Contact
Professor Donald Zinman
Department of Political Science 
1127 AuSable Hall
Grand Valley State University
1 Campus Drive
Allendale, MI 49401
(616) 331-8714
zinmand@gvsu.edu

Education
Ph.D., Political Science, University of Texas-Austin, 2006

Fields: American politics, presidency, parties, elections

Courses
PLS 102- Intro to American Government and Politics
PLS 206- Constitutional Foundations
PLS 300- Political Analysis
PLS 304- Political Parties and Interest Groups
PLS 305- Congress and the Presidency
PLS 341- Voting and Elections
PLS 380- Special Topics (American Political Development)

Selected publications:

“The Heir Apparent Presidency of James Madison”, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 41, Issue 4, pp. 712-726, December 2011.

Chapter on President Martin Van Buren in Matthew Manweller, ed., Chronology of the U.S. Presidency, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO (Greenwood Press), March 2012.

Chapter on President Ulysses S. Grant in Matthew Manweller, ed., Chronology of the U.S. Presidency, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO (Greenwood Press), March 2012.

“Passing the Torch Through Political Time:  Heir Apparent Presidents and the Governing Party”, White House Studies, Vol. 9, Issue 1, pp. 51-66, 2009.

Biography

I came to Grand Valley in 2006. I have taught 7 different courses here, covering American politics. My research uses an American political development approach to study political parties, the presidency and elections. I am currently working on a book manuscript entitled The Heir Apparent Presidency, covering the challenges of being president as the heir apparent to a very powerful predecessor. 

I am also the department internship coordinator and the university's liaison to the Washington Center.

I am a native of Walnut Creek, California in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I'm a lifelong Oakland A's fan. My hobbies include being an amateur Civil War buff, exercising, ballroom dancing and following baseball.