Ronald Michaelson, Ph.D., Visiting Associate Professor
Dr. Ronald D. Michaelson of Springfield, Illinois, was the Executive Director of the Illinois State Board of Elections for 27 years. The Chicago native had complete administrative and supervisory responsibility of an agency which employed 65 staff with an approximate annual budget of $9 million.
Dr. Michaelson holds the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL 1963; M.A. in Political Science, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 1965; and a Ph.D. in Government, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 1970.
Dr. Michaelson is the author of numerous articles on government which have been published in leading state and national journals. He held an appointment to the Advisory Committee of the Federal Election Commission, is past national chairman of the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws, and is a frequent speaker at national conferences in the areas of election administration and campaign finance.
Presently he is on the Board of Trustees for the Campaign Finance Institute (Washington, DC) and is on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.
He holds a joint appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield and as a Research Fellow with the Institute for Legal, Legislative and Policy Studies. He also has a consulting business and has several active accounts with governmental jurisdictions in Illinois, concentrating on the implementation of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.