Dr. William B. Allen was a member of the Mackinac Center Board of Scholars. Previously, he served as dean of James Madison College and professor of political science at Michigan State University. He formerly taught at Villanova University, Ashland University and Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. He earned his Ph.D. in government from the Claremont Graduate University.

Allen is a former member and chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and has been a Kellogg National Fellow, Fulbright Fellow and a member of the National Council on the Humanities. He has published several books, including George Washington: America’s First Progressive and Rethinking Uncle Tom: The Political Philosophy of H. B. Stowe. He also edited such collections as George Washington: A Collection and The Essential Antifederalist and has published numerous scholarly articles on political philosophy and American political thought.