 Thurber was honored as the American University Scholar/Teacher of the Year in 1996 and received the 2010 Walter Beach Pi Sigma Alpha American Political Science Association award for his work combining applied and academic research.He is also a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and a member of the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Lobbying Law Reform.Thurber was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow in 1973-74 and is currently on its Executive Board.