Harris Wofford has served his country for more than sixty years, starting as a volunteer for the Army Air Corps in World War II and continuing through government and community service during the terms of ten Presidents.

In the 1950s, Wofford was an advisor to Martin Luther King, served as counsel to Rev. Theodore Hesburgh on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and later was an associate professor at Notre Dame Law School. When Senator John Kennedy ran for President, Wofford joined the campaign as civil rights coordinator. Upon Kennedy’s election, Wofford served as the President’s Special Assistant for Civil Rights (1961-62) and helped Sargent Shriver launch the Peace Corps. In late 1962, Wofford became director of Ethiopia’s large Peace Corps program and served as Special Representative to Africa. On his return, he became the Peace Corps Associate Director.

In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, Wofford moved into academia, serving as President of the State University of New York’s new College at Old Westbury, and then as President of Bryn Mawr College.

Returning to government in the 1980s, Wofford served as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Labor and Industry. In 1991, after the death of Republican Senator John Heinz, Governor Bob Casey appointed Wofford to fill the Senate seat during the six months before a special election. Facing an uphill campaign against U.S. Attorney General (and former Pennsylvania governor) Dick Thornburgh, Wofford carried the banner of affordable health care for all – a message that took him from more than 40 points behind in the polls to an upset victory by 10 points. Wofford became the first Democratic Senator to be elected in Pennsylvania in 29 years and brought health care to the national agenda.

While in the United States Senate, Wofford played a key role in the legislation establishing the Corporation for National Service, including the new AmeriCorps, and, with Representative John Lewis, initiated and authored the act establishing Martin Luther King Day as a day of service – a day on, not a day off. After Congressman Rick Santorum defeated Wofford in the Republican wave of 1994, Wofford was appointed by President Clinton as the CEO of the Corporation for National Service. Under his tenure, AmeriCorps grew to over 50,000 members.

In recent years, Wofford has been chair and then co-chair (with Alma Powell) of the America’s Promise Alliance for children and youth. He joined the campaign of Barack Obama as an official surrogate, speaking on his behalf in a number of states and introducing him for two major addresses – on race and on service. He advised Obama on the development of a comprehensive service and social innovation agenda, including the growth of AmeriCorps to 250,000 members which was authorized in the bi-partisan Edward M. Kennedy Act enacted during President Obama’s first one hundred days.

Wofford has written numerous articles on national service, Gandhi, civil disobedience, civic engagement, education and politics, and four books including, Of Kennedys and Kings: Making Sense of the Sixties, 1980, and with his wife Clare, India Afire, 1950.

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