Biography

Matthew Holden, Jr. was a faculty member in the department from 1981 to 2002. Dr. Holden held numerous on academic appointments and leadership positions at the American Political Science Association (APSA), serving as APSA President (1998-99), Vice President (1976-77), and on numerous APSA committees, including the Ethics Committee and the APSR Editorial Board (1989-92), the Ralph J. Bunche Award Committee (1983), and the Centennial Campaign Presidents Council (1998-2003). He specialized in the U.S. Presidency, the Executive Branch, public administration, and urban politics. He also completed an APSA Oral History Interview in 1993, covering his experiences in the discipline of political science.

Dr. Holden published many books and scholarly articles, including Continuity and Disruption: Essays in Public Administration (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1996) and the The Politics of the Black “Nation” (Chandler Publishing, 1973). In 2001 the National Political Science Review published an issue focused on the latter; also published in book form (The Politics of the Black Nation: A Twenty-five-year Retrospective, Routledge 2001).

Prior to coming to the University of Virginia, Holden served on the faculty at Wayne State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also held many public and academic service roles, including Commissioner on the Wisconsin Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, President of the Policy Studies Organization, Board Member of the Social Science Council, and Chair of the UVa Politics Department.

Dr. Holden passed away in January 2025. Holden’s papers have been deposited in the University of Virginia Archives.