George Lynn Cross

George Lynn Cross Ph.D.
George Lynn Cross
Born	May 12, 1905 Woonsocket, South Dakota
Died	December 31, 1998(1998-12-31) (aged 93) Norman, Oklahoma
Nationality	United States
Education	Doctorate in botany
Alma mater	University of Chicago
Occupation	University President
Years active	1943-1968
Employer	University of Oklahoma
Known for	Peaceful integration of the University of Oklahoma; building historically successful sports programs; speaking ability; popularity; length of tenure;
Notable work	Blacks in White Colleges, Presidents Can't Punt,
Predecessor	Joseph A. Brandt
Successor	John Herbert Hollomon, Jr.
Spouse(s)	Cleo S. Cross

George Lynn Cross (May 12, 1905 – December 31, 1998) was a botanist, author, and the longest serving president of the University of Oklahoma (1943 to 1968). After he was appointed president at the age of 38, Cross helped peacefully integrate the university; built and oversaw the most winning college football program of the 1950s; spearheaded the expansion of numerous academic programs and facilities; and then helped lead the university through the 1960s protest period. After retiring as President, Cross wrote several books, the first of which, Blacks in White Colleges, described his personal experiences during the constitutional desegregation litigation that arose almost immediately after he became the university's young president.

Cross was born to a poor family in Woonsocket, South Dakota. Several of his half siblings had been afflicted with the debilitating condition Huntington's Corea and this, and its humble situation, cast his family into disrepute in the small community. Cross concluded it was not feasible to attend college. It was out of reach, and instead, he aimed at becoming a high school science teacher. But Cross' prowess in athletics, particularly football, attracted the attention of the football program at South Dakota State College. The program helped arrange a dishwashing job for Cross in the women's dormitory on campus, thus enabling Cross to finance his education there. On the first day of school, Cross met Cleo Sikkink of Waubay, South Dakota and the two began a romance. Her family, however, did not approve of the relationship because of Cross' poor prospects and his abject family background. Cleo's family forced her to leave school so as to separate her from Cross, which decision ultimately resulted in the couple's elopement a few months later. Cross then decided football was causing his body too much damage and that it held a limited future, and accordingly, he decided to concentrate on academics as a future livelihood. He studied botany and earned a master's degree in 1927. He then attended the University of Chicago, where he earned his Ph.D. in Botany at the age of 23.

Cross began his teaching career in South Dakota in the early 1930s. In the summer of 1934 at a biological station in Gothic, Colorado, Cross met and befriended one of the deans of ecology and conservation biology, Paul B. Sears, who was at that time teaching at the University of Oklahoma. Sears offered Cross a job and Cross, his wife Cleo and daughter Mary-Lynn moved to Norman, Oklahoma in 1934. Cross was offered a job as an associate professor. Before his death, Cross remarked that he largely took over Sears' teaching responsibilities, so that Sears could finish his watershed work, Deserts on the March, which is considered a classic of conservation biology.