Previous Directors
Professor Andrew Murphy (2014-2017) has fond memories of many wonderful seminar discussions with the fellows: at first, continuing the focus on democracy and democratization inherited from Professor Dennis Bathory's time at the helm, and later introducing a new focus on violence and non-Violence. During his time as director, the year-end conference expanded to involve student poster presentations to foster more extensive dialogue and discussion of student research projects. The Gardner program remains a highlight of his time at Rutgers, and he always enjoys hearing from former fellows.
Professor Dennis Bathory, Founding Director (2011-2014): It was 2011 as I planned the first Gardner Seminar. The Arab Spring blossomed in the desert and led me to a topic on Democracy and Democratic Revolution which quickly expanded to include the theory and practice of democracy elsewhere. Students from across SAS, from STEM departments as well as social science and humanities majors, gathered to talk about and better understand the headlines in newspapers around the world. The energy in the classroom was palpable, the excitement of our visits to the United Nations and Washington, D.C., and the growing camaraderie among the students made for the most challenging and rewarding teaching experience in my 50+ years on the Rutgers faculty.
Lisa L. Miller is Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University and has had the privilege of serving as the Director of the Gardner Fellowship since 2017. Professor Miller has enjoyed building on the work of Professors Bathory and Professor Murphy to grow the program’s Alumni Network and Advisory Council, and to expand the program’s reach in SAS. In keeping with the tradition of changing the Fellowship theme to meet contemporary challenges, in 2019, with the help of Gardner Advisory Council, Professor Miller shifted to the current theme, Security and Sustainability.
Professor Miller’s research interests are in law and constitutions, racial inequality, violent crime and criminal justice, democratic accountability and social policy. Her most recent book, The Myth of Mob Rule: Violent Crime and Democratic Politics (Oxford University Press, 2016), explores the politics of crime and punishment cross-nationally. Miller has served as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Oxford and at Princeton University.