Peter Pouncey
Peter Pouncey PhD '69 is a British classicist who served as the ninth Dean of Columbia College. Pouncey was born, a son of missionaries, in the British concession of the Chinese city of Tsingtao. In 1975, Pouncey issued a report recommending the merger of the College, General Studies, Barnard College, and the undergraduate division of SEAS into one dedicated undergraduate school for all students, downsizing GSAS enrollment, and forcing more GSAS faculty to dirty their hands by teaching undergradautes. [1] Pouncey then earned the ire of then-president William McGill by unilaterally announcing a plan to take Columbia College co-ed. Pouncey was thereafter axed. He went on to serve as president of Amherst College between 1984-1994 before returning to Columbia's faculty. He currently holds an adjunct position at the Heyman Center for the Humanities, and is a member of the Society of Senior Scholars.
In 2005, he published his first novel, Rules for Old Men Waiting, a very sad story about an old man waiting to die after his son and wife died.
He is known for his incredible hair, witty British quips, and half-serious grandiose plans to resurrect the British Empire.
| Preceded by Carl Hovde |
Dean of Columbia College 1972-1975 |
Succeeded by Robert Belknap (acting) |
