Cornelius P. Cotter

Who is Cornelius P. Cotter?

Cornelius P. Cotter, professor of political science at Stanford University, was the executive director of the Republican Committee on Program in Progress. The committee was established in 1959 by Republican National Chairman Meade Alcorn. The idea for the committee grew from the concern of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and other party leaders that if the GOP did not effectively articulate imaginative solutions to the challenges in both foreign and domestic policies facing America in the 1960s and 1970s, the party would face a series of defeats at the polls comparable to what happened in 1958.

The committee consisted of forty-four Republicans chosen from office holders, party officials, former members of the Eisenhower Administration, and leading figures in business, education, labor, agriculture, and the professions. The committee was chaired by Charles H. Percy, president of Bell and Howell.

A native of New York City, Cotter served in the Marshall Islands during World War II. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1949, his Masters of Public Administration from Harvard in 1951, and completed further studies at the London School of Economics. As a Professor of Political Science, Cotter served on the faculties of Stanford University, Wichita State University, and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.