Dr. Joseph F. Kobylka is Associate Professor of Political Science at Southern Methodist University, where he has taught for more than 20 years. He earned his B.A. in Government and History from Beloit College, graduating magna cum laude, and his Ph.D. in Political Sience from the University of Minnesota. Professor Kobylka has received numerous awards for teaching, including the Golden Mustang Award, M Award, Willis M. Tate Award, Bridge Award, and Deschner Award in Women's Studies, and four Rotunda Outstanding Professor awards. He was also the inaugural recipient of SMU's Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor Award in 2001, and is a member of the University's Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Professor Kobylka is a leading scholar of political science and is recognized as an expert in American politics, constitutional law, judicial behavior, and American political thought. He is a founding member of the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies at SMU, and he appeared in a four-part PBS series on the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Kobylka has published more than 20 scholarly articles in political science journals, law reviews, and edited volumes. He also wrote and cowrote three books: The Supreme Court and Legal Change: Abortion and the Death Penalty; Public Interest Law: An Annotated Bibliography; and The Politics of Obscenity: Group Litigation in a Context of Legal Change. He is completing a biography of former U.S. Supreme Court justice Harry A. Blackmun. His work has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, and The Indianapolis Star.