Martha Ann Derthick (June 20, 1933 – January 12, 2015) was an American public administration scholar and academic. She is most known for her work on social security programs, deregulation and federalism.

Biography

Born in

Chagrin Falls, Ohio Chagrin Falls is a village in eastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,188 as of the 2020 census. The village was established around the eponymous Chagrin Falls on the Chagrin River. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part ...

, on June 20, 1933, she graduated from

Hiram College Hiram College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Hiram, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 as the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute by Amos Sutton Hayden and other members of the Disciples of Christ Church. The college is nonse ...

in Ohio in 1954. In 1962, she earned a doctorate in political science from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

.Emily Langer
Martha Derthick, authority on Social Security, dies at 81
''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', January 24, 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-21. She taught and researched at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

between 1964 and 1970,Contemporary Thinkers
Martha Derthick biography
Retrieved 2016-12-23. followed by periods at the Joint Center for Urban Studies of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

. She then joined the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, where she was director of the government studies program from 1978 to 1983. Sam Roberts
Martha A. Derthick, Analyst Who Untangled Public Policy, Dies at 81
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 29, 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-09. From 1983 to 1999, she was the Julia Allen Cooper professor of government and foreign affairs at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Derthick's research involved a focus on the unintended consequences of federal mandates for state welfare programs. Derthick favored federalism over centralized government. Among her best known works was ''Policymaking for Social Security'' (1979). Derthick died in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

on January 12, 2015, after a series of strokes.

Awards

Among other awards, Derthick was the recipient of a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, and she was twice awarded the

Louis Brownlow Louis Brownlow (August 29, 1879 – September 27, 1963) was an American author, political scientist, and consultant in the area of public administration. As chairman of the Committee on Administrative Management (better known as the Brownlow Comm ...

Book Award by the National Academy of Public Administration. She was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1982.

Works

*2002 ''Up in Smoke: From Legislation to Litigation in Tobacco Politics'' *2001
Keeping the Compound Republic: Essays on American Federalism
' (Brookings Institution Press) *1999
Dilemmas of Scale in America’s Federal Democracy
' (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

) *1990 ''Agency Under Stress: The Social Security Administration in American Government'' *1985 ''The Politics of Deregulation'' (with Paul J. Quirk) *1979 ''Policymaking for Social Security'' *1975 ''Uncontrollable Spending for Social Service Grants''

Biography

Awards

Works

References

Further reading