{{Short description|American lawyer (born 1966)}}{{BLP sources|date=November 2017}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = John Richard Kroger | image = John Kroger.jpg | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1966}} | birth_place = Ohio, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | spouse = Michele Toppe | alma_mater = Yale University<br />Harvard Law School | party = Democrat | profession = Assistant United States Attorney (1997-2002)<br />Law Professor (2002-2009)<br />Attorney General of Oregon (2009–2012)<br />President of Reed College (2012–2018) | footnotes = <ref name="to-2010jun26">{{cite news |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/06/oregon_attorney_general_john_k.html |title=Oregon Attorney General John Kroger realigns agency, ruffles feathers |newspaper=The Oregonian |date=June 26, 2010 |first=Les |last=Zaitz |access-date=December 23, 2017 |archive-date=December 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223102302/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/06/oregon_attorney_general_john_k.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | office2 = 16th Attorney General of Oregon | term_start2 = January 5, 2009 | term_end2 = June 29, 2012 | governor2 = Ted Kulongoski<br>John Kitzhaber | predecessor2 = Hardy Myers | successor2 = Ellen Rosenblum | office = 15th President of Reed College | term_start = June 30, 2012 | term_end = June 29, 2018 | predecessor = Colin Diver | successor = Hugh Porter (acting)<br>Audrey Bilger | module = {{Infobox academic | child=yes | academic_advisors = | influences = <!--must be referenced from a third party source--> | era = | discipline = law and the government | sub_discipline = criminal law | workplaces = {{ublist|Lewis & Clark College|Reed College|Harvard University}} | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | main_interests = | notable_works = | notable_ideas = | influenced = <!--must be referenced from a third party source--> }} }}
'''John Richard Kroger''' (born 1966) is an American lawyer who served as the president of Reed College. He served as Attorney General for the U.S. state of Oregon from 2009 to 2012. Prior to being elected in 2008, he had earlier served in the Marine Corps, was an Assistant United States Attorney in New York, and a law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland. He resigned as Attorney General effective June 29, 2012.<ref name=reed>{{cite web|title=Reed College Selects Oregon Attorney General John Kroger as New President|url=http://web.reed.edu/news_center/press_releases/2011-2012/kroger.html|access-date=24 April 2012|archive-date=May 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506071741/http://web.reed.edu/news_center/press_releases/2011-2012/kroger.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=cole>{{cite news |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/oregon_gov_john_kitzhaber_name_2.html |title=Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber names Ellen Rosenblum as interim attorney general |date=June 6, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2012 |first=Michelle |last=Cole |newspaper=The Oregonian |archive-date=June 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608085914/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/06/oregon_gov_john_kitzhaber_name_2.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On February 9, 2018, he announced that he would be resigning as President of Reed College come the conclusion of the academic year. After leaving Reed in June 2018, Kroger went to teach at Harvard University for the 2018–2019 academic year. On October 1, 2019, he became the first Chief Learning Officer of the United States Navy.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/06/26/us-navys-chief-learning-officer-announces-departure-as-pentagon-exodus-continues/ |title=Defense News |date=June 26, 2020 |access-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-date=November 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101053456/https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/06/26/us-navys-chief-learning-officer-announces-departure-as-pentagon-exodus-continues/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Early life and career== Kroger was born in 1966 in Ohio, growing up in Indiana and then Texas.<ref name="loaded Orygun">{{cite web | last = Bunster | first = Mark | title = John Kroger Interview | work=Candidate interview | publisher=Loaded Orygun | date = February 11, 2008 | url = http://www.loadedorygun.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=823 | format = Blog | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005122220/http://www.loadedorygun.net/showDiary.do?diaryId=823 | archive-date= October 5, 2011 | access-date = January 4, 2009}}</ref> He served in a United States Marine Corps Recon Battalion in the United States Marine Corps after having joined in 1983 at the age of 17.<ref name="kroger-vs-crime">{{cite web | last = Shadowsky | first = Dan | title = Kroger v. Crime | work=Lewis & Clark College Chronicle | publisher=Lewis & Clark College | date=Winter 2007 | url = http://www.lclark.edu/dept/chron/krogervcrimew07.html\ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127172642/http://legacy.lclark.edu/dept/chron/krogervcrimew07.html | archive-date= January 27, 2013 | format =Webpage | access-date =December 23, 2008}} </ref> During that time Kroger spent about five months on an assault carrier in the Pacific. He also underwent jungle warfare training in Panama. While he was in boot camp the United States invaded Grenada. Shortly thereafter Kroger volunteered to go to Lebanon, but in the aftermath of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing attack, President Ronald Reagan withdrew U.S. forces before Kroger's unit was sent in.<ref name="loaded Orygun"/>
He left the Marines in 1986, entered Yale College and studied philosophy, graduating in 1990 after winning the prestigious Truman Scholarship for public service leadership.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.truman.gov/search-our-scholars?field_profile_name_at_award_value=John+R.+Kroger++&field_profile_selection_year_value=&field_profile_selection_state_tid=All&field_institution_name_value=|title=Search Our Scholars | the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation|access-date=March 3, 2018|archive-date=November 1, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101053455/https://www.truman.gov/meet-our-scholars/scholar-listing?field_profile_name_at_award_value=John%20R.%20Kroger%20%20&field_profile_selection_year_value=&field_profile_selection_state_tid=All&field_institution_name_value=|url-status=live}}</ref> Following graduation he moved to Washington, D.C., becoming a legislative assistant to then-Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tom Foley (D–WA-5) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)<ref name="kroger-vs-crime"/>
In 1991 he became Deputy Policy Director of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, and after the campaign, as part of Clinton's transition team. He also served for a time as a senior policy analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department before returning to school, graduating ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard Law School in 1996.<ref name="kroger-vs-crime"/>
Kroger clerked for a year for a federal appellate judge before joining the United States Attorney's office in Brooklyn, New York as a federal prosecutor.<ref name="kroger-vs-crime"/>
During his years as a federal prosecutor, he won a high-profile conviction in a five-week Mafia multiple homicide trial against Gregory Scarpa Jr. He also handled numerous drug trafficking cases, including a conviction against drug kingpin Juan "La Puma" Rodriguez, for shipping 10 tons worth of cocaine across the United States each year for more than a decade.<ref name="east oregon-9Sep07">{{cite web | last = Wright | first = Phil | title = Kroger seeks state's highest law office | work=East Oregonian | date = September 9, 2007 | url = http://www.eastoregonian.com/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=48&ArticleID=67633 | format = Article | access-date = January 4, 2009}} {{Dead link|date=November 2017 | fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Kroger also handled white collar crime cases such as government corruption cases, and tax evasion cases.
In 2000, Kroger had an eight-week period blocked out for an upcoming drug kingpin trial, but when the trial schedule was moved back, Kroger took a three-month vacation. He bought a $350 Trek bicycle and started cycling west across the country, from New York to Oregon.<ref name="loaded Orygun"/> After his return to New York, he was tapped to prosecute Alphonse Persico, boss of the Colombo organized crime family, on racketeering and money-laundering charges. While working that case, he became involved with the rescue and recovery effort after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. In the day after the attacks, he reported to a round-the-clock command center in Manhattan, where he helped FBI agents run down leads by providing search warrants and subpoenas to investigate potential terrorist cells.<ref name="kroger-vs-crime"/>
Both during his trip to Oregon and after his experiences post-9/11, he had come to realize he wanted to take a break from his career as a prosecutor and pursue teaching the law, and had fallen in love with Oregon.<ref name="loaded Orygun"/> As a prosecutor, Kroger won the Director's Award from then-Attorney General Janet Reno, and by the time he left the office, had a 97% conviction rate of the criminals he charged.<ref name="willamette-univ">{{cite web | title = AG-Elect to Speak at WUCL | work=News | publisher=Willamette University College of Law | date = December 23, 2008 | url = http://blog.willamette.edu/wucl/news/2008/12/agelect_to_speak_at_law_school.php | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205202129/http://blog.willamette.edu/wucl/news/2008/12/agelect_to_speak_at_law_school.php | archive-date= February 5, 2009 | format = Article | access-date = January 4, 2009}}</ref>
When law professor Bill Williamson resigned from Lewis and Clark's law school in 2002 for health reasons, the college began looking for a new professor to teach criminal law.<ref name="loaded Orygun"/> Kroger was given the job and relocated to Portland, where he currently resides.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20081222122217/http://www.johnkroger.com/?q=node/4 Meet John John Kroger for Attorney General]}} from johnkroger.com</ref>
Once at the college, Kroger taught only one semester of criminal procedure before he was asked to join the Justice Department's Enron Task Force and help investigate what at the time was the biggest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history. For a little over a year, he led the investigation into Enron's broadband business – whose reported earnings on a future video-on-demand service, famously dubbed "Project Braveheart," contributed to the company's inflated stock price.
Eventually, Kroger and his team won indictments against seven men, including Ken Rice and Kevin Hannon, Enron's top two broadband executives. They pleaded guilty in 2004 and became government witnesses, helping to secure fraud convictions against Enron chairman Kenneth Lay and CEO Jeffrey Skilling.<ref name="kroger-vs-crime"/>
Following the conclusion of his involvement in the Enron investigation, he returned to teaching at Lewis & Clark.
Kroger married Michele Toppe, the interim dean of students at Portland State University on August 1, 2009.<ref name="to-2009apr10">{{cite news |url=http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2009/04/kroger_planning_aug_1_wedding.html |title=Kroger planning Aug. 1 wedding |newspaper=The Oregonian |date=April 10, 2009 |first=Jeff |last=Mapes |access-date=December 23, 2017 |archive-date=December 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223102211/http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2009/04/kroger_planning_aug_1_wedding.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Attorney general== On September 20, 2007, John Kroger announced his candidacy for Oregon Attorney General. Kroger was endorsed by former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blueoregon.com/2007/11/kitzhaber-endor.html |title=Kitzhaber Endorses Kroger |publisher=BlueOregon |date=2007-11-14 |access-date=2017-11-25 |archive-date=May 17, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517110559/http://www.blueoregon.com/2007/11/kitzhaber-endor.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the Sierra Club,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johnkroger.com/?q=node/74 |title=Sierra Club Endorses John for Attorney General | John Kroger for Attorney General |publisher=Johnkroger.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224235215/http://www.johnkroger.com/?q=node%2F74 |archive-date=December 24, 2007 |access-date=2017-11-25 |url-status=usurped |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Oregon Small Business for Responsible Leadership, and the Carpenters Union.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.johnkroger.com/?q=node/78 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713113827/http://www.johnkroger.com/?q=node%2F78 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=July 13, 2011 |title=Carpenters Union, Oregon Small Business for Responsible Leadership Endorse John | John Kroger for Attorney General |publisher=Johnkroger.com |access-date=2017-11-25 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> He defeated Greg Macpherson for the Democratic nomination in the May 20, 2008 primary election, and was also victorious in the Republican primary as a write-in.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rizo |first=Chris |url=http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/213689-kroger-wins-democratic-republican-ag-nominations |title=Kroger Wins Democratic, Republican Nominations |publisher=Legalnewsline.com |date=2008-06-21 |access-date=2017-11-25 |archive-date=November 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120150821/http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/213689-kroger-wins-democratic-republican-ag-nominations |url-status=live }}</ref> Under state law he was compelled to choose one party's representation, selecting to run as a Democrat. No Republican candidate filed for the race,<ref>{{cite news |title=Reviving Oregon elections |first=Phil |last=Keisling |date=April 13, 2008 |work=The Oregonian |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1207947323320380.xml&coll=7 |access-date=June 12, 2008 |archive-date=May 3, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503011424/http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1207947323320380.xml&coll=7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Kroger defeats Macpherson for attorney general |first = Ashbel |last = Green |work = The Oregonian |date = May 21, 2008 |url = http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1211351121118860.xml&coll=7 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110609100425/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews%2F1211351121118860.xml&coll=7 |url-status = dead |archive-date = June 9, 2011 |access-date = September 21, 2018 |df = mdy-all }}</ref> and he won in the November general election. He was sworn into office on January 5, 2009, becoming the 16th Attorney General for the state.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1225869920296640.xml&coll=7|title=Democrats sweep to capture statewide jobs|last=Walsh|first=Edward|date=November 5, 2008|work=The Oregonian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402070143/http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews%2F1225869920296640.xml&coll=7|archive-date=April 2, 2016|access-date=November 12, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
In October 2011, Kroger announced he would not seek another term, citing an unspecified illness.<ref name="Statesmanjournal">{{cite web | url = http://statesmanjournal.newspapers.com/search/#query=State%27s+Attorney+General+cites+medical+condition&ymd=2011-10-19 | last = Gustafson | first = Alan | title = Kroger won't run for re-election | newspaper = Statesman Journal | date = October 18, 2011 | url-access = subscription | access-date = October 25, 2011 | archive-date = February 13, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160213081530/http://statesmanjournal.newspapers.com/search/#query=State%27s+Attorney+General+cites+medical+condition&ymd=2011-10-19 | url-status = live }}{{closed access}}</ref> In April 2012, he announced that he would be resigning from office to become president of Reed College,<ref name=reed/><ref name=cole/><ref name=graves-apr24>{{cite news|last=Graves|first=Bill|title=Oregon Attorney General John Kroger will leave office early to be Reed College president|date=April 24, 2012|newspaper=The Oregonian|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/04/oregon_attorney_general_john_k.html|access-date=June 7, 2012|archive-date=May 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521234157/http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/04/oregon_attorney_general_john_k.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and later set the effective date as June 29.
{{Election box begin no change| title=2008 Oregon Attorney General Election<ref name="gen-election-results">{{cite web |url=http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873598 |title=Official Results November 4, 2008, General Election Abstracts of Votes: Attorney General |publisher=Oregon Secretary of State |access-date=December 6, 2008 |archive-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904091529/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873598 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="turnout">{{cite web |url = http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873599 |title = Statistical Summary: 2008 General Election |access-date = January 4, 2009 |publisher = Oregon Secretary of State |archive-date = October 11, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191011182829/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordpdf/6873599 |url-status = live }}</ref>}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change| |party = Democratic Party (United States) |candidate = John Kroger |votes = 1,096,507 |percentage = 72.57 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Constitution Party of Oregon |candidate = James Leuenberger |votes = 168,866 |percentage = 11.18 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Pacific Green Party |candidate = Walt Brown |votes = 76,856 |percentage = 5.09 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change| |party = Working Families Party |candidate = J. Ashlee Albies |votes = 161,655 |percentage = 10.70 }} {{Election box candidate no change| |party = |candidate = write-ins |votes = 7,047 |percentage = 0.47 }} {{Election box total no change| |votes = 1,510,931 |percentage = 100 }} {{Election box hold with party link no change| |winner = Democratic Party (US) |loser = Republican Party (US) }} {{Election box end}}
==Return to academia== After leaving public service, Kroger returned to academia by becoming president of Reed College on June 30, 2012.<ref name=reed />
In February 2018, Kroger announced he will be stepping down as Reed College president in the summer of 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2018/02/reed_college_says_president_jo.html |title=Reed College says President John Kroger will step down |newspaper=The Oregonian |access-date=2018-02-10 |date=February 10, 2018 |first=Mike |last=Rogoway |archive-date=February 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210042259/http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2018/02/reed_college_says_president_jo.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/articles/2018/john-kroger-announces-departure.html |title=President Kroger Announces He Will Step Down in June |magazine=Reed Magazine |access-date=2018-02-10 |date=February 9, 2018 |archive-date=March 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322200959/http://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/articles/2018/john-kroger-announces-departure.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 30, 2018, Kroger was replaced at Reed College by vice president Hugh Porter, serving as acting president until a permanent replacement was found.<ref name="reed-2018jun12">{{cite news |url=https://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/articles/2018/kroger-harvard-leader.html |title=Kroger to Join Leadership Center at Harvard: President John R. Kroger will serve as leader-in-residence at Kennedy School after he steps down from Reed |magazine=Reed Magazine |date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-date=September 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920184715/https://www.reed.edu/reed-magazine/articles/2018/kroger-harvard-leader.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
After leaving Reed, Kroger became the Hauser Leader-in-Residence at the Center for Public Leadership in the Harvard Kennedy School for the 2018–2019 academic year.<ref name="hks-2018jun12">{{cite news |url=https://www.hks.harvard.edu/announcements/john-kroger-joins-center-public-leadership |title=Reed College President John Kroger to join Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership as Hauser Leader-in-Residence for 2018-19 |work=Harvard Kennedy School |date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024114519/https://www.hks.harvard.edu/announcements/john-kroger-joins-center-public-leadership |url-status=live }}</ref> For the Fall 2018 semester, Kroger taught a criminal procedure and investigation course at the Harvard Law School.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hls.harvard.edu/academics/curriculum/catalog/default.aspx?o=73920 |title=Course Catalog: Criminal Procedure: Investigations |work=Harvard Law School |date=Fall 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024040729/https://hls.harvard.edu/academics/curriculum/catalog/default.aspx?o=73920 |archive-date=2018-10-24}}</ref>
In October 2019, Kroger became the inaugural Chief Learning Officer for the US Navy, overseeing the US Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, the Naval War College, the Marine Corps University, and a soon to be established Naval Community College.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://news.usni.org/2019/09/10/former-marine-college-president-selected-to-be-navys-first-chief-learning-officer |title=Former Marine, College President Selected to be Navy's First Chief Learning Officer |newspaper=USNI News |access-date=2019-10-02 |date=September 10, 2019 |first=Ben |last=Werner |archive-date=October 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002190155/https://news.usni.org/2019/09/10/former-marine-college-president-selected-to-be-navys-first-chief-learning-officer |url-status=live }}</ref> Kroger left his job with the Navy<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.usni.org/2020/06/29/navy-education-for-seapower-program-under-review-by-new-secnav |title=Navy 'Education for Seapower' Program Under Review by New SECNAV |work=USNI News |first=Sam |last=LaGrone |date=June 29, 2020 |access-date=August 30, 2020 |archive-date=August 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817045924/https://news.usni.org/2020/06/29/navy-education-for-seapower-program-under-review-by-new-secnav |url-status=live }}</ref> to join the Aspen Institute in July 2020.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=jdunnington |number=1282787143098695683 |date=July 13, 2020 |title=Congratulations to @johnkroger the new Director of the @AspenInstitute Rodel Fellowship program. |first=Jason |last=Dunnington}}</ref>
==Bibliography== * {{cite book |title=Convictions: A Prosecutor's Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves |date=May 2008 |publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux |isbn=0-374-10015-2 |first=John |last=Kroger |oclc=180752029}}
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *[https://www.doj.state.or.us Oregon Department of Justice] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070302182827/http://www.lclark.edu/dept/lawadmss/kroger.html Lewis and Clark Faculty Biography]
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Hardy Myers}} {{s-ttl|title=Oregon Attorney General|years=2009 – 2012|order=16th}} {{s-aft|after=Ellen Rosenblum}} {{s-break}} {{s-aca}} {{s-bef|before=Colin Diver}} {{s-ttl|title=President of Reed College|order=15th|years=2012 – 2018}} {{s-aft|after=Audrey Bilger}} {{s-end}}
{{Reed College presidents}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kroger, John}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:American prosecutors Category:Oregon lawyers Category:Yale College alumni Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Lewis & Clark College faculty Category:Presidents of Reed College Category:Oregon attorneys general Category:United States Marines