Political Science

Scott Simon Boddery

Associate Professor

Political Science

Contact

Box

Campus Box 0406

Address

Glatfelter Hall
Room 313 C
300 North Washington St.
Gettysburg, PA 17325-1400

Education

PhD Binghamton University
JD Florida State University College of Law

Academic Focus

Judicial politics, legal policy, American political institutions, constitutional law

Professor Boddery is a tenured associate professor of political science and public law. Before arriving at Gettysburg, he taught for several years at Davidson College. The recipient of multiple teaching awards, Professor Boddery offers courses on constitutional law, judicial politics, legal policy and analysis, media and politics, and American government.

An expert in judicial politics and institutional design, Professor Boddery writes extensively for both scholarly and general audiences. His scholarship—which focuses on court legitimacy, judicial behavior, legal and executive decision making, and public policy acceptance—has been published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Law & Society Review, and Political Research Quarterly, among numerous other outlets.  His work has been cited in political science, economics, and law journals, including the Harvard Law Review.  Professor Boddery's guest essays have been published in a myriad of national periodicals, such as Politico Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Hill, and The Conversation, to name but a few.  He has also been a guest on NPR programming and routinely serves as a point of contact for background research at multiple media outlets.

On campus, Professor Boddery is the U.S. Department of State's Diplomacy Lab Coordinator for the college.  To date, he has led teams of students as they completed public policy projects for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, the U.S. Embassy in Finland, and the U.S. Embassy in Munich.

Professor Boddery is an advocate for liberal arts education and prelaw students. He has served on the board of directors of Law School Transparency and he is currently the vice president of the Northeast Association of Pre-Law Advisors.  Before entering academia, Professor Boddery's legal work included appellate litigation in the state of Ohio and extensive pro bono work in the state of Florida, where he counseled assylum seekers.

Professor Boddery's overarching goal is to prepare students for a lifetime of active citizenship and to help them achieve careers in law, public policy, and government service.  Indeed, Professor Boddery's advisees have gone on to careers in state and federal government and have matriculated to the best law schools in the country.

Courses Taught