Ernest S. Griffith: A Renaissance Man, a Pioneering Public Administrator

• Author: Stephen W. Stathis
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12624
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017

Ernest S. Griff‌i th: A Renaissance Man, a Pioneering Public Administrator 289

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 77, Iss. 2, pp. 289–296. © 2016 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.12624.

Stephen W. Stathis was a historian

with the Congressional Research Service

(CRS) of the Library of Congress for nearly

four decades. He is author of

Landmark

Debates in Congress: From the Declaration

of Independence to the War in Iraq

(2009)

and

Landmark Legislation: Major U.S. Acts

and Treaties

(2003, 2014). His articles

have appeared in leading newspapers

and professional journals, as well as

Encyclopedia of the American Presidency

(1994),

Encyclopedia of the Congress

(1995), and

Guide to Congress

(2013).

E-mail: swstathis@gmail.com

Administrative

Prof‌i le

Abstract : In the 1940s and 1950s, Ernest Stacey Griffith was well known on Capitol Hill and frequently featured in

major newspaper and magazine articles about the work of Congress. He was also recognized as an influential scholar.

Today, few members of Congress and only a handful of the thousands employed by the legislative branch have ever

heard of him. Even at the Congressional Research Service—Congress ’ s think tank—which he headed for 18 years,

Griffith is mostly an unfamiliar name. During his century-long life, this Rhodes Scholar left an indelible legacy in

several arenas. Griffith was not only a pioneering advisor to the nation ’ s legislators and an astute observer of American

democracy, he also achieved acclaim as a public administrator, an innovative teacher and educator, an early supporter

of the conservation movement, a prominent community and religious leader, and a record-setting mountain climber.

A t an age when most have long been retired,

Ernest Stacey Griffith scaled mountain

peaks and continued to capture attention

as a prominent observer of American politics—in

his eighties and nineties. Nothing less could be

expected of this Rhodes Scholar who throughout his

life displayed intense passion and boundless energy

as a pioneering public servant, a brilliant student of

American government, an innovative educator, an

early friend of the conservation movement, and an

inspirational model for community service (Bryant

1996 , 459).

Griffith ’ s writings broadened understanding of the

complexities of city government, democracy, the

American system of government, the U.S. Congress,

the American presidency, and the social sciences.

His 18 years as director of the Legislative Reference

Service (LRS, now the Congressional Research

Service) and subsequent seven years as founding dean

of American University ’ s School of International

Service may appropriately be considered visionary.

Early Years of a Renaissance Man

Griffith, the only son of a Utica, New York, widow,

graduated from Utica Free Academy in 1913 before

attending nearby Hamilton College on a Regents

Scholarship. Initially, he took odd jobs to cover the

rest of his expenses before eventually discovering

a far more lucrative source of additional funds:

endowed scholarships for which no other students

applied.

At Hamilton, Griffith majored in classics and

rhetoric, intent on becoming a classics teacher like

his mother. His academic achievements won him

the Phi Beta Kappa key as well as awards for his

prowess in Greek, Latin, and mathematics. He also

was a member of the track team, a record-setting

Adirondacks roarsman, a cheerleader, a member of the

newspaper staff, an elder in the college ’ s church, and

an assistant scoutmaster.

The last-named experience laid the foundation for

Griffith, with the assistance of William L. Huntsman,

another Hamilton undergraduate, to start the

Pioneers of America, a series of clubs for boys that

were the forerunners of the Cub Scouts. In later years,

he credited his work with the Pioneers as being more

important than his academic record in receiving a

Rhodes Scholarship to continue his education at the

University of Oxford (Griffith 1917 ; Griffith 1997 ,

11–12; Huntsman 1916).

His departure for England was postponed, however,

until the end of World War I. While he waited,

Griffith served for a short time in the U.S. Naval

Air Service and then as the director of physical

education of Oneida County schools, a high school

civics teacher, and a circuit-riding preacher. The last

three experiences profoundly influenced him. They

established within him a lifetime commitment to

being fit, prompted a career as a political scientist, and

solidified faith in action as a central theme of his life

(Griffith 1997 , 7–17).

W. Henry Lambright, Editor

Stephen W. Stathis

Ernest S. Griffith:

A Renaissance Man, a Pioneering Public Administrator