William T. Gormley (born August 7, 1950) is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University. Gormley, a scholar of child care and education and bureaucratic politics, is also the co-director of the Center for Research on Children in the U.S. [1] Gormley's research on Tulsa's universal pre-K program has been covered by multiple news outlets, including PBS, NPR, the CBS Evening News, and the New York Times. [2]
Gormley grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received his B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in political science in 1972. In 1976, he received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also in political science. He then taught at the State University of New York and the University of Wisconsin, from 1980 to 1990. In 1991, Gormley became a professor of government and public policy at Georgetown University, later becoming a University Professor. He served as interim dean of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute from 2008 to 2010. Gormley retired from Georgetown University in 2023, to become a murder mystery writer. [3] [4] Gormley's first murder mystery, Too Many Bridges, set in Pittsburgh, was published by Level Best Books in August 2024. In a review for Pittsburgh Quarterly, Fred Shaw said that Gormley "nailed" the police procedural genre with his debut novel. [5] His second mystery, The Silent Trumpet, will be published in August 2025. [6] Since March 2024, Gormley has hosted a podcast, Profs on Cops, where he interviews criminologists about police practices and procedures.
Gormley's wife is a professor at George Mason University, and he has a stepson and a daughter. [1] In 2000, Gormley was elected as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. [7]