Kristi Andersen will succeed Robert McClure as the Chapple Family Professor of Citizenship and Democracy in January 2011 as part of McClure’s phased retirement.

“I’ll be 70 years old when I step aside at the end of this year,” McClure said. “I’ve had many times at bat, had all my swings, and there are times to arrive and there are times to leave. And it’s time to go.”

Mitchel Wallerstein, dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, announced Andersen’s appointment March 24. McClure, who alerted Wallerstein to his retirement plan in October, is the first person to occupy this professorship, created and funded by John Chapple, the chairman of Maxwell’s Board of Trustees, in 2006. As a Chapple professor, Andersen will be in charge of managing Maxwell’s several undergraduate courses and upholding the education of active citizenship.

“The core mission of a person who serves in this professorship is to nurture, sustain and advocate for the Maxwell courses and the tradition of citizenship that is at the core of the school’s mission,” McClure said.

McClure said George Maxwell, the founding benefactor of the Maxwell School, wanted the school to prepare all students to serve the world at large as good, active citizens that are mindful of the common good no matter what careers they set off on. It is the duty of the person who holds the Chapple professorship to maintain and continue these goals in the Maxwell School, in particular the MAX courses, McClure said.

The MAX courses are MAX 123: Critical Issues to the U.S. and MAX 132: Global Community. McClure was the principle author of the structure of these courses and was instrumental in designing and managing them since 1989, he said.

A third course, MAX 201: Quantitative Methods for the Social Sciences, was developed in part by Andersen, who has been teaching and working in the Maxwell School since 1984.

Andersen will be responsible for providing direction and recruiting faculty members for the MAX courses, she said. There is usually a team of eight graduate teaching assistants who instruct the courses. The group of eight, led by Andersen, is also in charge of calibrating grading and constructing the syllabus and assignments of the courses.

“I think there’s also a less tangible responsibility, which is to uphold the Maxwell School’s commitment to teaching about citizenship,” Andersen said, “which is what these courses are doing, which is the reason Bob loved doing this and why I’ll love doing this, too.”

McClure said he is confident Andersen is the right person for the position because she embodies all the traits that are necessary.

“She’s been active for many years in the delivery of these courses. She knows them inside and out,” McClure said. “She’s a dedicated and skillful teacher, and she’s a thoughtful, wide-ranging scholar about democracy and public involvement.”

Because Andersen is from a younger generation than McClure, she will be able to connect with students more easily and bring new energy and fresh ideas to the courses, he said. Andersen knows more of the younger teachers and potential faculty members, so she can recruit younger faculty to teach the courses, she said.

Andersen will be working closely with McClure until he departs in January 2011, when she will take over his position. Andersen does not foresee any major changes in the construction or management of the courses anytime soon because of this, she said.

But McClure said he encourages her to do many things differently than he did.

“That’s why institutions are refreshed. New people come,” McClure said. “One thing I’ve always tried to do in positions I’ve had here at the university is when I leave them, I leave them. I don’t second-guess the people who follow me, and I don’t tell them how to do what they are now responsible for. She will do great.”

Published on March 30, 2010 at 12:00 pm