Emeriti Faculty
W. B. Allen
William B. Allen is Professor Emeritus of Political Philosophy. His areas of expertise include the American founding and U.S. Constitution; the American founders (particularly George Washington); the influence of various political philosophers (especially Montesquieu) on the American founding; liberal arts education, its history, importance and problems; and the intersection of race and politics. He served as Dean and Professor, James Madison College, Michigan State University (1993 –1998).
Mohammed Ayoob
Mohammed Ayoob is Professor Emeritus of International Relations. A specialist on conflict and security in the Third World, his publications on the subject have included conceptual essays as well as case studies dealing with South Asia, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, and Southeast Asia.
Michael Bratton
Michael Bratton is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science and African Studies at Michigan State University. He is the author of five books, including Voting and Democratic Citizenship in Africa (Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2013).
Jan Beecher
Dr. Janice Beecher was a Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University (adjunct Economics) and Editor of the journal Utilities Policy (Elsevier). She served as Director of the Institute of Public Utilities at MSU from 2002 to 2023..
Cleo H. Cherryholmes
Cleo H. Cherryholmes is Professor Emeritus of Teacher Education and Political Science. He received his B.A. from Yale in 1960, an M.S. from Kansas State Teachers College in 1963, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University in 1966. He joined Michigan State University as an Assistant Professor in 1966, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1969, and to Professor in 1982
Melinda Gann Hall
Melinda Gann Hall is Professor Emerita after joining the faculty at MSU in 1996. She is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including a 2008 MSU Distinguished Faculty Award, the 2016 Career Achievement Award from the State Politics and Policy Section of the American Political Science Association, the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Law and Courts Section of the APSA, and several major grants from the National Science Foundation. She held a Fulbright Distinguished Chair (the Fulbright Scotland Visiting Professorship) at the University of Edinburgh in 2017 and served as a MacCormick Fellow in the School of Law at the University of Edinburgh in 2018.
Thomas H. Hammond
Thomas H. Hammon joined the MSU faculty in 1984, having taught at Purdue University from 1979 to 1984. Professor Hammond’s main professional interests involve the development of formal models of political institutions.
Richard Hula
Richard C. Hula is professor emeritus of political science. Hula served as the Chair of the Department from 2001-2013. Prior to that he served as the director of the department’s Program in Public Policy and Administration (1991-96), and Associate Director of MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (1991-1998).
Charles S. Matzke
Charles S. Matzke is an Assistant Professor Emeritius.He joined the Department in 2003 and served as the coordinator for the Michigan Government Semester Program and coordinated the MPP Field Experience.
Arthur Melzer
Arthur Melzer is a Professor Emeritus in the Department, specializing in political thought. He was also a co-founder and executive director of the Symposium on Science, Reason, and Modern Democracy.
Charles Ostrom
Charles W. Ostrom, Jr. retired January 2021 from Professor of Political Science. Professor Ostrom joined the MSU faculty in 1974 and taught in the Political Science Department continuously with the exception of sabbaticals at the University of Minnesota (1982-83), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1992-93), and National Center for State Courts (2000-2001).
Charles O. Press
Charles Press is a Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he completed his B.J. at the University of Missouri in 1948, earned his M.A. in Political Science at the University of Minnesota in 1951, and his Ph.D. in 1953.
Ronald E. Puhek
Ronald E. Puhek is Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science. He received his B.A. from the College of St. Thomas in 1961, his M.A. from Johns Hopkins University in 1963, and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska in 1967.
David W. Rohde
David W. Rohde is a University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science. He received his B.S. from Canisius College in 1967 and his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in 1971. Rohde joined the Department as an Assistant Professor in 1970, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1973, and to Professor in 1978. He served as a University Distinguished Professor from 1992-1993 and from 1994 to 2005.
Joseph A. Schlesinger
Joseph A. Schlesinger is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Michigan State University. He received his A.B. from the University of Chicago in 1942. After serving in the U.S Army during World War II, he received an A.M. from Harvard in 1947, and an A.M. in Political Science from Yale University in 1947 and his Ph.D. from Yale in 1955. He joined the Political Science Department as in Instructor in 1953, was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1958, and promoted to Professor in 1963.
Saundra K. Schneider
Saundra K. Schneider is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Michigan State University. She was also a member of the Instructional Staff at the ICPSR Summer Training Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research at the University of Michigan.
Reggie Sheehan
Reggie Sheehan is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Political Science with a specialization in public law. His research interests included decision making in the United States Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeals.
Brian Silver
Brian Silver is Professor Emeritus of Political Science. A member of the MSU faculty since 1975, Professor Silver served as Chair of the Department of Political Science from 1987 to 1996. From 1994-2007 he directed the “State of the State Survey,” a quarterly survey of public opinion in Michigan. Since 2008 he served as Director of MSU’s Center for Statistical Training and Consulting.
Ralph H. Smuckler
Ralph H. Smuckler is Dean Emeritus at Michigan State University. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin in 1948, his M.A. in 1949, and his Ph.D. in Political Science in 1952. He became an Instructor at Michigan State University in 1951, was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1953, to Associate Professor in 1956, and to Professor in 1963. In 1963, he became Dean of International Studies and Programs.
Barry N. Stein
Barry N. Stein is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and the Center for Integrative Studies in Social Science. He joined the faculty in 1968 and taught courses on American Foreign Policy, International Organization and Cooperation, War and Revolution and Global Diversity and Interdependence.
James Wagman
James Wagman is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science. He received his B.A. from the University of Colorado in 1961, his M.A. in 1963, and his Ph.D. in Political Science in 1966. He joined the Political Science Department as a Professor in 1988
Jerry Weinberger
Jerry Weinberger is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science and University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University. From 1997-2001 he was Chair of the Department of Political Science. He received his B.A. from The University of California at Berkeley in 1967 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1973. He won the Michigan State University Teacher-Scholar Award, has won fellowships from the Earhart Foundation and the Institute for Educational Affairs, and has twice been a Senior Research Fellow of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He is the Director of the LeFrak Forum and Co-Director of the Symposium on Science, Reason, and Modern Democracy, both located in the Department of Political Science. In 2007, he won the Michigan State University Distinguished Faculty Award.
