Arland F. Christ-Janer, Sixth President
from 1967–1970
Arland Christ-Janer, a native of Nebraska, attended Yale Divinity School and the University of Chicago Law School. He served as president of Cornell College in Iowa until his appointment in 1967 to the presidency of Boston University. Christ-Janer took office at a time of social unrest. The week of his inauguration, the Students for a Democratic Society declared a Stop the Draft Week. Soon after, an African American student organization issued a list of demands and staged a nonviolent sit-in at the President’s office. Christ-Janer agreed to all their demands, but campus demonstrations and radical student actions continued. After serving for three years, Christ-Janer resigned in July 1970. Commencement that year was canceled because of the threat of violent protests.
