Editor’s note: This story has been updated from a previous version.
Andrew D. Martin, a political scientist who is vice dean in the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, was appointed dean of LSA on Thursday.
Provost Martha E. Pollack made the recommendation of Martin “with great enthusiasm.” He is the Charles Nagel Chair of Constitutional Law and Political Science as well as vice dean in the School of Law at Washington University.
In making her recommendation, Pollack said, Martin “brings a stellar international reputation in his academic discipline, a commitment to academic administration, a tireless advocacy for the liberal arts and a strong desire to foster collaboration within LSA and across the university.”
His appointment, for a five-year term beginning July 1, was approved by the Board of Regents. He also was appointed as a tenured professor of political science in LSA.
“I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am to take on this important leadership role at the University of Michigan,” Martin said. “The liberal arts are vitally important to society, and I look forward to working with my new colleagues to build on the extraordinary strengths of LSA.”
Martin, 41, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and government from the College of William & Mary and a Ph.D. in political science from Washington University in St. Louis. He taught at Stony Brook University in New York and then returned to Washington University to join the political science faculty as an assistant professor. He was promoted to associate professor in 2004 and to full professor in 2006. He was appointed as the Charles Nagel Chair of Constitutional Law and Political Science in 2013.
Martin has had extensive administrative experiences at Washington University. He has served as the chair of the political science department, where he recruited outstanding faculty members, led his colleagues to improve the quality of undergraduate research, and helped distinguish the department as one with both a supportive academic environment and excellence in scholarship and teaching.
He was the founding director of the Center of Empirical Research in the Law, an interdisciplinary research center in the School of Law that supports the application of empirical methodology to legal studies research.
Pollack expressed her gratitude for the work of Interim LSA Dean Susan Gelman. “We are all grateful for her willingness to serve both the college and the university in this capacity.”
Gelman said she was delighted with the selection of Martin as the new dean of LSA.
“Professor Martin is an exceptionally distinguished scholar and award-winning mentor. He comes to us with outstanding leadership experience, having excelled at a range of important administrative roles at Washington University,” said Gelman, the Heinz Werner Distinguished University Professor of Psychology. “LSA is a spectacular liberal arts college set within a world-class research university. It is such an inspiring place, and I am confident that it will thrive under Andrew Martin’s leadership.”
Martin’s area of expertise is the study of judicial decision-making, with an emphasis on the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts. He also works in the field of political methodology and applied statistics.
He has published in a number of prominent law reviews and leading social science and applied statistics journals, including the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Legal studies and Statistical Science. He has been a principal investigator on eight grants from the National Science Foundation.
In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in political science, Martin also teaches courses in the law school on judicial decision-making and social science and statistics for lawyers.
He has mentored more than 20 doctoral students and received the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2011 from the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. In 2013, he received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the Washington University Alumni Board of Governors.
