Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams released the following statement today after learning of the passing of political strategist and author Hamilton Jordan, who was a key architect of the national campaign that led to Jimmy Carter’s election as president, and served as Carter’s chief of staff.
“I am pleased to have had the privilege of knowing Hamilton Jordan as a political strategist, a presidential advisor, a businessman and a scholar,” Adams said. “I believe he may have been the best political mind of the 20th century. The entire University of Georgia family extends its deepest sympathies to his family and all who knew him. We are honored to have enjoyed him as an alumnus, a faculty member and a friend.”
Jordan, who graduated from UGA in 1967 with a degree in political science, received the Alumni Merit Award last month. The award recognizes graduates and matriculates for lifetime loyalty and support of the university’s Alumni Association as well as professional leadership.
In 2005, Jordan joined the public service faculty of UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government where he was working on a book about the Carter presidency. He was instrumental in initiating and organizing a major conference on the Carter presidency held at UGA last year. He passed at his home in Atlanta Tuesday evening.
