Richard J Ellis
Hatfield Professor of Politics, Policy, Law and Ethics; Professor of Politics, Policy, Law, and Ethics
- Department
- Politics, Policy, Law and Ethics
Bio
Professor Ellis joined Willamette University in 1990 after completing his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley (1989) and his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz (1982). He teaches a number of courses in the area of American politics, including on the presidency, the idea of American exceptionalism, and the initiative and referendum process. He has written widely on the history of the American presidency and American political culture. Among his recent books are Old Tip vs. the Sly Fox: The 1840 Election and the Making of a Partisan Nation (2020), a fourth edition of The Development of the American Presidency (2022), and Lincoln's Last Card: The Emancipation Proclamation as a Case of Command (2025).