Thomas E. Mann named Hunter Andrews Fellow

Political scientist and author Thomas E. Mann has been named the 2007 Hunter B. Andrews Fellow in American Politics at the College of William and Mary.

The fellowship, in its seventh year, honors the late Virginia senator for whom it is named. Mann will be on campus March 26 and 27 to meet with students and faculty. He will participate in a government class and speak at a public forum on Tuesday, March 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Tucker Hall Theater, Room 120. The forum is free and open to the public; a book signing will follow.

“Tom Mann represents the very best of what we mean when we speak of the ‘public intellectual,’” said Gene R. Nichol, president of the College of William and Mary. “His belief in the promise of American democracy—and his efforts to ensure that it is fulfilled—make him a perfect Andrews Fellow. We’re looking forward to welcoming him to William and Mary.”

Mann began working in Washington, D.C., in 1969 as a congressional fellow in the offices of Sen. Philip A. Hart and Rep. James G. O’Hara. He has taught at Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, the University of Virginia and American University; conducted polls for congressional candidates; worked as a consultant to IBM and the Public Broadcasting Service; chaired the Board of Overseers of the National Election Studies; and served as an expert witness in the constitutional defense of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law.

Mann is currently the W. Averell Harriman Chair and Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution, a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mann is the author of many books, scholarly articles and opinion pieces on various aspects of American politics. He is currently working on projects about districting, election reform and party polarization. With Norman Ornstein, he recently published The Broken Branch: How Congress is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track (2006).

Mann received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida and a master’s and doctorate from the University of Michigan.

The Hunter B. Andrews Fellowship was established in 1998 by friends of the former state senator and William and Mary alumnus, who passed away in 2005. The fellowship program brings notable journalists, politicians and academicians to campus each year to interact with students and faculty. Previous fellows have included Washington Post columnist David Broder, who inaugurated the fellowship; Sandy Berger, national security advisor to President Bill Clinton; Tom Foley, 49th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; U.S. Congressman and noted civil rights leader John Lewis; New York Times columnist and author David Brooks; and journalist, editor and author Walter Isaacson.