Robert L. Ketter (1929–1989) was an authority on earthquake engineering research and a former president of the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB).

[1][2][3] He went on to become the dean of UB's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS)[1] and became university president in 1970,[1] after years of student unrest associated with the Vietnam War closed the campus during the spring semester.

[2] Ketter designed the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library building and wrote several engineering texts while at UB.

In 1971, Ketter announced the termination of intercollegiate football at UB due to "insufficient financial support" and losses in funds.

[1] Robert L. Ketter Hall, on the UB Amherst campus, is named in his honor, and houses both the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and the Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL).