Fred Maryanski, a former UConn faculty member and administrator for more than two decades, died July 2 in Nevada, where he had been president of Nevada State College since 2005.

“Those of us who were privileged to know Fred respected his integrity, his loyalty, and his commitment to this university and higher education in general,” said President Philip E. Austin in a message to the UConn community on Tuesday. “We admired his keen intelligence and enjoyed his sense of humor, and, in his later years with us, we were inspired by his courage in struggling with, and for a time overcoming, cancer.”

Spencer Stewart, a spokesman for Nevada State College, said, “He was one of the most caring and compassionate individuals who has been involved in Nevada’s education sector.”

Maryanski, who earned his Ph.D. in computer science at UConn, joined the faculty in Storrs in 1983, becoming head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in 1986. He joined the provost’s office in 1989, taking on responsibility for academic affairs, the regional campuses, and the University’s fledgling educational technology program. He served two terms as interim provost. Soft-spoken yet outgoing, Maryanski quickly earned respect and a wide circle of friends at the University.

In 2005, Maryanski took the reins at Nevada State, becoming president of the five-year-old college. In 2002, there were just 177 students enrolled. Today, more than 2,000 students attend the Henderson, Nev., institution, which opened its first academic building in 2008 under Maryanski’s watch. Design work began in 2007 on a second building to house the School of Nursing and Sciences.

Maryanski also had shepherded the college to accreditation candidacy, the penultimate step to full accreditation.

A memorial service will be held in Nevada July 7. A memorial for remembrances of Maryanski is open on the Nevada college’s website.