Wallace Sayre

Wallace Sayre (about whom the web knows very little) was a scholar of public administration and government in the US and is remembered in a chair at Columbia University and several very quotable quotes. I thought I’d add a little something here:

Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low.

Business and public administration are alike only in all unimportant respects.

Mayors of New York come from nowhere and go nowhere.

These are often quoted in New York press as Sayre’s Laws, it seems. If I find out more about the guy, I might edit this entry. If you know more, please email me.

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Posted December 22nd, 2005 in Miscellaneous.

3 comments:

  1. janechin:

    I’ve been looking for more information on Sayre as well! I’m writing a book on scientists’ career paths and one of my interviewees quoted Sayre’s quip on academic politics. I was hoping to find more beyond his name, but other than learning that there is now a “Wallace Sayre Professor of Government” at Columbia, that’s all I have.

    April 29th, 2006 at 4:24 am
  2. Tim (with coffee):

    I think, perhaps, neither of us are spending enough time at the library… I just checked our local and he’s authored at least one book:

    Governing New York City : politics in the metropolis by Wallace S. Sayre and Herbert Kaufman New York : Russell Sage Foundation, 1960 Dewey: 352.07471/SAYR FOR LOAN 815 p : illus ; 24 cm

    and edited at least one other:

    The federal government service / ed. by W.S. Sayre for the American Assembly E. Cliffs, N.j. : Prentice-hall, 1965 Dewey: 351.10973 SAYR

    The web knows little, but the library must know more.

    April 29th, 2006 at 8:05 am
  3. cat_caron:

    Wallace Sayre is widely known for his creation of the “Sayre Wheel” (i.e. a visual implementation of the judiciary / legistlature / trade-associates / management / media / regulated-industries-&-groups / general-public-&-consumers / interest-groups…all of which surround & impact to and fro from the sayre’s center–the administrators/bureaucrats & regulators)(note website w. book review re: sayre wheel as follows here). Hope you find this useful. (:

    June 13th, 2007 at 1:08 pm

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