William S. Livingston

William Samuel Livingston (July 1, 1920 – August 15, 2013) was a political science professor who was the acting president of the University of Texas at Austin, a position he held from 1992 until 1993. Born in Ironton, Ohio, Livingston fought in World War II as a first lieutenant and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. In 1943 he obtained bachelor's and master's degrees from Ohio State University before transferring to Yale University, where he was awarded a PhD in 1950.

Livingston joined the University of Texas at Austin in 1949 and stayed with the political science faculty until his retirement in 2007. During his tenure, he received Ford and Guggenheim Fellowships, chaired two departments, developed numerous programs and served as Dean of the Graduate School and acting president of the University of Texas at Austin. In 1995 he was made senior vice president of the university.

Livingston was the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Politics and president of Pi Sigma Alpha. Among his numerous awards was the American Political Science Association's Daniel Elazar Award, an organization on whose council he had served twice. Since 2004, the William S. Livingston Outstanding Graduate Student Academic Employee Award has recognized exemplary graduate student employees.

Early life William Livingston was born on July 1, 1920, in Ironton, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree and Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1943, before getting his master's degree at the university in the same year. After his service in World War II he studied at Yale University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in political science in 1950.

He served as a field artillery officer, in the capacity of First Lieutenant, during World War II. Fighting in Europe, he earned both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. After the war, he married Lana Sanor and had two sons with her, Stephen and David.

In 1954 he was made assistant dean of the graduate school at the University of Texas, a position that he held until 1958. He later became the vice president and dean of graduate students in 1979, an appointment that lasted until 1995. He was the graduate adviser for the Government Department from 1958 until 1967 and its chair from 1966 through 1969. He became the vice chancellor for academic programs of the University of Texas System for the 1969–70 academic year. He chaired the comparative studies program from 1978 to 1979 and spent six years as the chairman for the Faculty Senate. On September 2, 2006, he received the American Political Science Association's Daniel Elazar Award for his work on federalism and intergovernmental relations, an organization on whose council he had served twice.

Livingston's successor, Robert M. Berdahl, referred to him as "the conscience, the soul, the memory, the wit, and the wise elder statesman" Livingston retired from the University of Texas on August 31, 2007, at the age of 87,