GADDIE, Ronald Keith 1966-

PERSONAL:

Born January 23, 1966, in Louisville, KY; son of James Ronald and Rita Gaddie; married Kimberly Conrad, June 8, 1991; children: Colin, Alec, Cassidy. Education: Florida State University, A.A., 1986, B.S., 1987; University of Georgia, M.A., 1989, Ph.D., 1993. Religion: Episcopalian. Hobbies and other interests: Biking, snorkling, writing.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Norman, OK. Office—Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019; fax: 405-325-0718. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, Freeport-McMoRan Environmental Policy Postdoctoral Fellow, 1993-94, adjunct assistant professor of political science, 1994-96, research professor at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, 1994-96; University of Oklahoma, Norman, assistant professor, 1996-99, associate professor, 1999-2003, professor of political science, 2003—, faculty fellow, Science and Public Policy Program, Sarkeys Energy Center, 2002-04. Electoral/Demographics, programmer and analyst, 1992-94. Served as litigation consultant in numerous voting rights and redistricting cases. Commentator and guest on radio and television networks, including KTOK, WKY, KGOU/KROU, CNN, BBC International, MSNBC, Bloomberg Financial Network, and Voice of America Radio. Chuck Pardue for Congress political campaign, Augusta, GA, campaign manager, 1992.

MEMBER:

American Political Science Association, Southern Political Science Association, Southwestern Political Science Association, Pi Sigma Alpha, Phi Kappa Tau.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Freeport-McMoRan Environmental Policy fellowship, Tulane University, 1993-94; Coca-Cola Faculty Mentor, Tulane University, 1995; University of Oklahoma Research Council Junior Faculty Research Award, 1997, College of Arts and Sciences Teaching and Research Award, 1997-98, and College of Arts and Sciences Summer Research Fellowship, 1998; Pi Sigma Alpha Best Paper Award, 1998; Jewell Prestage Award for Best Paper on Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Political Behavior, Southwestern Political Science Association, 2003.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with John C. Kuzenski and Charles S. Bullock III) David Duke and the Politics of Race in the South, Vanderbilt University Press (Nashville, TN), 1995.

(With James L. Regens) The Economic Realities of Political Reform: Elections and the U.S. Senate, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 1995.

(With Charles S. Bullock III) Elections to Open Seats in the U.S. House: Where the Action Is, Rowman & Littlefield (Lanham, MD), 2000.

(With James L. Regens) Regulating Wetlands Protection: Environmental Federalism and the States, State University of New York Press (Albany, NY), 2000.

Born to Run: Origins of the Political Career, Rowman & Littlefield (Lanham, MD), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, New Orleans Times-Picayune,

Congressional Quarterly, Roll Call, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Daily Oklahoma, and Tulsa World. Editor, SoonerPolitics.com.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ronald Keith Gaddie is a writer, political scientist, and political science professor. His written works cover a wide range, including books on environmental regulation and on racial issues in southern American politics. He is the editor, with John C. Kuzenski and Charles S. Bullock III, of David Duke and the Politics of Race in the South, a collection of essays on David Duke, one of the more controversial figures in the recent history of American politics. A notorious racist with ties to groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the modern Nazi party, Duke had a brief career in the U.S. House of Representatives until his racially charged career came to a halt after one term. The book contains a collection of papers that trace the beginnings of Duke's political career and influence, the characteristics of the political environment in which Duke worked and was elected, and the racial issues that were consistent elements of Duke's life and career. "Several of the essays … illuminate topics related to Duke and are quite well done," commented J. Morgan Kousser in the American Political Science Review, singling out a contribution from Kuzenski, Bullock, and Gaddie that shows that "Duke stimulated African-American turnout approximately as much as the candidacies of major black politicians in other southern states had done."

Regulating Wetlands Protection:

Environmental Federalism and the States, written with James L. Regens, takes a "state-level view of the problems associated with the national wetland regulation program," reported Cheryl Runyon in State Legislatures. Regens and Gaddie describe the extensive loss of wetlands in the United States—more than fifty percent between 1790 and 1970. Wetlands loss continues at the rate of about 300,000 acres per year, noted Sheldon Kamieniecki in Publius. This has resulted in effects such as increased flooding along rivers, loss of fish and wildlife and their associated habitat, and a worsening of water quality. Government action is necessary to save the country's wetlands, the authors assert, but in their book they outline the troubles facing efforts to conserve these vanishing resources. For example, states may, if they wish, assume authority over management of their wetlands under the Clean Water Act. However, doing so is problematic, as states remain hampered by interference from the federal level; states are not granted actual autonomy to administer their wetlands but are still required to submit to the authority of the Army Corps of Engineers; and states find that the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ultimately do not recognize state expertise in regulating wetlands. As a result, only Michigan and New Jersey have assumed control of their wetlands; about twenty other states have decided against assumption of federal authority; and the rest of the states have done little or nothing one way or the other. "Gaddie and Regens show readers just how difficult it is to devolve regulatory functions from federal to state authorities," Runyon observed. Kamieniecki concluded that "this study adds a great deal to our factual understanding of policymaking and federalism" in the area of wetlands conservation and administration. "Perhaps most important," Kamieniecki stated, "this research highlights the value of wetlands and the need to protect this natural resource."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Political Science Review, June, 1997, J. Morgan Kousser, review of David Duke and the Politics of Race in the South, p. 460.

Publius, winter, 2001, Sheldon Kamieniecki, review of Regulating Wetlands Protection: Environmental Federalism and the States, p. 71.

State Legislatures, May, 2001, Cheryl Runyon, review of Regulating Wetlands Protection, p. 4.

ONLINE

University of Oklahoma Department of Political Science Web site,http://www.ou.edu/cas/psc/ (September 23, 2006), curriculum vitae of Ronald Keith Gaddie.*