John L. Sanders

John L. Sanders was a member of the faculty at the Institute of Government from 1956 to 1994. He began as a research assistant in 1951, joined the faculty in 1956, and became director in 1979. During his time here, he had considerable influence on both the University and the state. Among his contributions are his work with legislative commissions on the reorganization of state government from 1956 to 1961, the Governor's Commission on Education Beyond the High School in 1961, the North Carolina Constitutional Commission from 1958 to 1959, and the North Carolina State Constitutional Study Commission from 1968 to 1969. He served as University Vice President for Planning from 1973 to 1979 and also served as chair of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee and chair of Buildings and Grounds Committee, where he supervised the planning of new buildings, the preservation of historic structures, and the landscaping of the Chapel Hill campus. His influence on preserving North Carolina's historic structures extended to the Capitol building in Raleigh where, as a founding member of the State Capitol Foundation, he served as president from 1976 to 1991. Areas of expertise included state government organization, reorganization and administration, state constitutional revision, legislative representation, and higher education organization and administration. He earned a JD from UNC School of Law.