Rocco C. Siciliano photograph collection, 1936-2019

Rocco Carmine Siciliano was born on 1922 March 4 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Mary Arnone and Joseph Vincent Siciliano, Italian immigrants from Calabria. In 1940, he enrolled at the University of Utah, where he participated in student body government. On April 5, 1943, Siciliano entered active duty with the United States Army. He served in the United States Army during World War II as an Infantry Platoon Leader in the Tenth Mountain Infantry Division in Italy and was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Army Special Commendation Ribbon. In 1944, Siciliano graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's degree in political science with honors. In 1948, he graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in law.

On 1947 November 8, Rocco C. Siciliano married Marion Leonore Stiebel; together, they had five children. Marion Stiebel Siciliano was a German refugee; the two met while she was working as a librarian in the Research and Intelligence Division of the United States State Department. Marion Siciliano was an abstract artist whose works were shown nationally and internationally and are held in numerous museum, corporate, and private collections. In 2001 along with her husband, she received an Honorary Doctorate (in Fine Arts) from Gettysburg College. Marion Siciliano received the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on 2001 February 14.

From 1948-1950, he was a legal assistant to a board member in the National Labor Relations Board. From 1953-1959, Siciliano served by presidential appointment in the Eisenhower administration, first as an assistant secretary in the United States Department of Labor where he directed the nationwide employment and manpower activities. In 1957, Siciliano moved to the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Personnel Management, where he advised and assisted President Dwight D. Eisenhower with management policies, wage rates, and employment systems for all federal civilian employees.

From 1959-1969, Siciliano was a partner in the Washington law firm of Wilkinson, Cragun and Barker, a group of partners who were all originally from Utah. During that time, he served as counsel to national trade associations, including business and educational organizations. In April 1965, while retaining his partnership in the Washington law firm, he became president and chief executive of the Pacific Maritime Association, headquartered in San Francisco. He served in that position until January of 1969, when President Richard M. Nixon appointed him the undersecretary of the United States Department of Commerce. As the deputy secretary, Siciliano was responsible for the overall management of the Department. In October of 1971, President Richard M. Nixon appointed him as a management member and later a public member of the Federal Pay Board. He served in that part-time position until 1973.

From 1971 through 1984, Siciliano served as president, then as chairman and chief executive officer (1976) of Ticor, or TI Corporation (of California), a national Los Angeles based diversified financial services company. After retirement in 1984, he became counsel to the national law firm of Jones, Day, Reavis and Pogue, leaving in 1987 after becoming Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Health Properties, a real estate investment trust. He was a founding member and past chairman (1986) of the California Business Roundtable. Siciliano served as Chairman of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to develop innovative ways to improve democratic self-government.

In 1991, Siciliano became President and Chief Executive of the Dwight D. Eisenhower World Affairs Institute in Washington, D.C. In 2000, Siciliano was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, which he also served on under President George W. Bush. In 2001, he was elected Chairman of the commission. In this role, Siciliano oversaw the choice of a site for the Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the selection of Frank Gehry as its architect.

In 1997, the Sicilianos established The Rocco C. and Marion S. Siciliano Forum at the University of Utah. The Siciliano Forum is designed to offer an open, nonbiased forum for students, faculty, and the citizenry to focus their attention on the most important, least tractable public issues facing America today. In 2004, the University of Utah Press published Rocco Siciliano's biography, Walking on Sand: The Story of an Immigrant Son and the Forgotten Art of Public Service, cowritten with Drew Ross.

In addition to his career as a public servant, Siciliano has served on many corporate and philanthropic boards. A supporter of the arts, Siciliano was a lifetime member of the Board of the Lois Angeles Philharmonic, serving as both its president and chairman. He was a founding board member of the Museum of Contemporary Art. In 1981, he was named a trustee of the J. Paul Getty Trust, and assisted in the creation of the Getty Center, including the acquisition of its land. Siciliano received many awards for his public service activities and three honorary doctorates: an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Hebrew Union College (1989); an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Gettysburg College (2001); and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Utah (2001).

Rocco Carmine Siciliano died on 2018 November 6.

• 1922 Born in Salt Lake City, UT on 1922 March 4
• 1928-36 Attended Hawthorne Elementary School
• 1936-38 Attended Bryant Jr. High
• 1938-1940 South High School: Editor of South High Scribe, Valedictorian
• 1940-44 Attended University of Utah, was treasurer of Freshman class, president of the sophomore class, 2nd Vice President of the Student Body. Graduated with BA and honors in Political Science
• 1944-46 Began active duty on April 5, 1943. Attended Officer's Candidate School, assigned to 10th Mountain Division, sent to Italy as a platoon leader, promoted in 1945 to 1st Lieutenant. Earned the Bronze Medal for Valor
• 1946-1948 Attended andgraduated from Georgetown University Law School
• 1947 Married Marion Leonore Stiebel on 1947 November 8
• 1948-1949 Hired as assistant to former Utah Senator Abe Murdock, on the National Labor Relations Board. Became a legal assistant and member of Washington D.C. bar
• 1950 Joined PROCON in Chicago
• 1953 Appointed as an Assistant Secretary of Labor under Eisenhower
• 1955 Receives award from Utah Jr. Chamber of Commerce, Man of the Year Award
• 1957 Appointed as Special Assistant to President Eisenhower for Personnel Management. Arranges the first black leaders policy meeting with a President
• 1959 Joins law firm of Wilkinson, Cragun and Barker in D.C.
• 1964 Interviewed for President of University of Utah, James Fletcher chosen
• 1965 Becomes chief exec of Pacific Maritime Assn, 1966 becomes CEO as well
• 1967 Receives Distinguished Alumnus Award from U of U
• 1968 Founding member of the University of Utah National Advisory Council
• 1969-71 Under secretary of Commerce under President Nixon
• 1971 Joins TICOR in Los Angeles as President
• 1971-73 Named to Federal Pay Board. (a part-time position)
• 1976 Becomes CEO and Chairman of TICOR
• 1977-86 President and Chairman of Los Angeles Philharmonic Association
• 1981-95 Named as trustee to the Getty Trust
• 1982 TICOR taken over by Southern Pacific, Rocco becomes board member of Southern Pacific, continues as TICOR CEO
• 1983- present Chairman of the Center for Governmental Studies, Los Angeles
• 1989 Received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hebrew Union College
• 1991 President and Chief Executive of the Eisenhower Institute
• 1996 Becomes Trustee emeritus of the J. Getty Trust
• 1997 Endowment established at UU by Siciliano to establish Siciliano Forum in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
• 2000 Appointed by President Clinton as a member of the Federal Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, Washington, D.C., elected chairman in 2001.
• 2001 Received an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Gettysburg College
• 2001 Received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Utah
• 2004 Published his autobiography: Walking on Sand: The Story of an Immigrant Son and the Forgotten Art of Public Service, with Drew Ross.
• 2018 Died in Los Angeles, California on November 6.