Landrum Bolling served as president of Earlham College from 1958 to 1973, then as president and chairman of the board of Lilly Endowment Inc., and later as chairman, then chief executive officer, of the national Council on Foundations. In 1982 he became research professor of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Because of his non-official but close involvement in Middle East affairs, Landrum became well acquainted with many of the leaders among all sides in the conflict. From time to time he served as an informal "messenger" between political leaders and governments that had difficulty in communicating directly. In this connection, he functioned as a link for The White House and State Department with Yasir Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization in more than one administration, but particularly during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. He has maintained a relationship with these and other world leaders to this day.

Landrum has served as chairman or board member of the Associated Colleges of Indiana, the Indiana Conference on Higher Education, and the national Association of Protestant Colleges and Universities, and the Association of American Colleges. He has been awarded honorary degrees by more than 25 U.S. and foreign colleges and universities, including Oberlin College, Haverford College, Indiana University and Waseda University in Tokyo.

Landrum is currently director at large of Mercy Corps International, a nonprofit voluntary organization that exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping build secure, productive and just communities. For two years after the cessation of hostilities in Bosnia, he assisted Mercy Corps in projects of economic development and reconstruction in the devastated city of Sarajevo and throughout Bosnia. Landrum is also senior advisor and board member of the Conflict Management Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and senior fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C.

Landrum has worked a lifetime to unite disparate peoples into peaceful relationships founded on mutual respect and equal justice. In that same spirit of unity, the Landrum Bolling Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Social Sciences at Earlham will bring together separate but interrelated and mutually informing disciplines into a common home where they may better thrive. We can think of no better tribute to Landrum Bolling, whose life is a continuing testimony to mutual understanding.

"The Landrum Bolling Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and Social Sciences at Earlham College is a fitting tribute to Dr. Bolling’s extensive work in peace and education. I will always be grateful for the link he provided between The White House and the State Department during our negotiations with Yasir Arafat and the PLO. I am pleased to still be able to call on the great talents of my friend, Landrum Bolling."
President Jimmy Carter