PolsNews: Graduate student and faculty news
Anthony DeMattee defended his Ph.D. this past August and has started an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Emory University.
Vivian Ferrillo received a College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Research Fellowship (AY 2020-21) while Colin Andrew Fisk and Rita Nassar received College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Completion Fellowships (AY 2020-21).
We will be launching our IU POLS blog soon to share the news of many other awards and fellowships for our outstanding graduate students!
Faculty news
Political Science welcomes two new faculty members
Our department is delighted to welcome Assistant Professor Steven Webster! His research examines the forces driving mass polarization in the United States; how voters form perceptions of political actors; and how signals from party elites shape voters’ beliefs and attitudes.
Webster’s book, American Rage: How Anger Shapes Our Politics, which recently came to print with Cambridge University Press, presents results from a series of experiments that show that anger causes citizens to lose trust in the national government and to weaken in their commitment to democratic norms and values. Steven Webster received his PhD from Emery University in 2018 and held a post-doctoral research fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis before joining our department. Welcome aboard Steven!
We are also thrilled to welcome Chinbo Chong! She is a Visiting Assistant Professor in our department and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity in Society.
At CRRES, she will be working on her book manuscript titled Identity Appeals in the Age of Immigration, which speaks to the discussion about the formation of political identity, how this differs for Asian American and Latino voters, and its impact on mobilizing these two important American electorates. Chino Chong received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 2019. Welcome to our POLS community Chinbo!
Ted Carmines and Sumit Ganguly awarded Bicentennial Medal
Distinguished Professor and Chapman Chair Ted Carmines and Distinguished Professor and Tagore Chair Sumit Ganguly were awarded the Bicentennial Medal in September 2020.
The Bicentennial Medal is awarded to organizations and individuals who, through their personal, professional, artistic, or philanthropic efforts, have broadened the reach of Indiana University around the state, nation, and world. The medals themselves are unique, made from materials salvaged from the old bells which hung in the Student Building on the IU Bloomington campus, giving recipients a lasting piece of IU history.
The Bicentennial Medal honors distinguished and distinctive service, broadly defined, in support of Indiana University's mission as a public university, individuals who have enlarged the footprint of IU, or have helped to put IU on the map in unique ways. Those receiving the Bicentennial Medal should be seen as models for future students, faculty, alumni, and organizations to emulate as IU enters its third century.
Noteable alumni have also received this honor; W. Paul Helmke, Jr., Marie Harf, and James Trilling.
Dina Spechler receives Trustees Teaching Award
We are thrilled to congratulate Professor Dina Spechler for her well-deserving receipt of the Trustees Teaching Award this year. This award honors her positive impact on student learning through her innovative and thoughtful teaching.
The College of Arts