John W. Gardner Leaves Profound Legacy
Vision for youth development lives on through School of Education
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John W. Gardner
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JOHN W. GARDNER, School of Education
Consulting Professor and inspiration for Stanford’s John W. Gardner
Center for Youth and Their Communities, died February 16 at his home
on the Stanford campus from complications related to cancer. He was
89. Gardner was a longtime activist who improved the lives of millions
of Americans by helping to implement the sweeping social reforms of
the 1960s. Gardner played a major role in civil rights enforcement,
education reform and campaign finance reform. |
He was instrumental in creating
Medicare, establishing the public television network and supporting
community volunteer service. In 1964, Gardner received the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civil honor. He founded
Common Cause and headed the Urban Coalition, chaired numerous presidential
task forces and commis- sions, and mentored many public service organizations.
At Stanford, Gardner served on the Board of Trustees from 1968 to
1982. In 1965, the Alumni Association honored him with the Herbert
Hoover Medal for Distinguished Service. In 1984, Stanford Associates
awarded him with the Degree of Uncommon Man, the university’s
highest honor. He was a founding member of the national advisory board
of the Haas Center for Public Service and remained active with the
center. In 1989, Gardner was named the first Miriam and Peter Haas
Centennial Professor in Public Service
In September of 2000, the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their
Communities was established at SUSE, in honor of Gardner’s lifetime
of public service. Its goal is to bring diverse parts of society together
to address challenges facing the nation’s youth.
When it opened, Gardner said the public had finally understood the
importance of youth development. “If you want to train lead-
ers, you have to start early,” he said. “If you want to
keep kids out of prison, you have to start early. But it isn’t
easily done.” The center’s mission is to conduct research,
educate the public and persuade diverse groups such as schools, law
enforcement and government to work together to seek more effective
strategies for creating positive environments for youth development.
Executive Director of the Gardner Center and SUSE Professor Milbrey
McLaughlin said, “John’s work and his vision were always
about equality, justice, and the promise of human potential. He saw
what so many people see as society’s insoluble problems as breath-
taking opportunities. His vision for young people’s role in commu-
nities will live on in perpetuity through the work of the John W.
Gardner Center.”
Inspired by Gardner’s vision for young Americans, just days before
he died, the Atlantic Philanthropies foundation made a $5 million
grant to the Center to provide core support and sustain outreach efforts.
Gardner was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 8, 1912. He earned bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in psychology from Stanford in 1935 and
1936, respectively. In 1938, he received a doctorate from the University
of California-Berkeley.
Gardner is survived by his wife of 67 years, Aida, of Stanford; two
daughters, Francesca Gardner and Stephanie Gardner Trimble; four grandchildren;
and two great-grandchildren. His Memorial Service was held on March
5 at Memorial Church on the Stanford Campus. Seven hundred people
were in attendance.
The family suggests that those wishing to make a gift to honor Gardner’s
memory contribute to a cause of their choice, or to:
John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities
c/o Memorial Gifts, Stanford University
326 Galvez Street Stanford, CA 94305-6105
John Gardner Public Service Fellowships
Haas Center 562 Salvatierra Walk Stanford, CA 94305-8620
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