Dr. Stan Buchanan, an Associate Professor of Political Science who came to Indiana State University in 2001, passed away Tuesday.
Dr. Stan Buchanan, an Associate Professor of Political Science who came to Indiana State University in 2001, passed away Tuesday.
Throughout his time at ISU Dr. Buchanan advised and instructed hundreds of MPA students who went on to pursue successful careers throughout the state and nation. Indeed, Dr. Buchanan was a great mentor to many students, and a great friend to many colleagues within the ISU community. We mourn his passing with his wife, Anne, and daughter, Elizabeth.
Dr. Buchanan was a native of northern California and a graduate of California Baptist University (BA English, History), Baylor University (MPPA), and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (PhD Political Science).
Prior to joining academia, Dr. Buchanan worked for many years as a program manager for the Heart of Texas Council of Governments and as a Field Operations Supervisor for the U.S. Census Bureau.
After receiving his PhD, Dr. Buchanan held academic appointments at Southern Illinois University and Midwestern State University. He joined ISU's Department of Political Science as an Assistant Professor in 2001 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2007.
Also in 2007, Dr. Buchanan became Director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, where most of his teaching responsibilities were concentrated. In this position, he successfully managed the program's transition to an online format. From 2016 to 2020, Dr. Buchanan served as Chair of the Political Science Department.
Dr. Buchanan served in many other roles at ISU, including memberships on Graduate Council, CAS Faculty Council, and leadership positions with the campus's American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter.
Dr. Buchanan was a co-recipient of the 2006 "Pollyprize" for developing an election forecasting model accurately predicting a Democrat Party takeover of the House of Representatives. More recently, he co-authored a paper in 2019 with an MPA graduate that focused on more accurately measuring the degree to which LGBTQ citizens have equal rights at the municipal level for the journal Sexuality, Gender, & Policy.