Howard Ernst (Associate Professor)

Faculty Bio

Howard Ernst serves as an associate professor of political science at the United States Naval Academy. Dr. Ernst received his Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Government and Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia in the spring of 2000. While at the University of Virginia, Ernst received numerous academic awards, including the Governor's Fellowship, Bradley Fellowship, and University of Virginia's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Fellowship. Since arriving at the Naval Academy in the fall of 2000, Dr. Ernst has taught U.S. Government and Constitutional Development; Research Methods; Environmental Politics; Legislative Process; and capstone courses on State Politics and the Politics of Social Unrest. He currently serves as the course coordinator for the Naval Academy’s core course, U.S. Government and Constitutional Development, and received an honorable mention for the Naval Academy’s APGAR Teaching Award in the spring of ‘04.
        Ernst's research focuses on American political development, with special attention given to citizen influence on sub-national politics, electoral politics, and environmental public policy. Professor Ernst has published three books: Dangerous Democracy? The Battle over Ballot Initiatives in America (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001); Chesapeake Bay Blues: Science, Politics, and the Struggle to Save the Bay (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003); and The Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections (Facts on File, 2006) . Dangerous Democracy? was co-edited with Larry J. Sabato of the University of Virginia and Bruce Larson of Gettysburg College. Ernst is the sole author of his second work, Chesapeake Bay Blues and co-editor of the four-hundred thousand word Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections. Dr. Ernst has also published peer reviewed articles, including: “The Promise and Pitfalls of Differentiated Instruction for Undergraduate Political Science Courses: A Case Study in Applied Differentiation,” (coauthored with Tracey Ernst), The Journal of Political Science Education (2005, January-April: Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 39-57) and “Civic Education and the Development of Political Knowledge and Democratic Orientations in Post-Apartheid South Africa” (coauthored with Stephen Finkel), Political Psychology (Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 33410-293-364). Ernst has written several editorials that have been published in the Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and other newspapers, as well as several American government study guides. Dr. Ernst is currently writing an intellectual history of the Dorr Rebellion (Rhode Island’s 19th century voting rights rebellion).
        Chesapeake Bay Blues, Dr. Ernst’s best known work, exemplifies his desire to span multiple academic disciplines. This text has been adopted in courses as diverse as a graduate seminar at Yale University’s School of Forestry, New York University’s School of Law, and Johns Hopkins University’s School of Geography and Environmental Engineering, in addition to public policy courses taught in political science departments throughout the country. Chesapeake Bay Blues has been highlighted in numerous media outlets, including the Washington Post and National Public Radio’s Diane Rehm Show. This work resulted in invitations to testify before Congress and to guest lecture at institutions such as Yale University, New York University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Virginia, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Institute, the University of Maryland, Catholic University, and other centers of higher education. These research accomplishments have led to his selection as a Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics where he advises the institute on issues related to direct democracy, environmental politics, and civic engagement.