Ronald J. Oakerson

Ronald J. Oakerson is the dean of Houghton College[?]. He served previously as a professor of political science and as the chairman of the Department of History and Political Science. He is a founding member of the National Rural Studies Council[?] and serves on the American Political Science Association[?]'s Task Force on Civic Education for the Next Century[?].

Oakerson states, "The purpose of education is to build a bridge between generations, so as to preserve our accomplishments."

Employment History

From 1985-88 he was a senior analyst with the US Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations[?] and directed the Commission's program on metropolitan government. He has previously taught at Marshall University[?] and from 1988-92 was a scholar with the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis[?] at Indian University, Bloomington[?].

Oakerson is a former member of the Panel on Common Property Resources Management[?] of the National Resource Council[?] and a coeditor of Making the Commons Work: Theory, Practice, and Policy[?] (1992). From 1992-94 he served as the research director for the Program of Research on Market Transitions[?] of the US Agency for International Development[?] (Cameroon).

Writings by Ronald J. Oakerson

• Governing Local Public Economies: Creating the Civic Metropolis
• Keepers of the Republic: A Civic View of American Politics[?]