Califano, Joseph Anthony, Jr. (1931-…), served as United States secretary of health, education, and welfare (HEW) from 1977 to 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. One of Califano’s chief concerns as secretary of HEW was to streamline the huge government department, which was later broken up into the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Califano was born in New York City on May 15, 1931. He graduated from Holy Cross College and from Harvard Law School. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1955 to 1958 and then practiced law. From 1961 to 1965, Califano held a series of posts in the Department of Defense. He became a special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. Califano helped develop the Model Cities project and other programs of what Johnson called the Great Society. He practiced law from 1969 to 1977 and returned to law practice again after he left his Cabinet post. In 1992, Califano founded the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
Loading the player...Califano has written a number of books. They include The Student Revolution: A Global Confrontation (1969), a study of student unrest; A Presidential Nation (1975), a discussion of the U.S. presidency; and The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson (2000), a study of Johnson’s presidency.
