E. T. York Papers

Born in Valley Head, Alabama, in 1922, E. Travis York, known to most as E. T., completed his undergraduate work at the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) and subsequently earned a master's in agronomy. He finished his graduate work at Cornell University and there developed an interest in alleviating world hunger. He served on the faculty of North Carolina State University and worked briefly in the private sector before accepting an appointment as director of the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service at Auburn in 1959. York became Administrator of the Federal Extension Service (FES) at the USDA in 1961. In 1963, York was hired as Provost for Agriculture at the University of Florida and soon launched a reorganization of UF's agricultural programs that led to the creation of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). He served as Vice President for Agricultural Affairs and was the university's executive vice president when President Stephen C. O'Connell stepped down in 1973. York then served the university as interim president until the arrival of Robert Q. Marston in 1974. Appointed Chancellor of the State University System in January, 1974, York retired in 1980 and devoted most of his remaining years to international programs aimed at reducing world hunger. He was active in Senator Bob Graham's successful campaign in 2002 to pass a Florida constitutional amendment compelling the state to maintain a governing board for its public universities. York died in 2011.