Emeritus Faculty

C. Walter Clark, Professor of Political Science (emeritus)

Walter Clark received B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Indiana University. From 1963 until his retirement in 1998, he taught courses on China, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Japan, and World Politics. His research interests included the study of politics in China and the fate of democratic experiments in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, and he travelled frequently to the Middle East and China. An annual prize in his name is presented to a graduating senior majoring in Politics who has demonstrated outstanding academic accomplishment and intellectual curiosity, and an exceptional willingness to engage new and complex political issues and ideas. Walter Clark passed away on November 9, 2023. 

Dennis Goldford, Professor of Political Science (emeritus)

Dennis Goldford taught at Drake from 1985 until retiring as a full professor in spring 2024. He received his B.A. in political science and philosophy from the University of Michigan, an M.Litt. in philosophy from Oxford University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago. At Drake, he taught upper-level courses in political theory and constitutional law, as well the department’s introductory course in American politics and upper-level course on the American presidency. He also served many years as department chair.

In addition to various journal articles, Prof. Goldford has written three books:  The American Constitution and the Debate Over Originalism (2005); The Iowa Precinct Caucuses: The Making of a Media Event, 3rd ed. (2010), with co-author Hugh Winebrenner; and The Constitution of Religious Freedom: God, Politics, and the First Amendment (2012). 

Prof. Goldford is a member of the Humanities Iowa Speakers Bureau and continues to enjoy giving speeches and presentations about American politics. He was the Harkin Institute’s Flansburg Fellow in 2015-16 and periodically a scholar-consultant for the Bill of Rights Institute in Arlington, VA. Finally, Prof. Goldford has served as the KCCI political analyst since 1990 and continues to provide political and election analysis for a wide range of other local, regional, national, and international print, broadcast, and online news media.

Arthur Sanders, Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professor of Politics (emeritus)

Arthur Sanders received his B.A. degree from Franklin and Marshall College (1978) and his Ph.D. from Harvard University (1982). He came to Drake in the fall of 1990, and taught classes on the American political process, public opinion, elections, media and politics, women and politics, and comparative political parties and interest groups. He published four books on American politics, as well as numerous articles and book chapters. His areas of research included the role of the media and the impact of money on American politics, the formation and dynamics of public opinion, and exploring how political parties and interest groups affect our political processes. Before his retirement in June 2021, he served as the University's Associate Provost for Curriculum and Assessment.

Eleanor E. Zeff, Associate Professor (emerita)

Dr. Zeff received her B.A. from Tufts University and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City. Until her retirement in May 2018, the courses she taught included Comparative Politics, Comparative Parliamentary Systems, Politics of Developing Areas, Transitions to Democracy, European Integration, Nationalism in Eastern Europe, Government and Politics in Europe, Model EU, and Immigration Policies in the US and Europe.

Dr. Zeff accompanied students to Model European Union programs in Indiana, New York, Turkey and several European locations. As the University Coordinator for Post-Graduate Opportunities, she worked closely with students applying to competitive scholarship programs, such as the Fulbright Program. She received the Levitt Mentor of the Year Award in 2006.

Dr. Zeff published on European Union politics, developing areas, and African politics, especially the military in politics. She edited (with Ellen B. Pirro) three editions of The European Union and the Member States. She has also written on women and politics, and on the use of simulations for teaching the European Union.