John Blackburn

Who was John Blackburn?

Dr. John L. Blackburn was a former administrator at the University of Alabama who is in many ways responsible for the peaceful racial integration of the school, despite efforts by then-governor George Wallace. He died on July 3, 2009, of complications from myleodysplasia, a disorder that hampers the body’s ability to produce red blood cells.

Blackburn began his long association with higher education after serving in Indochina during World War II. First, he served as an instructor in the United States Air Force. Then Blackburn attended University at Missouri Valley College, where he earned his bachelor's degree in '49 and was a member of the Alpha Omicron Chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi. He then settled at Florida State University in 1951 and 1952, where he experienced the first of a series of events which placed him on the cutting edge of innovative change in higher education in the United States. As an administrator at Florida State University, one of his tasks was to assist in integrating male students into the previous Florida State College for Women.

He began his career at the University of Alabama in 1956 as the Assistant Dean of Men and he became Dean of Men in 1958.