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<div class="body-head">Associated Press
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DURHAM, N.C. - Douglas Maitland Knight, a former president of Duke University, died Sunday in Doylestown, Pa. from complications related to pneumonia, the university said in a news release. He was 83.

Knight was Duke's fifth president, holding the post from 1963-1969.

Duke President Richard H. Brodhead called Knight "a man of great wisdom and generosity."

"Duke emerged from the tumultuous years during which he served as president as a stronger institution, and the foundation Doug Knight laid enabled the university to rise in the ranks of the nations leading universities today," Brodhead said in a statement.

Knight was born in Cambridge, Mass. He attended Yale University, where he received graduate degrees in English. He also taught at Yale.

He was named president of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisc., in 1953.

Knight resigned from Duke after student protests and the 1969 takeover of the university's main administrative building by students calling for, among other things, a black cultural center and a curriculum in African-American studies.

After leaving Duke he became vice president of educational development for RCA Corp. and in 1971 was named president of RCA Iran. In 1976, Knight became president of Questar Corp., a manufacturer of high-precision lenses for astronomical, industrial and medical applications.

Knight received 12 honorary degrees from colleges and universities. He authored more than 10 books, ranging from scholarly works to poetry and personal recollections.

In April 2003, Duke renamed the president's house the Douglas M. and Grace Knight House.

Knight is survived by his wife of 60 years, Grace Nichols; four sons, Christopher Knight of Glencoe, Ill., Douglas Knight Jr. of Portland, Maine, Thomas Knight of Vancouver, British Columbia, and Stephen Knight of Stockton, N.J.; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

The family requests donations be made to a scholarship fund of their choice.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

Douglas Knight, former Duke president, dies Sunday