Dr. Charles O. Jones, Hawkins Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, passed away on January 3, 2024. Prof. Jones was one of the leading scholars of American political institutions of his generation, described by the Washington Post as a “dean of American political scientists.” Jones finished his distinguished career at the University of Wisconsin, arriving in 1988 and serving until his retirement in 1997. He previously taught at Wellesley College, the University of Arizona, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Virginia. He also was a non-resident Senior Fellow in the Governmental Studies Program at The Brookings Institution. He is survived by his wife—Vera (Mire) Jones, two sons—Daniel and Joe, two brothers, a sister, and three grandchildren.
Jones wrote or edited 18 books and contributed over 100 articles and book chapters. Jones’s scholarship can be divided into three periods: his early work mostly concerned the US Congress, he then shifted to public policy, and his most recent writing focused on the presidency and Congress:
His work on Congress made important contributions to the study of leadership, congressional committees, and the minority party in Congress. One seminal article on leadership made an important distinction between procedural and substantive majorities and examined the limits of leadership with the cases of Joseph Cannon and Howard Smith, leaders who pushed the boundaries of their power (JOP, 1968). His case study of the House Agriculture Committee expanded on the standard typology of congressional representation (the roles of trustee, delegate, and politico), to explore how those roles were employed at the committee level, from the perspective of the member of Congress (APSR, 1971). His most important contribution from this early work was The Minority Party in Congress (1970) which examined the impact of contextual factors such as the size of the majority party and its degree of unity and the role of the president on strategies of accommodation, obstruction, or institutional maintenance (it was a useful reminder that not that long ago, the minority party in the House didn’t always obstruct). Much of this work was rooted in an approach that characterized most of his research: 1) understanding the political process and institutions from the perspective of the politicians through personal interviews and archival research, and 2) examining the complex interactions between politicians and institutions in our system of separated powers. He rejected simple explanations and theories and always searched for more nuanced understandings of our complex system.
His work on public policy, while employing this approach, also developed general frameworks, as in an article outlining a policy making process that logically flows from problem identification and representation through formulation, legitimation, implementation, and evaluation (AJPS, 1974). His case study of air pollution at the Clairton coke works produced his most significant work on this topic, Clean Air: The Policies and Politics of Pollution Control (1978). This book outlines three kinds of knowledge used in policymaking: information that helps identify the problem, knowledge that informs alternative solutions to the problem; and knowledge about society’s capacity to deal with the problem.
His most recent work on the presidency produced The Trusteeship Presidency: Jimmy Carter and the United States Congress (1988), The Reagan Legacy: Promise and Performance (1988), The Presidency in a Separated System (2000, which won the Richard E. Neustadt Prize), Separate But Equal Branches: Congress and the Presidency (1995), Passages to the Presidency: From Campaigning to Governing (1998); Clinton and Congress, 1993-1996: Risk, Restoration, and Reelection (1999); and Preparing to Be President: The Memos of Richard E. Neustadt (2000). This work continually reminds his readers that “our is not a presidential system,” but one of separated powers.
Writing in an accessible style, Prof. Jones saw his audience as not only his political science colleagues, but the broader public and, importantly, undergraduate students. He wrote textbooks in each of the three primary areas of his research outlined above: An Introduction to the Study of Public Policy (1970); The United States Congress: People, Place, and Policy (1982); and The American Presidency: A Very Short Introduction (2007).
His national prominence was reflected in his service as President of the American Political Science Association (he also served as Treasurer and Vice President of the APSA) and as editor of the discipline’s flagship journal, the American Political Science Review (from 1975-1981). He also was co-editor of Legislative Studies Quarterly, President of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chairman of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Social Science Research Council.
On a more personal note, when the announcement of his death was shared with the political science department’s email list, there was an outpouring of fond memories of Professor Jones. My colleague Kathy Cramer, wrote, “He welcomed all of us new professors warmly as colleagues, and with enthusiasm. He seemed to delight in interacting with everybody—grad students, staff, and faculty alike, and treated everyone with respect. This department was so fortunate to have him.” Another colleague remembered him as “smart, generous, a great citizen, and a wonderful observer of politics and people.” Indeed, he and his wife of 64 years, Vera, were wonderful hosts who helped make the department a welcoming and collegial place. Others recalled his great sense of humor and wit that often lightened long department meetings. Another colleague recommended Jones’s last book, A Retirement Guide for Men: Ask Chuck (2022), for anyone who had recently retired or was thinking about retiring, saying reading it “was like having an afternoon with Chuck.” Finally, I should note that he played a central role in recruiting me to the University of Wisconsin. I was happy in my first position at Duke University but he asked me if I would be interested in applying. After having a good interview and receiving the offer, Prof. Jones sealed the deal by mailing me a block of cheddar cheese in the shape of Wisconsin! I knew then that these were colleagues I wanted to be with.
Professor Jones will be greatly missed by everyone who was fortunate enough to have been touched by his remarkable career.
