Mark Rush Director of International Education and Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Professor of Politics and Law
Phone: 540-458-8904
Email: rushm@wlu.edu
Mark Rush
Area of Expertise
Election Law, Voting Rights, Presidential Powers, Separation of Powers, Law and Technology
Education
Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University (1990)
M.A., Johns Hopkins University (1988)
A.B., Harvard (1983)
About
Mark Rush is the Waxberg Professor of Politics and Law and Director of the Center for International Education at Washington and Lee University. He has been with Washington and Lee since 1990. He holds a B.A. cum laude from Harvard and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins.
Prof. Rush's scholarly interests are diverse. He has written extensively on U.S. politics, Constitutional Law in the United States and Canada, elections and democracy around the world, and global affairs. His writings have been published in numerous scholarly journals and in media outlets such as The Hill, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, The Richmond Times and The Roanoke Times and NPR. From 2010-2013, he served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. His current scholarly work and interests include presidential powers over foreign affairs, separation of powers, international politics, judicial activism, elections and democratic reform, civic education, higher education and law, and law and technology.
He serves on the board of directors of IES Abroad where he is also chair of the general conference. He also served on the academic advisory board of ISA.
Prof. Rush is married to Florinda Ruiz, whom he met at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Ruiz is the retired director of the Writing Program at Washington and Lee and has worked extensively as a Professor of Spanish and professional translator. They have two sons, William and Alex, a daughter-in-law Meaghan, a granddaughter Celia, and a pup, Humphrey, who runs their lives.