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James Q. Wilson

 
James Q. Wilson

 
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James Q. Wilson
 
 
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James Q. Wilson (born May 27, 1931, in Denver, Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
) is an American academic political scientist and an authority on public administration
Public administration

Public administration can be broadly described as the development, implementation and study of branches of government public policy. The pursuit of the public good by enhancing civil society and social justice is the ultimate goal of the field....
.

on completed his B.A. at the University of Redlands
University of Redlands

The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. The university's campus sits on 160 acres near downtown Redlands....
 in 1952, where he was the national collegiate debate champion in 1951 and 1952. He completed an M.A. (1957) and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph.D. or PhD for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", is an postgraduate academic degree awarded by University....
 (1959) in political science
Political science

Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior....
 at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park, Chicago neighborhood of Chicago. Although an older university by the same name existed prior to its founding, the modern University of Chicago credits its founding to the oil magnate John D....
. From 1961 to 1987, he was the Shattuck Professor of Government at Harvard University
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
. From 1987 until 1997, he was the James Collins Professor of Management and Public Policy at the UCLA Anderson School of Management at UCLA.






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James Q. Wilson (born May 27, 1931, in Denver, Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
) is an American academic political scientist and an authority on public administration
Public administration

Public administration can be broadly described as the development, implementation and study of branches of government public policy. The pursuit of the public good by enhancing civil society and social justice is the ultimate goal of the field....
.

Career

Wilson completed his B.A. at the University of Redlands
University of Redlands

The University of Redlands is a private liberal arts and sciences university located in Redlands, California. The university's campus sits on 160 acres near downtown Redlands....
 in 1952, where he was the national collegiate debate champion in 1951 and 1952. He completed an M.A. (1957) and a Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph.D. or PhD for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", is an postgraduate academic degree awarded by University....
 (1959) in political science
Political science

Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior....
 at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private university located principally in the Hyde Park, Chicago neighborhood of Chicago. Although an older university by the same name existed prior to its founding, the modern University of Chicago credits its founding to the oil magnate John D....
. From 1961 to 1987, he was the Shattuck Professor of Government at Harvard University
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
. From 1987 until 1997, he was the James Collins Professor of Management and Public Policy at the UCLA Anderson School of Management at UCLA. He is currently the Ronald Reagan Professor
Professor

The meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the Academic department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual....
 of Public Policy
Public policy (law)

Public policy is the body of principles that underpin the operation of legal systems in each state . This addresses the social, moral and economic values that tie a society together: values that vary in different cultures and change over time....
 at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy
Pepperdine School of Public Policy

Pepperdine School of Public Policy is a Master of Public Policy degree program, located in Malibu, California. It is one of five graduate schools at Pepperdine University with specializations in American politics, economics, international relations, and state and local policy....
 at Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University

Pepperdine University is a private university of higher learning affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's location overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is adjacent to the city limits of Malibu, California in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, California, United States....
.

Wilson's university text American Government
American Government (Wilson)

American Government is a textbook, now in its tenth edition, written by noted public administration scholar James Q. Wilson and political science John J....
 (now coauthored with John J. DiIulio, Jr.) is the best selling text of its kind today.

Political and Business Positions

Wilson is a former Chairman of the White House Task Force on Crime (1966), of the National Advisor Commission on Drug Abuse Prevention (1972-73) and a member of the Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime (1981), the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

The President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board is an advisor to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. According to its self-description, it "...provides advice to the President concerning the quality and adequacy of intelligence collection, of analysis and estimates, of counterintelligence, and of other intelligen...
 (1985-90), and the President's Council on Bioethics. He is a former president
President

President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, company, trade unions, university, and country. Etymology, a "president" is one who Wiktionary:Preside, who sits in leadership ....
 of the American Political Science Association
American Political Science Association

The American Political Science Association is an professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903, it publishes three academic journals ....
. He has served on the board of directors
Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed persons who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. The body sometimes has a different name, such as board of trustees, board of governors, board of managers, or executive board....
 for the New England Electric System, Protection One
Protection One

Protection One is one of the largest providers of monitored security and fire alarm, video surveillance systems, and integrated remote system services in the United States....
, RAND
Rand

Rand may refer to a number of places, people, organizations, and acronyms:...
, and State Farm Mutual Insurance.

He is the chairman of the Council of Academic Advisors of the American Enterprise Institute
American Enterprise Institute

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a Conservatism in the United States think tank, founded in 1943. According to the institute its mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of United States Freedom and democratic capitalism — limited government, Private sector, individual liberty an...
. Wilson is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an organization dedicated to scholarship and the advancement of learning. It serves as a nationwide honor society for the United States....
 and the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society

The American Philosophical Society is a discussion group founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin as an offshoot of his earlier club, the Junto....
, and a member of the International Council of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation
Human Rights Foundation

The Human Rights Foundation is a non-profit organization that works on ?defending human rights and promoting liberal democracy in the Americas.? The Human Rights Foundation was founded in 2005 by film producer Thor Halvorssen Mendoza....
.

Political views

Wilson describes himself as "more conservative than most academics but more liberal than the country as a whole."

Awards

  • Honorary doctorate from Harvard University
    Harvard University

    Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
    .
  • Lifetime Achievement Award, American Political Science Association
    American Political Science Association

    The American Political Science Association is an professional association of political science students and scholars in the United States. Founded in 1903, it publishes three academic journals ....
    , 2001.
  • The Presidential Medal of Freedom
    Presidential Medal of Freedom

    The Presidential Medal of Freedom is a decoration bestowed by the President of the United States and is, along with theequivalent Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of United States Congress, the highest Civilian decorations of the United States in the United States....
     by President George W. Bush
    George W. Bush

    George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
     in 2003.


Books by James Q. Wilson

  • American Government
    American Government (Wilson)

    American Government is a textbook, now in its tenth edition, written by noted public administration scholar James Q. Wilson and political science John J....
    , 10th ed. (2006, with John J. DiIulio, Jr.)
  • The Marriage Problem: How Our Culture Damages Families (2002)
  • Moral Judgment (1997)


  • The Moral Sense (1993)
  • On Character: Essays by James Q. Wilson (1991)
  • Bureaucracy (1989)
  • Crime and Human Nature (1985, with Richard Herrnstein
    Richard Herrnstein

    Richard J. Herrnstein was a prominent United States researcher in animal learning in the B. F. Skinner tradition. He was one of the founders of Society for Quantitative Analysis of Behavior....
    )
  • Watching Fishes: Life and Behavior on Coral Reefs (1985, with Roberta Wilson)
  • Thinking About Crime (1975)
  • The Investigators (1978)
  • Political Organizations (1973)
  • Varieties of Police Behavior (1968)
  • The Amateur Democrat (1966)
  • City Politics (1963, with Edward Banfield
    Edward Banfield

    Edward Banfield was the first railroad engineer who drove La Porte?a during the first travel by rail in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1857. He was the first General Manager of the British-owned Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway between 1865 and 1872, founded in Argentina by Edward Lund in 1862....
    )
  • Negro Politics (1960)


External links

  • Center for Inquiry
    Center for Inquiry

    The Center for Inquiry is a non-profit educational organization with headquarters in the United States whose primary mission is to encourage evidence-based inquiry into paranormal and fringe science claims, alternative medicine and mental health practices, religion, secular ethics, and society....
    's [PDF]