William Louis Gaines papers

Born in Monticello, Indiana, William Louis Gaines attended Bowling Green State University (B.A., 1946) and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (M.A., 1947). In 1951, he completed his doctoral dissertation in history at Yale University. For five years following, Gaines worked as an assistant political attache at the United States Embassy in London. In 1956, Gaines entered the field that he would become most associated with, international education. He served as executive secretary at the U.S.-U.K. Education Commission until 1961, when he became associate director of Commonwealth Fellowships. In these positions, Gaines administered scholarship programs that encouraged international exchange. From 1962 to 1970, Gaines was director of education at the African-American Institute, where he worked with both African and American universities. For the subsequent four years, he was a professor of history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, concurrently serving first as dean of academic affairs, then as dean of international studies. From 1974 until his retirement in 1992, Gaines was President of the Institute of European Studies and the Institute of Asian Studies. Throughout his life, Gaines promoted intellectual achievement through international exchange. He died in February 2005.