Howard Gillman Named Dean of the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Los Angeles, May 30, 2007 — On behalf of University of Southern California President Steven B. Sample, Provost C. L. Max Nikias today announced the appointment of USC Professor Howard Gillman as Dean of the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

The appointment, effective July 1, is for a five-year term. Gillman — a professor of political science and history — will also hold the Anna H. Bing Dean’s Chair in the USC College.

Gillman, who has been serving as USC’s associate vice provost for research advancement, was selected after a search that included more than 500 candidates. He replaces Dr. Peter Starr, who had been serving as interim dean for the past year.

“Dr. Gillman exemplifies the traits of an ideal USC dean: He has attained the highest levels of distinction in teaching; in research; in leadership within his academic discipline and his university; and in service to his community,” said Nikias.

In accepting the appointment, Gillman said: “The USC College has nurtured me as a scholar and a teacher for 17 years. During that time we have accomplished great things, and there is no question that we are now one of the most exciting and innovative places in the country for students to learn and for faculty to produce important and influential research and scholarship.

“I’m very grateful for the confidence in me shown by President Sample and Provost Nikias, and for the support of my friends and colleagues. I want to thank Peter Starr for the terrific work he has done this past year as interim dean; we all owe him a debt of gratitude. And now, I’m looking forward to working with our great faculty, amazing students and the extended Trojan Family to ensure that the USC College continues to achieve new levels of academic excellence.”

Gillman built a scholarly profile as one of the nation’s leading experts on constitutionalism and judicial politics. His first book, The Constitution Besieged: The Rise and Demise of Lochner Era Police Powers Jurisprudence, received one of the highest awards in his discipline — the C. Herman Pritchett Award from the American Political Science Association; it was also named an Outstanding Academic Book selection by Choice.

His most recent book, The Votes that Counted: How the Court Decided the 2000 Presidential Election, earned acclaim from The New York Times and numerous other publications as the definitive scholarly analysis of the resolution of the 2000 presidential election dispute. He was also co-editor and contributor to two other books on the Supreme Court.

As associate vice provost, Gillman helped create and launch the USC U.S.-China Institute, a unique interdisciplinary institute to produce rigorous, policy-relevant social science research focused on the contemporary U.S.-China relationship. In addition, he oversaw a series of reforms in the university’s Human Subjects Protection Program, including an administrative restructuring of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) on the University Park Campus, and he has overseen a number of university-wide research initiatives, including the USC Health Collaborative and the Immigration and Integration Initiative.

In making the announcement, Nikias noted the strong contribution of Dr. Peter Starr as interim dean of the USC College. Nikias said Starr had made many contributions in undergraduate and graduate programs, admission and fundraising. Starr will continue service to the university as professor of French and comparative literature.

About Howard Gillman

Gillman earned his B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from UCLA. As a professor of political science and history, Gillman has served on the USC College’s faculty for 17 years. During that time, he has made many contributions to the academic enterprise, among them his service as member of the Academic Senate and the University Committee on Appointments, Tenure and Promotion; a member of the Faculty Council and chair of its Research Caucus; a member of the College’s Strategic Planning Task force and General Education Committee; a member of the Faculty Governing Board for College Advisement; and chair of the College Academic Services Advisory Board.

Gillman is among the most decorated teachers within the USC College. He has been tapped as a faculty member of the month by the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society and is a Distinguished Faculty Fellow at the Center for Excellence in Teaching. In 2001, Dr. Gillman received the USC College’s General Education Teaching Award, as well as the USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching.

In addition to his university press books, Professor Gillman has to his credit more than 30 other publications — including articles in leading disciplinary and interdisciplinary journals such as The American Political Science Review, Political Research Quarterly and Studies in American Political Development — as well as more than 40 conference papers and meeting presentations. He has also been highly sought as an invited lecturer and has been asked to present his research at many leading universities around the country.

He has been a prominent expert for top national media outlets, including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor and NPR. Earlier this year, his on-air commentary for PBS’ unprecedented four-hour documentary series on the Supreme Court garnered praise from The Boston Globe.

Professor Gillman has been active as a civic leader — evaluating curriculum at local schools, training public school teachers on constitutional studies, lecturing at community centers and coaching sports teams. He is especially involved within the local Jewish community, participating in a number of adult education programs, interfaith dialogues and social justice campaigns. He was elected to the Board of Trustees of Temple Isaiah in West Los Angeles and chaired his congregation’s Synagogue 2000 committee. His wife, Ellen, like him a native of Los Angeles, received her Ph.D. in Psychology from UCLA in 1989 and spent many years at UCLA’s Neuropsychiatric Institute conducting research on autism and Down Syndrome.

About the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The USC College is the academic heart of the university. It is responsible for the general education program for all undergraduates, and it houses a full-time faculty of approximately 700 (including 500 tenure track), more than 6,500 undergraduate majors (roughly half of the total USC undergraduate population) and 1,200 doctoral graduate students. The USC College is home to a wide range of fields and specialties in more than 40 departments and programs in the humanities, social sciences, and natural and life sciences, as well as a number of interdepartmental programs and centers.

Contact: James Grant at (213) 740-2215 or james.grant@usc.edu