Sheldon Hackney

Francis Sheldon Hackney (December 5, 1933 – September 12, 2013) was an American educator, historian, and chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was president of Tulane University from 1975 to 1980 and president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1981 to 1993.

Francis Sheldon Hackney
Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities
In office 1993–1997
Preceded by	Lynne Cheney
Succeeded by	William R. Ferris
6th President of the University of Pennsylvania
In office 1981–1993
Preceded by	Martin Meyerson
Succeeded by	Claire Fagin (interim)
President of Tulane University
In office 1975–1980
Preceded by	Herbert Eugene Longenecker
Succeeded by	Eamon Kelly
Provost of Princeton University
In office 1972–1975
Succeeded by	Neil L. Rudenstine
Personal details
Born	(1933-12-05)December 5, 1933 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Died	September 12, 2013(2013-09-12) (aged 79) Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, U.S.
Spouse	Lucy Durr
Children	3
Education	Vanderbilt University (BA) Yale University (PhD)
Academic background
Doctoral advisor	C. Vann Woodward

Early life

Hackney was born in Birmingham, Alabama on December 5, 1933, and educated in the Birmingham public school system.^[1] He had four brothers.^[1] He was a graduate of Ramsay High School and also took courses at Birmingham Southern College.^[1] After graduating from Vanderbilt University, Hackney earned his Ph.D. in American History at Yale University in 1966, where he worked with eminent Southern historian C. Vann Woodward.^[2] He previously served in the Navy for five years, beginning in 1956.^[1] He served on the USS James C. Owens from 1956 to 1959.^[1]

Career

Hackney began his career as a lecturer in history at Princeton University. There, he taught in an Upward Bound program for disadvantaged students and played a role in the creation of the university's African American Studies program. While at Princeton, he moved into administration, serving as the provost from 1972 to 1975.

From 1975 to 1980, Hackney was the president of Tulane University. At Tulane, Hackney was best known for approving the November 1979 decision to tear down Tulane Stadium, the on-campus home of the Green Wave football team from 1926 through 1974. The Wave moved to the Louisiana Superdome upon its completion in August 1975. Tulane Stadium stood vacant for nearly five years after Tulane and the NFL's New Orleans Saints played their final games there, hosting high school football games and an ill-fated ZZ Top concert in 1976, where many fights broke out during the show.

President of the University of Pennsylvania

Hackney was president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1981 to 1993.^[3][4] He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1988.^[5] He was also the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) from 1993 to 1997, appointed by President Clinton.^[3] His defining initiative in the job was his first: "A National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity," a project that helped finance and shape about 1,400 public meetings from 1994 to 1997.

Hackney specialized in the history of the American South since the Civil War. He had in an interest in American utopias and other social movements with an emphasis on the Civil Rights Movement and the 1960s, and served on the Board of Editors of the Journal of Southern History.^[6] Among the articles and books on history that Hackney published, Populism to Progressivism in Alabama won the Albert J. Beveridge Award of the American Historical Association. Dixie Redux: Essays in Honor of Sheldon Hackney, an edited collection of essays authored by his former students and collaborators was released in November 2013.

Hackney was credited at the University of Pennsylvania with raising undergraduate minority enrollment from 13 to 30 percent and with increasing the endowment from about $160 million to $1 billion. Towards the end of his tenure, there was the so-called Water buffalo incident, a controversial affair involving a student charged with racial harassment that raised issues involving free speech and university judicial procedures nationally. In particular, Hackney's role in the incident was a subject of his 1993 Senate confirmation hearings for the NEH appointment. Hackney's memoir about the turmoil of his confirmation,^[7] The Politics of Presidential Appointment: A Memoir of the Culture War ISBN 1-58838-068-8, was published in 2002. During his confirmation, critics derided him as the "pope of political correctness." "I resent bitterly being slandered by slogan", Dr. Hackney told the Senate committee. "I am not just a cardboard figure. I am someone who has spent years defending free speech, and I will do that at NEH as well." He was confirmed, 76 to 23, and assumed the job previously held by Lynne Cheney.

Chairman of the National Endowment for Humanities.

Hackney’s most significant and influential initiative as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities was the "National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity." This program sought to engage Americans in discussions about national identity, diversity, and the meaning of citizenship in a changing society. The initiative was rooted in Hackney’s belief that the humanities could offer a fresh perspective on societal challenges, particularly those related to race, community, and historic American values. By organizing some 1400 public dialogues in every state this program tried to promote a broader, more inclusive understanding of American identity. It focused attention on issues of pluralism and the complexities of cultural life. The goal was to help policymakers and cultural institutions to prioritize conversations about diversity and inclusion.^[8][9]

Hackney’s ability to advance the NEH’s mission was hampered by significant federal budget cuts (a 38% reduction during his tenure) and a shifting political climate after the 1994 elections. Conservative Republicans led by Newt Gingrich repeatedly opposed the NEH, as well as its sister agency, the National Endowment for the arts. While Hackney preserved core programs, he lamented the loss of many NEH initiatives and the damage to the humanities infrastructure, acknowledging that more time was spent on political defense than on program development.^[10]

Personal life and death

Hackney was the son-in-law of civil rights activists Virginia and Clifford Durr.^[11]

Hackney died at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in 2013, aged 79. He had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.^[12][3]

Bibliography

• (2005) Magnolias without Moonlight: The American South from Regional Confederacy to National Integration. Transaction Publishers.
• (2002) The Politics of Presidential Appointment: A Memoir of the Culture War. New South Books.
• (1971) Populism: The Critical Issues. Little Brown Books.
• (1969) Populism to Progressivism in Alabama. Princeton University Press.
• (1969) “Southern Violence” American Historical Review 74, (1969), 906-25. online