Wallace Stanley Sayre

Background

Wallace Stanley was born on June 24, 1905 near Point Pleasant, West Virginia, United States, one of eight children of Alford Sayre and Cornelia Tucker.

Education

Sayre received his B. A. degree from Marshall College in 1927, and the M. A. (1928) and Ph. D. (1930) from New York University.

Career

In 1929-1930 Sayre served as a teaching fellow in government at New York University. He was appointed to the faculty there the following year, and from 1934 to 1940 was an assistant professor.

Beginning in 1937, Sayre was a member of the administration of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. His initial post was secretary to the Civil Service Commission, and he was also responsible for the Public Service Training Program. He soon emerged as one of the central figures in the La Guardia administration's efforts to reform New York City's civil service system.

In 1938 he was appointed commissioner of the New York City Civil Service Commission. He held this post until 1942, when he moved to the Office of Price Administration. Some reports have suggested that he was forced to resign his post as commissioner because he had criticized the administration's handling of some controversial political appointments.

At the Office of Price Administration, Sayre served as assistant director of the fuel-rationing division until 1944, when he was promoted to director of personnel. In 1946, Sayre returned to academia as professor of administration at the Cornell School of Business and Public Administration. In 1949, he was appointed professor of government at the City College of New York; in 1951 he became chairman of that department. From 1950 to 1952, he was a visiting professor in public administration at Columbia University. In 1954, he left City College to become a full-time member of the faculty at Columbia, as professor of public administration.

In 1959, he was designated Eaton professor of public administration, and from 1963 to 1968, he was chairman of the Department of Public Law and Government. During his tenure at Columbia, he acquired a reputation of staying in touch with his students long after their graduation.

Throughout his academic career, Sayre maintained an active presence in the political arena. He served in the Mayor's Advisory Council from 1954 to 1961, and he was vicechairman of the Temporary Commission on New York City Finances from 1965 to 1967. From 1960 until his death he was a director of the Regional Plan Association of New York.

Sayre died from a heart attack in New York City, in the midst of a morning meeting at City Hall with Mayor John Lindsay.

Achievements

• Wallace Stanley Sayre was well-known as the commissioner of the New York City Civil Service Commission, he was a leading member of the task force that drafted the Model Civil Service Law (1938 - 1939). For decades he was one of the leading forces behind the Citizen's Union. Sayre was author or coauthor of ten books and numerous articles, the most important of which is Governing New York City (1960) that is generally regarded as the most comprehensive book on city government in combination with a detailed analysis of New York City government.

Works

More photos

• book

  • American government (College outline series)
  • Your government;: An outline for every American citizen (with charts)
  • Governing New York City: Politics in the Metropolis

Connections

Sayre married Kathryn McKnight on June 29, 1929; they had two children.

Father:

Alford Sayre

Mother:

Cornelia Tucker

Spouse:

Kathryn McKnight

coworker:

Herbert Kaufman