Leuthold wins 1996 Jefferson Award

The annual award, funded through a grant from the Robert Earll McConnell Foundation, carries a $5,000 stipend and goes to a faculty member who "through personal influence and performance of duty in teaching, writing and scholarship, character and influence, devotion and loyalty to the University best exemplifies the principles and ideals of Thomas Jefferson." A committee of faculty members from each of the UM System's four campuses selects the winner.

Leuthold received his bachelor's degree (1954) and master's degree (1960) from the University of Montana, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1965. He joined the UM-Columbia faculty in 1963 and has served as the political science department's chair, director of its honors program, and director of its undergraduate education program. He also coordinated from 130 to 150 internships a year, offering political science students critical experience in state offices.

Leuthold has received numerous honors and awards. On campus, he has received the Shutz Award for distinguished teaching, the Alumni Association Faculty Award, and the Blue Chalk Award for outstanding advising. He also was named a Fulbright Fellow to India in 1988. He is the author of more than 100 publications ranging from refereed academic articles to University Extension offerings to videotapes. He is the author of three books: Electioneering in a Democracy: Congressional Election Campaigns, Campaign Missouri 1992, and Missouri Government and Politics (co-editor with Richard Hardy and Richard Dohm).

He also has been a popular teacher and adviser. In a letter nominating Leuthold for the award, political science chairman Birol Yesilada wrote, "His teaching philosophy emphasizes the principles of freedom of inquiry, diversity of views, the basic individual civil and political rights, and democratic civic culture. He spent an enormous amount of time each semester advising undergraduate students. There was a constant line of undergraduates in front of his office waiting to see him."

Leuthold recently coordinated research studies on the National Assembly elections held in Korea. This research is part of a larger project in which MU faculty are studying 1996 elections in six countries.

"David Leuthold's life work has been a constant inquiry into the workings of democracy, and he has helped all of us better understand our country and our politics," said UM President Russell. "His dedication to the truth, and to his students, makes him an excellent choice for an award in Thomas Jefferson's name."

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