John Lassiter Sanders (1927- )

A graduate of Carolina and its law school, Sanders joined the Institute of Government in 1956. In 1962, when Albert Coates retired as director, Sanders replaced him as head of the Institute, which trains local and state government officials. Over the years, Sanders served as an advisor to state government on reapportionment, the creation of the community college system, and the rewriting of the state’s constitution. As Vice President for Planning for the sixteen-campus university system from 1973 to 1978, he helped complete its first long-range plan. In 1979, Sanders became Institute director again. He won the Thomas Jefferson Award in 1988. Sanders retired in 1992. In 1998, when the Institute of Government enlarged its building, it added Sanders to the name.