People
Faculty
Professor of Political Science
Department Head
Affiliate Law Faculty
Director, Initiative on Legal Institutions and Democracy (ILIAD)
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- State Politics
- Judicial Politics
Professor of Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Comparative Politics
- Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion
- Social Movements and Protest
- Western Europe, especially German speaking countries
- Gender and Politics
Research Professor
Managing Director, McCourtney Institute for Democracy
(814) 863-7630
On Sabbatical FY 2025-2026
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
- Methodology
Director, McCourtney Institute for Democracy
Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-6120
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- State Politics
- Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion
Brown-McCourtney Career Development Professor in the McCourtney Institute
Professor of Political Science and African American Studies
(814) 863-7660
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion
- Gender and Politics
- Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
Assistant Teaching Professor
(814) 863-3192
Areas of Interest:
- Gender and Politics
Professor of Political Science and Public Policy
814-865-8749
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
- Climate change and the environment
Director of Humanities Institute and Professor of Philosophy, Political Science, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
(814) 865-4190
Assistant Teaching Professor
Areas of Interest:
- Institutions
- Public Policy
- Social Movements and Protest
- State Politics
Professor of Political Science, Social Data Analytics
Director, Center for Social Data Analytics [C-SoDA]
Head, Program in Social Data Analytics [SoDA]
Director of Graduate Studies, Social Data Analytics
William and Monica DeGrandis-McCourtney Early Career Professor in Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Methodology
Assistant Professor of Political Science
814-865-1332
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Comparative Politics
- Human Security
- International Relations
- Methodology
- Political Violence
- State Failure
Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Methodology
Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Methodology
Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- International Relations
- Methodology
Inaugural Director, Washington Center Initiative, College of the Liberal Arts
Associate Head and Director of World Campus Programs, Department of Political Science
Associate Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-1912
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Representation
- Interest Groups
- Public Policy
Professor of Political Science
Director of Graduate Studies
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
Teaching Professor of Political Science
Director of Undergraduate Studies
(814) 863-0743
Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Methodology
Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor of Political Science
Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-1040
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- International Relations
- Government Repression
- Human Security
Professor of Political Science and International Affairs
(814) 865-4476
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-6575
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
- Methodology
- Domestic Politics and War
- Comparative Political Economy
- Institutions
- Political Violence
Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-1594
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-9403
Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science
(814) 867-4429
Areas of Interest:
- Terrorism
- Political Violence
- Violent Extremism in the United States
Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-6576
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Methodology
- Public Opinion and Political Behavior
- Gender and Politics
Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science
Assistant Professor of Political Science
SSRI Co-Funded Faculty
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Institutions
- Methodology
- Public Policy
- State Politics
Assistant Research Professor and Assistant Director of the Center for Social Data Analytics
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Methodology
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Placement Director
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Democratization
- Dictatorships
- Public Opinion and Political Behavior
- Representation
Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science
Director, Counterterrorism Option
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Democratization
- Political Violence
- Extremism and Radicalization
- Terrorism
Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-3205
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Dictatorships
- Comparative Political Economy
- Government Repression
- Civil Military Relations
Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-2395
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
Associate Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-6901
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science and Sociology
Affiliate Professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology
Affiliate Professor of Law
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Methodology
- Federal and State Courts, and Judicial Behavior
Researchers
Postdoctoral Scholars position in Political Science and Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Congress
- Gender and Politics
- Public Opinion and Political Behavior
Staff
Lead Administrative Support Manager
(814) 865-4598
Administrative Support Group Assistant
814-863-5346
McCourtney Institute for Democracy Administrative Support Assistant
814-865-0100
Undergraduate Academic Support Group Administrative Assistant
(814) 865-4597
Assistant to the Department Head
814-863-1449
Administrative Support Group Supervisor
(814) 863-8346
Graduate Students
814-863-1595
Areas of Interest:
- Public Policy
- Federalism
- Economic Inequality
- Ideology
- Far Right Movements
Research Assistant
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Methodology
- Public Policy
- State Politics
Areas of Interest:
- Political Representation of Marginalized Groups
- Gender & Politics
- Latin American Politics and Development
- Comparative Politics
- Institutions
- Public Policy
(814) 863-1595
Areas of Interest:
- civil conflict
- civil society
- human security
- peacebuilding
Areas of Interest:
- electoral violence
- gender politics
- network analysis
- political methods
Graduate Student
Areas of Interest:
- Civil Wars and Conflict
- Foreign Aid & Development Finance
- International Organizations
- Political Economy of Development
Graduate Student
Areas of Interest:
- Methodology
- Social Movements
- Social Media
Areas of Interest:
- Economic Inequality
- Political Behavior
- Interest Groups
- Labor Politics
- Gender, Sexuality, and Politics
- Race and Politics
Areas of Interest:
- Authoritarian politics
- contentious politics
- Political Communication
- politics of East Asia
Areas of Interest:
- Causality detection and reconstruction
- Coalition building and conflict modeling
- Dynamic political behavior
- Social network modeling
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Health Policy
- Machine Learning
- Natural Language Processing
Areas of Interest:
- Institutions
- Representation
- Public Policy
- Elite Political Behavior
- Public Opinion Methodology
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Dictatorships
- Democratization
- Public Opinion and Political Behavior
Areas of Interest:
- Civil Military Relations
- Domestic Politics and War
- Gender and Politics
- Human Security
- International Relations
- Methodology
- Political Violence
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Congress
- Methodology
- Public Opinion and Political Behavior
- Representation
Areas of Interest:
- Methodology
- American Politics
- Social Media
- Political Economy
- Institutions
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Political Institutions
- Political Behavior
- Democratization
- Decentralization
- Ethnic Politics
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
- Methodology
- Public Opinion and Political Behavior
- Public Policy
- Representation
- State Politics
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Democratization
- Dictatorships
- Institutions
Graduate Student
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- State Politics
- Elections and Campaigns
- Methodology
- Content Analysis
Graduate Student
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Democratic Backsliding/Authoritarian behavior
- Eastern Europe
- Methodology
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Comparative Political Economy
- Methodology
- Political Violence
- Public Opinion and Political Behavior
Graduate Student
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Political Economy
- Comparative Politics
- Interest Groups
- International Relations
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Gender Politics
- Political Representation of Women
- Violence and Harassment against Women in Politics
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Gender and Politics
- Representation
Areas of Interest:
- International Security
- International Political Economy
- Comparative Politics
- Political Methodology
Areas of Interest:
- International Political Economy
- Supply Chain Politics
- Climate Politics
- Foreign Policy
- Economic Sanctions
Affiliated Faculty
Professor Emerita of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Democratization
- Communist and Post-Communist Politics
- Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion
Douglas S. and Joyce L. Sherwin Professor in the
College of the Liberal Arts Honoring Frank Whitmore and
Professor of Public Policy and Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Comparative Political Economy
Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Democratization
Christian Elliott
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Political Economy
- International Relations
- Public Policy
Distinguished Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Public Policy and Political Science
Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
Distinguished Senior Scholar of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
Professor of Law and Political Science
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Penn State Law
8148654285
Areas of Interest:
- American Politics
- Comparative Politics
- Judicial Politics
- Western Europe, especially German speaking countries
Assistant Professor of Statistics
(814)867-5363
Areas of Interest:
- Computational Social Science
- Bayesian Methods
- Causal Inference
- Spatial Data
- Elections
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology
(814) 863-8260
Liberal Arts Professor of African Studies and Political Science
(814) 863-5815
Assistant Teaching Professor of Global and International Studies and Political Science
814-865-4598
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
Affiliate Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- Comparative Politics
- Methodology
Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
- International Relations
Director, School of Public Policy
Professor of Public Policy

