Joseph, James A. (James Alfred), 1935-

James A. Joseph is a Louisiana native who graduated from Southern University, Baton Rouge, and from Yale Divinity School. He is an ordained minister and is currently Professor of the Practice of Public Policy Studies and Leader-in-Residence at the Hart Leadership Program at Duke University. He is also responsible for launching the U.S.-Southern Africa Center for Leadership and Public Values.

Joseph has taught at Yale Divinity School and at Clairemont Colleges, where he served as chaplain. He was also active in the Louisiana Civil Rights movement during the 1960s. From 1971-1976 he worked as vice president of the Cummins Engine Co. and was president of the Cummins Engine Foundation. In 1977, he was appointed by President Carter to be the undersecretary of the Interior, where he served until 1981. He was also chairman of the presidentially appointed Commission on the Northern Mariannas under President Carter; a member of the Advisory Committee to the Agency for International Development under President Reagan; and an incorporating director of the Points of Light Foundation and a member of the Presidential Commission on Historically Black Colleges under President Bush. He is also a former president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, 1982-1995.

Joseph served as ambassador to South Africa from January 1996 to November 1999, and was the first and only U.S. ambassador to present his credentials to President Nelson Mandela. In recognition of Joseph's contributions, South African President Thabo Mbeki awarded him the Order of Good Hope, the highest honor the Republic of South Africa bestows on a citizen of another country. Before serving in South Africa, Joseph was the first chairman of the board of directors of President Clinton's Corporation for National Service.

This information is taken from his personal papers and from Joseph's biography as written on the Hart Leadership Program website.

From the guide to the James A. Joseph papers, 1961-2004, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)