John Frohnmayer (born June 1, 1942) is a retired attorney from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. He was the fifth chairman of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, a program of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

government. He was appointed by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

in 1989, and served until 1992.

Early life

On June 1, 1942, Frohnmayer was born in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the Me ...

. Frohnmayer's father was Otto Frohnmayer, a German who immigrated to Oregon in 1906 and an attorney in Oregon. Frohnmayer's mother was MarAbel Braden Frohnmayer, co-founder and the first president of the Rogue Valley Chorale. Frohnmayer has three siblings.

Education

Frohnmayer earned his undergraduate degree from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where he sang with the

Stanford Mendicants The Stanford Mendicants are an all-male a cappella group at Stanford University. The group is Stanford University's first a cappella group. Since its founding in 1963, the group's size has varied from 6 to 19 members. Although they are strictly an ...

, an ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

'' singing group. Later, he earned a master's degree in Christian ethics from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and a J.D. degree from the

University of Oregon School of Law The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...

, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review in 1972.

Career

In 1966, Frohnmayer joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and served as an engineering officer on USS Oklahoma City. In 1980, Frohnmayer retired from the military. Frohnmayer chaired the

Oregon Arts Commission The Oregon Arts Commission is a governor-appointed body of nine commissioners who allocate grants for artists based in the U.S. state of Oregon. It receives the bulk of its funding through the National Endowment for the Arts, the state, and the Or ...

from 1980–1984. President

appointed Frohnmayer to chair the National Endowment for the Arts in 1989. The NEA was in the midst of controversies surrounding its funding of various projects, notably those of

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...

, which would lead to Congressional action and a

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

decision in 1998, ''

National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley ''National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley'', 524 U.S. 569 (1998), was a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act, as amended in 199 ...

''. Frohnmayer's focus on art education was largely overshadowed by the contentious partisan politics surrounding the agency. Under pressure from the Religious Right, and

Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan (; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative political commentator, columnist, politician, and broadcaster. Buchanan was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, an ...

in particular, Frohnmayer was asked to resign in 1992. Frohnmayer published two books in the 1990s: ''Leaving Town Alive,'' an account of his experience at the NEA, and ''Out of Tune: Listening to the First Amendment,'' a text for high school and college courses. Frohnmayer is an Affiliate Professor of Liberal Arts at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

. In sports, Frohnmayer is an elite rower with Corvallis Rowing Club in Oregon.

2008 U.S. Senate campaign

On September 12, 2007, Frohnmayer announced that he would run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

representing

, running as a candidate of the

Independent Party of Oregon The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon with more than 135,000 registrants since its inception in January 2007. The IPO is Oregon's third-largest political party and the first political party ...

. for the seat formerly held by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Gordon Smith Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics *Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church * Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician * Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...

. He dropped out of the race on June 10, 2008, citing fundraising problems. Smith lost the Senate election to

Jeff Merkley Jeffrey Alan Merkley (born October 24, 1956) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oregon since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley served as the 64th speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

who was cross-nominated by the Independent Party after Frohnmayer quit the race.

Personal life

In 1967, Frohnmayer married Leah Thorpe. They have two sons, Jason and Aaron. Frohnmayer and his family live in Jefferson, Oregon.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

John Frohnmayer for Senate Campaign Web Site

Chronology of the NEA
(PDF File) *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frohnmayer, John National Endowment for the Arts American art historians Stanford University alumni University of Oregon School of Law alumni Living people 1942 births Independent Party of Oregon politicians