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| Obert C. Tanner | |
|---|---|
| Name | Obert C. Tanner |
| Birth date | 1904 |
| Death date | 1993 |
| Occupation | Businessman, professor, philanthropist, author |
| Alma mater | University of Utah, Harvard University |
Obert C. Tanner was an American businessman, academic, philanthropist, and author known for founding a successful personnel testing and consulting firm and for establishing enduring cultural and civic endowments. He combined interests in psychology, classical studies, and ethics with practical enterprises, influencing institutions in Utah, national humanities organizations, and corporate assessment practices.
Born in 1904 in the western United States, Tanner grew up amid communities shaped by the Progressive Era and the aftermath of the American frontier. He attended the University of Utah where he studied classics and psychology, later pursuing graduate work at Harvard University in philosophy and personnel measurement, engaging with intellectual currents linked to Pragmatism, Behaviorism, and figures associated with John Dewey, William James, and B. F. Skinner. His academic formation connected him with scholars at the University of Chicago and colleagues influenced by the American Philosophical Association milieu.
Tanner served on the faculty at the University of Utah, teaching courses in classics, philosophy, and personnel administration, and worked with departments interacting with the American Council on Education and the Association of American Universities. He mentored students who later affiliated with institutions such as Brigham Young University, Stanford University, and the University of Michigan, and collaborated with scholars from the National Research Council and the Guggenheim Foundation network. His pedagogy reflected dialogues with curricula used at Harvard University, Yale University, and Columbia University, and he participated in conferences sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation and the Ford Foundation.
In the mid-20th century Tanner founded a personnel testing and consulting company that provided assessment services to corporations, public agencies, and educational institutions including clients comparable to General Electric, IBM, and state civil service commissions. His firm drew on methods related to research by the American Psychological Association and practices used at Bell Labs and AT&T. Tanner directed charitable giving through foundations that endowed programs at the University of Utah, supported museums like the Smithsonian Institution and regional galleries, and partnered with organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. He funded chairs, lecture series, and civic awards that engaged entities including the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the Salt Lake County cultural institutions, and national bodies like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Tanner authored books and essays on ethics, religion, and practical wisdom, contributing to discussions in periodicals circulated among readerships of the Atlantic Monthly, Harvard Business Review, and publications associated with the Religious Studies Association. His philosophical outlook engaged themes explored by Plato, Aristotle, and modern writers such as Søren Kierkegaard and C. S. Lewis, and he dialogued with contemporary commentators linked to the National Review and the New Republic. Tanner’s writings also intersected with educational debates influenced by the Council for Basic Education and scholarly trends addressed in journals like the Journal of Philosophy and the American Journal of Psychology.
Tanner received honors from regional and national bodies, including awards presented by the University of Utah, civic recognitions from Salt Lake City, and acknowledgments from professional groups such as the American Psychological Association, the American Philosophical Association, and the National Humanities Medal-level institutions. His philanthropy established named professorships, lecture series, and collections that remain part of institutions like the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and university libraries holding manuscripts and archives utilized by scholars from the Library of Congress and research centers tied to the American Council of Learned Societies. The foundations and endowments he created continue to influence scholarship, culture, and civic life in the region and beyond, with legacies compared to benefactors associated with the Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and historical patrons such as John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.
Category:1904 births Category:1993 deaths Category:American philanthropists Category:University of Utah faculty