Fred Hargadon, former dean of admission at Stanford University, passed away at the age of 80 last Wednesday night. Hargadon spent more than 35 years in college admissions, working at Swarthmore College from 1964 to 1969 before coming to Stanford to work from 1969 to 1984. He then moved to Princeton University from 1988 until his retirement in 2003.

Hargadon was a well-liked national leader in the field of college admissions, dubbed the “dean of deans” by The New York Times. He was enthusiastic about admissions, speaking and writing frequently about the subject—according to a 1984 profile, his convertible’s license plate was “ADMITS.”