By Kyle Kubera
Daniel L. Bratton, the third longest serving president in
Chautauqua Institution history, died Sunday, June 10, 2001 in WCA Hospital.
Bratton, 68, was the Institution’s president for 16 years, from 1984
to 2000. He retired December 31.
He is credited with overseeing a rebirth of Chautauqua as an internationally
acclaimed place for learning and spiritual growth. During his term as president,
Bratton worked to take Chautauqua “beyond the season and beyond the
gates” of the 127-year-old Institution.
“The golden years that Chautauqua enjoys now are the product of his
dedication to the strategic planning process," said William G. Karslake,
the Institution’s board of trustee’s chairman. “The legacy
of the Bratton years won’t be that of a storied past but of a brilliant
future for Chautauqua.”
Bratton was the Institution’s president during five United States-Soviet
Union conferences, including two at Chautauqua; and one each in Riga, Latvia;
Tblisi, Georgia; and the University of Pittsburgh. He also is credited with
major buildings and grounds improvements at Chautauqua and a $33 million increase
in the Institution’s endowment.
Joe Johnson, the vice president and treasurer at Chautauqua and a close friend
of Bratton’s, said the U.S.-Soviet conferences helped to rewrite history.
“It’s a different world now, and there are still very few of us
that recognize this difference,” Johnson said. “He believed we
could make a difference and by God, we did. He recognized something that nobody
else did. When history is written about Glasnost and the breakup of the Soviet
Union, the Chautauqua conferences will be a big part of it.”
Johnson said Bratton was the driving force behind Chautauqua’s ongoing
participation in the conferences.
“He (Bratton) has to get a lot of credit for that happening,”
he said. “He had a vision. He saw it as an opportunity for Chautauqua
before any of us did. He pushed it and promoted it to the board. He had a
major role in changing those countries.”
Scott McVay, Chautauqua’s new president, said Bratton’s role in
organizing the U.S.-Soviet conferences was a crowning achievement for Bratton.
“… Second-track diplomacy contributed to the lessening of tension,
the abatement of the Cold War, and the Berlin Wall coming down,” he
said. “That may stand as the most significant event for Chautauqua in
the past 50 years, one that was a life-changing, transcendent experience for
every Chautauquan involved.”
Dr. Lillian Vitanza Ney, a Chautauqua board member and friend of Bratton’s,
said the U.S.-Soviet conferences will be Bratton’s legacy.
“It was a very courageous and unusual thing to do at the time he started
doing it,” she said of the programs. “He had tremendous vision
for the things he thought were extremely important.”
For a story in the Sunday, Sept. 3, 2000, edition of The Post-Journal, Bratton
said he was proud to be leaving Chautauqua in good shape for his successor.
McVay was later named the Institution’s new president.
“The place is changing, but not in any sudden fashion,” he said
for the story.
Bratton also reflected on his long stay as the top official at Chautauqua.
“I was given every chance,” he said at the time. “People
were wonderful when I arrived – very supportive. It’s been a steady
process of trying to strengthen the Institution in any way. Things have just
sort of unfolded over these 16 years and I just like to think. Across the
board, everything is better. It’s been a gradual and steady process.”
The new Chautauqua president said Bratton’s leadership qualities included
surrounding himself with a talented staff, and a sense of humor.
“Dan Bratton will be missed not only on these grounds, but by the larger
community where his leadership was felt and appreciated,” McVay said.
Dr. Ney said Bratton’s battle with cancer has been difficult on his
family and friends.
“There’s no doubt at all he’s definitely a great loss to
the community,” she said. “He really believed Chautauqua was a
place for intellectual, emotional and spiritual revival for anybody who walked
through the gates, and he lived that every day.”
Johnson said he and Bratton were colleagues and friends for almost 17 years.
“He was a unique guy,” Johnson said. “He was my boss, but
also my colleague. He was one of the greatest guys I ever worked with because
he had no ego. His interest was in what is best for Chautauqua.”
According to Johnson, Bratton was not concerned about taking credit for the
success of the Institution.
“The other thing he did was to let people play to their strengths,”
the Chautauqua official said. “He would value your input, your research,
whatever you brought to the table.”
Johnson said Bratton had the ability to connect with people of all ages and
at all levels of employment at Chautauqua.
“He was a guy who could sit in the lunch room and have a discussion
with anybody who happened to be there,” he said. “He found a way
to relate with the young summer employees. There are not many places the president
relates to the kids that are on a two-month summer job. He was a very unique
individual."
Also, Johnson said Bratton, who was born in Nyack, New York, had a great affection
for Chautauqua County. He served on many boards that helped to promote tourism
in the region.
“He grew to have a great love and fondness for Chautauqua County,”
Johnson said. “He did a lot of things that reaffirmed what we natives
(of the county) already believe and know.”
Cynthia Peterson, a Chautauqua board member for nine years, said Bratton was
a saint. She also said his sense of humor and his ability to empower senior
staff members were his best leadership qualities.
“He was a visionary,” she said. “He had a fabulous leadership
style and he brought great change to Chautauqua while honoring its tradition.
It was a joy to be on the board with him because of his leadership style.”
Mrs. Peterson said Bratton was a family man, who was quick to credit other
people for his success.
“He was a deeply religious man and very selfless,” she said. “He
was always putting others ahead of himself.”
Johnson said he and Bratton’s daughters grew up together, which helped
foster their friendship.
“He was just a wonderful, great friend,” he said. “He is
somebody I’ll always remember and love.”
At the beginning of the 2000 Chautauqua season, Normal Hall was renamed Bratton
Theater in his honor. The facility was renovated and enlarged to accommodate
Chautauqua Conservatory Theater Company productions.
Following his retirement from Chautauqua, Bratton agreed to be the first executive
director of the Robert H. Jackson Center Inc., in Jamestown. The historical
and educational facility is dedicated to preserving the legacy of U.S. Supreme
Court Justice Robert H. Jackson.
Gregory Peterson, the Jackson Center board president, said Bratton was instrumental
in opening doors for the Center. Prior to the announcement of the facility’s
creation, Bratton was in Washington and spoke with Supreme Court Justice Sandra
Day O’Connor about the project, which led to direct contact with the
Library of Congress and the Supreme Court Historical Society.
“Dan provided the winds into the sails of this project,” Peterson
said. “Not only did he grasp the project and its potential, but he also
put some energy into it immediately by going to Washington, D.C., and meeting
with Justice O’Connor.
“I knew he had a keen interest in the community, an avocation in history
and I felt he could bring all of that to enhance the possibilities of success
for this project.”
His interests beyond Chautauqua included baseball – he was a New York
Mets fan – and an interest in the American presidency. The theme for
the first week of the 2001 Chautauqua season is “The Modern American
Presidency: Transition of Power.”
Bratton is survived by his wife, Wanita; three sons: Matthew, Adam and Joshua;
three daughters: Robin Bratton-Bias, Danielle Divito and Ashley; a grandson;
and a sister.
The funeral will be at 2:00 p.m. Friday (June 15, 2001) in the Hall of Philosophy
at Chautauqua.