Carl Borgmann

Carl Williams Borgmann (June 3, 1905 – November 29, 1998) was an American chemical engineer, research scientist, academic administrator at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Nebraska, sixteenth president of the University of Vermont (UVM), and director of science and engineering for the Ford Foundation. During the research phase of his career, Borgmann studied both metal corrosion and fructose extraction. He took an interest in astronomy and was friends with astronomers Joe Pawsey and Walt Roberts.

As president of UVM, Borgmann brought a Midwestern approach to the democratization of education, running a successful campaign that raised state funds and cut the cost of tuition almost in half for resident students, who in the early 1950s were paying the highest in-state tuition in the country. McCarthyism was at its height in the United States at the time, and the Novikoff Affair became a major controversy at UVM regarding academic freedom during his presidency.

Borgmann was recruited by the Ford Foundation during the Sputnik crisis and left UVM to serve as its director, helping to advance science and technology for Western nations by disbursing funds in the areas of engineering, atmospheric science, and space science. He was an early proponent of anthropogenic climate change and wrote several speeches and articles focusing on the importance of nature conservation towards the end of his career.