Paul Olum (August 16, 1918 – January 19, 2001) was an American mathematician (algebraic topology), professor of mathematics, and university administrator.

In 1942 he married Vivian Goldstein, completed an MA in physics at Princeton University, and joined the scientific staff of the Manhattan Project.

[7] Olum advocated the abolition of the House Committee on Unamerican Activities,[8] was an early critic of the Vietnam War,[9] and sought to remove the Reserve Officer Training Corps from the Cornell campus.

[10][11] Following the Willard Straight Hall Takeover in 1969, Olum chaired a committee to propose a major overhaul of Cornell's governance, including its Board of Trustees.

Olum's relationship with his fellow Los Alamos physicist Dale Corson, who had just become Cornell's President, assisted in this difficult task.

Those were turbulent years, as President Stephen Spurr, who had hired Olum, was removed by the Board of Regents in fall 1974, and replaced by Lorene Rogers.

Despite an economic recession and budget cuts, Olum worked to improve Oregon's academic standing, serving as President from 1980 to 1989.