Keith Spalding, president emeritus of Franklin & Marshall College, died Wednesday at The Glen at Willow Valley after a brief illness. He was 87.

Spalding served as the 11th president of the 221-year-old institution from 1963 to 1983.

During his tenure, the size of the college's student body doubled, the size of the campus tripled and the institution's endowment grew four-fold. Nearly every major building on campus underwent major renovations and many more were constructed.

In favor of a liberal arts education instead of specialties, Spalding oversaw new academic programs that were added in the arts, European and American studies, history and philosophy of science.

Under Spalding's leadership, the college entered into various inter-institutional agreements that resulted in the creation of the Central Pennsylvania Consortium.

Current Franklin & Marshall president John Fry lauded Spalding for his many contributions to the college.

"Franklin & Marshall is the institution it is today because of the visionary leadership and the hard work of President Keith Spalding," Fry said. "Through his efforts, Franklin & Marshall grew from a fine regional school into a nationally respected liberal arts college. It is a privilege to serve the institution he built."

President emeritus Richard Kneedler, who led the college from 1988 to 2002, served under Spalding in a variety of roles in the 1970s and '80s. "He was a serious man, a very bright man, a private man," Kneedler said. "But he almost always had a twinkle in his eye."

Bill Whitesell, retired chairman of Franklin & Marshall College's economics department, said Spalding was "tremendously innovative in terms of the way he thought of the college and college management.

"He had wonderful ideas about curriculum, staffing and development of programs," Whitesell said. "He had a wonderful way about suggesting things to think about without saying it was his idea. You came away saying, 'I just had a brilliant thought.' That's the essence of good leadership of any institution."

Whitesell said Spalding was an intellectual without the traditional academic qualifications. He had several honorary doctoral degrees, but no earned doctorate.

Still, he "thought deeply and sensitively about what this institution ought to be about," Whitesell said. "That's a unique element."

Former Lancaster Mayor Art Morris said Spalding was president in a "challenging time during the '60s, a time of unrest." It was during this time that F&M became a coed school, which was not a real popular issue, he said.

"He survived the times well, and the college prospered," Morris said.

Spalding handled the spillover of the college into the community well. Relations between the college and city hall were very good, Morris said.

"He was a great president, a real fine leader. He also was a very intellectual person, a real gentleman, a nice guy to be around," Morris said.

Prior to assuming the F&M presidency, Spalding was secretary of the university at Johns Hopkins University from 1959 to 1963.

From 1956 to 1959, he was the assistant to Johns Hopkins University President Milton S. Eisenhower. During the summer of 1959, he was a special adviser to Eisenhower, who was then the personal representative to the U.S. president and special ambassador to Latin America, on a diplomatic mission to Mexico.

Before that, he served as administrative assistant to Eisenhower at Penn State University.

A U.S. Marine Corps fighter-dive bomber pilot in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific during World War II, Spalding was awarded the Air Medal.

After being honorably discharged as a captain, Spalding joined the staff of the former New York Herald Tribune as an editorial assistant and rose to the position of assistant news editor of the Tribune's news service.

After retiring, Spalding spent several years on his farm in Hopeland.

A Kansas native, Spalding graduated in 1942 from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in psychology. He also completed graduate work at the University of Wichita and the University of Iowa in journalism and political science.

He was a member of several honorary and professional societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Delta Epsilon and Phi Sigma Society.

Highly regarded as a leader in American higher education, Spalding received honorary doctoral degrees from Albright College, Temple University, Jefferson Medical College, Waynesburg College, Dickinson School of Law and Washington College.

Spalding was active in the world of higher-education associations, serving on the board of directors of the American Council on Education, the American Association of Higher Education, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Central Pennsylvania Consortium. He also was chairman of the board of the Association of American Colleges.

At the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Universities, he served on the executive committee, as the chairman of the executive committee of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities and on the board of directors.

In 1984, he was named to the Wilkes College board of trustees.

Spalding also was a panel member at the National Endowment for the Humanities and committee member of the National Science Foundation.

He served on the Pennsylvania Board of Education's Council on Higher Education's advisory committee on planning, liaison committee for private higher education and statewide planning committee. He also served two terms on the Pennsylvania Board of Education, beginning in 1996.

Spalding was chairman of the Pennsylvania Capitol Region Planning Council for Higher Education and served on the University of Iowa's Journalism School Advisory Council.

In 1980, Spalding was named to the Presidents' Committee on Collegiate Athletics.

His service to the Lancaster community included terms on numerous boards: Arthritis Foundation Campaign, Boy Scout Council of Lancaster executive board and advisory council to executive board, Fulton Opera House, the former Lancaster Community Chest, Lancaster General Hospital Foundation, Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, Pennsylvania German Society, Pennsylvania Society, YWCA of Lancaster and the Urban League of Lancaster.

He also was chairman of the board of trustees of Linden Hall School for Girls and a board director of Kent Industries, United Gas Improvement Corp. and WITF-TV.

He served on the Lancaster County Bicentennial Program Committee, was chairman of Lancaster 2000 and the study commission on the North Museum and was a member of Lancaster Tomorrow. He was elected to the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville in 1969.

Spalding served on the United Church of Christ's Board of Homeland Ministries, joint committee on church-college relationships and treasurer of the Council for Higher Education. In 1989, the Rotary Club of Lancaster honored Spalding with its community service award. He also was chosen as one of the Distinguished Pennsylvanians of 1981 by the William Penn Committee of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. In 1984, he was honored by the All Pennsylvania College Alumni Association of Washington, D.C., for his outstanding contribution to the preservation and advancement of American ideals of education and constitutional government. Spalding was the husband of the late Dorothy "Dot" Lint Spalding. They had five children, Drew, Kathleen, Clay, Sarah and the late Eric. He also is survived by four grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Oct. 2 at Franklin & Marshall College.

E-mail: lvaningen@lnpnews.com