Under the then-existing Pennsylvania law, Scranton was limited to a single term and could not run for reelection in 1966.
That same year, he announced that he would never again seek elected office.
After his term in office, Scranton attended the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1967-1968 and helped write a new constitution for the state, which included a provision allowing future governors to seek a second term.
Following the 1968 United States presidential election, President-elect Richard Nixon asked Scranton to become Secretary of State, but he declined.
He did serve as a special envoy to the Middle East but when he said the Nixon Administration should be "more evenhanded" in managing the problems of the Middle East, some in the American Jewish community regarded this as antisemitic and Nixon quickly distanced himself from the former governor.
In accordance with his 1966 pledge never to seek elected office, he rebuffed a draft movement
encouraging him to run for the U.S. Senate.

After the Kent State shootings in 1970, Scranton was asked to chair the President's Commission on Campus Unrest to investigate this and other incidents of campus violence and protest.
The committee's conclusions came to be known as the "Scranton Report".

Following Nixon's resignation from the Presidency in 1974, he was appointed as a transition team member for incoming President Gerald Ford.

Scranton reentered the business world and served on the boards of several high-profile American corporations such as A&P, IBM, The New York Times, Pan American Airways, and the H.J. Heinz Company and was president of Northeastern National Bank and Trust Company.
He was also associated with the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and was a trustee of Yale University, his alma mater.

In 1976, Scranton was chosen by President Ford to become United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
His measured approach to diplomacy and genuine interest in human rights earned him much respect in his short time in office.
Some in the Republican Party pushed for Scranton to be named Ford's running mate for the 1976 presidential election, but Ford chose Senator Robert Dole of Kansas instead.
After his term as UN Ambassador, Scranton retired to his home in Dalton, Pennsylvania.

Scranton's son, William Scranton III, served as Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania under Richard Thornburgh.
He ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 1986 election and was for a while considered a leading candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the 2006 election but ultimately dropped out of the race.
Under the then-existing Pennsylvania law, Scranton was limited to a single term and could not run for reelection in 1966. That same year, he announced that he would never again seek elected office. After his term in office, Scranton attended the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1967-1968 and helped write a new constitution for the state, which included a provision allowing future governors to seek a second term. Following the 1968 United States presidential election, President-elect Richard Nixon asked Scranton to become Secretary of State, but he declined. He did serve as a special envoy to the Middle East but when he said the Nixon Administration should be "more evenhanded" in managing the problems of the Middle East, some in the American Jewish community regarded this as antisemitic and Nixon quickly distanced himself from the former governor. In accordance with his 1966 pledge never to seek elected office, he rebuffed a draft movement
encouraging him to run for the U.S. Senate.
After the Kent State shootings in 1970, Scranton was asked to chair the President's Commission on Campus Unrest to investigate this and other incidents of campus violence and protest. The committee's conclusions came to be known as the "Scranton Report".
Following Nixon's resignation from the Presidency in 1974, he was appointed as a transition team member for incoming President Gerald Ford.
Scranton reentered the business world and served on the boards of several high-profile American corporations such as A&P, IBM, The New York Times, Pan American Airways, and the H.J. Heinz Company and was president of Northeastern National Bank and Trust Company. He was also associated with the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and was a trustee of Yale University, his alma mater.
In 1976, Scranton was chosen by President Ford to become United States Ambassador to the United Nations. His measured approach to diplomacy and genuine interest in human rights earned him much respect in his short time in office. Some in the Republican Party pushed for Scranton to be named Ford's running mate for the 1976 presidential election, but Ford chose Senator Robert Dole of Kansas instead. After his term as UN Ambassador, Scranton retired to his home in Dalton, Pennsylvania.
Scranton's son, William Scranton III, served as Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania under Richard Thornburgh. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 1986 election and was for a while considered a leading candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the 2006 election but ultimately dropped out of the race.
William Scranton