Dr. Thomas E. Cronin has served as president of Whitman College since the summer of 1993. Prior to that, he held the McHugh Professorship of American Institutions and Leadership at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. In 1991, he served as acting president of Colorado College. Cronin has been a scholar or writer-in-residence at the Aspen Institute, The Brookings Institution, The Hoover Institution, and the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. He has served on the White House staff as a White House Fellow and on the board of trustees or board of directors of the American Political Science Association, the American Leadership Forum, the National Civic League, Common Cause, the Institute for Educational Leadership, and the Center for the Study of the Presidency. He currently serves on the following boards or commissions: the Northwest Commission on Colleges, the Washington State Humanities Commission, the Institute for the Education of International Students, the Blue Mountain Land Trust, the Marcus Whitman Foundation, the Independent Colleges of Washington, and the Tax Policy Committee of the National Association of Independent College and Universities. Cronin has won several awards for his teaching and advising and was honored by the American Political Science Association with the Charles E. Merriam Award to recognize his outstanding contributions to the understanding of American politics. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Brookings, the Twentieth Century Fund and the Luce Foundation. Cronin earned his Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and has taught at a number of colleges and universities including the Universities of North Carolina and California, Brandeis, Stanford, and Princeton, as well as at Colorado College. He is a past-president of both the Western Political Science Association and the Presidency Research Group, and is a past member of the Executive Council of the American Political Science Association. He has served on the editorial boards of five journals and has authored or co-authored several dozen professional articles. He is author, co-author, or editor of several books, including Direct Democracy (Harvard, 1989); Government by the People (Prentice-Hall, 2000); State and Local Politics (Prentice-Hall, 2000); Colorado Politics and Government (Nebraska, 1993); The State of the Presidency (Little Brown, 1980); and The Paradoxes of the American Presidency (Oxford University Press, 1998). Dr. Cronin is married to Dr. Tania Cronin, a biologist and composer, and father of Dr. Alexander D. Cronin, a physicist at M.I.T.   President Cronin's Resume Professional Experience 1993- President, Whitman College 1991 Acting President, Colorado College 1979-1993 Faculty and Endowed Chair, Colorado College 1985-1986 Visiting Professor of Politics, Princeton University 1980-1982 Director, Direct Democracy Research Project for the Twentieth Century Fund 1974- Moderator of Executive Seminars, Aspen Institute 1972-1974 Visiting Fellow, Center for Study of Democratic Institutions, Santa Barbara 1969-1972 Research Associate, Brookings Institution 1967-1970 Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 1966-1967 White House Fellow, The White House 1962-1966 Teaching and Research Assistant, Stanford University Honors Honorary Doctorates of Law, Marietta College (1987) and Franklin College (1993). Charles E. Merriam Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Government (APSA). President - Western Political Science Association. President - The Presidency Scholars Research Group. Outstanding Teaching and Advising Awards. Recognition Award - Western Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. Boards Cascade Natural Gas Corporation - Director Institute of American Universities - Director Marcus Whitman Foundation - Director Independent Colleges of Washington - Director American Council of Education - Leadership Commission Northwest Commission on Colleges - Commissioner National Association of Independent Colleges Committee on Tax Policy Washington State Humanities Commission Commissioner Blue Mountain Area Land Trust Institute for the International Education of Students (IES) Director Former Boards American Leadership Forum - Trustee American Political Science Association - Executive Council Common Cause - National Governing Board National Civic League - Director Institute for Educational Leadership - Director Washington Council for Fair Elections - Director Books (authored or co-authored) The Paradoxes of the Presidency (Oxford University Press, 1998) Government by the People (Prentice Hall, 2000) State and Local Politics (Prentice Hall, 2000) Colorado Politics and Government (Nebraska, 1993) Direct Democracy (Harvard, 1989) Inventing the American Presidency (Kansas, 1989) US v. Crime in the Streets (Indiana, 1981) The State of the Presidency (Little, Brown, 1975, 1980) The Presidency Reappraised (Praeger, 1974, 1977) The Presidential Advisory System (Harper & Row, 1969) Other Lectured in 49 states and 20 countries. Moderated 12 executive seminars at Aspen Institute. Hosted and moderated public affairs television programs and has appeared on The Today Show, PBS News Hour, Nightline, CNN, CBS Morning Show and served on other major television documentary and NPR talk shows. Scholar or writer-in-residence at Aspen Institute, Brookings Institution, Hoover Institution, Center for Study of Democratic Institutions. Research sponsored by NSF, NEH, Luce Foundation, Twentieth Century Fund, Brookings and others. Boston College High School Holy Cross College, A.B. University of Michigan, Summer Fellowship Stanford University, M.A., M.A., Ph.D. (Political Science) Back to the President's Homepage