Hale Champion

C. Hale Champion (August 27, 1922 – April 23, 2008) was an American government and academic administrator who served as California's Finance Director, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, United States Under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and chief of staff to the Governor of Massachusetts. He also held a variety of positions at Harvard University, including vice president of finance and executive dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Early life Champion was born on August 27, 1922, in Coldwater, Michigan. After college, Champion worked as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. During his tenure as head of the BRA, Champion oversaw the redevelopment of Quincy Market and $1 billion in commitments to commercial development. He returned to Massachusetts two years later when he was named Harvard's vice president of finance.

In 1977, Champion was appointed United States Under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1978, HEW secretary Joseph A. Califano Jr. pushed for Champion to become commissioner of the Social Security Administration, however President Jimmy Carter preferred to keep Champion in the higher-ranking role of undersecretary. Champion resigned in 1979, citing his position's low pay and his desire to leave before a law that restricted the ability of former federal officials to deal with the government went into effect.

Champion returned to Harvard as an assistant to president Derek Bok. In 1980 he was appointed executive dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government. He took a leave of absence from the school in 1987 to serve as chief of staff to Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. He returned to Harvard in the spring of 1989 and taught there until his retirement in 1995.