https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/21/former-stanford-president-donald-kennedy-dies-of-covid-19/ > REDWOOD CITY – Former Stanford University president Donald Kennedy died of COVID-19 at a residential care facility in Redwood City on Tuesday, the university announced. He was 88. > Kennedy, a neurobiologist and former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner, became the university’s eighth president in 1980. He is credited with setting the stage for Stanford’s evolution into one of the nation’s top research universities during his 12 years in office.