An invaluable asset and faculty member at the University of Minnesota since 1971, Professor Phil Shively has retired. Throughout his work pioneering an intellectual frontier, Professor Shively has accomplished more in his 40 years at the University of Minnesota than most could ever accomplish in a single lifetime. Ubiquitously influential in realm of academia, Professor Shively has contributed to the University in a multitude of ways. From 1981 to 1991, he has served as the Chair for both the Department of Political Science and the Task Force on Second Language Instruction, as well as holding the title as the President of the Midwest Political Science Association.Professor Shively’s path to teaching was anything but calculated: "I first got involved the field of political science because I was young and idealistic and wanted to change the world.” In his attempt to do so, he unexpectedly caught a bug for teaching political science, something that would change his life forever.
Due to his high affinity for teaching, Professor Shively opted for a phased retirement in which he worked part-time his final five years, significantly reduced his research agenda, and stopped teaching graduate students. “The last thing I gave up was the thing I loved the most, teaching intro-level political science classes to undergraduate students.” Shively explained he enjoyed that over other things because of the students: “I really loved working with undergraduate students because they would get excited when they hear and understand an idea that they’ve never heard before...you can see the lights go off in their mind.”
Praising the culture that is fostered within the Department of Political Science, Shively commented, "I like that it has always been a triple threat: a leading research department nationally, a department with excellent undergraduate teaching, and a department that is active and leading within the University and in University policies...I just like the fact that all of those things were honored and everyone tried to accomplish all three."
Whether it's being a recipient of the Best Comparative Politics Database award or receiving grants for his research from the National Science Foundation, it is safe to say there is no shortage of accolades for Professor Shively. Among the plethora he has received, the Morris Alumni Teaching Award at the University of Minnesota and a Fellow of the Political Methodology Society are the two Shively holds closest to his heart. “That meant a lot to me, I was really surprised I got it and it felt really good,” Shively remarked while recollecting on receiving the Morris Alumni Teaching Award. Being recognized as a Fellow of the Political Methodology Society is something he holds a deep appreciation for: “I loved trying to figure out ways to tease more information out of data…I was really pleased and rather surprised when they made me a fellow of the group."
For the accomplishment he's most proud of, Shively mentioned working as the Principal Investigator for the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), an organization he helped 'midwife' in 2001. For the five years following its inception, Professor Shively played a leading role in establishing an international cooperative effort among 50-plus national survey operations. He expressed his admiration for the planning committee, stating,“it was fascinating to work towards a common plan for research.”
With the amount of years under his belt, it’s likely Shively experienced a few moments that will forever be embedded in his mind. Professor Shively recollected on one moment in particular that he will never forget: "I wrote a textbook titled, Craft of Political Research, concerning how you reason about evidence and information. One day I received a letter from a women in Georgia crediting me for her degree in policy studies, stating my textbook made her realize she was capable of doing these things…hearing something like that gave me chills.”
After dedicating over 50 years of work to the world of academia, Professor Shively’s wheels continue to turn. Although he is no longer producing professional work, for an individual who embodies such expertise, retirement will never equate to an end of his work. He is using his retirement to work on a small paper to honor the scholars in Germany prior to 1933, focusing on the journals on quantitative data of elections that were destroyed and forgotten when Hitler took power. Speaking on behalf of his inspiration, Shively explains his paper as, "a homage piece to show what they were doing, how it all fit together and it fit with later work, I wanted to give these people their due…it is as much as a sentimental effort as a professional one.”
As for some advice that Professor Shively has for those pursuing a career in political science, “I always tell our graduate students the key in any piece of research is asking an interesting question at the start. After that, you’re just filling in the blanks and pulling things together.”
