Penn State Penn State: College of the Liberal Arts

People

People
People

People

Faculty

Lee Ann
Head, Department of Political Science and
Professor of Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
(814) 863-1449
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
Christopher Beem
Associate Research Professor and
Managing Director, McCourtney Institute for Democracy
(814) 863-7630
D. Scott Bennett
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies and
Distinguished Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-1439
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
  • Methodology
Michael Berkman
Director, McCourtney Institute for Democracy and
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 and Associate 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
Brandon L. Bolte
Lecturer/Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow
814-863-8978
Xun Cao
Professor of Political Science and Public Policy
(814) 865-8749
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
  • Climate change and the environment
Gretchen Casper
Associate Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies
(814) 865-8748
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Democratization
John Christman
Director of Humanities Institute and Professor of Philosophy, Political Science, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
(814) 865-4190
Bruce Desmarais
Professor of Political Science,
Social Data Analytics, Head, Program in Social Data Analytics Director, Center for Social Data Analytics
William and Monica DeGrandis-McCourtney Early Career Professor in Political Science
Social Data Analytics, Director of Graduate Studies
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • Methodology
Matt Golder
Professor of Political Science
(814) 867-4323
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Methodology
Sona N. Golder
Professor of Political Science
(814) 867-4322
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Methodology
Pete Hatemi
Distinguished Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • International Relations
  • Methodology
Erin Heidt-Forsythe
Sherwin Early Career Professor, Associate Professor of Political Science and Women's Studies, and Associate Director of the Rock Ethics Institute
(814) 865-1209
Areas of Interest:
  • Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion
  • Social Movements and Protest
  • Gender and Politics
  • Interest Groups
  • Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
Marie Hojnacki
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
Zaryab Iqbal
Associate Dean, Schreyer Honors College
Associate Professor of Political Science and Jewish Studies
(814) 865-1510
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
  • Political Violence
  • Human Security
  • State Failure
Douglas Lemke
Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-0816
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
Amy Linch
Teaching Professor of Political Science and
Director of Undergraduate Studies
(814) 863-0743
Suzanna Linn
Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-9402
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • Methodology
Cyanne E. Loyle
Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs
(814) 863-1040
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • International Relations
  • Government Repression
  • Human Security
Roseanne McManus
Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs
(814) 865-4476
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
Bumba Mukherjee
Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-6575
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
  • Methodology
  • Domestic Politics and War
  • Comparative Political Economy
  • Institutions
  • Political Violence
Kevin Munger
Jeffrey L. Hyde and Sharon D. Hyde and Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor of Political Science
and Assistant Professor of Political Science and Social Data Analytics
(814) 863-0577
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • Methodology
  • Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion
Michael J. Nelson
Professor of Political Science and
Director of Graduate Studies
Affiliate Law Faculty
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • State Politics
  • Federal and State Courts, and Judicial Behavior
  • Judicial Politics
Adam Nye
Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-1594
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
Robert Packer
Associate Teaching Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-9403
Glenn Palmer
Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-5594
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
Jim Piazza
Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science
(814) 867-4429
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
  • Terrorism
  • Political Violence
Eric Plutzer
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
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • Congress
  • Interest Groups
  • Presidency
  • Public Policy
Amy  Sentementes
Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-6901
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion
  • Gender and Politics
  • Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
Assistant Professor of Political Science
8148638812
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Democratization
  • Dictatorships
  • Public Opinion and Political Behavior
  • Representation
Assistant Professor of Political Science
814-865-1844
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Methodology
Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science and
Director, Counterterrorism Option
(814) 865-5001
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Democratization
  • Political Violence
  • Extremism and Radicalization
  • Terrorism
Joseph Wright
Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-3205
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Dictatorships
  • Comparative Political Economy
  • Government Repression
  • Civil Military Relations
Vineeta Yadav
Associate Professor of Political Science
(814) 863-2395
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
Boliang Zhu
Associate Professor of Political Science
(814) 865-6901
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
Christopher Zorn
Liberal Arts Professor of Political Science and Sociology
Affiliate Professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology
Affiliate Professor of Law
(814) 863-9446
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • Methodology
  • Federal and State Courts, and Judicial Behavior

Staff

Kelsey Block
Academic Advisor
(814) 863-6944
Graduate Staff Coordinator
(814) 863-1595
Jodi Guy
Administrative Assistant
(814) 863-8346
Allison Haas
World Campus Administrative Assistant
(814) 863-8110
Angela Hill
Undergraduate Staff Coordinator
(814) 865-4597
Michelle Ilgen
Administrative Coordinator
(814) 865-4598
Academic Advisor
814-867-6024
Mia Parise
Academic Advisor
(814) 863-6811
Academic Advisor
(814) 867-1988

Graduate Students

Chase Bloch
Areas of Interest:
  • Covert Actions
  • Interstate Conflict
  • Text as Data
  • Data Science
  • Machine Learning
Areas of Interest:
  • IR and Methods
Areas of Interest:
  • Corruption
  • gender politics
  • rebel groups
  • acts of violence towards civilians
Chi Shun (Gary) Fong
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Social Movements and Protest
  • Government Repression
Morrgan Herlihy
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
Sangyeon Kim
Areas of Interest:
  • Social Networks
  • Political Communication
  • Social Media
  • Information Diffusion
  • Contentious Politics
Nitheesha Nakka
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • Comparative Politics
  • Methodology
  • Social Movements and Protest
  • Congress
  • Comparative Political Economy
  • Institutions
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Gender Politics
  • Political Representation of Women
  • Violence and Harassment against Women in Politics
Sara Lindsay Walsh
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Gender and Politics
  • Representation
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
  • International Political Economy
  • Political Methodology
Lingbo  Zhao
Areas of Interest:
  • International conflicts
  • International political economy
  • Public opinion
Areas of Interest:
  • Ethnic Conflict
  • Rebel Governance
  • Environmental Politics

Affiliated Faculty

Mark Anner
Associate Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations, and Political Science.
(814) 865-0745
Donna Bahry
Professor Emerita of Political Science
(814) 865-1890
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Democratization
  • Communist and Post-Communist Politics
  • Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion
Anthony Bertelli
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
John  Gastil
Distinguished Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Public Policy and Political Science
Errol Henderson
Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
Ben Johnson
Assistant Professor of Law
(814) 867-2803
Areas of Interest:
  • Federal and State Courts, and Judicial Behavior
David Lowery
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
John McCarthy
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology
(814) 863-8260
Kidane Mengisteab
Professor of African Studies and Political Science
(814) 863-5815
Assistant Teaching Professor of Global and International Studies and Political Science
8148654598
Areas of Interest:
  • International Relations
Burt L. Monroe
Affiliate Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
  • Comparative Politics
  • Methodology
David Myers
Associate Professor Emeritus of Political Science
Lilliard Richardson
Director, School of Public Policy
Professor of Public Policy
Hanna Wallach
Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science
Areas of Interest:
  • Methodology
  • Gender and Politics
  • Public Policy
  • Race, Ethnicity, and Politics
Daniel  E. Walters
Assistant Professor of Law
(815) 543-6266
Areas of Interest:
  • American Politics
  • Presidency
  • Congress
  • Institutions
  • Interest Groups
  • Public Policy
  • Federal and State Courts, and Judicial Behavior
  • Judicial Politics
Christopher Witko
Associate Director, School of Public Policy
Professor of Public Policy and Political Science
(814) 865-3747