Tulane School of Liberal Arts receives $2.5 million gift from Susan and Henry Livingston to endow political science chair

Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts has received a $2.5 million gift from Susan and Henry Livingston to establish the Livingston Family Chair in Political Science. The endowed chair will advance scholarship and teaching in international relations, comparative politics and related fields.

The inaugural holder of the chair is Martin K. Dimitrov, professor and head of Tulane’s Department of Political Science. An internationally recognized scholar of authoritarian politics, Dimitrov has an accomplished record of global research, leaderships and award-winning teaching.

The Livingstons’ gift will provide resources to support and expand Dimitrov’s research, academic initiatives and student mentorship, ensuring that Tulane remains a destination for top scholars in political science now and in the future.

“The Livingston Family Chair will immeasurably enrich Tulane’s academic community,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Robin Forman. “By supporting a faculty leader whose research addresses the most pressing questions of governance and international politics, Susan and Henry are helping Tulane prepare students to lead with insight and global perspective. The Livingstons’ generosity not only strengthens Tulane today but also secures a legacy of excellence for generations to come.”

The Livingstons, who reside in Marblehead, Mass., created the chair in part to honor their family’s longstanding ties to Tulane. Their daughter, Julia Pell Livingston, is a student in the School of Liberal Arts. A cousin, Robert “Bob” L. Livingston Jr., earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1964 and a law degree in 1968 from Tulane, before going on to represent Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District in Washington from 1977 to 1999.

“This chair represents our family’s belief in the power of education to shape the world,” said Susan Livingston, a partner at the financial services firm Brown Brothers Harriman. “We’re proud to support Tulane’s faculty, whose research and teaching influence students well beyond the classroom.”

Henry Livingston, owner of the consulting firm Livingston Associates, noted the dual importance of the gift as both a personal and civic commitment. “As parents, we’ve seen the difference Tulane makes in students’ lives,” he said. “As Americans, we recognize the importance of rigorous scholarship in understanding the complex political realities of our world. Supporting Tulane in this way brings both commitments together.”

School of Liberal Arts Dean Brian Edwards called the gift transformational. “Endowed chairs are one of the highest investments donors can make in the work of the university,” he said. “They provide lasting resources for faculty to pursue impactful research, attract outstanding students and raise Tulane’s visibility in the global academic community. The innovation and ambition of Martin Dimitrov’s transnational research is a leading example of Tulane’s commitment to a globally inflected liberal arts education.”

In addition to establishing this chair, Susan and Henry previously created the Livingston Family Scholarship Endowed Fund to support Tulane students. In 2024, they were inducted into the Paul Tulane Society, which honors the university’s most generous philanthropists. They are also members of the Family Leadership Council. 

As the inaugural Livingston Family Chair, Dimitrov brings an extraordinary academic record to the role. With a bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall College and a doctorate from Stanford University, he has written several books and numerous scholarly articles on topics such as Chinese digital authoritarianism, the survival and collapse of communist regimes, and consumption practices in Eastern Europe. In the last two years, he has published two books with leading academic publishers: “Dictatorship and Information: Authoritarian Regime Resilience in Communist Europe and China” (Oxford University Press, 2023) and “The Adaptability of the Chinese Communist Party” (Cambridge University Press, 2024). The former was noted as a 2023 Best Book in the Asia Pacific category by Foreign Affairs magazine. He is associate editor of two leading political science journals and has held fellowships at institutions such as Harvard, Princeton and the American Academy in Berlin. A native of Bulgaria, Dimitrov has conducted fieldwork in China, Taiwan, Russia, Cuba and across Europe.

Dimitrov also received Tulane’s President’s Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching in 2020 and the Graduate Studies Student Association Award for Faculty Teaching and Mentorship in 2024.

“It is an incredible honor to be named the inaugural Livingston Family Chair,” he said. “The Livingstons’ generosity provides vital support for advancing research into the challenges facing political systems worldwide. I look forward to using this position to enhance scholarship and mentorship in political science.”