Stephen J. Wright, a former president of Fisk University who spent his life broadening educational opportunities for black Americans, died Tuesday in Johns Hopkins Medical Center. He was 85.
In a career that stands as a map of black educational progress, Mr. Wright blazed a trail for generations of black students who no longer regard a college education as a rarity but as an integral part of their culture.
The son of a physician in Dillon, S.C., he studied and taught at historically black colleges and served as president of two historically black colleges: Bluefield State in West Virginia and Fisk in Nashville.
After retiring from Fisk in 1966, he became president of the United Negro College Fund, the umbrella group formed to raise money for about 30 traditionally black colleges, and a consultant and executive of the College Board.
Along the way, Mr. Wright , who specialized in teaching teachers, was in the forefront of efforts to improve the quality of black education.
As president of Fisk, he persuaded black colleges to strengthen their standards by adopting the Scholastic Aptitude Tests as part of admission requirements.
At the same time, he led the campaign to desegregate testing centers at southern colleges.
