Richard Sisson
Professor Emeritus of Political Science
(Ph.D. Berkeley, 1967). Provost and Professor Emeritus, Professor
Sisson has research and teaching interests in comparative politics with special
emphasis on representative institutions, systems of political authority, and
culture and democratization, particularly in India and other states of Asia. His
current research focuses on regionalism and representation in South Asia as well
as on the cultures, art and regionalism of the American Midwest. His
publications include War and Secession: India, Pakistan, and the Creation of
Bangladesh; Congress and Indian Nationalism: The Preindependence Phase; The
Congress Party of Rajasthan: Institution Building in an Indian State; and The
Evolution of Political Knowledge, (2 vols.). He has been a frequent
contributor to edited volumes and a variety of professional journals, and in his
new avenues of intellectual interest and research served as General Editor (with
Christian Zacher and Andrew Cayton) of The American Midwest: An Interpretative
Encyclopedia; and with Geoffrey Parker, of the Department of History, as
co-editor of Ohio and the World, 1753-2053: Essays Toward a New History of Ohio.
His current research includes a project on Art and Authority in the Ancient
American Midwest. He has been active in professional and community organizations
having served as Co-Chair of the Program Committee of the American Political
Science Association, Chair of the Council of Provosts and Chief Academic
Officers of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant
Colleges, as a member of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of American Higher
Education, and as President and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Ohio
Historical Society. He was extended the Distinguished Alumni Award by the
Department of Political Science, and is currently an Institute Associate of the
university’s Institute of Collaborative Research and Public Humanities. Before
returning to Ohio State, he was a Professor of Political Science at UCLA where
he also served as the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. An amateur
musician, he was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles
Opera, a member of the Board of Opera Columbus, and currently serves as a member
of the Board of Santa Fe Pro Musica. Dr. Sisson served as Interim President of
The Ohio State University, and until his retirement held the Board of Trustees
Chair in Comparative Politics.
Curriculum Vita (pdf)
