Last updated on: 1/6/2014 | Author: ProCon.org

Joseph A. Califano, Jr., LLB Biography

Title:
Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
Position:
Con to the question "Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered from 21 to a Younger Age?"
Reasoning:

“Teen drinking is the number one source of adult alcoholism. Children who begin drinking before age 21 are more than twice as likely to develop alcohol-related problems. Those who begin drinking before age 15 are four times likelier to become alcoholics than those who do not drink before age 21.”

“Teen Tipplers: America’s Underage Drinking Epidemic,” werememberinc.org, Feb. 26, 2002
Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
Experts
Individuals with MDs, PhDs, JDs, or equivalent advanced degrees in fields relevant to the minimum legal drinking age. Also top-level government officials (such as foreign leaders, US presidents, Founding Fathers, Supreme Court Justices, members of legislative bodies, cabinet members, military leaders, etc.) with positions relevant to the minimum legal drinking age.
Involvement and Affiliations:
  • Founder and Chairman Emeritus, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, 1992-present
  • Partner, Dewey Ballantine, 1983-1992
  • Special Counsel, House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, 1982-1983
  • Partner, Califano, Ross & Heineman, 1980-1983
  • United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Jan. 25, 1977-Aug. 3, 1979
  • Partner, Williams, Connolly & Califano, 1971-1977
  • Partner, Arnold & Porter, 1969-1971
  • Special Assistant to President Lyndon Johnson, 1965-1969
  • Member, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Adjunct Professor of Public Health, Health and Policy Management, Columbia University Medical School and School of Public Health
  • Director, CBS Corporation
  • Director, Willis Group Holdings, Ltd.
  • Advisory Council, American Foundation for AIDS Research
  • Advisory Council, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Trustee Emeritus, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Education:
  • LLB, Harvard Law School, 1955
  • BA, College of the Holy Cross, 1952
Other:
  • Special Assistant to the United States Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Apr. 1, 1964-July 26, 1965
  • Legal Advisor, United States Delegation to the Investigating Committee of the Organization of American States, 1964
  • General Council of the United States Army, July 1, 1963-1964
  • Special Assistant to the United States Secretary of the Army, July 1962-July 1, 1963
  • Special Assistant to the General Counsel of the United States Department of Defense, Apr. 1961-July 1962
  • Launched the nation’s first anti-smoking campaign as United States Secretary of Health Education, and Welfare
  • Trustee, New York Presbyterian Hospital
  • Trustee, New York Medical College
  • Trustee, The Centuty Foundation
  • Trustee, The Urban Institute
  • Trustee, The American Ditchley Foundation
  • Trustee, The LBJ Foundation
  • Trustee, The National Health Museum
  • Founding Chairman of the Board, Institute for Social and Economic Policy in the Middle East, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University