John Kincaid

John Kincaid is an American political scientist and scholar of American federalism, intergovernmental relations, and state and local government. He is the Robert B. & Helen S. Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service and Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He also is President of CSF Associates: Publius, the sponsor of the Center for the Study of Federalism. He previously taught at North Texas State University, Arizona State University, St. Peter’s College/University, and Seton Hall University. He served as executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and as vice president of the Pentagon Papers Fund for the Defense of Human and Civil Liberties.

Education and career

Born (1946) and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kincaid graduated from Central High School (221 class) in 1964, received a BA from Temple University in 1967, an MA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, in 1968, and a Ph.D. from Temple University in 1981 where he studied under political scientists Daniel J. Elazar and Peter Bachrach.

He attended Union Theological Seminary, New York City (1968–69) and also taught part-time at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey, before becoming instructor and inner-city liaison at St. Peter’s College/University, Jersey City, New Jersey (1969–70). He was director of the Phoenix Peace Center and coordinator for Professional and Business Men and Women for Peace, Phoenix, Arizona (1970–72), during which time he hosted Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden at Arizona State University where he was a faculty associate in sociology. He then served as vice-president and co-treasurer of the Pentagon Papers Fund for the Defense of Human and Civil Liberties, Los Angeles, California (1972–73), in which capacity he also managed the legal-defense office of Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo. He wrote for the Guardian and American Report and edited an issue of WIN Magazine on the Pentagon Papers Trial (November 1, 1972).

Kincaid was assistant and associate professor of political science at North Texas State University (now University of North Texas) (1979–86). He left the university to serve as research director (1986–87) and then executive director (1987–94) of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Washington, D.C. In 1994, he took the positions of Robert B. & Helen S. Meyner Professor of Government and Public Service and Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Kincaid served as associate editor and editor of Publius: The Journal of Federalism (1981-2006) and as guest editor of topical issues of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (1988 and 1990 ), International Political Science Review (1983 ), L’Europe en formation (2010), and State and Local Government Review (2017 ).

He also has served as co-editor of the Routledge Book Series on Federalism and Decentralization (2014–present); editor of a book series, “Politics and Governments of the American States,” University of Nebraska Press (1989-2006); and senior editor for A Global Dialogue on Federalism, a joint program of the Forum of Federations and International Association of Centers for Federal Studies (2001–13).

Kincaid is married to Lucille DeMasi Kincaid, a pianist, retired high-school music teacher, a host of WDIY Classics (Lehigh Valley Public Radio), WDIY Music Librarian, and music director of many shows in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area.

Congressional testimony

John Kincaid has testified before the U.S. Congress on the “Lobbying with Appropriated Funds Reform Act of 2000,” “Tenth Amendment Enforcement Act of 1996,” and “Restore the Partnership Act,” 2018.

Awards and honors

Distinguished Scholar Award, 2016, RC28: Comparative Federalism and Multilevel Governance, International Political Science Association Daniel J. Elazar Distinguished Scholar Award, 2001, Section on Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations, American Political Science Association President: International Association of Centers for Federal Studies, 1998-2004 Best Paper Award, Annual Meeting of the Urban Affairs Association, Fort Worth, TX, 1998 Kestnbaum Fellow, U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, 1994-95 President: Southwestern Political Science Association, 1993-94 Elected Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration, 1991–Present Donald Stone Distinguished Scholar Award, Section on Intergovernmental Administration and Management, American Society for Public Administration, 1991 Outstanding Paper Award, Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Political Science Association, Houston, TX, 1980 In 2015, the Section on Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations of the American Political Science Association established The John Kincaid Award for Best Article Published in Publius: The Journal of Federalism each year.