John Agresto

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John Agresto is a U.S. educational administrator in private and public service.

Was the Deputy head of the National Endowment for the Humanities. At the NEH, he worked with William Bennett and Lynne Cheney. In the 1980s, he was nominated by President Reagan to become Archivist of the United States. At least thirteen national historical and archival organizations vehemently protested Agresto's nomination, citing his "decidedly partisan reputation."[1] The American Studies Association dismissed him as "a mediocre political appointment" and the 11,000 member Organization of American Historians said that he lacked "the technical qualifications for the job."[2] Opposition to Agresto was also based on his two-year refusal while at the Endowment to comply with federal affirmative action hiring requirements. Agresto vowed to resign rather than comply, but backed down after Congress threatened to abolish the Endowment. [3] During the confirmation process, it was disclosed that six months prior to his testimony, a pro-Agresto witness at a Senate hearing had received a $10,000 "chairman's grant" from Agresto after an application for a $30,000 grant was rejected by a humanities panel. [4] The nomination was mired in opposition and controversy for over a year before Agresto was dropped from consideration.

Agresto became president of St. John's College in Santa Fe. After his retirement from St. John's and the 2003 Iraq invasion, Agresto worked with the Coalition Provisional Authority to revive the Iraqi higher education system. He reportedly found it in utter disarray and faced serious obstacles due to looting of supplies in schools immediately after the invasion. After Iraq, he worked as the founding president for American College of Educationuntil September 2006.

According to The Washington Post, Agresto describes himself as a "neoconservative who has been mugged by reality."

Mugged by Reality is the title of his new book dealing with his observations in Iraq. It was featured on CSPAN's book TV on June 17, 2007. Dr. Agresto is currently serving at the new American University of Iraq an institution of higher education that he helped create, as the Interim Provost until August 2008.

He received a Ph.D. in government from Cornell University.

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Books by him: John Agresto, "Mugged by Reality: The Liberation of Iraq and the Failure of Good Intentions" Encounter Books, New York: 2007, http://www.encounterbooks.com/books/muggedbyreality/

[edit] References

  1. ^ Werner, Leslie Maitland. "Some Historians Worry About Access in Future", New York Times, 1986-05-20. Retrieved on 2008-11-21. 
  2. ^ Werner, Leslie Maitland. "Some Historians Worry About Access in Future", New York Times, 1986-05-20. Retrieved on 2008-11-21. 
  3. ^ Battiata, Mary. "Archives Choice Faces Critics; Agresto Defends His Skills, Political Independence Archives Nominee", Washington Post, 1986-08-14. Retrieved on 2008-11-21. 
  4. ^ Battiata, Mary. "Panel Drops Nomination Of Agresto", Washington Post, 1986-10-03. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.