Paul E. Bragdon

Paul E. Bragdon

Paul E. Bragdon’s reputation looms large in Oregon’s higher education circles. While serving as president of Reed College from 1971 to 1988, he was named one of the 100 most successful college presidents in the country. After Reed, Bragdon served for two and a half years as education advisor to the Governor of the State of Oregon and then as President of the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon. He was president of Oregon Graduate Institute from 1994 to 1998 and served as interim president at Lewis & Clark College from 2003 to 2004. He has extensive community involvement through service on many boards, including chair of the Multnomah County Library Foundation, which honored him with the first Paul E. Bradgon Library Leadership Award in 2001; director of Tektronix; and chair of the Portland board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Bragdon graduated from Amherst College before earning his law degree from Yale Law School. He worked as a practicing attorney in New York City, as executive secretary to the mayor of New York City, and served as the city’s legislative representative before embarking on a career in higher education as a vice president of New York University from 1967 to 1971.