BISMARK, N.D. — A former president of Slippery Rock University died Monday at his home in North Dakota.

Albert Watrel, 87, of Bismarck, N.D. served as the university’s 10th president from 1968 to 1976.

During his tenure, the university’s enrollment grew from fewer than 4,000 students to more than 5,300.

“He was very student-focused, very interested in student life outside of the classroom,” said Bob Watson, the retired vice president of student life at SRU.

Watson was a student at SRU when Watrel took office and later worked in the campus administration under him.

Watson said SRU experienced noticeable changes during Watrel’s eight years.

In 1971 the faculty of all 14 of Pennsylvania’s state colleges opted for a collective bargaining agent to represent them in their negotiations with the state, according to SRU’s website. They selected the Association of Pennsylvania State Colleges and University Faculty/Pennsylvania Association for Higher Education.

That year SRU also divided its academic departments into five schools: the Fine Arts and Humanities; the Social and Behavioral Sciences; the Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Education; and Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

“There were a number of academic programs developed and expanded during this time,” Watson said, adding that the school only transitioned away from a strictly teaching college eight years before Watrel took office.

However, Watrel had a controversial end to his time at SRU.

On June 11, 1976, Watrel removed James Roberts from his position as vice president for academic affairs.

The move caught the attention of the state, and Gov. Milton Shapp, on the advice from the Secretary of Education, fired Watrel that day.

Three state troopers arrived at Old Main on the SRU campus that afternoon to escort Watrel from his office. The troopers were not there to arrest Watrel, but to ensure the safety of all the records important in the “investigation of his administration,” according to SRU’s website.

The state Department of Education then announced it had been investigating for a considerable time “the deteriorating situation at Slippery Rock.”

Shapp appointed Roberts as the acting president and ordered Watrel to cooperate with the transition.

Secretary of Education John Pittenger called Watrel’s firing of Roberts “arbitrary and without reason.”

Pittenger had numerous other claims against Watrel, specifically relating to his promotion of student athletics.

Nineteen men’s and women’s teams were at the varsity level by 1975, while hundreds of students competed in intramural contests.

Watrel, who played football while a student at Syracuse University from 1946 to 1950, was actively involved in advancing athletics at SRU, particularly its football program.

One aspect of those plans was building the stadium lodge at the football stadium.

“He was directed by Harrisburg not to become further involved in the stadium lodge,” Watson said.

Pittenger also accused Watrel of waiving tuition for out-of-state athletes at a cost of more than $150,000 to the school.

The spending on athletics coincided with financial difficulties at SRU.

“It was a collision of a number of issues on the radar in Harrisburg,” Watson said. “Frankly it was a situation in which the state was not satisfied at that point in time.”

In 1977, Watrel became president of Dickinson State University in North Dakota. He retired from DSU to Bismarck in 1994 after 43 years of service as an educator and administrator.

Before coming to SRU, Watrel was a professor at Cortland State Teachers College in upstate New York, was awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship Grant to study college administration and was the assistant to the president of San Jose State University.

He had a bachelor’s in bacteriology, a master’s in education, and a Ph.D. in biochemistry.

His obituary is on Page 3.

Eagle Staff Writer Will DeShong contributed to this report.