Joseph LaPalombara

Joseph LaPalombara, 101, died on June 12, 2026. Joseph LaPalombara was known publicly as an American political scientist. He was the Arnold Wolfers Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Management at Yale University, where he has been teaching for over fifty years. LaPalombara has twice chaired the political science department at Yale and has also served as the director of the Yale's Institution for Social and Policy Studies. Prior to joining Yale in 1964, LaPalombara spent three years (1947–1950) at Oregon State University and an additional eleven years (1953–1964) at Michigan State University. At the latter institution he also chaired (1957–1962) the political science department. For his research, writing and teaching about Italy, LaPalombara was named a knight and then a knight-commander in that country's Order of Merit society. Public biographical listings identify LaPalombara as an American political scientist. This public record remains centered on LaPalombara's work as an American political scientist and the documented milestones of that career.