Ross M. Lence, American political scientist and academic (d. 2006)
Ross Marlo Anthony Lence, was a professor of Political Science at the University of Houston from 1971 to 2006, where he was John and Rebecca Moores Scholar and held the Ross M. Lence Distinguished Teaching Chair. He taught Political Philosophy, American Political Thought, and American Government as a member of the Political Science and Honors College faculties. His edited volume of the works of John C. Calhoun, Union and Liberty: The Political Philosophy of John C. Calhoun, is one of the foremost references on the statesman.

Lence was the recipient of an unprecedented number of Teaching Excellence Awards from the University of Houston and the State of Texas. In January 2007, in memory of Lence, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Houston renamed its teaching excellence awards the Ross M. Lence Awards for Teaching Excellence in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.