Charles McKinley papers

Charles McKinley was born in Fulton, South Dakota on October 16, 1889. He received a B.A. degree from the University of Washington in 1913 and M.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1916. In 1960, Reed College awarded him an honorary LL.D. degree.

Mr. McKinley began teaching at Reed College in 1918, and retired from his position at Reed College as the Cornelia Marvin Pierce Professor of American Institutions in 1960. He was further honored at Reed in May 1963 when a residence hall was named in his honor.

In addition to teaching at Reed, McKinley taught at the University of Washington and held visiting professorships at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, the University of Oregon, the University of Utah, and Portland State College.

Reed president Victor G. Rosenblum said of Charles McKinley, “He was the prototype of all that is strong at Reed. His research was on the frontiers of social concerns. He served as a brilliant scholar, yet his achievements were social as well as intellectual…” Charles McKinley served in many capacities outside the academy. He served at various times as a staff member to the Social Science Research Council, The Administrative Council of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the War Production Board, among others.

He served as a consultant to the National Resources Planning Board, the League of Oregon Cities, the Oregon Government Simplification Commission, the North Pacific Planning Project of the Canadian-U.S. Joint Economic Committee, the U.S. Forest Service, the President’s Water Policy Commission, the first Hoover Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, and Resources for the Future, Inc.

He served as a member of the following bodies: the Portland City Planning Board (he also served as chairman), the Pacific Northwest Coordinating Committee of the U.S. Department of Interior, the National Municipal League, the American Society for Public Administration, and the Portland Metropolitan Area Local Government Boundary Commission.

Charles McKinley was past president of the Portland City Club and was president from 1954 to 1955 of the American Political Science Association and president from 1949 to 1950 of the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association.

Among his numerous writings were two major works: “Uncle Sam in the Pacific Northwest: Federal Management of Natural Resources in the Columbia River Valley,” 1952, completed under a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, and “The Management of Land and Related Resources in Oregon: a Case Study in Administrative Federalism”, 1965, written for Resources for the Future.

Charles McKinley died on March 21, 1970 in Portland, Oregon. He was survived by his wife, Nellie Higgins McKinley and three children, Mrs. Donald Johnson of Eugene, Dr. Donald McKinley of Portland, and Hugh McKinley of Eugene, and nine grandchildren.