(Read more about Professor Inglehart's impact here.)
The University of Michigan Department of Political Science is mourning the loss of our colleague and friend, Professor Emeritus Ronald Inglehart.
Professor Inglehart retired in 2018, but was still teaching in the department. He meant to finish his next book on China and was keen to do that right away.
Donations in his memory are going to the U-M Center for Political Studies (CPS) for student support.
Here are some things we said about him when he retired in 2018. Of course, he's written many books since then...
"Ronald Inglehart received his B.A. from Northwestern University in 1956; and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1962 and 1967, respectively. He joined the University of Michigan faculty as Assistant Professor of Political Science in 1967 and was promoted through the ranks to Professor in 1978. In 2009 he was named the Amy and Alan Lowenstein Professor in Democracy, Democratization and Human Rights. He was a central member of the Center for Political Studies at ISR for his whole career at Michigan."
"Ronald Inglehart studied Comparative Government and Politics, Political Development, and Political Psychology. His courses focussed on Democratization in Global Perspectives and Comparative Politics, more generally."
"Professor Inglehart created the study of postmaterialism, which, as he described it, is a 'value orientation that emphasizes self-expression and quality of life over economic and physical security.' His many and influential books and articles centered on changing belief systems and their impact on social and political change. Inglehart helped found the Euro-Barometer surveys and has served as the long-term director of the World Values Survey, which has surveyed representative national samples of the publics of some 100 countries containing almost 90 percent of the world’s population. He was also co-director of the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research at the Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was a visiting professor or visiting scholar in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Nigeria and New Zealand, and served as a consultant to the U.S. State Department and the European Union. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Social and Political Science. He was a recipient of the Skytte Prize."
