On Tuesday, April 15, New Hampton School was honored to welcome Jeffrey K. Tulis ’68, a leading voice in American political science, back to campus. Currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, Tulis is widely recognized for his groundbreaking book The Rhetorical Presidency, which reshaped the way scholars and citizens alike think about presidential leadership and political communication. His more recent work, Legacies of Losing in American Politics, co-authored with Nicole Mellow, explores the enduring influence of political defeats in shaping the course of American democracy.
During his visit, Professor Tulis engaged directly with students and faculty across several classroom sessions. In his visit to Kyle Riffe’s Honors Government & Society class, Tulis led a discussion on James Madison’s Federalist No. 10—a foundational text in American political thought. Later in the day he joined two different sections of Nate Saler’s IB History class for conversations centered on a chapter from Legacies of Losing in American Politics. Students in both classes had the rare opportunity to explore the themes of the book with its author—examining how political loss can be a powerful force in shaping institutions, public memory, and democratic resilience.
Over lunch, Professor Tulis met with faculty and students involved in the Freedom of Expression Initiative Committee, offering a chance for deeper dialogue around the role of political discourse and democratic engagement in education and beyond.
Professor Tulis’s visit was both a meaningful homecoming and a unique opportunity for the New Hampton community to engage with the work and mind of one of its most distinguished alumni!
More about Jeffrey K. Tulis
Tulis’s path in academia began at New Hampton, and from the School he went on to earn degrees from Bates College, Brown University, and the University of Chicago. His teaching career has included appointments at institutions such as Princeton, Notre Dame, and Harvard, among others, and his scholarship continues to influence both the classroom and the public square. His awards and publications are too numerous to mention, but it is worth noting that in 2024, the New Hampton School Alumni Association awarded him its inaugural John Kelley Simpson Award for Outstanding Achievement and Impact.
