Joseph Paul Overton (4 January 1960 – 30 June 2003) was an American political scientist who served as the senior vice president of the

Mackinac Center for Public Policy The Mackinac Center for Public Policy () in Midland, Michigan, is the largest U.S. state-based free market think tank in the United States. The Mackinac Center conducts policy research and educational programs. The Center sponsors MichiganVotes ...

. He is best known for his work in the mid-1990s developing an idea since known as the

Overton window The Overton window is the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It is also known as the window of discourse. Background The term is named after American policy analyst Joseph Overton, who sta ...

. ''Overton Window'', at the Mackinac Center
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Biography

Overton was born in Southwestern Michigan, but his family moved to

Midland, Michigan Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Michigan. The city's population was 42,547 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area, part of the larger Saginaw-Midland-Bay City Co ...

in 1965 for a job with the

Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastic ...

. He graduated from

Herbert Henry Dow High School Herbert Henry Dow High School is a public high school located in Midland, Michigan, United States. The school, a part of Midland Public Schools, is a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and in 2008 was named one of the top 20 High Schools i ...

in 1978. He held a

bachelor of science degree A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in electrical engineering from

Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

degree from the

Thomas M. Cooley Law School Western Michigan University Cooley Law School ("Cooley") is a private law school in Lansing, Michigan and Riverview, Florida. It was established in 1972. At its peak in 2010, Cooley had over 3,900 students and was the largest US law school by en ...

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...

Overton was admitted to the

State Bar of Michigan The State Bar of Michigan is the governing body for lawyers in the State of Michigan. Membership is mandatory for attorneys who practice law in Michigan. The organization's mission is to aid in promoting improvements in the administration of ...

in 1994. He was appointed to the Michigan Appellate Defender Commission by Governor

John Engler John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he later worked for Business Roundtable, where ''The Hill'' ...

. His appointment was recommended by the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the st ...

. Before joining the Mackinac Center, he worked as a quality specialist, project manager and electrical engineer at the

in Midland, Michigan. Overton was an ardent

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

, and while associated with the Mackinaw Center in Midland, he promoted and studied

free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

principles for over ten years while travelling to more than a dozen countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. One of his other responsibilities was fund-raising. In order to explain what

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

s do, in the 1990s he designed a brochure to illustrate the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream at a given time. That idea eventually became known as the

, and his lasting legacy. He opined that it is the responsibility of think-tanks to propose policies outside the window and shift the window. In 1998, Overton was honored with the Roe Award from the

State Policy Network The State Policy Network (SPN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a network for conservative and libertarian think tanks focusing on state-level policy in the United States. The network serves as a public policy clearinghouse and advises ...

(SPN) at their meeting in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. The award, presented annually, honors individuals who have successfully promoted free market philosophy while displaying innovation, accomplishment and innovation in public policy. He died at age 43 from injuries suffered in a crash while piloting an

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with aile ...

, soon after taking off from the

Tuscola Area Airport Tuscola Area Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the central business district of Caro, a city in Tuscola County, Michigan, United States. It is owned by the Tuscola Area Airport Authority. It i ...

near

Caro, Michigan Caro is a city in and the county seat of Tuscola County, Michigan, United States. The population was 4,328 at the 2020 census and 4,145 at the 2000 census (an increase of 4.4%). Caro is located northeast of Flint and east of Saginaw in Mich ...

. Overton had just married a few weeks before the accident. Shortly after his death, he was honored by the State Policy Network with the creation of the

Overton Award The State Policy Network (SPN) is a nonprofit organization that serves as a network for Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian think tanks focusing on State law (United States), state- ...

, a special distinction. It is bestowed infrequently and limited to COOs or Executive VPs of non-profit, free market organizations who demonstrate the personal qualities that Overton possessed. These include humility in supporting their peers, leadership that builds a great team, and developing effective strategies that magnify the ideas and influence of their organization. As of 2022, only five individuals had received this honor.

References

External links

Think Tank Leader Dies In Plane CrashJoseph P. Overton
nbsp;— biographic overview {{DEFAULTSORT:Overton, Joseph P. 1960 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American philosophers Political philosophers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Western Michigan University Cooley Law School alumni Michigan Technological University alumni Mackinac Center for Public Policy People from Midland, Michigan

Biography

See also

References

External links