Senior Fellow in Educational Philosophy

Dr. Howard has focused his research and writing on education’s role in preparing new generations to live responsibly in a free society and how that role has been compromised by an amoral educational philosophy and by Federal funding.John Howard was the founder of The Rockford College Institute, and served for ten years as its president. He has also served as president of the Ingersoll Foundation.

He attended Princeton University from 1939 to 1942. From 1942-1945, he served in the Second World War with the 745th Tank Battalion, First Infantry Division. He received a battlefield commission, two Purple Hearts, and two Silver Stars. After the war, he received his B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. in French literature from Northwestern University. He holds honorary degrees from Grove City College, Brigham Young University, and Rockford College. 

Dr. Howard served as dean of students from 1949-1951, and as president from 1951-1955, at Palos Verdes College. From 1956 to 1957, he held the post of executive vice chairman of President Eisenhower’s Commission on Government Contracts. From 1960 to 1977, he served as president of Rockford College. During his tenure at Rockford College, he was a member of the White House Task Force on Priorities in Higher Education and the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. He also served as the president of the American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges and Universities.His writings have appeared in U.S. News and World Report, USA Today, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Houston Post, the Chicago Tribune, and numerous other papers across the country. He has contributed to many books, including Who Should Run the University?, Dilemmas Facing the Nation, The Family: America’s Hope, On Freedom, and Churches on the Wrong Road.He and his wife, Janette, have four children and nine grandchildren, and live in Rockford, Illinois