Wofford, Harris, 1926-2019

Harris Llewellyn Wofford Jr. (April 9, 1926 – January 21, 2019) was an American attorney, civil rights activist, academic, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he notably served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania between 1991 and 1995.

Born in Manhattan and raised in Johnson City, Tennessee and Scarsdale, New York, he founded the Student Federalists while a student at Scarsdale High School. From 1944 to 1945 he served in the United States Air Force, and then attended the University of Chicago where he received his A.B. degree in 1948. He studied law at both Yale University and Howard University and was awarded an LL.B. degree from each institution. He served as Special Assistant to Chester Bowles from 1953 to 1954. From 1954 to 1958 he practiced law in Washington, D.C. before teaching as an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School. Wofford played a key role in the civil rights movement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and later served as trustee to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violet Social Change. Under President Eisenhower, he was counsel to the Reverend Theodore Hesburgh of the University of Notre Dame on the first United States Commission on Civil Rights. During the John F. Kennedy administration, he was a Special Assistant to the President and chaired the subcabinet group on civil rights. While on the White House staff, Wofford helped Sargent Shriver plan and organize the Peace Corps; in 1962, he became the Peace Corps’ Special Representative to Africa and director of its large Ethiopia program. He later earned the role of Peace Corps Associate Director under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Wofford served as president at the State College of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury from 1966 to 1970 as well as at Bryn Mawr College from 1970 to 1978. He practiced law in Philadelphia at the Schnader, Harrison, Segal and Lewis firm from 1980 to 1986 and also re-entered politics by serving as a member of the Democratic National Platform Committee and fundraising for Senator Edward Kennedy in 1980, serving on Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode’s finance committee in 1983, helping to draft the Democratic party’s arms control platform in 1984, and managing Alan Cranston’s 1984 Presidential campaign. Wofford went on the serve as Pennsylvania State Democratic Chairman in 1986 before Governor Robert Casey appointed him as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Labor and Industry from 1987 to 1991. After the passing of Pennsylvania Sewnator John Heinz, Governor Bob Casey appointed Wofford to the seat on May 9, 1991. In November 1991, Wofford won an upset victory, defeating former Gov. and sitting Attorney General Richard Thornburgh in the special election to fill the remainder of Sen. Heinz’s term until 1994. Wofford’s campaign helped establish many of the foundational themes incorporated in Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential election victory, such as focus on the economy and health care. In 1993, Senator Wofford worked with President Clinton’s task force on drafting and passing the National and Community Service Trust Act, which created AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National Service. During his time in the Senate, Wofford was a leader in the effort to secure universal health insurance. With Congressman John Lewis, he also co-authored the legislation establishing the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a day for volunteer service. During his 1994 bid for re-election, Wofford narrowly lost to Republican Congressman Rick Santorum and thus completed his Senate term on January 3, 1995.

In 1995, President Clinton appointed Wofford as CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service with the specific assignment of rebuilding bipartisan support for AmeriCorps and national service. As part of his work at the Corporation, Wofford was instrumental in organizing the Presidents' Summit for America's Future in Philadelphia, which brought together all of the living Presidents, many governors and mayors, and more than 3,000 delegates across the country. The 1997 summit led to the creation of America's Promise, The Alliance for Youth, with General Colin Powell as its initial chairman, a position Wofford assumed in 2001. Wofford later served as co-chair with Alma Powell until June 2004 and remained active on the board of directors for years afterward. From 2001, Wofford served on the boards of several charities and service organizations, including America's Promise, Youth Service America and the Points of Light Foundation. He was a trustee to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change. Between 2007 and 2009, Wofford was the national spokesperson for Experience Wave, a national campaign that sought to advance state and federal policies to make it easier for mid-life and older adults to stay engaged in work and community life. From 2012 to 2015, Wofford served as a Senior Advisor to the Franklin Project, a policy program of the Aspen Institute that sought to make a year of service a common opportunity and expectation for young Americans.

Wofford died at age 92 in Washington, D.C. of complications from a fall.