Dr. Whitney T. “Pete” Corey, of Homer, N.Y., who had served his beloved alma mater, SUNY Cortland, for 39 years until his retirement in 1982 as a teacher, coach, department chair, dean, provost and vice president of academic affairs, and acting president, died on Jan. 5. He was 88 years old.

In 1975, the Cortland Alumni Association presented Corey with its highest honor, the Distinguished Alumnus Award. A gifted athlete and coach, the Mohawk, N.Y. native was selected as one of six charter members of the SUNY Cortland C-Club Hall of Fame in 1969. On Jan. 29, 1983, the gymnasium in the Bessie L. Park '01 Center was formally dedicated as the Whitney T. Corey '43 Gymnasium.

Corey came to the Cortland campus in 1939. He competed for four years in basketball and was captain and the Red Letter Award winner as a senior. An honorable mention all-state football player, he was one of the first T-formation quarterbacks playing college football in the East. He also competed in baseball and tennis. He earned a B.S.E. degree from Cortland in 1943 and a Master of Arts in Health and Physical Education from Columbia University Teacher's College in 1946. A Danforth Teaching Fellow in 1954, Corey received an Ed.D. in higher education from Syracuse University in 1964.

Corey joined the Cortland Men's Physical Education Department faculty in 1947 as the head coach in basketball and golf and an assistant football and baseball coach. In 11 seasons, the Corey-led Red Dragon basketball squads posted an impressive record of 146 victories and 77 losses. His teams won the prestigious Hofstra Invitational against some of the best teams in the nation. He coached Cortland to two State University of New York Athletic Conference championships, including the first offered by the conference in any sport.

Corey served as assistant director of athletics for three years and as athletic director for four years. He was chairman of the Men's Physical Education Department from 1952-67. He then became dean of the Division of Health, Physical Education and Recreation from 1968-70 before assuming the role of acting vice president for academic affairs. From 1971 until his retirement in July 1982, Corey was provost and vice president of academic affairs. During the Spring 1974 semester, he served as acting president of SUNY Cortland.

In the 1960s, Corey played an active role when SUNY Cortland evolved from a college of education to a college of arts and sciences. As provost, he helped to increase the number of cooperative agreements between SUNY Cortland and other public and private colleges, while also overseeing the significant growth of new academic majors and minors on campus.

“The academic integrity of the College must be the unifying force for everyone connected with the university,” maintained Corey.

In recognition of his commitment to academics and athletics, the Cortland Athletic Department for more than 20 years has presented the Whitney T. Corey Award to the senior female student-athlete with the cumulative highest grade point average. He called his 40-year association with SUNY Cortland “a love affair.” That relationship continued for the past 25 years after his retirement, as he was a familiar figure at Cortland football and basketball games and remained active with the C-Club.

Corey was predeceased by his wife, Lillian Birdsall Corey '43, in 2003.He is survived by his two children, Stephen Corey and Betsy Corey Spada, four grandchildren, Adam Corey, Jason Corey, Joe Spada and Corey Spada Wasileski, and two great-grandchildren, Gracie and Abram Wasileski. There will be no calling hours or memorial service. Those wishing to honor his memory may send a contribution in honor of Whitney T. Corey '43 to the SUNY Cortland General Scholarship Fund or the Cortland Alumni Association Fund or the Alumni House Preservation Fund. All checks should be made payable to the Cortland College Foundation and sent to the Cortland College Foundation, Brockway Hall, SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY 13045.