Hackney began his career as a lecturer in history at
Princeton University. There, he taught in an Upward Bound program for disadvantaged students and played a role in the creation of the university's African American Studies program. While at Princeton, he moved into administration, serving as the provost from 1972 to 1975. From 1975 to 1980, Hackney was the president of
Tulane University. At Tulane, Hackney was best known for approving the November 1979 decision to tear down
Tulane Stadium, the on-campus home of the
Green Wave football team from 1926 through 1974. The Wave moved to the
Louisiana Superdome upon its completion in August 1975. Tulane Stadium stood vacant for nearly five years after Tulane and the
NFL's New Orleans Saints played their final games there, hosting high school football games and an ill-fated
ZZ Top concert in 1976, where many fights broke out during the show.
President of the University of Pennsylvania Hackney was president of the
University of Pennsylvania from 1981 to 1993. He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society in 1988. He was also the Chairman of the
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) from 1993 to 1997, appointed by
President Clinton. Among the articles and books on history that Hackney published,
Populism to Progressivism in Alabama won the Albert J. Beveridge Award of the
American Historical Association. Dixie Redux: Essays in Honor of Sheldon Hackney, an edited collection of essays authored by his former students and collaborators was released in November 2013. Hackney was credited at the University of Pennsylvania with raising undergraduate minority enrollment from 13 to 30 percent and with increasing the endowment from about $160 million to $1 billion. Towards the end of his tenure, there was the so-called
Water buffalo incident, a controversial affair involving a student charged with racial harassment that raised issues involving free speech and university judicial procedures nationally. In particular, Hackney's role in the incident was a subject of his 1993 Senate confirmation hearings for the NEH appointment. Hackney's memoir about the turmoil of his confirmation,
The Politics of Presidential Appointment: A Memoir of the Culture War , was published in 2002. During his confirmation, critics derided him as the "pope of political correctness." "I resent bitterly being slandered by slogan", Dr. Hackney told the Senate committee. "I am not just a cardboard figure. I am someone who has spent years defending free speech, and I will do that at NEH as well." He was confirmed, 76 to 23, and assumed the job previously held by
Lynne Cheney.
Chairman of the National Endowment for Humanities. Hackney’s most significant and influential initiative as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities was the "National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity." This program sought to engage Americans in discussions about national identity, diversity, and the meaning of citizenship in a changing society. The initiative was rooted in Hackney’s belief that the humanities could offer a fresh perspective on societal challenges, particularly those related to race, community, and historic American values. By organizing some 1400 public dialogues in every state this program tried to promote a broader, more inclusive understanding of American identity. It focused attention on issues of pluralism and the complexities of cultural life. The goal was to help policymakers and cultural institutions to prioritize conversations about diversity and inclusion. Hackney’s ability to advance the NEH’s mission was hampered by significant federal budget cuts (a 38% reduction during his tenure) and a shifting political climate after the 1994 elections. Conservative Republicans led by
Newt Gingrich repeatedly opposed the NEH, as well as its sister agency, the National Endowment for the arts. While Hackney preserved core programs, he lamented the loss of many NEH initiatives and the damage to the humanities infrastructure, acknowledging that more time was spent on political defense than on program development. ==Personal life and death==