Elisabeth Zinser

Elisabeth Ann Zinser (born February 20, 1940) is a retired university president, most recently at Southern Oregon University (2001–06) in Ashland, Oregon. Previously she was the chancellor of the Lexington campus of the University of Kentucky (1995–2001), and the first female president of the University of Idaho, serving from 1989–95 in Moscow, Idaho.

Elisabeth Zinser
7th President of Gallaudet University
In office March 6, 1988 – March 10, 1988
Preceded by	Jerry C. Lee
Succeeded by	I. King Jordan
President of the University of Idaho
In office 1989–1995
Chancellor of the University of Kentucky
In office 1995–2001
President of Southern Oregon University
In office 2001–2006
Personal details
Born	February 20, 1940 Meadville, Pennsylvania
Spouse(s)	W. Don Mackin (1991-2011) (d. 2011)

She holds a bachelor's degree from Stanford, a master's from UCSF, and a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. She also received an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.[1]

Prior to assuming the presidency at the University of Idaho, Zinser received national attention[2] in 1988 when she was named the seventh president of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. She served for less than a week, March 6–10, and then resigned due to protests over her selection in what came to be known as the "Deaf President Now" protest at Gallaudet, saying that the protest was "a monumental event in the history of deaf culture."[3] The protesters thanked her for making a graceful exit, noting that she had become an "innocent victim and an unfortunate target" of their collective anger.[4]

Personal

A native of Meadville, Pennsylvania,[5] Zinser is a former board member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.

While at Idaho in 1991, she married W. Don Mackin of Moscow; the wedding was the first in the university's new arboretum.[6][7][8] Mackin (1937–2011) was a graduate of Washington State University in nearby Pullman and a former state senator from Moscow, Idaho. They were married for two decades, until he unexpectedly died in his sleep at age 73 in Ashland.[9]

References

1. Oregon Shakespeare Festival - board bio - Elisabeth Zinser.
2. Nightline transcript Archived 2013-11-05 at the Wayback Machine, host: Ted Koppel, guests: Greg Hlibok, Marlee Matlin, and Elisabeth Ann Zinser.
3. Zinser, Elisabeth. 1988. What I tried to do at Gallaudet. The Washington Post. Sunday, March 13, 1988, p. C8.
4. Hlibok, Greg. 1988. Letter. March 12, 1988.
5. Galludet.edu - Elisabeth Zinser. Archived June 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
6. Wickline, Michael R. (July 3, 1991). "Wedding's a first for New Arboretum". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
7. White, Vera (July 15, 1991). "Our 'royal' wedding". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1A.
8. Johnson, David (July 15, 1991). "To love and cherish". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1A.
9. "In memoriam: W. Don Mackin". Washington State. (alumni magazine). April 27, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2017.