Senator Robert and Marjorie Griffin

The Griffin Policy Forums are hosted twice yearly by the Robert and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government, the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Department of Political Science at Central Michigan University. 

The Griffin program stimulates the political conscience of students and scholars and helps prepare principled political leaders to serve Michigan in the future. The endowment funds the salary and associated costs of a government expert who serves as a faculty member in CMU’s Political Science Department. The chair leads CMU’s efforts to elevate political awareness and activity among students, faculty, and citizens. 

The endowment is named to recognize the significant public service contributions of distinguished CMU alumni Robert P. Griffin, former U.S. senator, and his wife, Marjorie, former Clarke Historical Library board member.

Robert P. Griffin

Mr. Griffin served 22 years in the U.S. Congress.  After a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives, Griffin was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1966 following the death of Senator Patrick McNamara.  He was elected later the same year and re-elected in 1972, serving through 1978.  He was the Republican minority whip from 1969-77.

After his Senate terms, Griffin continued his public service on various boards while practicing law privately until 1986 when he was elected to an eight-year term as associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.

After graduating from Dearborn's Fordson High School, Griffin began his Central Michigan studies in 1941.  His education was interrupted in 1943 by World War II.  He earned two battle stars while serving with the 71st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army in the European Theater, returned to Central Michigan in 1946 and graduated in 1947 with a bachelor of science degree.  He married Marjorie Jean Anderson the same year.

Griffin earned his juris doctor degree from University of Michigan in 1950 and later was awarded 11 honorary degrees, including a doctor of laws (LL.D.) degree from CMU.

Griffin donated his U.S. Congressional papers to Clarke Historical Library after he left the Senate.  He recently lifted all restrictions on public review of the collection.

Marjorie Anderson Griffin

The valedictorian of Ludington High School, Griffin attended Central State Teacher's College to become a teacher, graduating in 1944 -- once again as valedictorian of her class.  She was very active as a Central college student, serving as president of the Association of Women Students and as the first chairman of the Central's Victory Loan Fund for returning veterans. 

Griffin taught two years in Greenville, Michigan, before returning to Central Michigan as a faculty member in Park Library.  She later served a decade as a member of the Board of Governors of the Clarke Historical Library.

Photo by Peggy Brisbane

Ford dedicates government chair
 

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford and CMU alumni Robert and Marjorie Griffin stand for questions during a news conference following a dinner program that inaugurated the Robert and Marjorie Griffin Endowed Chair in American Government on Tuesday in the Bovee University Center. Earlier in the evening, CMU President Leonard Plachta told guests that it was President Ford's "unwavering belief in democracy and in the future of our country that forms the very essence of why we are here tonight — to establish the Griffin Endowed Chair.... This is a chair that will make CMU a leader in advancing the involvement of young people in American government." Robert Griffin, a 1947 graduate of CMU, served 22 years in the U.S.House and Senate and eight years as a Michigan Supreme Court justice. He was a key Congressional leader in the Ford presidency. Marjorie Anderson Griffin was valedictorian of Central's 1944 graduating class and served 10 years on the board of directors of the Clarke Historical Library.
Centraline 10/25/1999

Photo by Peggy Brisbane

Ford speaks about chair: Central Michigan LIFE

Robert Griffin Named Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Servant
Robert P. Griffin has been named the recipient of the 2003 State Bar of Michigan Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Servant Award. The award was created in 1998 by the State Bar Board of Commissioners to recognize a Michigan attorney in elected or appointed office for extraordinary governmental service. Griffin will receive the award Friday, September 12, during the State Bar of Michigan 68th Annual Meeting in Lansing.
 

During his extensive career, which spanned five decades, Griffin served for 22 years in the U.S. Congress. He spent 10 years as a U.S. Congressman (1956-1966), 12 years as a U.S. Senator (1966-1978), eight years as Minority Whip in the U.S. Senate (1969-1977), and eight years as an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (1987-1994). After retiring from the Michigan Supreme Court, Griffin served as a visiting judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals. While in Congress, Griffin's many accomplishments included co-authoring the Landrum-Griffin Act (Labor/Management Reporting Disclosure Act of 1959) and the National Student Loan Program.

Griffin received an associate's degree and a bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University in 1947, a juris doctor in 1950 from the University of Michigan, and honorary degrees from numerous universities.

Griffin is a member of several associations, including the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, the American Bar Association, the Grand Traverse-Leelanu-Antrim Bar Association, and the American Judicature Society.