2007 Virginia OFA Recipient

Dr. William Connelly is the John K. Boardman Politics Professor at Washington and Lee University where he has taught since 1986. He brings his love of politics into the classroom and brings his classroom and students into the world of politics in his courses, especially the Washington Term Program he founded in 1986.

Throughout his courses Dr. Connelly examines contemporary politics in light of the thought of James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Woodrow Wilson. While grounding his courses in the classics of American political thought, Dr. Connelly also strives to bring contemporary politics alive by extensive use of electronic resources including Congressional Quarterly online and C-Span. He regularly conducts course simulations in which students role play as members of Congress.

Dr. Connelly’s practical experience complements his teaching. After college he worked for the Connecticut legislature. Following graduate study and three years of teaching, Dr. Connelly was named an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow. He worked asa Legislative Assistant for then-Congressman Dick Cheney and Senator Richard Lugar.

In the early 1990s Dr. Connelly was a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution which provided him an opportunity to co-author with Jack Pitney their oft-cited book Congress’s Permanent Minority?. This first book also led to opportunities to publish journal articles, book chapters, conference papers and op-eds in venues including Political Science Quarterly, The Southeastern Political Review, The Journal of Political Science, PS: Political Science and Politics, Roll Call, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Dr. Connelly is currently working on a book tentatively titled James Madison Rules America: Just Ask Newt and Nancy.

The seamless unity between Dr. Connelly’s teaching and scholarship informs his contributions to Washington and Lee’s curricular development. This is most evident in his establishing the Washington Term Program, helping to found the British Politics Program, and creating courses on Tocqueville and Madison. Just as important, however, has been Dr. Connelly’s role as Washington and Lee’s Mock Convention faculty advisor. Mock Convention is political science in action.

Dr. Connelly believes political science has a responsibility to educate students to citizenship and prepare students for public service. Washington Term, the British Politics Program, and Mock Convention are all means to these ends. A former student noted “There are a multitude of W&L graduates on the Hill, and while we may not agree on politics, we all agree on one thing: we would not be where we are today without Professor Connelly’s tireless dedication to his students.”

Dr. Connelly also engages in regular media commentary, fielding reporter’s calls from, for example, NPR, The New Yorker, Congressional Quarterly, Business Week, National Journal,and the L. A. Times. Dr. Connelly holds a Ph.D. in American Government from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in political philosophy from Boston College.

Nomination Package