Charles A. Joiner

Charles A. Joiner, 82, professor emeritus of political science at Temple University, died March 7, in Philadelphia. He was chairman of the Department of Political Science from 1962 to 1968 and Public Director of Administration and Executive Development at Temple University from 1962 to 1968 and in 1974. Joiner retired from Temple University in 1994. An expert on South Vietnam, Professor Joiner was author of two books, The Politics of Massacre. Political Processes in South Vietnam and Administration and Political Warfare in the Highlands. He also authored numerous scholarly articles on South Vietnam, including South Vietnam’s Buddhist Crisis: Organization for Charity, Dissidence, and Unity. Joiner was one of a small group of political scientists whose firsthand experience in Vietnam dated to the early 1960s. At that time, he was a member of Michigan State University’s Vietnam Advisory Group working in the area of public administration. In 1959 to 1961, he was assistant professor, Department of Political Science, and public administration specialist, Institute for Community Development at Michigan State University. While on leave from Temple in 1968 to 1970, Professor Joiner was the Public Administration Higher Education Administration and Research specialist for the Middle East and North African Regional Office of the Ford Foundation in Beirut, Lebanon. At this time, he was professor at the University of Lebanon and consultant for the office of the president concerning reorganization of the University central administration and advisor for the Faculty of Law. He was also consultant to the Lebanese civil service commissions. In 1961 and 1962, Joiner was public administration consultant to the National Institute of Administration of the Republic of Vietnam. He was also an advisor to the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration, an organization for scholars and practitioners of public administration. In 1963, Professor Joiner was visiting lecturer on Southeast Asia, Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois. Before beginning his teaching career, Joiner was a Congressional fellow of the American Political Science Association in 1958 and 1959. He was also a fellow for Sen Edmund S. Muskie and Rep Robert E. Jones to the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee of the Governmental Affairs Committee, US House of Representatives. Born in West Frankfort, Illinois, Joiner held a BA and MA from Southern Illinois University and earned his PhD from the University of Illinois. He was a member of the Temple University Diamond Club, the Science and Art Club of Germantown, the Philadelphia Cricket Club, and numerous professional and environmental associations. Professor Joiner is survived by his wife Marion L. Steinmann, whom he married in 1979. His first wife Doris died in 1978. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Elinor Steinmann Schrader; a nephew, Michael C. Schrader; niece, Katherine E. Schrader; and cousin, Corliss K. Fletcher. Bringing him daily pleasure in his retirement was Sir Bentley, the Joiners ’s affectionate Burmese cat, and an important member of the household. Services and Interment will be private.