Bush Nominates Lenkowsky.

Slated to replace Wofford at CNS 

Dr. Leslie Lenkowsky, professor of Philanthropic Studies and Public Policy at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, has been nominated by President Bush to be executive director of the Corporation for National Service in Washington, D.C. CNS is the parent organization of AmeriCorps and several other national volunteer, student, and community service programs.

If Lenkowsky's nomination is approved by the United States Senate, he will succeed Harris Wofford, who guided CNS through the Clinton years. Wofford is currently serving as chairman of the Working Group on Human Needs and Faith-Based/Community-Based Initiatives in Washington, D.C.

Lenkowsky is well known among nonprofit organizations. He served during the 1970s as director of research of the Smith Richardson Foundation and during the 1990s as president of the Hudson Institute.

His governmental experience includes a brief stint as deputy director of the United States Information Agency during the Reagan years and served during the past decade on the board of directors of the Corporation for National Service.

He had earlier been appointed by former President George Bush to the CNS, predecessor organization, the Commission on National and Community Service. Lenkowsky joined the Indiana University faculty in 1997.

Lenkowsky's appointment was welcomed by leading scholars in the world of nonprofit organizations. David Hammack, the distinguished historian of nonprofits at Case Western Reserve University, said that "Lenkowsky will bring exceptional presence and knowledge of the challenges facing civil society to the Corporation for National Service -- and, no doubt, to the debate about the proper relations between government, communities, and faith."

Eugene R. Tempel, director of the Indiana University Center, stated that "Les's work at the Center, and particularly his understanding of the relationship between government and the nonprofit sector, would make him an invaluable asset as President Bush seeks to assist nonprofit and community organizations." Added Tempel: "We are delighted that one of our key faculty members is being considered for this prominent national position."

Jon Van Til, professor of Urban Studies at Rutgers University and author of the recent book, Growing Civil Society, which describes the emergence of CNS under the watch of Clinton and the leadership of Wofford, said that "Les Lenkowsky's appointment is to the decade of the 2000s as was Harris Wofford's in the 1990s. Les brings to the position an ability to work with the President as well as a demonstrated ability to span the boundaries between parties and ideologies. While he is a declared conservative, he also enjoys the respect and colleagueship of those who are not conservatives. And, he has always returned that respect."

Lenkowsky, enjoined by long tradition from publicly commenting on his plans until confirmed by the Senate, did inform a recent gathering of visiting academics in Indianapolis that it has been a longtime aim of his board service at CNS to "bring insights from the scholarly world to bear upon programs of national service."

He added, "I am honored by President Bush's plan to nominate me. My involvement with the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, through research, teaching exceptional students committed to service, and especially the opportunity to learn with and from the leading scholars in philanthropy, has been tremendous preparation for this challenging position."

At the Center on Philanthropy, in conjunction with the Fund for American Studies, Lenkowsky created a unique Summer Institute on Philanthropy and Voluntary Service for college students.

A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, he received his doctorate from Harvard University. Lenkowsky is the author of more than 100 articles and a book, Politics, Economics and Welfare Reform: The Failure of the Negative Income Tax.

Lenkowsky's impending appointment marks the third advance to prominent positions within the Bush administration from the ranks of the intellectual and academic worlds. Previously, John DiIulio, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community-Based Services, left his position at the University of Pennsylvania on leave, and was joined by Donald Eberly, a prominent author of leading books on civil society development.

As to the question of how well Lenkowsky might be able to steer the Corporation through the tricky waters of public policy development in the Bush administration, Van Til observed, "Les has the political and interpersonal skills to succeed in this position. Harris Wofford preserved the Corporation in the Gingrich era by building a coalition between moderate Republicans and Clinton's Democratic party. Now Les will be called upon to build a similar coalition among those conservatives and liberals who believe in the value of national service."