Norman I. Wengert
Encyclopedia
Norman Irving Wengert was an American
political scientist who wrote about the politics of natural resources, advanced a seminal theory of the "politics of getting", and had a number of significant roles in his public and academic career. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
to Eugene F. and Lydia Semmann Wengert. He pioneered the revival of the study of political economy in the United States with publication of Natural Resources and the Political Struggle, and later authored more than fifty monographs and studies on the political economy and public administration of environmental resources. His scholarship explored the politics of natural resources and environmental policy formation and administration, with emphases in national energy policy, urban water planning and management, land use planning and controls, national forest management, and citizen participation in administrative processes.
Wengert helped establish the doctoral program in Environmental Politics and Policy at Colorado State University
; published numerous notable scholarly books, research monographs, journal articles and chapters in anthologies; served as a consultant to government agencies, and received numerous awards and honors. He died at age 84 in Stoughton, Wisconsin
.
in 1939. He served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve during 1944–45. Returning to the University of Wisconsin, he was awarded a degree in law
from its University of Wisconsin Law School
in 1942, and a doctorate
in political science
in 1947. He was also a member of the Wisconsin Bar Association.
Wengert married Janet Mueller in 1940 and they raised three children: Eugene M., Christine Ann (Davis), and Timothy John.
(1941–48); was a member of the Program Staff in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior (1951–52); was a Research Associate for Resources for the Future
(1956), and served as Deputy Director of the National Recreation Survey of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (1959–60), which provided the basis for Interior Secretary Stuart Udall’s successful program for quadrupling the acreage of the National Park System in eight years, and for enactment of the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Act of 1965, providing money for recreational land acquisition. He also served as a member of the Policy Analysis Staff in the Office of the Chief, U.S. Forest Service (1978–79).
Wengert began his academic career as a member of the faculty of City College of New York
(1948–51); was Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Social Science Department at North Dakota State University
(1952–56); Professor of Public Administration at the University of Maryland, College Park
(1956–59); Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Wayne State University
(1960–68); Visiting Professor of Public Administration at Pennsylvania State University
(1968–69), and Professor of Political Science at Colorado State University (1969–87), where with Henry P. Caulfield, Jr.
and Phillip O. Foss
he helped establish its doctoral program in Environmental Politics and Policy
. During this period he also served as Visiting Research Professor at the U.S. Army Engineering Institute for Water Resources (1969–70), was a Summer Fellow at Fonds für Umweltstudien, in Bonn, Germany (1973), and lectured at the University of Sarajevo
in 1978.
Wengert's scholarship explored the politics of natural resources and environmental policy formation and administration, with emphases in national energy policy, urban water planning and management, land use planning and controls, national forest management, and citizen participation in administrative processes. At a time when environmental issues were nascent in the public consciousness, Wengert was one of the few political scientists applying their skills in this area. He achieved some early renown when his book Natural Resources and the Political Struggle which pioneered the revival of political economy in the United States found some popularity among scholars in 1955, but he is probably best known as coeditor and contributor of a timely anthology about the energy crisis
that appeared coincidentally during the Arab Oil Embargo
of 1973, published by the prestigious American Academy of Political and Social Science. Later in his career he advanced a seminal theory of the "politics of getting" in which he asserted: "American politicians will get as much as they can for their constituents, with only casual attention to the merits of the case and to the extent that they are not likely to be held directly accountable for costs". This theory was accepted by others and extended into the study of international relations and comparative politics. Unafraid of courting controversy, he also published a research monograph that argued that the U.S. Forest Service had substituted its professional values for the legal requirements of their Organic Act of 1897 by allowing timber to be clearcut on the national forests for almost 80 years before they were authorized to do so by the National Forest Management Act of 1976. Overall, he authored more than fifty monographs and studies on the political economy and public administration of environmental resources.
Recognition of his scholarship is evident in Wengert’s invitation to testify as an expert witness on “Public Participation in Scientific and Technical Decision Making” during hearings before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology in 1977, an uncommon honor for a university professor. On that occasion, his 1976 Natural Resources Journal article "Citizen Participation: Practice in Search of a Theory" was reprinted in the hearings record in its entirety, something that is also unusual for an academic.
Wengert served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Forest History Society
(1979–1987) and as Associate Editor of the Water Resources Bulletin (1971–1987; now Journal of the American Water Resources Association).
on food and agriculture (1959); provided advice to the Federal Aviation Administration
(1963); served as research consultant on environmental and natural resources issues for the School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan
(1968–69); on environmental impact assessment of water projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1968); with Thorne Ecological Institute (1972–75); Atlantic Richfield Oil Corporation (1973–74); the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Water Resources and Technology (1973–75); the National Water Quality Commission (1974–81); the Western Interstate Nuclear Board (1975–76) and for the states of Colorado, Maryland, Georgia, and Michigan on numerous occasions.
Wengert was inducted into the prestigious Order of the Coif
legal honor society and was editor of the University of Wisconsin Law Review while in law school, was a member of Sigma Xi
, the national Scientific Research Society, and Phi Kappa Phi
, the national honor society, and is listed in Who’s Who in America.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political scientist who wrote about the politics of natural resources, advanced a seminal theory of the "politics of getting", and had a number of significant roles in his public and academic career. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
to Eugene F. and Lydia Semmann Wengert. He pioneered the revival of the study of political economy in the United States with publication of Natural Resources and the Political Struggle, and later authored more than fifty monographs and studies on the political economy and public administration of environmental resources. His scholarship explored the politics of natural resources and environmental policy formation and administration, with emphases in national energy policy, urban water planning and management, land use planning and controls, national forest management, and citizen participation in administrative processes.
Wengert helped establish the doctoral program in Environmental Politics and Policy at Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
; published numerous notable scholarly books, research monographs, journal articles and chapters in anthologies; served as a consultant to government agencies, and received numerous awards and honors. He died at age 84 in Stoughton, Wisconsin
Stoughton, Wisconsin
Stoughton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States and is a neighbor of Madison. It straddles the Yahara River about 20 miles southeast of the capital, Madison. Stoughton is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
Early life and education
Norman Irving Wengert was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 7, 1916 to Eugene F. and Lydia Semmann Wengert. During his education he attained degrees in several different fields. He attended Concordia College in Milwaukee during the period 1930–36, and received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin in 1938 and a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts UniversityTufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
in 1939. He served as an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve during 1944–45. Returning to the University of Wisconsin, he was awarded a degree in law
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from its University of Wisconsin Law School
University of Wisconsin Law School
The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional school for the study of law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The law school was founded in 1868.-Facilities:...
in 1942, and a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1947. He was also a member of the Wisconsin Bar Association.
Wengert married Janet Mueller in 1940 and they raised three children: Eugene M., Christine Ann (Davis), and Timothy John.
Public service and academic career
Wengert was employed in several positions by the Tennessee Valley AuthorityTennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
(1941–48); was a member of the Program Staff in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior (1951–52); was a Research Associate for Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future
Resources for the Future is a nonprofit organization that conducts independent research into environmental, energy, and natural resource issues, primarily via economics and other social sciences. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., RFF performs research around the world...
(1956), and served as Deputy Director of the National Recreation Survey of the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (1959–60), which provided the basis for Interior Secretary Stuart Udall’s successful program for quadrupling the acreage of the National Park System in eight years, and for enactment of the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Land and Water Conservation Fund
The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund is a Federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1964 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, and easements on land and water, for the benefit of all...
Act of 1965, providing money for recreational land acquisition. He also served as a member of the Policy Analysis Staff in the Office of the Chief, U.S. Forest Service (1978–79).
Wengert began his academic career as a member of the faculty of City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
(1948–51); was Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Social Science Department at North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University
North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, more commonly known as North Dakota State University , is a public university in Fargo, North Dakota. NDSU has about 14,000 students and it is the largest university in North Dakota based on full time students and land size...
(1952–56); Professor of Public Administration at the University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
(1956–59); Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
(1960–68); Visiting Professor of Public Administration at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
(1968–69), and Professor of Political Science at Colorado State University (1969–87), where with Henry P. Caulfield, Jr.
Henry P. Caulfield, Jr.
Henry P. Caulfield, Jr."The epic"' was an American political scientist who had a long and distinguished career in public service with the U.S. Department of the Interior, culminating as the first Director of its U.S. Water Resources Council, before becoming Professor of Political Science at...
and Phillip O. Foss
Phillip O. Foss
Phillip Oliver Foss, an American political scientist, was born in Maxbass, North Dakota to Oliver Foss and Petra Elton Foss and died in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was a decorated veteran of World War II and the Korean War; was employed in public service with the U.S...
he helped establish its doctoral program in Environmental Politics and Policy
Environmental policy
Environmental policy is any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on...
. During this period he also served as Visiting Research Professor at the U.S. Army Engineering Institute for Water Resources (1969–70), was a Summer Fellow at Fonds für Umweltstudien, in Bonn, Germany (1973), and lectured at the University of Sarajevo
University of Sarajevo
The University of Sarajevo is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally established in 1531 as a Madrasah or Islamic Law college, with a modern university being established and expanded on top of that in 1949. Today, with 23 faculties and around 55,000 enrolled students, it...
in 1978.
Wengert's scholarship explored the politics of natural resources and environmental policy formation and administration, with emphases in national energy policy, urban water planning and management, land use planning and controls, national forest management, and citizen participation in administrative processes. At a time when environmental issues were nascent in the public consciousness, Wengert was one of the few political scientists applying their skills in this area. He achieved some early renown when his book Natural Resources and the Political Struggle which pioneered the revival of political economy in the United States found some popularity among scholars in 1955, but he is probably best known as coeditor and contributor of a timely anthology about the energy crisis
Energy crisis
An energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles...
that appeared coincidentally during the Arab Oil Embargo
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
of 1973, published by the prestigious American Academy of Political and Social Science. Later in his career he advanced a seminal theory of the "politics of getting" in which he asserted: "American politicians will get as much as they can for their constituents, with only casual attention to the merits of the case and to the extent that they are not likely to be held directly accountable for costs". This theory was accepted by others and extended into the study of international relations and comparative politics. Unafraid of courting controversy, he also published a research monograph that argued that the U.S. Forest Service had substituted its professional values for the legal requirements of their Organic Act of 1897 by allowing timber to be clearcut on the national forests for almost 80 years before they were authorized to do so by the National Forest Management Act of 1976. Overall, he authored more than fifty monographs and studies on the political economy and public administration of environmental resources.
Recognition of his scholarship is evident in Wengert’s invitation to testify as an expert witness on “Public Participation in Scientific and Technical Decision Making” during hearings before a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology in 1977, an uncommon honor for a university professor. On that occasion, his 1976 Natural Resources Journal article "Citizen Participation: Practice in Search of a Theory" was reprinted in the hearings record in its entirety, something that is also unusual for an academic.
Wengert served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Forest History Society
Forest History Society
The Forest History Society is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of forest and conservation history. The society was established in 1946 and incorporated in 1955....
(1979–1987) and as Associate Editor of the Water Resources Bulletin (1971–1987; now Journal of the American Water Resources Association).
Consultancies
Wengert was Special Advisor to the Government of IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on food and agriculture (1959); provided advice to the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(1963); served as research consultant on environmental and natural resources issues for the School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
(1968–69); on environmental impact assessment of water projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1968); with Thorne Ecological Institute (1972–75); Atlantic Richfield Oil Corporation (1973–74); the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Water Resources and Technology (1973–75); the National Water Quality Commission (1974–81); the Western Interstate Nuclear Board (1975–76) and for the states of Colorado, Maryland, Georgia, and Michigan on numerous occasions.
Honors and recognition
Wengert was invited to present the prestigious annual Royer Lecture at the Institute for Governmental Studies, University of California, Berkeley in 1975. The Royer Lecture series in political economy, one of the oldest in the United States, was funded by a bequest in 1879 to the University of California by Herman Royer.Wengert was inducted into the prestigious Order of the Coif
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
legal honor society and was editor of the University of Wisconsin Law Review while in law school, was a member of Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
, the national Scientific Research Society, and Phi Kappa Phi
Phi Kappa Phi
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is an honor society established 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study and to promote the "unity and democracy of education"...
, the national honor society, and is listed in Who’s Who in America.
Selected publications
- “The Land, TVA, and the Fertilizer Industry.” Land Economics. 25 (February 1949): 11-21.
- “TVA: Symbol and Reality.” Journal of Politics. 13 (August 1952): 369-392.
- Valley of Tomorrow: TVA and Agriculture. Knoxville: Bureau of Public Administration, University of Tennessee, 1952.
- “Program Planning in the U.S. Department of the Interior” (coauthor). Public Administration Review. 14 (Summer 1954): 193-201.
- Natural Resources and the Political Struggle. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1955.
- "Public Administration and Policy Formation". Southwestern Social Science Quarterly, 39(September): 158–159, 1958.
- Perspectives on Government and Science. Philadelphia: American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1960.
- Administration of Natural Resources: The American Experience. New York: Asia Publishing House, 1961.
- Political Dynamics of Environmental Control, with Dennis C. McElrath and Daniel R. Grant. Bloomington, Indiana: Institute of Public Administration, Indiana University, 1967.
- Urban Water Policies and Decision Making, with George M. Walker, Jr. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Water Resources Research, 1970.
- Urban–Metropolitan Institutions for Water Planning, Development and Management. Fort Collins: Environmental Resources Center, Colorado State University, 1972.
- Institutions for Urban–Metropolitan Water Management: Essays in Social Theory. Fort Collins: Environmental Resources Center, Colorado State University, 1972.
- The Energy Crisis: Reality or Myth, with Robert M. Lawrence. Philadelphia: American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1973.
- Impact on the Human Environment of Proposed Oil Shale Development in Garfield County. Boulder: Thorne Ecological Institute, 1974.
- Community Development Studies. Denver: Colony Development Corporation, 1974.
- Property Rights in Land: A Comparative Exploration of German and American Concepts and Problems. Fort Collins: Environmental Resources Center, Colorado State University, 1974.
- Public Participation in Water Resources Development with a View to the Improvement of the Human Environment. Fort Collins: Environmental Resources Center, Colorado State University, 1974.
- Patterns, Policies, and Problems in Colorado Land Use and Development: Transferable Development Rights and Land Use Control, with Thomas Graham. Fort Collins: Cooperative Extension Service, Colorado State University, 1975.
- The Political Allocation of Burdens and Benefits: Externalities and Due Process in Environmental Protection. Berkeley: Institute of Governmental Studies, University of California, 1976.
- Regional Factors in Siting and Planning Energy Facilities in the Eleven Western States: A Report to the Western Interstate Nuclear Board, with Robert M. Lawrence and Michael S. Hamilton. Lakewood, Colorado: Western Interstate Nuclear Board, 1976.
- The Physical and Economic Effects on the Local Agricultural Economy of Water Transfer from Irrigation Companies to Cities in the Northern Denver Metropolitan Area, with Raymond Lloyd Anderson and Robert D. Heil. Fort Collins: Environmental Resources Center, Colorado State University, 1976.
- "The Energy Boom Town: an Analysis of the Politics of Getting." Policy Studies Journal, 7(Autumn): 17–23, 1978.
- “The Energy Boom Town: An Analysis of the Politics of Getting.” In Robert M. Lawrence and Norman I. Wengert, eds. New Dimensions to Energy Policy. Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 17–24.
- The Purposes of the National Forests: A Historical Re-interpretation of Policy Development, with A. A. Dyer. Fort Collins: Colorado State University, 1979.
- "Symposium on Land Use Planning." Natural Resources Journal. vol. 19, #1. 1979. (editor).
- Environmental, Legal, and Political Constraints on Power Plant Siting in the Southwestern United States: A Report to the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, with Michael S. Hamilton. Fort Collins, Colorado: Colorado State University Experiment Station, 1980.
- Summaries of Selected Federal Statutes Affecting Environmental Quality, with Michael S. Hamilton. Fort Collins: Colorado State University, Cooperative Extension Service, 1980.
- "Land Use Policy." Encyclopedia of Policy Studies, 2d ed, Stuart Nagel, ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1994.
External links
- Colorado State University, Department of Political Science, Graduate Program—Environmental Politics and Policy. Accessed January 28, 2009.
- Journal of the American Water Resources Association Accessed January 29, 2009.