Dan Glickman is a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, based in Washington, DC, where he co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform, Democracy Project, Prevention Initiative, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Task Force. He is also the author of Laughing at Myself, a memoir about his time in Congress and Hollywood.
He previously served as the former executive director of the Congressional Program at the Aspen Institute, a non-governmental, non-partisan educational program for members of the United States Congress, and as chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Prior to joining the MPAA in September 2004, Mr. Glickman was the director of the Institute of Politics located at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government (August 2002-August 2004). He is a Distinguished Fellow at the Chicago Council and serves as Co-Chair of its Global Affairs’ Global Agricultural Development Initiative.
Mr. Glickman served as the secretary of agriculture from March 1995 until January 2001. Under his leadership, the Department administered numerous farm and conservation programs; modernized food safety regulations; forged international trade agreements to expand U.S. markets; and improved its commitment to fairness and equality in civil rights, both in the treatment of its employees and in the execution of its programs. During his tenure, the department also focused extensively on improving our nation’s diet and nutrition, and on fighting hunger. Secretary Glickman led the effort to ensure that an effective regulatory approval process that is based on sound science governs new agricultural technologies.
Before his appointment as secretary of agriculture, Secretary Glickman served for 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Kansas’ 4th Congressional District. During that time, he served as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, including six years as chairman of the subcommittee that had jurisdiction over most federal farm policy issues. Moreover, he was an active member of the House Judiciary Committee, where he was a leader on technology issues. In addition to his focus on agriculture, Secretary Glickman was a leading congressional expert on general aviation policy (where he wrote landmark legislation providing product liability protection for small airplane manufacturers), and also served as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Before his election to Congress in 1976, Secretary Glickman served as president of the Wichita, Kansas, School Board; was a partner in the law firm of Sargent, Klenda and Glickman; and worked as a trial attorney at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He received his B.A. in history from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the George Washington University. He is a member of the Kansas and District of Columbia Bars.
As a senior fellow, Glickman works on programs exploring the role of media in a democracy with a special focus on government and campaign finance regulations.
Contact Glickman at commlead@usc.edu.