Adjunct Assistant Professor
Political Science
Gerald (Jerry) Prout is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science. He earned his Ph.D. from George Mason University. He also holds M.A. degrees from both American University (Political Science) and Duke University (European History). Prof. Prout teaches courses in political economy with emphasis on the political agency of transnational corporations. He served as Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for FMC Corporation in Washington, D.C. from 2000 to 2013, having joined the multinational conglomerate in 1979. He previously held positions in public affairs at Burson-Marsteller and Whirlpool. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the
Jerry's second book, , was published in 2022 by Cornell University Press. His first book, Coxey's Crusade for Jobs, was published by Northern Illinois University Press in 2016. Jerry's articles have appeared in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Labor History, and Journalism History. He has also written extensively on corporate social responsibility for Regulation, Society and Business Review, Corporate Environmental Strategies, Public Relations Review, and The Conference Board Record.
Education
Ph.D., George Mason University
Courses Taught
- POSC 4193 Environmental Politics and Policy | Syllabus
- POSC 4321 Business and Politics | Syllabus
- POSC 4341 Politics of American Capitalism | Syllabus
- ARSC 3370 American Experience | Syllabus
Publications
Books
- Chasing Automation. Cornell University Press, 2022.
- Coxey鈥檚 Crusade for Jobs: Unemployment in the Gilded Age. Northern Illinois University Press, 2016.
Articles
- 鈥淭he Young La Follette鈥檚: Advancing the New Deal,鈥 Wisconsin Magazine of History (2026).
- 鈥淧owderly and the Worker Awakening: Speaking to the South in 1885," Labor History, Volume 66, no. 2, April 2025.
- 鈥淧opulism and the Populists," The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, May 2019.
- 鈥The Six and the Sixties,鈥 Journalism History, Summer 2018.
- Washington History, Summer 2013.
- Society and Business Review, 2006.
- Corporate Environmental Strategy, 1999.
- Regulation, Spring 1992.
- Public Relations Review, Winter 1983.
- Public Relations Review, Summer 1978.
- Conference Board Record, September 1975.