Arthur Sherwood Flemming (June 12, 1905September 7, 1996) was an American government official. He served as the

United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...

from 1958 until 1961 under President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's administration. Flemming was an important force in the shaping of

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

policy for more than four decades. He also served as president of the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (abbrevriated OWU) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Ohio Valley, Centra ...

, and

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

. In 1966, he was elected to a four-year term as president of the

National Council of Churches The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, usually identified as the National Council of Churches (NCC), is a left-wing progressive activist group and the largest ecumenical body in the United States. NCC is an ecumenical partners ...

, the leading Christian ecumenical organization in the United States. From 1974 to 1981, he was the chairman of the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility f ...

Early life and education

Flemming was born in

Kingston, New York Kingston is the only Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in, and the county seat of, Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grou ...

, to Judge Harry Hardwick Flemming and the former Harriet (née Sherwood). Flemming graduated from

, class of 1927 and a member of the Epsilon chapter of

Alpha Sigma Phi Alpha Sigma Phi (), commonly known as Alpha Sig, is an intercollegiate men's social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Founded in 1845 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, it is the tenth oldest social fraternity in the United Sta ...

fraternity. On December 14, 1934, he married Bernice Virginia Moler. They had five children.

Federal government career

Flemming's government career began in 1939, when President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

appointed him to the

U.S. Civil Service Commission The United States Civil Service Commission was a government agency of the federal government of the United States. It was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. In 1979, it was dissolved as part of ...

. While in this capacity, he was appointed to the Navy Manpower Survey Board under Vice Admiral

Adolphus Andrews Adolphus Andrews (October 7, 1879 – June 19, 1948) was a decorated officer in the United States Navy with the rank of Vice Admiral. A Naval Academy graduate and veteran of three wars, he is most noted for his service as Commander, Eastern Sea ...

, which was established to determine whether shore establishments were over-manned or under-manned and whether Navy's manpower was being utilized to the best possible advantage. He was a member of the

Hoover Commission The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, was a body appointed by President of the United States, President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to recommend administrative changes in the ...

, which studied the organization of federal government in the late 1940s and the early 1950s. Flemming was the chairman of the

White House Conference on Aging White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wavelen ...

in 1971, and was the appointed U.S. commissioner on Aging by President

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

. Flemming was also a co-founder of the Save Our Security coalition, a

advocacy group. He was the recipient of two Presidential Medals of Freedom, one in 1957, from President

and the second one in 1994, from President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. Secretary of Health and Human Services

Donna Shalala Donna Edna Shalala ( ; born February 14, 1941) is an American politician and academic who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. Shalala is a recipient of the Preside ...

said of Flemming: "He was one of the great intellects of social policy, combining extraordinary knowledge with a rare gift for policy-making."

Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

From 1958 until 1961, Flemming served as U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, following the resignation of

Marion B. Folsom Marion Bayard Folsom (; November 23, 1893 – September 27, 1976) was an American government official and businessman. He served as the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare from 1955 to 1958 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Biogr ...

. On November 9, 1959, Secretary Flemming announced, seventeen days before the

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

holiday, that some of the 1959 crop of cranberries contained traces of

aminotriazole 3-Amino-1,2,4-triazole (3-AT) is a heterocyclic organic compound that consists of 1,2,4-triazole with an amino group as a substituent. 3-AT is a competitive inhibitor of the product of the HIS3 gene, imidazoleglycerol-phosphate dehydratase. Imi ...

, a weed killer, which had been shown to cause

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

in rats in laboratory testing. Although the sale of cranberries was not banned, Flemming cautioned that if a housewife did not know where the berries in a product came from, "to be on the safe side, she doesn't buy". Flemming acknowledged the impact of his announcement before the holidays, but added "I don't have any right to sit on information of this kind." After decreased sales of cranberries during the holiday season, the

U.S. Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

(FDA) determined, in January 1960, that 99 percent of the crop had not been contaminated. However, the incident did cause cranberry growers to cease using amitrole as an herbicide, as demanded by the farmers' largest consumer, the Ocean Spray company. Before 1959, cranberries were seldom consumed except during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and

cranberry juice Cranberry juice is the liquid juice of the cranberry a fruit recognized for its bright red color, tart taste, and versatility for product manufacturing. Major cranberry products include cranberry juice, dried cranberry, cranberry sauce, frozen ...

was available, but not popular. After the disastrous holiday season, Ocean Spray promoted the popularity of the juice, and the production of the berries was increased in the long run. Flemming retired at the end of President Eisenhower's administration on January 19, 1961. Later, he was the chairman of the Commission on Civil Rights.

University president

Barely out of his degree at AU, Flemming was petitioning Roosevelt for New Deal funds to start a program at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

. The program was the

School of Public Affairs A public policy school or school of public affairs is typically a university program, institution, or professional school of public policy, public administration, political science, international relations, security studies, management, urban pla ...

, and Flemming was its first director. Flemming served as president of

. He was the university's first president to be an alumnus and a layman (non-ordained minister). Having served in the

and

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

administrations, his Wesleyan inauguration at the June commencement of 1949 drew many famous speakers and celebrities. From 1961 to 1968, Flemming served as president of the

. During his popular and controversial tenure, the number of students grew from 8,000 to 14,000, and federal funding for the university rose dramatically. Flemming was responsible for the addition of the School of Community Services and Public Affairs, the

Pine Mountain Observatory Pine Mountain Observatory (PMO) is an astronomical observatory operated by the University of Oregon Department of Physics under a special use permit from the Deschutes National Forest. The facility is located 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Ben ...

and the building of various laboratories on campus. He defended the right of the Communist Party, under the leadership of

Gus Hall Gus Hall (born Arvo Kustaa Halberg; October 8, 1910 – October 13, 2000) was an American activist who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) from 1959 to 2000. As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated wi ...

, to speak on campus and he also convinced

Tom Autzen Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...

to contribute money toward to the building of

Autzen Stadium Autzen Stadium is an outdoor football stadium in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Located north of the University of Oregon campus, it is the home field of the Oregon Ducks of the Big Ten Conference. Opened in 1967, the stadium has undergone severa ...

. From 1968 to 1971, Flemming served as president of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. During his short-lived tenure, he founded the Expanded Educational Opportunities (EEO) Program, which provided "total aid," including room & board, books, and travel expenses, to students from "racial minority groups and economically deprived backgrounds." Flemming had a close relationship with Black student groups on campus, even marching with students to protest a St. Paul landlord who had refused to rent to Black students. Former Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who returned briefly to Macalester (where he had previously taught) after losing the presidential election in 1968, also joined the march.Bernice Flemming, ''Arthur Flemming, Crusader at Large: A Memoir'', p. 288-289

Death

He died of

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

at a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, on September 7, 1996, at the age of 91. Flemming was buried at the

Montrepose Cemetery Montrepose Cemetery is a Cemetery, burial ground in Kingston, New York, United States. It is also host to the Agudas Achim Congregation Cemetery. 1945Burials * Maryanne Amacher (1938–2009), composer * Thomas Cornell (politician), Thomas Cornell ...

in his hometown of

References

External links

Papers of Arthur S. Flemming, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

from the United States

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

Paul Douglas Ethics in Government Award
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Flemming, Arthur S. 1905 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American politicians American Methodists Burials at Montrepose Cemetery Eisenhower administration cabinet members Ohio Wesleyan University alumni Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Presidents of Ohio Wesleyan University Presidents of the University of Oregon United States secretaries of health, education, and welfare Presidents of Macalester College