Harris WOFFORD, Congress, PA (1926)

WOFFORD, Harris, a Senator from Pennsylvania; born in New York City, April 9, 1926; graduated from University of Chicago, 1948; graduated from Yale and Howard University Law Schools, 1954; admitted to the District of Columbia bar in 1954 and commenced the practice of law; legal assistant, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 1954-1958; associate professor of law, Notre Dame Law School 1959-1960; coordinator of civil rights section of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign; special assistant to President Kennedy and chairman of the Subcabinet Group on Civil Rights 1960-1962; assisted in the formation of the Peace Corps, serving as special representative to Africa and subsequently as associate director 1962-1966; president of the College at Old Westbury (State University of New York) 1966-1970, and Bryn Mawr College 1970-1978; practiced law in Philadelphia 1980-1986; chairman, Pennsylvania State Democratic Party 1986; Pennsylvania secretary of labor and industry 1987-1991; appointed on May 8, 1991, to the United States Senate as a Democrat to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry John Heinz, III; elected in a special election to the remainder of the term on November 5, 1991, and served from May 9, 1991, to January 3, 1995; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1994; CEO, Corporation for National Service (Americorps), 1995-2001; chairman and then co-chairman of America’s Promise: The Alliance for Youth 2001-2004; is a resident of Washington, D.C.

Bibliography

Wofford, Harris, with Clare Wofford, India Afire. New York: J. Day Co., 1951; Wofford, Harris. “The Democratic Challenge.” Foreign Policy 86 (Spring 1992): 99-113; Wofford, Harris. Of Kennedys and Kings: Making Sense of the Sixties. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1980.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present