Peter Diamandopoulos

Harvard-trained philosophy professor whose divisive 12-year tenure as president of Adelphi University on Long Island culminated in his unceremonious ouster over lavish spending and conflicts of interest involving university trustees. Dr. Diamandopoulos was a friend and protégé of Dr. John Silber, who died in 2012. Peter Theodore Diamandopoulos was born in Iraklion, Crete, on Sept. 1, 1928, the son of Theodore Diamandopoulos and the former Margarita Mouzenidis. He immigrated to the United States in 1948 to attend Harvard, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a doctorate in philosophy and classics. He taught at the University of Maryland and Brandeis University, where he was dean of the faculty and chairman of the philosophy department. He was also director of studies at the Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs in Chicago and was named president of Sonoma State University in California in 1977. Married and divorced three times, he is survived by his daughters, Cybele and Ariadne Diamandopoulos; a son, Ted; a stepdaughter, Mary Blackstock; a brother, Dr. George Diamandopoulos; four grandchildren; and one step-granddaughter.