In Memoriam: David Pierpont Gardner

David Pierpont Gardner, a central figure in the history of the Tanner Lectures,

passed away in January 2024 in Park City, Utah, at the age of 90. As President

of the University of Utah, he facilitated the founding of the Tanner Lectures

beginning in 1975, and he was a lifetime member of the Tanner Lectures

Board. David was deeply engaged in establishing the identity and scope of the

Tanner program, a process to which he brought his extraordinary

administrative skills.

David went on to serve as the President of the University of California from

1983 to 1992. He was the last surviving member—for 28 years–of the group of

Founding Trustees who incorporated the Tanner Lectures at Clare Hall,

Cambridge, in 1978. Obert established the Gardner Lecture at the University

of Utah, one of the Founders Lectures overseen by the Tanner Lectures Board,

to thank and honor David. Obert’s gratitude to President Gardner continues to

be shared by all of us involved with the Tanner Lectures on Human Values.

The establishment of the program on a sure foundation in the 1970s owes a

great deal to David’s wisdom and leadership, and through the rest of his life, he

supported and consulted generously with the leaders of the Tanner project.