Rate My Professor William Niemi

William L. Niemi, Ph.D., serves as Professor of Politics and Government at Western Colorado University. He earned his B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, M.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Throughout his career at Western Colorado University, Niemi has held significant academic and administrative roles, including Vice President of Academic Affairs, where he contributed to institutional initiatives such as the university's entry into the Interstate Passport Network and adaptations to remote curriculum delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. His administrative leadership also supported the founding of the Clark Family School of Environment & Sustainability in collaboration with faculty and donors. As a faculty member in the Department of Politics and Government, part of the Behavioral and Social Sciences, he teaches courses in political theory and related subjects, and advises student activities including the Mock Trial Team.

Niemi's scholarly work focuses on political theory, democratic theory, populism, and the historical interpretation of liberalism, particularly the New Deal era. His publications appear in journals such as New Political Science, The Social Science Journal, and Radical History Review. Key works include 'The Entrepreneurial Intellectual in the Corporate University' (2018), 'Punishment, Participatory Democracy, & the Jury' (2013, New Political Science), 'The Great Recession, Liberalism, and the Meaning of the New Deal' (2011, New Political Science), 'Karl Marx's sociological theory of democracy: Civil society and political rights' (2011, The Social Science Journal), 'The Search for the Meaning of the New Deal: Creating a Democratic Political Economy' (2010, SSRN Electronic Journal), 'Antecedents of Resistance: Populism and the Possibilities for Democratic Globalizations' (2008, New Political Science), and 'Democratic Movements, Self-Education, and Economic Democracy: Chartists, Populists, and Wobblies' (2008, Radical History Review). These contributions explore themes of participatory democracy, economic crises, and social movements, with his research cited 21 times according to available metrics.