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AbstractCaleb Perry Patterson was a leader in the discipline of political science during a long career. He is remembered as the founder of the national political science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha, and as a charter founder of the Southwestern Political Science Association (now the Southwestern Social Science Association). Both were founded a century ago, in 1920. While his role in founding those organizations is one of his legacies, his career was much more than that. He was a notable educator, an activist in the politics of his time, and a prolific scholar. He used an oratorical presentation style to inspire generations of students, and through promotion of constitutional values, he encouraged independence of thought. One prominent Texas political observer summed up his impact as encouraging students of all political stripes to "love the thing that is America" and to provide critical thinking during the McCarthy Era. With Patterson as his reference, he concluded that "the only thing that can save us is the professors, really."

ObjectiveDonald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign was unorthodox by any standard. But does an unorthodox campaign result in an administration different from its predecessors?MethodsWe examine the Trump transition to identify similarities with and differences from previous administrations.ResultsSimilarities include certain patterns in personnel selections, centralization of policy making, and the role of the vice president. Key differences include fewer high‐ranking officials with prior experience in government, the White House chief of staff lacking policy experience, a higher proportion of nominations being challenged in the Senate, and decrease in gender and ethnic diversity among key appointees.ConclusionAn unorthodox presidential campaign produced an administration somewhat different but not wholly different from its predecessors.

ObjectiveA significant indicator of a president's commitment to equality in American society can be found in the people appointed to fill senior‐level positions within the administration.MethodThe history of diversity appointments to the cabinet is reviewed with more detailed analysis of cabinet and Executive Office of the President (EOP) appointees since the Carter presidency.ResultsThe pattern of appointments of women and minorities is one of plateaus, with Carter making notable advancements in the appointment of women and African Americans and Obama's initial appointments taking diversity of appointments to a new level. In particular, more women and minorities appointed by Obama have elite connections as defined by Dye.ConclusionDespite greater numbers than in the past, diversity appointments represent desegregation of the cabinet and White House rather than full integration of women and minorities into the upper reaches of the executive branch.

The hypothesis that the US president's appointments to senior-level administrative positions sustain the control over public policy by economic & political elites is examined, based on documentary & secondary data collected on senior-level executive officers from the Kennedy admininstration through the Reagan administration (utilizing Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Politics, & Current Biography). Four determinants of elitism were used for the analysis: previous governmental positions held; previous executive positions in corporate or public interest sectors; educational background; & economic background. Results support the hypothesis. 1 Table, 14 References. S. G. Yates