John Kroger

Biography

John R. Kroger is a Visiting Professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, where he teaches jurisprudence.

John has had a distinguished career in higher education and public service, including prior work as a United States Marine, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Attorney General of Oregon, President of Reed College, Vice President of the Aspen Institute, and Chief Learning Officer of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. He has taught throughout his career, with appointments as Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School, Hauser Leader in Residence at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Visiting Lecturer in Political Science at Yale University. John was a member of the Lewis & Clark Law School faculty from 2002 to 2012, during which time he took leaves of absence to serve as Attorney General of Oregon and Trial Attorney on the U.S. Department of Justice Enron Task Force. He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rodel Leadership institute.

John’s awards include the Harry S. Truman Scholarship; National Endowment of the Humanities Younger Scholar award; Harvard Law School Traphagen Distinguished Alumni award; Aspen Institute Rodel Fellowship; Mark DeWolfe Howe Fellowship in Anglo-American Legal History at Harvard Law School; Harvard University’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching; Lewis & Clark’s Law School’s Levenson Award for Teaching Excellence (three time award winner); the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award for Superior Performance as an Assistant United States Attorney; ESGR’s Seven Seals Award for protecting veterans; and commendations from the FBI, DEA, and U.S. State Department. John is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Fellow at Harvard’s Safra Center for Ethics.

John received his BA and MA degrees from Yale University, graduating magna cum laude with Distinction in Philosophy. He received his JD magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. John writes frequently on issues in law, education and national security. His blog, “Leadership in Higher Education,” is featured on Inside Higher Ed. His book Convictions, about his work as a federal prosecutor, was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and won the Oregon Book Award in 2008.