Paul Olum’s daughter, Joyce Galaski (center), and his two granddaughters, Aviva (left) and Rebecca, shared stories that evoked laughter and tears among more than 100 people attending Olum’s memorial service.
When University Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Theodore Palmer asked Paul Olum in 1981 what he thought of his new job as University president, Olum told Palmer he had learned he should always go to the bathroom whenever he had a free moment.
This was just one of the many shared stories that evoked laughter and tears from more than 100 people attending Olum’s memorial service yesterday afternoon in the Paul Olum Atrium in Willamette Hall.
Olum, who served as University president from 1981 to 1989, died on Friday, Jan. 19, but the mark he left on his family, friends and colleagues will not be forgotten.
“Truly, he was a giant among people; he had so many qualities that stood out,” Palmer said.
During Olum’s presidency, the University faced budget cuts and could not afford faculty pay increases for three consecutive years. Palmer said Olum struggled to keep the University together by convincing the faculty that teaching was noble, and they were all in the situation together.
“Paul loved people and was always caring,” he said. “He always thought before he spoke, but said what he truly believed.”
Besides being president, Olum was a lover of both mathematics and poetry, and he passed his tastes along to his son.
Ken Olum, a Massachusetts physicist, said his father loved to share his hobbies with him whenever he could.
“His idea of fun was to see how much calculus he could teach me during a 6-hour plane ride,” he said smiling. “He loved a lot of life, and he did a lot of things.”
But Ken Olum said his father did not abandon his beliefs when he became president.
“He had the same values as president that he had during his whole life,” he said, fondly recalling a time when Olum joined University students in a protest on the steps of Johnson Hall because he thought they were doing the right thing.
John Moseley, University provost and vice president for academic affairs, said he will miss Olum as a colleague, a friend and a mentor.
“Whatever ability I’ve developed in University administration, I learned at Paul’s feet,” he said.
Moseley said he valued the time he spent with Olum, which included teaching his daughters to swim in Olum’s pool and also attending Olum’s retirement party.
Dan Williams, University vice president for administration, said his first encounter with Olum was on the panel to choose the University’s president in 1981. He said he remembered Olum being intelligent and caring even before the two struck up a friendship.
“I loved my time with Paul Olum. He was a faculty member who just happened to be president,” he said.