National Football Foundation

Born in Erie, Pa., Hovde received his Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, where he played on the football team. A Rhodes Scholar, he spent three years at Oxford University where he received two degrees in chemistry. While at Oxford, he was a member of the varsity rugby football team and in 1931 he became the third American in history to win his Oxford blue in the annual Oxford-Cambridge rugby union match.

Returning to the United States in 1932, Hovde was appointed Assistant Director of the newly established General College of the University of Minnesota. In 1936, he went to the University of Rochester in New York, serving as Assistant to the President and Lecturer in Chemistry. In 1941, following the outbreak of World War II, Hovde joined the newly established National Defense Research Committee, which later became a part of the war-time Office of Scientific Research and Development. His first assignment was as head of the London Mission of the OSRD, an opportunity which he took to obtain a Master’s degree from Oxford University. In 1942, he returned to the National Defense Research Committee as Executive Assistant to the chairman, James Bryant Conant. In 1943, Hovde was made Chief of Rocket Ordnance Research of the National Defense Research Committee.

In January 1946, he began his tenure as President of Purdue University, a position which he held until his retirement in 1971. Enrollment at Purdue more than quadrupled from 5,628 to 25,582 students, and its annual budget increased from $12.7 million to $136 million. In recognition of his war services, Hovde received the President’s Medal for Merit and was awarded the King’s Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom by the British government.

Hovde was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1957. He received the Exceptional Civilian Service Award from the Department of the Air Force in 1961, the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Department of the Navy in 1963, the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of the United States Army in 1963, and the Distinguished Public Service Medal from the Department of Defense in 1970. In 1970, he was selected by the NCAA to receive its Theodore Roosevelt Award.

Upon retirement from the presidency, he was named President Emeritus of Purdue. President Nixon attended Hovde's retirement dinner and presented him with a certificate of recognition. In 1975, Purdue renamed the Executive Building the Frederick L. Hovde Hall of Administration. Hovde received more than 20 honorary doctoral degrees in a variety of disciplines from colleges and university throughout the United States. He passed away in 1983 at the age of 75.