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David Mathews
 Mathews was elected to the Kettering Foundation board of trustees in 1972, and in 1981, he became its president and CEO.
Prior to his work with the Kettering Foundation, Mathews served as secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Ford administration. The youngest member of the cabinet at the time, Mathews headed the agency with the largest budget. While there, he worked on restoring public confidence in government and reforming the regulatory system. At his swearing in as secretary of HEW, Gerald Ford said, “Mathews brings to this new mission the strength of youth, a sense of purpose, the skills of a scholar, and the trusted record of a successful leader and administrator. That is an impressive inventory by any standard.”
From 1965 to 1980, Mathews taught history at the University of Alabama, where he also served as president from 1969 to 1980, an era of significant change and innovation, including the integration of the institution. At age 33, Mathews was the youngest president of a major university.
Mathews received his A.B. degree in history and classical Greek, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Alabama, and later received his Ph.D. in history from Columbia University. Mathews grew up in Grove Hill, Alabama, where he has deep roots. He maintains a family home there and is active in the Clarke County Historical Society and other civic projects.
Mathews serves on the board of a variety of organizations, including the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, National Issues Forums Institute, Council on Public Policy Education, and Public Agenda. He has received numerous awards, including a citation as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in the Nation, United States Jaycees (1969); member, Alabama Academy of Honor (1973); Nicholas Murray Butler Medal in Silver, Columbia University (1976); Educator of the Year, Alabama Conference of Black Mayors (1976); and the Brotherhood Award, National Conference of Christians and Jews (1979).
He was inducted into the University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame in 2004 and into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2007, the Alabama Center for Civic Life was renamed in his honor as the David Mathews Center for Civic Life. He is the recipient of 16 honorary degrees.
Mathews is an avid gardener. He is happily married to his childhood sweetheart, Mary Chapman Mathews. They have two daughters and six grandchildren.
Books by David Mathews
For Communities to Work (2002)
Is There a Public for Public Schools (1997; co-author Forrest David Mathews)
Politics for People: Finding a Responsible Public Voice (1998)
Reclaiming Public Education By Reclaiming Our Democracy (2006)
Why Public Schools? Whose Public Schools?: What Early Communities Have to Tell Us, paperback (2003)
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