Mueller honored for excellence in public opinion research

COLUMBUS -- John Mueller, Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies at Ohio State’s Mershon Center for International Security Studies, has been named the recipient of the first Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research.

The Mitofsky award is given annually by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut.  It was established as a tribute to Warren J. Mitofsky, chairman of the Roper Center Board of Directors at the time of his passing one year ago, and honors outstanding work utilizing the Center’s archival holdings.

The award recognizes Mueller’s book War, Presidents and Public Opinion (John Wiley, 1973) as a trailblazing work in the field of public opinion research. The book addresses fundamental issues of methodology and measurement, and analyzes public opinion through World War I, World War II, and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

With War, Presidents and Public Opinion, Mueller established himself as a leader in analyzing the effects of war on public opinion, the influence of casualty reports on public support for wars, and how various elements of conflict over time sway support for American presidents. Many basic concepts in public discourse today, such as the “rally around the flag” effect, owe much to Mueller’s seminal work.

The book was also named one of “Fifty Books that Significantly Shaped Public Opinion Research, 1946-1995” by the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

Mueller will be honored at an awards dinner on November 8, 2007, at Bryant Park Grill in New York.

About the Mershon Center for International Security Studies
The Mershon Center for International Security Studies advances the understanding of national security in a global context by fostering interdisciplinary faculty and student research in three areas of focus: the use of force and diplomacy; the ideas, identities, and decisional processes that affect security; and the institutions that manage violent conflict. The Mershon Center is a unit of the Office of International Affairs at The Ohio State University.