Dunlop, John T. (John Thomas), 1914-2003

John Thomas Dunlop was born in Placerville, California, in 1914, and raised in the Philippines where his parents served as missionaries. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1935 and a Ph.D. in 1939, from the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the Harvard faculty in 1938, becoming associate professor of economics in 1945 and full professor in 1950. He chaired the Economics Department from 1961 to 1966. He was appointed Lamont University Professor in 1971. Dunlop was director of the Cost of Living Council from 1973 to 1974, and chairman of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee from 1971 to 1974. He served as Secretary of Labor from March 18, 1975 to January 31, 1976. While Secretary, he brought a philosophy stressing a strong collective bargaining system, mutual problem-solving, and informal mediation; and led in improving cooperation between all of the federal labor agencies and the private sector. He used the President's Labor-Management Advisory Committee for policy development. He was closely involved in major cold war problems the U.S. had in the International Labor Organization. He resigned over the Ford Administration's veto of the labor relations bill. He also served as chair of the Commission of the Future of Worker/Management Relations from 1993 to 1995, chair of the Massachusetts Joint Labor-Management Committee for Municipal Police and Firefighters from 1977 to 2003, and chair of the Commission on Migratory Farm Labor from 1984 to 2003. Following his government service, he returned to the faculty of Harvard University. During his tenure at Harvard, he was a key figure in founding the Trade Union Program (now the Labor and Work Life Program); the Ph.D. Program in Business and Economics; the Joint Center for Housing Studies; the Program in Business and Government; and was instrumental in founding and/or fundraising for many other academic programs and research centers. He retired from the Harvard faculty in 1985. He died October 2, 2003, in Boston, Massachusetts.

From the description of Dunlop, John Thomas, 1914-2003 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10582579