2005 John Gaus Award

The John Gaus Distinguished Lecturer Award Honors the recipient's lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration and, more generally, recognizes and encourages scholarship in public administration.

Award Committee:  Richard C. Feiock, Florida State University, chair, Thomas H. Hammond, Michigan State University, and Katherine C. Naff, San Francisco State University

Recipient: Vincent Ostrom, Indiana University

Citation: The American Political Science Association confers the 2004 John Gaus Award on Vincent Ostrom in recognition of a "lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration.  The Arthur Bentley Professor of Political Science Emeritus and Co-Director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University, Vincent Ostrom has sustained a highly original stream of research publications since the 1950's that has had tremendous impact on scholars of public administration by challenging ideas and developing innovative theory about the connections between constitutions and the public sector.  His work has also influenced practitioners and policy makers in developing practical answers to complex issues in fields like resources management, metropolitan and municipal governance, development theory, and constitutional reform.

In a lifetime of exemplary scholarship, Professor Ostrom has challenged and changed our understanding of American politics and administration."   In the 1950s he achieved intellectual breakthroughs in the study and practice of water resource management and educational administration; in the 1960s, he introduced a new way of thinking about metropolitan organization and public administration, while being at the same time editor in chief of the leading journal in the profession, Public Administration Review; in the 1970s he offered novel interpretations of federalism and constitutional choice, serving also as co-founder and president of the Public Choice Society. The books and articles he wrote during this period - many translated in other languages - continue to be widely cited and used.  Professor Ostrom has remained amazingly productive well past the time most of us hope to retire.  During the last 20 years, he has produced work many would deem appropriate to define a career. 

Professor Ostrom's dedication to the advancement of theory and policy analysis has been embodied by the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University established with Elinor Ostrom, in 1973.  In its more than twenty-five years of existence, the Workshop codirected by Vincent Ostrom has trained numerous students around the world in the study and practice of public administration and its relationship to constitutional choice as well as institutional analysis and development. 
In a career of 60 years, Professor Ostrom has engaged and challenged scholars at all stages in their careers though his teaching and his writing.   The John Gaus award honors this lifetime of exemplary scholarship.