News
Retirement Tribute: Professor Richard Hiskes
November 11, 2020
Dr. Richard Hiskes retired from Grand Valley after six years on the faculty of Political Science. Before joining GVSU’s Political Science Department, Professor Hiskes had been a faculty member at the University of Connecticut for over 30 years. While at UConn, he published five books and many journal articles and chapters on democracy, technology, and human rights, and he also helped start the Human Rights Institute there.
Professor Hiskes continued his excellent teaching and scholarship during his time at GVSU, where he taught in both Political Science and the Honors College. Most notably, he led the initiative to create a Human Rights Program at GVSU, and he served as the program’s founding Director. In this position, he spearheaded the creation of a new Human Rights minor, a capstone course in human rights, and an internship program for students studying human rights. Professor Hiskes also added an Introduction to Human Rights course into the General Education curriculum, which introduces students across the university to important theoretical and practical issues of human rights around the world.
Professor Hiskes’ courses on human rights, political theory, and American political thought were always in high demand. Students were drawn to Professor Hiskes’ abilities to explain complicated theories and connect them to real-world events, as well as to his humor and warmth both in the classroom and outside of it. In 2016, the GVSU Student Senate honored Professor Hiskes with its Student Award for Faculty Excellence.
Professor Hiskes is a leading scholar of human rights, sought after for public lectures and seminars nationally and internationally. Particularly notable is his trailblazing work on human rights and the environment, first spelled out in his 2009 book, The Human Right to a Green Future: Environmental Rights and Intergenerational Justice (Cambridge University Press), which received the American Political Science Association’s Best Book in Human Rights Award. During his time at GVSU, Professor Hiskes published an edited volume, Human Dignity and the Promise of Human Rights, along with other articles and book chapters. He also served as president of the Human Rights Section of the American Political Science Association and editor of the Journal of Human Rights. He is currently finishing a book on the human rights of children.
The Political Science faculty congratulates Professor Hiskes on his retirement and his many accomplishments! We wish him all the best as he continue to research and write about critical issues of human rights in the world today.