A former University of Rochester president has died. Officials say that Robert Sproull died Thursday at the age of 96.
Sproull joined the university as provost in 1968 and was president from 1970 to 1984. He also led the creating of the university's Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Sproull was an internationally known physicist and the seventh president of the university.
Current president Joel Seligman said the university "has lost one of its treasures," and the chairman of the university's board of trustees, Ed Hajim, said that Sproull's leadership helped facilitate the transition from a liberal arts institution to a research university.