Kenneth Ford served as NMT President from 1975 – 1982

Former New Mexico Tech President Kenneth W. Ford passed away peacefully Friday morning, December 5, in the loving company of family members. He lived a full life as a scientist, educator, and writer, proudly reaching 99 and a half years of age.

Dr. Ford served as NMT President from 1975 – 1982, when, as NMT historian Paige Christiansen said, NMT “witnessed some of the most spectacular growth in the history of Tech in almost every area—student enrollment, faculty, budgets, construction, administration.” *

"New Mexico Tech is saddened to hear about the loss of our former President, Dr. Kenneth W. Ford,” said Dr. Michael Jackson, Interim President of New Mexico Tech. “A theoretical nuclear physicist, Dr. Ford was an accomplished researcher, scholar and teacher – a techie through and through." 

The chair of the New Mexico Tech Board of Regents, David Lepre, said, “Dr. Ford was a thoughtful leader who cared deeply about the institution and its impact on the lives it touched both on campus and in the extended Socorro community.”

Ford’s crowning achievement was the Macey Theater and Conference Center, completed in 1982. While the project was criticized by both faculty and students at the time, many today consider the Macey Center an invaluable part of the campus and community.

“I personally am indebted to Dr. Ken Ford for his vision and fortitude in getting Macey Center built against all odds,” said Ronna Kalish, retired Director of the Performing Arts Series and current Community Engagement Manager. “It allowed the Performing Arts Series to become a leader in arts presenting in the region for which I will be forever grateful.”

Dr. Ford was born in West Palm Beach, FL, on May 1, 1926. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1944, served in the Navy from 1944-1946, and received degrees from Harvard (1948) and Princeton (1953).

While at Princeton, Dr. Ford worked under theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler, who is known for coining the terms “black hole” and “wormhole” and for his involvement in the Manhattan Project and Project Matterhorn. Ford was recruited by Dr. Wheeler in 1951 to join him in Los Alamos in the development of the hydrogen bomb, a story he recounts in his book, Building the H Bomb: A Personal History.

Later in life, Dr. Ford developed reservations about his involvement in the H Bomb project and wore a peace sign button on his jacket to remind himself of a promise he made at an antiwar demonstration in 1968 in Cloudcroft, NM, never to work on nuclear weapons again.

Dr. Ford succeeded Stirling Colgate as President in 1975, and served through the Energy Crisis (with large surpluses in the legislature from oil revenues) and a national trend in rising university enrollments as the Baby Boom generation went to college. Enrollment surged during Ford’s presidency, at one point reaching 1381 students. Thus, Ford set his sights on needed improvements to accommodate a growing campus.

“If you asked me what was my sense of what I should do, what I should try to accomplish, and what I would like to see happen, it would be the conversion of New Mexico Tech from a predominantly research institution to a genuine but small and somewhat elite university,” said Ford in a 2023 interview.

Ford’s building projects included the Petroleum Research and Recovery Center (PRRC), Baca Hall (originally a women’s dormitory), the new Driscoll Hall (and the razing of the original building), additions to the Student Union and Cramer Hall, and the first phase of the Mineral Science and Engineering Complex, intended to house the three largest majors on campus at the time: Petroleum Engineering, Geology, and Mineral Engineering. He also added indoor racquetball courts and upgraded the swimming pool, the site of the notorious “marijuana leaf” student prank recounted each year at the 49ers Story Slam.

Ford also established funding for a full time development officer, Don Salmon. A pilot, Dr. Ford would fly himself and Don Salmon around the country to meet with donors. This included flying to Tucson to meet with oilman Bill Macey and his wife, Jean, about funding the Macey Center.

Ford secured $600,000 from the Macey family and $2.1 million from the state legislature. Holm Bursum, Jr. raised an additional $175,000 for the Macey Center from local business owners, thus making the project a true “town and Tech” accomplishment.

The Macey Theater and Conference Center is now a hub for the arts in the region and provides classroom space for the First Responders program, among others.

“Each year the center is filled with local families who come to see their children perform in the National Dance Institute New Mexico residency and the bi-annual Rising Stars dance recitals, both of which always sell out” said Ronna Kalish. “Plus [it hosts] the annual musical, a long-standing tradition between New Mexico Tech and Socorro Community Theater.”

Dr. Ford’s wife, Joanne, and his children Caroline, Adam, and Star, all participated in the musical while at NMT.

After leaving New Mexico Tech and retiring, Ken Ford discovered his passion for writing. In 1993, Dr. Ford collaborated with John Archibald Wheeler to pen Wheeler’s memoirs, Geons, Black Holes & Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics, which won a top prize in science writing from the American Institute of Physics in 1998. Other titles include the popular textbook, The Quantum World: Physics for Everyone (which he lovingly dubbed "Physics for English majors”), Building the H. Bomb, 101 Quantum Questions: What You Need to Know about the World You Can’t See, The First 95 Years, and In Love with Flying, which charts Ken’s 50 years of experience piloting small airplanes and gliders.

Dr. Ford also served as the Director of the American Institute of Physics and was awarded the Oersted Medal, established by the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), a prestigious annual award recognizing individuals with an outstanding, widespread, and lasting impact on physics education.  

Dr. Ford leaves behind seven children (Paul, Sarah, Nina, Caroline, Adam, Jason, and Star), 13 grandchildren (Charlie, Thomas, Nate, Jasper, Colin, Hannah, Sky, Daniel, Casey, Isaiah, Toby, Nikolai, and Steven), and one great grandchild, Louis.

Dr. Ford’s wife, Joanne, passed away in 2022. She was well known and loved for her volunteer work and her passion for children. A sign in her honor stands by the playground outside the Macey Center.

Up until his last moments, Dr. Ford was busy writing (he was midway through an article for his retirement home newsletter), and his thoughts were always on New Mexico Tech.

 

Kenneth Ford (left) with Lynn Orr of the PRRC.

 

Ken Ford at his 88th birthday

 

Ken Ford earlier this year at his 99th birthday. Dr. Ford lived to a proud age of 99 and a half.