Fred W. Riggs: Vanishing Greatest American

• Published in: Public administration review Vol. 68; no. 6; pp. 979 - 980
• Main Author: Jones, Garth N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.11.2008; American Society for Public Administration
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Christianity; Death; Deaths; Family Planning; Governance; Graduate students; Obituaries; Organizational Theories; Personal profiles; Political Scientists; Public Administration; Religion; Riggs, Frederick W; Technical Assistance; Work Experience; United States > US
• ISSN: 0033-3352; 1540-6210
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2008.00947_4.x

When Fred W. Riggs passed away last Feb 13, 2008, the author felt the pain of the vanishing of America's greatest generation. Fred's leadership in pioneering development administration was critical for the time. His esoteric thinking and writings were in the ballpark. The author cannot say the same, however, for most of the Comparative Administration Group reports and studies published. Most of these products were of a textbook variety with little relevance to his experience in the bruising game of technical assistance in public administration. Building on Fred's writing on ecology of administration, he saw culture, as expressed in organizational capacity as the defining factor in societal development and progress. An understanding of religion in any society is especially essential -- a neglected aspect in the literature on comparative and development administration. Fred W. Riggs was an influential intellect throughout his long scholarly life. His contributions can best be assessed within the "Age of the Greatest Americans" of some four decades.