William G. Howell


William G. Howell is an American political scientist and author. He is the Sydney Stein Professor in American Politics at Chicago Harris and a professor in the Department of Political Science and the College at the University of Chicago. He has written widely on separation-of-powers issues and American political institutions, especially the presidency.

Education and work experience

Howell attended Wesleyan University as an undergraduate, earning his B.A., with high honors, in 1993. Howell completed his Ph.D. in Political Science with concentrations in American Politics and Political Institutions in 2000. He was the recipient of E.E. Schattschneider Award for the best dissertation in American politics, by the American Political Science Association and recipient of the best dissertation on the presidency, by the Center for Presidential Studies at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University. Howell taught in the Political Science Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2000-2002, before moving to Harvard University in 2002. He taught in the Government Department at Harvard until 2006 when he came to the University of Chicago. Additionally, he has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.

Current research

Howell is currently working on research projects on Obama's education initiatives, distributive politics, and the normative foundations of executive power. Howell recently published two books, one with coauthors Saul Jackman and Jon Rogowski entitled ; and the other, with David Brent, entitled . He also is the co-author of While Dangers Gather: Congressional Checks on Presidential War Powers ; author of , , ; co-author of The Education Gap: Vouchers and Urban Schools ; co-author of an introductory American politics textbook series; and editor of additional volumes on the presidency and school boards. His research also has appeared in numerous professional journals and edited volumes.
He has published about presidential power and education policy in various media outlets including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Howell has published in scholarly journals including the American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, International Organization,Presidential Studies Quarterly, Foreign Affairs,Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, and Journal of Politics. Howell has been a consultant for the ABC News election decision team since 2013.

Awards