John W. Gardner

John W. Gardner

Introduction

John W. Gardner born 1912, had a varied and productive career as an educator, public official, and political reformer. Gardner’s belief in society’s potential was his guiding force, but he was wary of the dangers of complacency and inaction. Perhaps best known as the founder of the lobby Common Cause, he was the author of several best-selling books on the themes of achieving personal and societal excellence.

Biography

Gardner's public career began with his employment in 1946 as a staff member at the Carnegie Corporation, a foundation dedicated to the advancement and dissemination of knowledge. By 1955 he had become the foundation's president. In 1958 he oversaw preparation of an important report published by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, “The Pursuit of Excellence: Education and the Future of America”.

While president of Carnegie, Gardner served frequently as a consultant to federal agencies. In early 1964, he was appointed by President Johnson to chair a White House task force on education. The panel brought in a report favoring federal aid to public schools to equalize education in areas of poverty and to encourage qualitative improvements and innovations in local communities. In late 1979 he aimed at insuring "the survival of the non-profit sector" in the face of federal encroachment. In the same year he was appointed by President Carter to the Commission for a National Agenda, whose task was to offer recommendations to deal with the likely issues of the 1980s. In 1981 Gardner was named to another presidential panel by Ronald Reagan, the Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives, designed to find ways to make up for federal program cuts.

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Contributions to Political Theory

In August 1965 Gardner became Johnson's secretary of health, education and welfare, remaining in that position until early 1968. He consolidated several of its social rehabilitation agencies and administered many of the newly enacted Great Society programs. After leaving the cabinet, he became chairman of the National Urban Coalition, a lobby working to halt the deterioration of inner cities. Frustrated with the opposition the NUC encountered from organized special interests, Gardner decided that a broader-based organization was needed to help bring about reform in an increasingly unresponsive political system. Thus in 1970 he launched Common Cause, a "public interest" lobby, concerned with a wide range of issues including the Vietnam War, social welfare, and environmentalism. By the mid 1970s Common Cause had become closely identified with governmental reform generally, including campaign finance limits and disclosure laws, lowering of the voting age, and reform of the seniority system in Congress. He stepped down as head of the organization in early 1977, remaining as chairman emeritus with an office in the same building. Common Cause membership declined after his departure, though the organization continued to be very active.

After Common Cause, Gardner co-founded “Independent Sector,” an organization to help coordinate and advocate for many types of non-profit groups. He felt non-profit groups were a powerful outlet to channel important messages needing to be heard, especially pertaining to volunteering in America.

Awards

Gardner is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and prestigious awards from the labor unions AFL-CIO and UAW and the Anti-Defamation League, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is a fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education. In 1996 Gardner received the James Bryant Conant Award for outstanding contributions to education in the United States. In 1994 Gardner became chairman of the board of the nonpartisan, Denver based National Civic League. The organization launched an Alliance for National Renewal, hoping to foster a universal ethic of volunteerism and stimulate cities to tackle their own problems. In 1995 after one year with Gardner as its guide, the Civic League had brought together more than 100 organizations that worked at community development in numerous ways. In the mid 1990s Gardner served as a professor of public service at the Stanford Business School. Gardner remained an active, visible symbol of civic reform and the national quest for excellence.

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