Ross Marlo Anthony Lence, was a professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

from 1971 to 2006, where he was John and Rebecca Moores Scholar and held the Ross M. Lence Distinguished Teaching Chair. He taught

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

, American political thought, and American government as a member of the political science and honors college faculties. His edited volume of the works of

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist who served as the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. Born in South Carolina, he adamantly defended American s ...

, ''Union and Liberty: The Political Philosophy of John C. Calhoun,'' is one of the foremost references on Calhoun. In January 2007, in memory of Lence, the college of liberal arts and social sciences at the

renamed its teaching excellence awards the Ross M. Lence Awards for Teaching Excellence in the college of liberal arts and social sciences.

Biography

Lence was born in

Whitefish, Montana Whitefish (Montana Salish, Salish: epɫx̣ʷy̓u, "has whitefish") is a city in Flathead County, Montana, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, there were 7,751 people in the city. History Archaeological records indicate th ...

, on December 19, 1943. His father, Marlo, was a foreman on the Great Northern Railway; his mother, Nickie stayed home to raise Ross and his brother, John, before taking a job to run a photography studio. Ross graduated from Whitefish High School with a 4.0 GPA and was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

of his class. After completing his bachelor's degree at the University of Chicago, in 1966 Ross studied at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, then at Indiana University under

Charles S. Hyneman Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, who took Ross on a 15,000-mile, 5-year trip across America to give Ross first-hand experience of the country. He graduated from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

in 1970 with a Ph.D. In 1970, Ross researched at

The British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. He began teaching at the

in 1971, where he also served as director of undergraduate studies in the department of political science for 23 years. Throughout his career, Lence was a perennial participant, leader, and director at Liberty Fund Colloquia. He died on July 11, 2006, in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, after a bout with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

Scholarship

As a scholar, Ross published articles and edited books on American Political Thought. His article on Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence offered a deliberate, close reading of the Declaration as the key founding document in American political history. This article has been made accessible with permission.Ross Lence,
Thomas Jefferson & the Declaration of Independence: The Power of a Free People
''

The Imaginative Conservative ''The Imaginative Conservative'' (''TIC'') is an American online conservative journal, founded in 2010. History The co-founders of ''TIC'' were Bradley J. Birzer, the holder of the Russell Amos Kirk chair in American Studies at Hillsdale Colleg ...

'', July 3, 2021

References

Ross M. Lence, R.I.P.University of Houston Honors College TributeTed Estess' EulogyRoss M. Lence "On Teaching"The Abbeville Institute's TributeHouston Chronicle Obituary Guestbook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lence, Ross Marlo Anthony 1943 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American political scientists People from Whitefish, Montana Indiana University Bloomington alumni University of Chicago alumni University of Houston faculty

Biography

Scholarship

See also

References