Frank Forrester Church, 1924 - 1984

Frank Church was born in Boise on July 25, 1924, a third generation Idahoan. He graduated from Boise High School in 1942, where he served as student body president. As a junior at Boise High, he won the 1941 American Legion National Oratorical Contest with a speech titled "The American Way of Life." The prize provided four years at the college of the winner's choice and Church chose Stanford University, graduating in 1947 and from Stanford Law School in 1950. Church never forgot his debt to the American Legion and became the Idaho coordinator for the contest after beginning law practice in Boise.

From 1942-1946, during the Second World War, Church suspended his university studies to serve in the United States Army as a Military Intelligence officer in India, Burma, and China.

In 1947, he married Bethine Clark, daughter of judge and Mrs. Chase A. Clark, a former governor of Idaho. The same year, after receiving his undergraduate degree from Stanford, Church was diagnosed as having cancer and was given a very short time to live. Painful X-ray treatments spared his life and this second chance led him to later reflect that "life itself is such a chancy proposition that the only way to live is by taking great chances." In 1950 Church graduated from Stanford Law School and returned to Boise to practice law.

Frank Church became an active Democrat in Idaho and after an unsuccessful try for the State Legislature in 1952, he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1956. After a closely contested primary election, he handily defeated the Republican incumbent. At the age of 32, Church became the fifth youngest member ever to sit in the Senate. He served four terms, the only Democrat ever to win reelection to the U.S. Senate from Idaho. A balanced stance was one of the ingredients that helped the Senator achieve reelection in a conservative state.

During his years in the Senate Church served as chairman of The Special Committee on Aging, The Special Committee on Termination of National Emergencies, The Select Committee on Government Intelligence Activities, and the Committee on Foreign Relations. He also served on the Committee on the Interior.

In his first term Church played key roles in civil rights legislation, wilderness preservation and statehood for Alaska and Hawaii. In 1958, Church was appointed to the McClellan "Rackets" Committee and received national television exposure. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson gave Church's career a significant boost in 1959 by appointing him to the Foreign Relations Committee. In 1960, Church received additional national exposure when he gave the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention.

In 1965, Church expressed his concern about the continued U.S. involvement in Vietnam in a speech on the Senate floor. Church's constituency was to the right of the Senator on this matter and he took a political risk as a vocal opponent of the war. In 1969, he joined with Senator John Sherman Cooper (R-Ky.) to sponsor an amendment prohibiting the use of ground troops in Laos and Thailand. In 1970, the second Cooper-Church Amendment limited the power of the president during a war situation. Thereafter Church was actively engaged in efforts to force the end of the Vietnam War.

Another of Senator Church's interests was the elderly. In 1972, Church became the chairman of the Special Committee on Aging. To provide for the welfare of retirees, Church sponsored legislation for a cost-of-living adjustment, improved medical care, better housing and other benefits for Social Security recipients.

In the spring of 1976, Church sought the nomination for the Democratic candidacy for president. He won primaries in Nebraska, Idaho, Oregon and Montana, but handicapped by his late start, he withdrew in favor of Jimmy Carter.

Early in his career Senator Church struck a balance between preservation and development of the nation's dwindling wilderness areas. His sponsorship and support of the Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Wilderness Acts helped ensure the preservation of the most beautiful regions in the nation. To honor his efforts, the River of No Return Wilderness Area in Idaho was re-named the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area just a few weeks before his death in 1984.

In 1979, Church was appointed chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Church guided the ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties through the Senate. This support was used by Church's political foes to defeat his efforts for a fifth term. He was defeated by Congressman Steve Symms by 4,262 votes - less than 1 percent of the voter turnout.

Church was appointed as the United States delegate to the twenty-first General Assembly of the United Nations.

After leaving the Senate, Church practiced international law in Washington, D.C., specializing in Asian issues. In 1984, he was hospitalized for a pancreatic tumor and died at home in Bethesda, Md., on April 7 at the age of 59. He is buried in Morris Hill Cemetery in Boise. His papers, originally given to Stanford University, were transferred to Boise State University at his request in 1984.

The Frank Church Institute

The Frank Church Institute was established in 1982 as the Frank Church Chair of Public Affairs at Boise State University to honor the achievements and to carry forward the principles of one of Idaho’s most distinguished native sons, Senator Frank Church.

The Institute’s mission is to promote civic engagement and understanding of public policy with a focus on foreign relations, the environment and other issues key to Frank Church’s Senate career.

The Institute is nonpartisan. It does not advocate policy recommendations, but it seeks to provide a forum for open and informed discussion in reaching consensus on the “vital center” characterized by civility, tolerance and compromise.

The Frank Church Conferences
The Institute has sponsored annual conferences since 1982 with nationally known speakers including former President Gerald Ford, former Vice Presidents Walter Mondale and Al Gore, as well as many current and former public policy makers, academics and journalists.

The Conferences provide a forum for students, faculty and the community for participating in constructive discourse on vital issues during a time when compromise and the middle ground are often abandoned to polarization and extremism.

The Frank Church Professors
The Institute partially underwrites the Frank Church Chair of Public Affairs, one of the first endowed chairs to be established at a public university in Idaho. As stated at its founding, “Through the Chair, Boise State University will emphasize to its students those ideals which the Senator holds dear---a strong belief in the rule of law, eloquence firmly based on reason, and an unwavering faith in the American political system. The endowment will be used to fund lectures, symposia and the Chair of Public Affairs. The program will bring to the university individuals whose lives exemplify the principles and achievements of Frank Church. They will be chosen on the basis of their integrity, independence, scholarship, teaching ability, statesmanship and contribution to public service.”

The Frank Church Scholarships
The Frank Church Scholarships are awarded to students enrolled at Boise State University in the Department of Political Sciences and Public Affairs. Scholarship preferences are given to those students who have demonstrated a record of community service and a potential for leadership in the public sector.

The Pursuit of the Vital Center
Whether through the conferences, professors, or scholarships, The Frank Church Institute seeks to preserve the legacy of Frank Church and to build on his vision of compromise in order to reach the vital center and advance the common interest of all Americans.