In Memoriam: Margaret J. Barr, 1940-2018

Margaret “Peggy” Barr, a former vice president for student affairs at Northwestern University, died at her home in Evanston, Illinois, after a long illness. She was 77 years old.

Dr. Barr spent 38 years as a student affairs administrator in higher education. She served as assistant vice president for student affairs at Northern Illinois University from 1982 to 1985. Then, Dr. Barr was vice chancellor for student affairs at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth from 1985 to 1992. From 1992 to 2000, she served as vice president for student affairs at Northwestern. During this time, Dr. Barr also taught in the School of Education and Social Policy. Even after retiring from her student affairs post, she continued to teach as a professor emerita.

Dr. Barr was the author or co-author of nine books including Budgets and Financial Management in Higher Education (Jossey-Bass, 2011) and Making Change Happen in Student Affairs: Challenges and Strategies (Jossey-Bass, 2014). She also served as the 44th president of the American College Personnel Association.

A native of Corsica, Pennsylvania, Dr. Barr was a graduate of the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System, where she majored in elementary education and minored in history. She held a master’s degree in college student personnel from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale and a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin.