In 1958, Champion was appointed press secretary to California governor-elect
Pat Brown. During his tenure as head of the BRA, Champion oversaw the redevelopment of
Quincy Market and $1 billion in commitments to commercial development. He returned to Massachusetts two years later when he was named Harvard's vice president of finance. In 1977, Champion was appointed
United States Under Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1978, HEW secretary
Joseph A. Califano Jr. pushed for Champion to become commissioner of the
Social Security Administration, however President
Jimmy Carter preferred to keep Champion in the higher-ranking role of undersecretary. Champion resigned in 1979, citing his position's low pay and his desire to leave before a law that restricted the ability of former federal officials to deal with the government went into effect. Champion returned to Harvard as an assistant to president
Derek Bok. In 1980 he was appointed executive dean of the
John F. Kennedy School of Government. He took a leave of absence from the school in 1987 to serve as chief of staff to Massachusetts Governor
Michael Dukakis. He returned to Harvard in the spring of 1989 and taught there until his retirement in 1995. From 1990 to 1992, Champion was chairman of the
Kaiser Family Foundation. ==Personal life==