LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — John Delane Wilson, a former president of Washington & Lee University who led the school as it made the transition to a coeducational institution, has died. He was 81. Wilson, who served as president from 1983 to 1995, died Saturday in Lexington, the university said Sunday in a news release. During Wilson's tenure, Washington & Lee also doubled its endowment, raised $147 million through a capital campaign, opened the Lenfest Center for the Performing Arts and renovated 15 fraternity houses. "John Wilson's presidency marked a genuine milestone in the history of the institution," said Kenneth P. Ruscio, Washington & Lee's current president. "He laid the groundwork for so many of the important things that we have accomplished and will continue to accomplish in years to come." Wilson said in a 1994 interview with W&L: The Washington and Lee University Magazine, that he knew there were emotional positions in the debate over coeducation, but that, "we take an oath when we become a member of this Board and that is that we will act in the interests of the institution 'without fear or favor.' I had a strong Board, of course, and its members took that oath seriously." Before coming to Washington & Lee, Wilson served as Virginia Tech's first provost. "I had a fine and satisfying career at Virginia Tech and I have much respect for research and advanced work," he said in the 1994 magazine interview. "But I discovered that my heart really was in those four undergraduate years." Wilson was a graduate of Michigan State University and was that school's first Rhodes Scholar. He also played defensive back for Michigan State's 1951 and 1952 national champion teams, and was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. He was an Air Force veteran who served as an intelligence officer with the Strategic Air Command from 1956 to 1958. He served as president of Wells College in Aurora, N.Y., from 1968 until he was appointed provost at Virginia Tech in 1975. A private service will be held Monday for the family. A public memorial service will be scheduled later. Associated Press State Wire: Virginia (VA) - March 3, 2013