From his office on the ground floor of Quigley Hall, Professor and Robert G. Seddig Chair in Political Science Brian Harward teaches, advises and does some studying of his own. A scholar of American politics, Harward’s coursework focuses on the study of the nation’s legal and court systems. His classes range from constitutional perspectives on rights and governmental powers to the philosophy of law, bureaucratic politics and broad introductions to the study of American democracy.
“Most of the students I have I will see in the Intro to American Government or Judicial Process or (Constitutional) Law classes,” Harward said. “They’re the most frequently offered.”
Beyond the classroom, Harward mentors students in a variety of capacities. As chair of the political science department, Harward advises all students minoring in the field. He also advises pre-law and pre-policy students who are majoring in political science.
“Typically the students who I see as major advisees are students interested in going to law school or interested in policy,” Harward said. “So whether it’s a Masters of Public Administration or Masters of Public Policy, I can help advise them for pre-policy interests as well as their pre-law interests.”
Harward’s own work focuses on the relationships between the three branches of the United States federal government. He has published four books on the American presidency and an encyclopedia on political parties and interest groups. Harward’s work also includes eight scholarly publications and dozens of conference papers and presentations.
As a student, Harward learned that showing up to class and engaging with the material were some of the best ways to be successful.
“One of the things that I discovered far too late in my college career was that I needed to not just highlight, but to actually take down notes as I was reading,” Harward said. “Then letting the class discussion — or lecture or the projects that we’re doing in class — also be opportunities to connect with the readings that we’ve been doing.”
For the not-yet-declared Gator, Harward said he recommends thinking beyond Quigley Hall if political science is not quite someone’s speed.
“A student who’s in my Intro to American Government, but finds it’s not really their bag, I send them to philosophy, send them to history, send them to chemistry — anywhere to just explore what might be more of interest to them,” Harward said. “Their first few semesters ought to be a time of exploration, ought to be a time of experimentation, trying out different disciplines, different professors within those disciplines, different subfields in those disciplines.”
Beyond the classroom, Harward said students new to the college should think about co-curricular activities as ways to develop and deepen their academic careers.
“Start thinking about using summers wisely, and that means spending some time over at Career Education thinking through internship opportunities, identifying professors with whom you might want to do research,” Harward said. “It’s never too early to develop those kinds of relationships with those offices.”
Harward also encouraged students not just to engage in the college experience, but to think about when to take a break and relax.
“(Be) mindful not to overextend yourself in those areas either,” Harward said. “Finding that balance is something that will be unique to each person, but it’s part of being in college.”
