Former Rutgers President Francis Lawrence Dies

Former Rutgers University President Francis Lawrence has died. He was 75.

Lawrence was at the helm of New Jersey's flagship public university from 1990 to 2002, a time when the university added academic degree programs quickly.

The university says Lawrence died Tuesday at his home in Mount Laurel, but a cause of death was not disclosed.

Lawrence was born in 1937 and grew up in Woonsocket, R.I. He received a bachelor's degree in French and Spanish from St. Louis University and his doctorate in French classical literature from Tulane.

He remained at the New Orleans-based university as a professor and administrator from his graduation until 1990, when he left his post as provost and dean of the graduate school to become president at Rutgers.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)