The University of Alabama’s 25th president, Andrew Sorensen, died Sunday at age 72. Many former and present UA faculty and staff members remember Sorensen, president from 1996-2002, as a savvy person who was not afraid of the limelight.

Joseph Phelps, chair of the public relations department, remembers the University thriving under Sorensen despite funding cuts in the state legislature.

“It was pretty tough times during his tenure for the economy,” Phelps said. “Financially, it was a difficult time to be here, but the University still made progress. Even though salaries were stagnant and we were kind of falling behind our peer institutions, the University as a whole was moving forward and becoming a better university.

“Even during difficult financial times and with no faculty raises for motivation, the University still moved forward under his leadership,” Phelps said. “And that’s a pretty good legacy to have.”

Tom Land, University Archives Institutional Records Analyst said Sorensen focused a lot on promoting research and bringing National Merit Scholars to the University.

“That was his big thing,” Land said. “He was trying to attract high-level students to the University in addition to what we already had.”

The University gained recognition as being one of the top 50 public institutions in the country by U.S. News and World Report while Sorensen was president. The Blount Undergraduate Initiative began under his tenure, and the Blount Living Learning Center was dedicated during his time, as well.

“Dr. Andrew Sorensen’s presidency was a time of significant achievement for our system and this state,” UA System Chancellor Malcolm Portera said. “We were saddened to learn of his sudden death, and we extend our deep condolences to his beloved wife Donna and their family, who were such a vibrant part of this community.”

Emily Jamison, director of volunteer and special services, told The Crimson White in a farewell story to Sorensen in 2002 that he took the University from the fourth tier to the top tier in six years. She called it an “amazing accomplishment.”

In the story “Sorenson says goodbye to UA,” Katina Powe writes that Sorensen “did not fit the traditional description for a president at a Southern university, with the accent complimented with occasional southern slang and a down-home personality.”

Sorensen told the reporter at that time, “I’ve taught at the University of England and I’m not English,” he said. “I’m going to be president of eight universities in South Carolina, and I’m not a South Carolinian. My attitude is that the talents I have applied can be used in any geographical setting.”

Sorensen arrived at the Capstone after serving as provost at the University of Florida. Sorensen is known for boosting the University’s national status, before moving on to take the presidency at the University of South Carolina.

Sorensen’s last job was senior vice president for university development, as well as president of the Ohio State University Foundation.

He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Donna, two sons, Aaron and Benjamin, and one grandson, Art.