Dr. F. Christopher Arterton

F. Christopher Arterton is the Founding Dean and Emeritus Professor of Political Management at George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM). The GSPM is the world’s premier school for applied professional politics, placing its graduates at the highest level of political service in the United States and abroad.

Arterton’s accomplishments while Dean include initiating three new master’s degrees, growing the student body from a first class of 22 students to over 500, moving the school from New York City to Washington, D.C., and affiliating it with the George Washington University.  During his tenure as Dean, Arterton worked to assist academics in other nations (Canada, Spain, Ecuador, Hungary, and Egypt) to develop their own curricula and degree programs in applied democratic politics.

Before joining the GSPM, Dr. Arterton was a professor of political science at Yale University for ten years, and during that time also played an active role at The Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

During his time as GSPM Dean, Arterton created the George Washington University Battleground Poll, a periodic survey of American voter attitudes toward election politics, conducted by Republican pollster Ed Goeas and Democrat Celinda Lake and sponsored by POLITICO. Dr. Arterton is currently working with Mark Penn (Chairman and CEO of the Stagwell Group) to construct a survey-based, annual index of the confidence Americans place in their governmental and political institutions.

Dr. Arterton's research, teaching, and practical experience as a public opinion consultant make him an expert on the strategic environment of political leaders, including the news media, communications technology, public opinion, and ethics and leadership in politics. He has written six books and numerous articles on these topics. His latest book, Strategy in Politics: Plotting Victory in a Democracy, has recently been published by Oxford University Press. Arterton has been a prominent commentator on American politics in national and global media.

Christopher Arterton resides in New Haven, Connecticut and is married to the Hon. Janet Bond Arterton, a Federal District Judge.