J Robert Barr

Mr. Barr graduated from Grinnell in 1957 with a B.A. in history and political science, and received his LL.B. in 1960 from Harvard Law School. Mr. Barr, retired Senior Counsel with the law firm of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood in Chicago. He was appointed by President Ford to the Commission on Presidential Scholars in 1975, served as the Chair of the Illinois Board of Regents from 1969-77, has served as Chair of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission since 1985, and is a member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. He served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1981-83 and was the head of the Republican Party in Cook County from 1978-85. He has been a Republican delegate to national conventions and legal adviser to the Republican National Committee, and also served on the Illinois Republican State Central Committee. He is actively involved in cultural and civic affairs, including service on the boards of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the Taxpayers' Federation of Illinois , and the Evanston Historical Society.