William Barclay Allen (born 1944) is an American political scientist. He has been Professor of Political Philosophy and dean of James Madison College at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He was a member of the National Council on the Humanities from 1984 to 1987 and chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 1988 to 1989. Allen's fields are political philosophy, American government, and jurisprudence. He is considered an authority in matters of a liberal arts education.