members of the American Philosophical Society

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