John Malcolm McCardell Jr. (born June 17, 1949) is an American historian and academic administrator. He served as the President of

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

from 1992 to 2004 and as the

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Sewanee: The University of the South from 2010 to 2020. As of 2023, he is a history professor at Sewanee.

Early life

McCardell was born on June 17, 1949, in Maryland. He graduated from

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

in 1971. He earned a PhD in History from

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 ...

in 1976. For his dissertation, ''The Idea of a Southern Nation'', he was awarded the 1977 Allan Nevins Prize by the

Society of American Historians The Society of American Historians, founded in 1939, encourages and honors literary distinction in the writing of history and biography about American topics. The approximately 300 members include professional historians, independent scholars, jou ...

Academic career

McCardell joined the History department at Middlebury College in 1976 and was professor there until 2010. He served as the president of the college from 1992 to 2004. An anonymous donor of $50 million in the spring of 2004 asked that Middlebury's science center, Bicentennial Hall, be renamed John M. McCardell Jr. Bicentennial Hall. McCardell served as Vice-Chancellor of Sewanee: The University of the South from 2010 until June 17, 2020. As of 2023, he continues as a professor of history at the University.

Lowering the drinking age

McCardell is the founder and director of

Choose Responsibility Choose Responsibility is a non-profit organization in the United States, that promotes public awareness of the dangers of excessive and reckless alcohol consumption by young adults. The main goal is to lower the minimum legal drinking age by educat ...

, an organization dedicated to exploring and advocating the lowering of the legal drinking age to 18 and issuing drinking learner permits to adults age 18, 19, and 20 in an effort to promote responsible consumption. He authored an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

in ''

The 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 ...

'' in 2004 saying, "the 21-year-old

drinking age The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary betwee ...

is bad social policy and terrible law". He later spearheaded the creation of the

Amethyst Initiative The Amethyst Initiative is an organization made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors that, in July 2008, launched a movement calling for the reconsideration of U.S. legal drinking age, particularly the minimum age of 21. The National ...

, a statement of over 120 college presidents across the United States calling for reconsideration of drinking age laws.

Personal life

McCardell has a wife, Bonnie Greenwald, and two sons.

Bibliography

* 2009: Editor with William J. Cooper, ''In the Cause of Liberty:How the Civil War Redefined American Ideals'', Baton Rouge,LA.:

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of University Pres ...

References

External links

Middlebury College Website

Vermont youth push to drink earlier

Choose Responsibility
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCardell, John Jr. Living people Presidents of Middlebury College Sewanee: The University of the South administrators Washington and Lee University alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni Harvard University alumni Middlebury College faculty People from Middlebury, Vermont 1949 births