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UT Austin President Ad Interim Peter
Flawn said that Redford would be missed by the university
community and added that Redford was "devoted to his
students, to democracy, and to the principle that good
government can help make the world a better place for us
all."
During a distinguished teaching career
that spanned over six decades, Redford touched the lives of
several generations of students and countless colleagues in
the academic and public arenas. His students included former
U.S. Representative J. J. "Jake" Pickle and Bernard
Rapoport, former chairman of the UT System Board of
Regents.
A native Texan and childhood friend of
Lyndon Johnson, Redford spent more than 40 years with the UT
Austin Department of Government, where he was the Ashbel
Smith Professor from 1963 until his retirement from
full-time teaching in 1975.
In 1970, Redford joined the
groundbreaking program at the LBJ School of Public Affairs
and became one of the five original faculty members at the
School. As a member of the LBJ School faculty, Redford
helped transform the School's innovative curriculum into a
nationally known interdisciplinary program for students
interested in public service.
During his tenure at the LBJ
School--which lasted until 1994--Redford taught courses in
public administration and the policy process and headed the
LBJ School-based Administrative History of the Johnson
Presidency. This project, a multi-year effort funded
primarily by the National Endowment for the Humanities as
the first comprehensive administrative history of a 20th
century presidency, produced 11 books.
Throughout the years, Redford was honored
many times. In spring 1994, he received a Presidential
Citation from UT Austin, the highest honor the university's
president can bestow on an individual for outstanding
merit.
Other awards include a teaching
excellence award presented by the UT Students' Association
in 1964 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award presented by the
UT Ex-Students' Association in 1984.
An active participant in a number of
major professional associations, Redford was a former
president of the American Political Science Association and
the Southwestern Political Science Association.
Over the years he authored many books and
articles, including the widely used texts American
Government and the Economy and Democracy in the
Administrative State.
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