SPOTLIGHTS Former APSA President Receives National Medal of Science

Robert Axelrod, former APSA president (2006–2007) and University of Michigan political science and public policy professor, has received the National Medal of Science.

President Obama selected him for the medal—the nation’s highest honor for achievement in the field of science. Axelrod and other awardees received their medals at a White House ceremony on November 20, 2014.

“Bob Axelrod’s work on the evolution of cooperation has done a great deal to rebuild the thinking world’s faith in the power of cooperation,” said Susan Collins, dean of University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. “We hope this well-deserved honor draws much more attention to his game-changing discoveries.”

Axelrod wrote The Evolution of Cooperation, which outlines a powerfully effective recipe for de-escalating conflict. The New York Times suggested his theory might be “our best hope” for extricating the world from the era’s escalating arms race.

He was recognized with a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant and also inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (the youngest political scientist ever to receive that honor). He was also the first to be recognized with the academy’s award for “behavioral research relevant to the prevention of nuclear war.”

Axelrod draws on a wide range of disciplines, including evolutionary biology, psychology, and artificial intelligence in his work. He also has interests in international security affairs, including cyber issues and Middle East politics. A longtime APSA member, he is a graduate of the University of Chicago and received his doctorate from Yale University.

Sylvia Bashevkin, professor, department of political science, University of Toronto, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Royal Society of Canada Award in Gender Studies in recognition of her scholarship in the field of women and politics. Bashevkin received the Mildred A. Schwartz Lifetime Achievement Award from APSA’s Canadian Politics section at the 2014 meeting in Washington.

The award citation states: “Sylvia Bashevkin is our nation’s top authority in the study of women and politics. By employing a comparative framework and innovative research design, she has illuminated women’s political struggles and triumphs and promoted a lively public discussion of women in political life. Wide-ranging, interdisciplinary, and methodologically sophisticated, her work has made a significant contribution to political science, women’s studies, sociology, and public policy.”

Howard Gillman has been selected as the sixth chancellor of University of California, Irvine. Gillman is a nationally recognized expert on constitutional studies and judicial politics. He has authored or co-authored seven books and dozens of articles, and has received several awards for teaching.

“Howard Gillman has all that it takes—a record of leadership, scholarship and fundraising skills—to lead this vital campus,” said UC, Irvine president, Janet Napolitano, who named him as her choice to be chancellor.

Gillman—a professor of political science, history, and law—was appointed provost and executive vice chancellor in June 2013. He has served since then as the chief academic and operating officer.

He has participated in the APSA Law and Courts Organized Section, serving as chair and receiving multiple awards including the Teaching and Mentoring Award and Law and Courts Service Award. A well-recognized author, he has received the C. Herman Pritchett Award for Best Book (The Constitution Besieged: The Rise and Demise of Lochner Era Police Powers Jurisprudence, 1993) as well as other awards for best paper and best book.

Born in Southern California, Gillman grew up in the San Fernando Valley and was the first in his family to go to college. He earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees at University of California, Los Angeles. His wife, Ellen Ruskin-Gillman earned her master’s degree and doctorate in psychology at UCLA after graduation from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s degree. They have two children.

Before his appointment as provost, Gillman served for five years as dean of the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Science. He was a professor of political science, history, and law at USC, and was awarded the university’s top award for excellence in teaching.