John C. Sawhill

John Sawhill
Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration
In office June 28, 1974 – December 18, 1974
President	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Himself (Federal Energy Office)
Succeeded by	Frank Zarb
Director of the Federal Energy Office
In office May 9, 1974 – June 28, 1974
President	Richard Nixon
Preceded by	William E. Simon
Succeeded by	Himself (Federal Energy Administration)
Personal details
Born	John Crittenden Sawhill (1936-06-12)June 12, 1936 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	May 18, 2000(2000-05-18) (aged 63) Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (before 1973) Republican (1973–2000)
Spouse	Isabel Van Devanter
Education	Princeton University (BA) New York University (MA, PhD)

John Crittenden Sawhill (June 12, 1936 – May 18, 2000) was president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy and the 12th President of New York University (NYU).

Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1936, Sawhill graduated from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1958. He earned a PhD in economics in 1963 from New York University, where he served as professor of economics. He was named president of New York University in 1975, serving until 1979. At a trying time in NYU's history, he received widespread acclaim for bringing about an academic and financial turnaround at the country's largest private university.

His research focused on the nonprofit sector, and he joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1997 as part of the School's Initiative on Social Enterprise. His seminar Effective Leadership of Social Enterprises prepared students for leadership roles in nonprofit management.

Earlier he held several government positions during the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations. Those included being Deputy Secretary of Energy; Chairman of the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation; Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration (appointed by President Nixon, he resigned that position in October, 1974), and Associate Director for Natural Resources, Energy, Science and Environment in the Office of Management and Budget. In 1977, he was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board.

During his ten-year tenure, The Nature Conservancy became the world's largest private conservation group and protected more than 7 million acres (28,000 km²) in the United States alone.

Sawhill, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy, died of complications from diabetes May 18, 2000 at the age of 63. His wife was Isabel Sawhill and his son was James W. Sawhill.

External links

• John C. Sawhill Remembered
• LA Times obit