Curriculum Vitae
Tobias T. Gibson
Department of Political Science
Westminster College
501 Westminster Avenue
Fulton, Missouri
65251
[email protected]
Education
Ph.D. 2006: Washington University in St. Louis, Political Science
Dissertation Title and Abstract:
The Office of Legal Counsel and the Presidency:
The Legal Strategy of Executive Orders
To what extent can the president issue executive orders in an unfettered manner? In contrast to
the current literature on the subject, I argue that the president is constrained, at times
significantly, in the degree to which he can “legislate” via executive order. In particular, by
interviewing former attorneys from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), I show that there is legal
and institutional constraint that at times the president is unable to overcome. I supplement the
data gathered through the interviews with accounts of specific instances in which the OLC did not
allow the executive order to be issued. In short, because the OLC is charged with reviewing a
proposed executive order for both form and legality, there is a hurdle that presidential scholars
have not recognized. In my research I find that proposed executive orders are regularly altered,
and at times are never issued, due to legal issues found during the OLC review.
Research and Teaching Interests:
American Politics: American Presidency, Bureaucracy, Supreme Court, Congress, Civil
Liberties, Constitutional Law
Political Theory: Classical Political Theory and Legal Theory
A.M. 2001, Washington University in St. Louis, Political Science
B.A. 1999 Indiana University, Majors: Political Science and History (High Honors)
Employment
Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri
Assistant Professor, 2009Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois
Assistant Professor, 2006-2009
University of Missouri, Saint Louis
Visiting Scholar, Summer 2007
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Publications
Peer Reviewed Articles
Gibson, Tobias . "The Importance of National Symbols to National Identity." Daily Life through
History. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2011.
Gibson, Tobias T. 2008. “The Internal Contradictions of Leviathan: Justice and the Sovereign.”
Illinois Political Science Review. Spring (12): 3-10.
Gibson, Tobias T., Juan Gabriel Gomez-Albarello, and Frances B. Henderson. 2003. “The
Absence of the Sacred: Democracy in the Age of Militarism.” Journal of the Institute of
Justice and International Studies.
Book Chapters, Professional Newsletters and Symposia
Moore, Emily, Tobias T. Gibson and Mylhan Myers. 2012. “God’s Bully Pulpit.” PRG Report.
Forthcominig.
Gibson, Tobias T. 2012. “Harry S. Truman.” In Chronology of the U.S. Presidency, ed.
Mathew Manweller. Greenwood Press.
Johnson, Alexandra D., Meredith Gibbons, and Tobias T. Gibson. 2010. “Rethinking Unilateral
Powers in the Obama Administration.” PRG Report XXXII (2): 13-15.
Gibson, Tobias T. 2009. “Publishing While Teaching at a Small Liberal Arts College.” Law and
Courts 19 (2): 8-10.
Gibson, Tobias T. 2008. “Office of Legal Counsel: Inner Workings and Impact.” Law & Courts
18 (2): 7-12.
Gordon, Angela and Tobias T. Gibson. 2005. “The Fist of Pacifism.” In Justice and
Violence: Political Violence, Pacifism and Cultural Transformation, ed. Eickelmann, Allan
W., Tom Lansford and Eric Nelson. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Press.
Encyclopedia Entries
Gibson, Tobias T. “Alan Westin” and “California v Minajres (1979).” Encyclopedia of the Fourth
Amendment. John Vile and David Hudson, eds. CQ Press, forthcoming.
Gibson, Tobias T. “William J. Brennan, Jr.”; “Cohens v. Virginia”; “Marbury v. Madison”;
“Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee”; “Truman, Harry S (Administration of)”; “Wolf v. Colorado.” The
Social History of Crime and Punishment in America. Wilbur R. Miller, ed. SAGE Reference.
Forthcoming.
Adoor, Ryan and Tobias T. Gibson. “Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (2004)”, Encyclopedia of American
Law and Criminal Justice. David Schultz, ed. Facts on File, Inc. forthcoming.
Leonard, Olivia Kathleen and Tobias T. Gibson. “Illinois v. Gates (1983)”, Encyclopedia of
American Law and Criminal Justice. David Schultz, ed. Facts on File, Inc. forthcoming.
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Arrowsmith, Stephanie and Tobias T. Gibson. “Batson v. Kentucky (1986)”, Encyclopedia of
American Law and Criminal Justice. David Schultz, ed. Facts on File, Inc. forthcoming.
Gibson, Tobias T. “Amicus Brief”. International Encyclopedia of Political Science. George
Kurian, ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press. October, 2010
Davis, Katherine J. and Tobias T. Gibson. “In re Debs (1895)”. Encyclopedia of the United
States Constitution. David Schultz, ed. New York: Facts on File, Inc. 2009.
Gibson, Tobias T. “Dames & Moore v. Regan (1981)”; “Fletcher v. Peck (1810)”; “John Paul
Stevens”; “Laird v. Tatum (1972)”; “Youngstown Sheet & Tube v. Sawyer (1952)”; and “LineItem Veto.” Encyclopedia of the United States Constitution. David Schultz, ed. New York:
Facts on File, Inc. 2009.
Gibson, Tobias T. “Learned Hand”; Justice Robert Jackson”; “Bad Tendency Test”; and
“Eagle Forum”. John R. Vile, David Hudson, Jr., and David Schultz, eds. Encyclopedia of
the First Amendment, CQ Press. 2008.
Gibson, Tobias T. and Lee Epstein. “Judicial Selection”, David S. Clark (ed.), The
Encyclopedia of Law and Society, Sage Press, 2007.
Gibson, Tobias T. “Checks and Balances”, “Hurtado v. California (1884)” and “The Second
Amendment”. David Schultz and John Vile (eds.), Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America,
Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2004.
Gibson, Tobias T. “Gitlow v. New York (1925)”. David Schultz (ed.), Encyclopedia of the
Supreme Court, New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2004.
Book Reviews
Gibson, T.T. A Vulcan’s Tale: How the Bush Administration Mismanaged the Reconstruction
of Afghanistan by Dov S. Zakheim, Choice, forthcoming
Gibson, T.T. The Judicial Power of the Purse: How Courts Fund National Defense in Times
of Crisis by Nancy Staudt, Choice, forthcoming
Gibson, T.T. Merely Judgment: Ignoring, Evading, and Trumping the Supreme Court by
Martin J. Sweet, Choice, forthcoming
Gibson, T.T. The Supreme Court in American Politics by Isaac Unah, Choice, October, 2010.
Gibson, Tobias T. Justice Curtis in the Civil War Era by Stuart Streichler, Law and Politics
Book Review, August, 2010, 384-387.
Gibson, T.T. Ambition and Division: Legacies of the George W. Bush Presidency, edited by
Steven E. Schier, Choice, March, 2010.
Gibson, T.T. Honest Broker?: The National Security Advisor and Presidential Decision
Making, by John P. Burke, Choice, March, 2009.
Gibson, Tobias T. The Tie Goes to Freedom, by Helen J. Knowles, Law and Politics Book
Review, May, 2009, 347-350.
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Gibson, T.T. Religion, Race, and the American Presidency edited by Gastón Espinosa,
Choice, April, 2009.
Gibson, T. T. In Reckless Hands: Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near Triumph of American
Eugenics by Victoria F. Nourse, Choice, December, 2008.
Newspaper Editorials
Gibson, Tobias T. “A lesson lost amidst a scandal.” Jefferson City News Tribune, November
20, 2009 (B3).
Gibson, Tobias T. “Less is Often more in the Oval Office.” Peoria Journal Star, February 2,
2008.
Classes Taught
The Supreme Court
United States Congress
The American Presidency
Introduction to American Politics
Courts and Civil Liberties
Judicial Process
Judicial Process and Policy
Constitutional Law
Political Philosophy
Politics and Film
Political Science Senior Seminar
Warrior Ethos
American Foreign Policy
Philosophy and Politics of Warfare
Independent Studies:
Readings in Judicial Policy
Research in Judicial Politics
Advanced Topics in American Politics
Politics and Sports
Legislative Politics
Politics of Economic Recovery
Studies in American Bureaucracy
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Teaching Assistant:
Constitutional Law (with Professor Lee Epstein)
Courts and Civil Liberties (with Professor Valerie Hoekstra)
Constitutional Politics (with Professor Randy Calvert, twice)
The American Presidency (with Professor Jim Davis)
Environmental and Energy Issues (with Professor Bill Lowry)
Politics and the Theory of Games (with Professor Itai Sened)
Introduction to American Politics (at Washington University with Professors
Gary Miller, Bill Lowry, Joe Tonon; at Indiana University, as an undergraduate,
with Professor Bob Huckfeldt)
Works in Progress
“Repositioning for Power: John Paul Stevens and the Supreme Court” (with Matthew Schneider)
“Executive Orders, Office of Legal Counsel, and the Limitations of the Unilateral President”
“Clearing the Legal Hurdle: OLC and the Legal Process of Executive Order Issuance” (to be
submitted for review)
“Scott v. Sanford and Brown v. Board of Education: Critical Supreme Court Decisions and Their
Effects on Public Policy and Social Change” (with Katherine J. Davis and Joseph Moran)
“Competitive Delegation or Nap Time: Assessing the Power and Success of Roosevelt and
Reagan” (with Michael S. Lynch)
“Masculinity, Manhood and Sport Injuries” (with Craig Vivian)
Honors and Awards
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Westminster College’s Alpha Chi Professor of the Year, 2011
Faculty Person of the Month (February, 2011) of the Kappa Alpha Order
Internal Summer Research grants from Westminster College totaling $1100,
2010
Internal Summer Research grants from Westminster College totaling $1500,
2011
Southern Political Science Association Artinian Travel Award, 2009
Washington University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Summer Research
Fellowship (2004, $2000)
Washington University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Summer Research
Fellowship (2003, $2750)
Washington University Fellowship (1999- 2006)
Member: Pi Sigma Alpha, National Political Science Honors Society
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Conference Papers and Presentations
Author Meets Critics: Helen J. Knowles The Tie Goes to Freedom, Midwest Political
Science Association, 2009
Executive Orders, Office of Legal Counsel, and Limitations of the Unilateral President,
Southern Political Science Association, January 2009
Repositioning for Power: John Paul Stevens and the Supreme Court, Law and
Society Association Conference, May 2004; Southern Political Science Association,
January 2009 (with Matthew Schneider).
Scott v. Sanford and Brown v. Board of Education: Critical Supreme Court Decisions
and Their Effects on Public Policy and Social Change, Illinois Political Science
Association, October 27, 2007; Midwest Political Science Association, April 2008 (with
Katherine J. Davis).
The Office of Legal Counsel in the Carter Administration: Executive Orders During the
Iran Hostage Crisis, The Carter Presidency: Lessons for the 21st Century Conference,
January 19, 2007.
Executive Orders and the Office of Legal Counsel, Midwest Political Science
Association, April 2006.
Judicial Restraint of Presidential Action, Midwest Political Science Association, April
2005.
Explaining Presidential Power within the Ronald Reagan Administration, Midwest
Political Science Association, April 2004; American Political Science Association
September 2004 (with Michael S. Lynch)
The Fist of Pacifism, The Conference on the Past, Present and Future of Pacifism and
Political Violence, April 2004 (with Angela Gordon)
Curbing Presidential Power: The Supreme Court as a Presidential Impediment,
American Political Science Association Annual Conference, August 28-31, 2003 and
Southern Political Science Association, January 8, 2004
War and Economy: An Analytic Narrative of Presidential Power, Southwestern Political
Science Association Conference, April 17, 2003
The Absence of the Sacred: Democracy in the Age of Militarism, Counter-Terrorism &
Civil Liberties Conference, March 18, 2003 (with Frances B. Henderson and Juan
Gabriel Gomez-Albarello)
A Theory of Presidential Restraint: The Supreme Court as a Constraint of Presidential
Power, Southern Political Science Association Annual Conference, 2002
The Internal Contradictions of Leviathan: Justice and the Sovereign, International
Social Philosophy Conference, July 19, 2002
Courts as Agents in Public Policy Change, Southern Political Science Association
Annual Conference, November 9, 2001
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Panel Discussant:
The Solicitor General and the Federal Government Relationship with the
U.S. Supreme Court, Midwest Political Science Association
Conference, 2003
The Courts and the Separation of Powers (I), Midwest Political Science
Association, 2005
Judicial Decision Making During Times of War, Midwest Political Science
Association, 2007
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American Politics II: New Approaches to Ideology, Voting, and Inequality,
Illinois Political Science Association, 2007
The Judges Presidents Make, Midwest Political Science Association, 2008
Presidential Communication Strategies and Effects, Southern Political Science
Association, 2009
Panel Chair:
Law and Crimes: Policy Consequences of Judicial Interpretation,
Southwestern Political Science Association Conference, 2003
The Courts and the Separation of Powers (I), Midwest Political Science
Association, 2005
The Judges Presidents Make, Midwest Political Science Association, 2008
Presidential Communication Strategies and Effects, Southern Political Science
Association, 2009
Invited Talks
“Leading by Example in the Political Sphere,” Westminster College Leadership Conference,
February 3, 2012
“Harry S. Truman: Three Cases of Presidential Leadership,” Profiles in Leadership, Westminster
College, March 24, 2011
“The People’s Constitution,” Westminster College Constitution Day, September 14, 2009
“The Second Amendment,” Monmouth College Liberal Legion, April 2, 2009
“Prospects and Promises: President Obama’s Administration,” Monmouth, IL Kiwanis, March
31, 2009
“The Need for Speech,” Monmouth College, Professors Speak Out, February 28, 2009
“Lessons of the 2008 Presidential Primaries,” Monmouth, IL Kiwanis, March 18, 2008
Panelist: Monmouth College Constitution Day, September 18, 2006
Moderator and Analyst: Graduate Professional Council’s viewing of the Presidential Debate,
October 8, 2004
Media Exposure
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Quoted in the Galesburg Register-Mail (November 19, 2007) story “Signs, signs,
everywhere signs” related to primary election yard sign usage
“The Impact of Super Tuesday,” WRAM, February 1, 2008 (discussion found in
press release from Monmouth College on February 5, 2008
Quoted in the Galesburg Register-Mail (December 10, 2008) front page story “A
symptom of ‘machine politics’” relating to then Governor Rod Blagojevich’s
arrest for attempting to sell a Senate seat to the highest bidder
Quoted in the Monmouth Review Atlas (May 14, 2009) story titled “Local
politicians on Facebook”
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Cited extensively in the Monmouth Review Atlas (May 14, 2009) story titled
“Politicians often turn to technology”, an extension of the story above
Research Experience
Research Assistant
Larry May (Summer, 2001)
Provided legal research regarding Professor May’s involvement with
habeus corpus in Joseph Franklin’s death penalty case
John Carey (Spring, 2001)
Responsibilities included data research, entry, and analysis regarding voting
patterns of Latin American legislatures
Lee Epstein (Summer, 2000)
Responsibilities included reading and coding U.S. Supreme Court justices'
votes from certiori and conference stages (Justice Lewis Powell's notes)
Lee Epstein (Summer, 1999)
Responsibilities included reading and coding opinions from several
Constitutional courts for Epstein's data set
Professional Development
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Institute for Constitutional Studies College Instructors Workshop, University of
California at Santa Barbara, 2009
Participant in the APSA Short Course for Pre-law Advisors, August 2004
Participant in the Summer Institute on the Empirical Implications of Theoretical
Models, Washington University, June 2003
Professional Membership
American Political Science Association
 Presidency Research section
 Courts and Judicial Politics section
Midwest Political Science Association
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Departmental Service (Washington University)
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Political Science Mentor Program 2001-2002
Third Year Class Representative 2001-2002
Free Union of Graduate Students Sergeant-at-Arms 2002-2004
Graduate Student Representative on Omnibus Hiring Committee (responsible for
the search and hire of judicial and comparative faculty; Randall Calvert
committee chair)
Departmental Service (Monmouth College)
 Interim Chair, Spring 2009
College Service (Monmouth College)
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Chair (2006-2009): Pre-law Program
Interim Chair (Spring 2009): Political Science Department
Faculty Founder and Advisor (2006-2009): Pre-law Society (Highlander
Outstanding Student Organization of the Year, 2007-2008; nominated for
Highlander Outstanding Student Organization of the Year, 2008-2009)
Advisor (2006-2009): Pi Sigma Alpha
Member (2006-2008): Citizenship curriculum steering subcommittee of
Integrated Studies, Monmouth College
Member (2008-2009): Citizenship Subcommittee
Columnist (Spring, 2007-Spring, 2008): The Courier
Member (2007): Connecting Liberal Arts to the Professions subcommittee,
Monmouth College
Co-chair (Spring, 2007): Donato Latrofa’s Honor’s Thesis Committee (thesis
entitled Broken Glass and a Bright Future?)
Member (2007): Hiring Committee, Men’s Head Basketball Coach, Monmouth
College
Advisor (2007-2009): Listen Up! (progressive student organization dedicated to
social action)
Member (2007-2009): Chapter Advisory Board, Phi Delta Theta fraternity
Chair (2008-2009 academic year): Student Affairs Committee
Member (2007-2008 academic year): Student Affairs Committee
Advisor (2008): Monmouth College Wrestling Club
Member (2009): Monmouth College Teagle Grant Group: Big Questions and the
Disciplines Project
College Service (Westminster College)
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Co-advisor (2009-): Mixed Martial Arts Club
Moderator: Symposium on Democracy breakout session (2009, 2010, 2011)
Constitution Day Presenter (2009): “The People’s Constitution”
Constitution Day Panelist (2010): panel discussion of the Second Amendment
Certified in CPR/First Aid in the Workplace
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Member: Faculty Executive Committee (2010-2011); Symposium on Democracy
Committee (2010-2011); Faculty Personnel Committee (2011-2012); MyVoice
(2011-);
Faculty advisor for Student Judiciary Board
Professional Service
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Judge for the Graduate Professional Council of the University of MissouriColumbia’s Research and Creative Activities Forum, Saturday March 5, 2011
Accuracy checker for Essentials of American Politics test bank, Spring 2009
Inductor for McKendree University’s first Pi Sigma Alpha group, May 2009
Best Undergraduate Paper Award Committee member 2009, American Political
Science Association Presidential Research Group for best undergraduate paper
completed in academic year 2008-2009
Founder’s Award Committee member 2008, American Political Science
Association’s Presidential Research Group for best paper by a graduate student at
the national or regional conferences
Grader: AP Government and Politics Exam, 2006
Reviewer: American Politics Research; Journal of Politics; Political Research
Quarterly; Supreme Court Economic Review; Presidential Studies Quarterly;
Law and Society Review
Discussant for Workshop of Politics, Ethics and Society: Larry May’s
“Prosecuting Genocide among Widespread Complicity”, September 12, 2003,
Washington University in St. Louis
Public Service
NICUP
Support for parents of children in the St. John’s Mercy Medical Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit
 University City Community Forum
Member Nominating Committee 2002-2003
Member of Executive Committee 2003-2005
Chairman of University City Community Forum 2004-2005
 University City, MO Traffic Commission (January 2004-Sept. 2005)
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References
Professor Gary J. Miller
Department of Political Science
Washington University
Campus Box 1063
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130
Phone: (314) 935-5874
[email protected]
Professor Farhat Haq
Department of Political Science
Monmouth College
700 E. Broadway
Monmouth, IL 61462
Phone: (309) 457-2189
[email protected]
Professor Ira Smolensky
Department of Political Science
Monmouth College
700 E. Broadway
Monmouth, IL 61462
Phone: (309) 457-2102
[email protected]
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