William Gorham

William Gorham served as the first President of the Urban Institute from 1968 to 2000. The Urban Institute began during the Johnson Administration and is a non-partisan research and policy institute that concentrates on the social, economic and political needs and challenges faced in the urban environment. Mr. Gorham’s professional contributions include numerous governmental posts, including Co-Chairman of the President’s Panel on Social Indicators; Chairman of the President’s Task Force on Child Development; Assistant Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.

Mr. Gorham served on the boards of Insituform Group Ltd.; Insituform Techs., Inc.; and the Social Science Research Council. He held memberships with the US Advisory Committee of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, as well as the International Community on Education for the 21st Century, Delors Community and UNESCO. Currently, Mr. Gorham is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration, the Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management, and the Cosmos Club.

Mr. Gorham serves on the Editorial Boards of both Policy Sciences and the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management and was co-Editor of the Urban Predicament (1976). He had the honor of receiving the Distinguished Civilian Service Award from the US Department of Defense in 1965. Mr. Gorham holds an LLD from Trinity College, and received his BA from Stanford University.