John William Carlin

Background

John William Carlin was born on August 3, 1940, at St. John’s Hospital in Salina, Kansas, to Jack W. and Hazel L. (Johnson) Carlin. He grew up on the family farm near Smolan in Saline County, where the dairy operation required work throughout the week and connected his early life with Kansas agriculture.

Carlin participated in 4-H and graduated from Lindsborg High School before studying dairy science at Kansas State University. His family valued education and followed politics closely, and he recalled that political discussion was a regular part of family life. His upbringing in a rural Democratic household shaped the agricultural and public-service interests that accompanied his later political career.

Education

Carlin graduated from Lindsborg High School and then attended Kansas State University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in dairy science, described in his professional materials as dairy husbandry, cum laude, in 1962. Kansas State University, founded in 1863 as the nation’s first operational land-grant college, combined agricultural instruction with practical scientific education and served the needs of the state’s farming communities.

Kansas State later awarded Carlin an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1986. His later academic work included teaching or lecturing at Washburn University, Wichita State University, the University of Kansas, Duke University, and Kansas State University, extending his professional relationship with higher education beyond his original agricultural training.

Career

Carlin returned to the family agricultural enterprise after graduating from Kansas State University. He was partner and manager of Hilltop Holstein Farm near Smolan from 1962 to 1980 and co-owner and partner of Sunflower Sales, a sales-management business, from 1969 to 1978. He also co-owned and operated C&W Ranch near Smolan from 1980 to 1992.

He entered elective politics after serving as a Democratic township committeeman. Elected to the Kansas House of Representatives from the 73rd District in 1970, he served four terms from 1971 to 1979. He was assistant minority leader from 1975 to 1976, minority leader from 1976 to 1977, and Speaker of the House from 1977 to 1979. His speakership was notable because he was the first Democrat in 64 years to hold that position.

Carlin was elected governor of Kansas in 1978 and served from January 8, 1979, through January 12, 1987. He became the first Kansas governor to win a second four-year term. During his administration, he promoted changes in utility regulation and power-plant policy, secured a severance-tax package that supported education and state highways, and pursued an overhaul of property-tax appraisal. His administration also issued 127 vetoes, none of which the legislature overrode.

After leaving the governorship, Carlin taught public administration at Wichita State University and served as an adjunct professor at Washburn University. He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Kansas and Duke University during 1988–1989, and he worked as a governmental-affairs consultant to Boeing Airplane Company from 1987 to 1989. He was also a partner in Economic Development Associates, a consulting firm specializing in international trade, from 1987 to 1992; a partner in Carlin & Associates from 1989 to 1995; and a partner in Clark Publishing from 1991 to 1995.

From 1990 to 1994, Carlin was vice-chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Midwest Superconductivity in Lawrence, Kansas, a technology-oriented physics research and development company. President Bill Clinton appointed him Archivist of the United States in 1995, and he served at the National Archives and Records Administration until February 15, 2005. During his tenure, he led strategic planning for the agency, supported development of the Electronic Records Archives, obtained funding for renovation of the National Archives Building, and supported conservation of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

After returning to Kansas in 2005, Carlin became a visiting professor and executive in residence at Kansas State University. He taught executive leadership, practical politics, civic leadership, and related subjects in the university’s leadership and political-science programs. He also served on public, agricultural, historical, educational, and bioscience boards and commissions, including the Kansas Bioscience Authority and the National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production.

Achievements

• As governor of Kansas, Carlin became the first Kansas governor to win a second four-year term and advanced changes in utility regulation, energy policy, education funding, state highways, and property-tax appraisal.

• As Archivist of the United States, Carlin led strategic planning for the National Archives and Records Administration, supported the Electronic Records Archives initiative, obtained funding for renovation of the National Archives Building, and supported conservation of the Charters of Freedom.

• Carlin chaired the National Governors Association in 1984–1985 and the Midwestern Governors’ Conference in 1980–1981, representing state executives in national and regional policy discussions.

• He chaired the National Historical Publications and Records Commission from 1995 to 2005 while serving as Archivist of the United States.

• He served as chairman of the National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production from 2006 to 2008 and chaired the Kansas Bioscience Authority from 2008 to 2011.

Works

• edited volume

  • The Selected Papers of Governor John Carlin, 1979–1987: An Index of Social and Political Change

    (A 1993 volume compiled and edited by Joe P. Pisciotte tha...)

    1993

• lecture

  • Ready Access to Essential Evidence—The Meaning of Records in American Life

    (Lecture by Carlin on the civic and historical importance ...)

    1998

• speech

  • State of the Archives

    (Address by Carlin to the staff of the National Archives a...)

    2004
  • Records Matter: Developing the U.S. National Archives Experience

    (Address by Carlin describing the National Archives Experi...)

    2002

Religion

Carlin is a Lutheran. Lutheranism emerged from the sixteenth-century Reformation associated with Martin Luther and emphasizes justification by faith, the authority of Scripture, and worship centered on Word and sacrament.

His documented religious affiliation also included participation in Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Council in Kansas during 1988–1990, where he served as president during 1989–1990. This activity placed his public service within a congregation-based tradition that combines Christian teaching with community responsibility.

Politics

Carlin is a Democrat whose political outlook developed in rural Kansas and within the state’s progressive Democratic tradition. He served as a township Democratic committeeman in the 1960s, represented the 73rd District in the Kansas House of Representatives, and later served two terms as governor.

His gubernatorial politics combined fiscal caution with an activist approach to public policy. As governor, he supported a severance tax on oil, natural gas, and coal to finance education and highways, changes in utility regulation, and a modernization of property-tax appraisal. His administration also coincided with constitutional changes concerning liquor by the drink, parimutuel betting, and a state lottery.

Carlin’s political style was pragmatic and reform-oriented. He worked with Republican legislative majorities, resisted patronage demands from members of his own party, and used public campaigning to build support for measures that the legislature had initially rejected. His Democratic affiliation connected him to a national party traditionally associated with organized labor, social welfare, civil rights, public investment, and a more active role for government, while his Kansas career reflected the state party’s rural and fiscally moderate currents.

Views

Carlin’s documented public philosophy emphasizes practical problem-solving, civic participation, institutional responsibility, and a willingness to pursue change through government. His gubernatorial record combined fiscal discipline with support for public investment in education, highways, and administrative modernization.

His later civic work emphasizes listening, compromise, improved education, a strong middle class, and sustainable economic development. His approach to public leadership treats government as a practical instrument for responding to changing social and economic conditions rather than as an institution confined to established routines.

Quotations: "This is a different era, which requires new approaches, but the issue of managing the government well must be the central concern of the Carlin administration."

Membership

Carlin’s memberships and board service have connected agriculture, public administration, education, historical preservation, business, and Lutheran community life. He served in leadership positions with the National Governors Association, the Midwestern Governors’ Conference, the National United Way, the Kansas Bioscience Authority, the Kansas State University Foundation, the Kansas State Historical Society, and other civic and professional bodies.

His membership activities also included the Kansas Holstein Association and Holstein Association USA, where he became an accredited Holstein judge in 1967. His service on the Foundation for the National Archives and the National Digital Strategy Advisory Board reflected his continuing involvement with preservation and electronic-records policy.

• Served on the executive committee, as vice-chairman, and as chairman.

  National Governors Association , United States

  1980 - 1985

• Served as vice-chairman and chairman.

  Midwestern Governors’ Conference , United States

  1979 - 1981

• Served as a board director.

  National United Way , United States

  1985 - 1987

• Participated in the state Holstein organization and became an accredited Holstein judge.

  Kansas Holstein Association , United States

  1967

• Served as an accredited Holstein judge.

  Holstein Association USA , United States

  1967

• Served as a member and later as an ex-officio member while Archivist of the United States.

  Foundation for the National Archives , United States

  1992 - 2005

• Served on the advisory board for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program.

  National Digital Strategy Advisory Board , United States

  2000 - 2005

• Served on the board and chaired it from 2008 to 2011.

  Kansas Bioscience Authority , United States

  2006 - 2012

• Served as chairman.

  National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production , United States

  2006 - 2008

• Served as a trustee and later resumed service from 2007.

  Kansas State University Foundation Board of Trustees , United States

  1987 - 1995

• Served during 1988–1995 and again during 2006–2010.

  Kansas State Historical Society Board of Directors , United States

  1988 - 2010

• Served on the advisory board.

  Kansas State University Political Science Advisory Board , United States

  1987 - 1994

• Served on the board of directors.

  Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry , United States

  1987 - 1989

• Served on the council and was president from 1989 to 1990.

  Our Savior’s Lutheran Church Council , United States

  1988 - 1990

Personality

Carlin has described himself as willing to make decisions and take risks when he believed a change was necessary. In oral-history interviews, he connected his leadership style with the practical demands of farm management and with the need to make fast, accurate decisions in public life.

Quotes from others about the person

• Kansas political historian Joe Pisciotte characterized Carlin’s administration as energetic and activist and described him as a risk taker who often chose less popular alternatives. The National Archives credited him with a dedicated career in public service and a commitment to advancing technology in government.

Interests

• Agriculture, dairy farming, civic engagement, public history, leadership, archival preservation, and rural economic development.

• Politicians

  Harry S. Truman; Franklin D. Roosevelt

Connections

Carlin is the son of Jack W. Carlin and Hazel L. (Johnson) Carlin. He married Ramona Hawkinson in 1962; they later divorced, and they had two children, John David and Lisa Marie. He subsequently married Karen Bigsby Hurley in 1981 and Lynn Lady in 1997.

His professional connections included President Bill Clinton, who appointed him Archivist of the United States in 1995, and Kansas political leaders with whom he worked during his legislative and gubernatorial career. His public service also connected him with the National Governors Association, whose executive committee he joined and whose chairmanship he held in 1984–1985.

Father:

Jack W. Carlin

Mother:

Hazel L. Johnson Carlin

Son:

John David Carlin

Daughter:

Lisa Marie Carlin

Wife:

Ramona Hawkinson

Married Carlin in 1962; they later divorced.

Wife:

Karen Bigsby Hurley

Married Carlin in 1981.

Wife:

Lynn Lady

Married Carlin in 1997.

References

• John William Carlin Kansas Historical Society biography documenting Carlin’s birth, agricultural background, legislative career, two terms as governor, and marriages.
  2011
• John Carlin, Eighth Archivist of the United States National Archives biography describing Carlin’s appointment as Archivist of the United States, strategic planning, Electronic Records Archives, building renovation, conservation projects, and professional honors.
  2016
• John Carlin National Governors Association profile documenting Carlin’s service in the Kansas House, governorship, National Governors Association chairmanship, education, and family.
• A Conversation with Former Governor John W. Carlin Published oral-history interview covering Carlin’s upbringing near Smolan, dairy-farming background, education, political philosophy, legislative career, gubernatorial policies, and leadership style.
  2008
• About John W. Carlin Personal professional biography describing Carlin’s teaching, civic leadership, Kansas Bioscience Authority service, agricultural background, governorship, and archival career.