CPS News
The next front in the gerrymandering wars: Which people get counted?
Posted February 24, 2021. Minority representation would drop sharply if states equalized the adult citizen population rather than total people when redrawing legislative districts, according to research by Jowei Chen and Nicholas Stephanopoulos. They describe their research on gerrymandering in The Washington Post. Read Chen and Stephanopoulos’s piece here.
COVID-19 Crisis Boosts Progressive Values Amidst Growing Pessimism
Posted February 24, 2021. A unique panel survey conducted in 24 countries reveals the dual impact that the COVID-19 crisis has on values, emotions and the economy. Four decades of research by Professor Ronald Inglehart show that usually crises make people more authoritarian and xenophobic, but in the unique case of the global COVID-19 pandemic with lockdowns and freedom restrictions the effects are very different.
Christian Davenport appointed as the Mary Ann and Charles R. Walgreen Professor of the Study of Human Understanding
Posted February 22, 2021. Christian Davenport has been appointed as the Mary Ann and Charles R. Walgreen Professor of the Study of Human Understanding by the Regents of the University of Michigan. This professorship was established in the late 1960s to support the study of political and sociological factors that are relevant to the subject of human understanding, and to emphasize the study of the underlying causes of lack of understanding between people. Congratulations, Christian!
Barbara Koremenos to Advise on Cooperative Responses to Common Threats
Posted February 9, 2021. Because of her award-winning work on treaty design, Barbara Koremenos has been asked by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to participate in some small-group meetings on Cooperative Responses to Common Threats as part of the Project on Rethinking the Humanitarian Health Response to Violent Conflict. Over the past couple of years, she has also served on two National Academies of Sciences panels, using her research as the basis for policy recommendations.
Yuen Yuen Ang Awarded Theda Skocpol Prize for Emerging Scholars

Mai Hassan receives best article award

Arthur Lupia named Gerald R. Ford Distinguished University Professor of Political Science
Posted July 17, 2020. “Professor Lupia has been hailed as one of the leading political scientists of his generation,” Rackham Graduate School Dean Michael Solomon wrote in his recommendation. “He has contributed path-breaking and highly influential research in a wide variety of topics, including electoral behavior, public opinion, direct democracy, legislative organization, institutional design, policy implementation, and the impact of electronic media.” Read more in the University Record.
Vincent Hutichings appointed as a University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor
Posted July 17, 2020. Established in 2019, the University Diversity and Social Transformation Professorship recognizes senior faculty who have shown a commitment to the university’s ideals of diversity, equity, and inclusion through their scholarship, teaching, or service and engagement. “These faculty members have demonstrable impact in their disciplines,” said Susan Collins, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “It is truly gratifying to recognize and support these distinguished scholars.” Read more in the University Record.
Jenna Bednar receives Daniel Elazar Distinguished Federalism Scholar Award
Posted June 6, 2020. Jenna Bednar is the 2020 winner of the Daniel Elazar Distinguished Federalism Scholar Award. This award is given by the Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations section of the American Political Science Association. It recognizes Jenna’s “distinguished scholarly contributions to the study of federalism and intergovernmental relations.” Congratulations!
Mara Ostfeld receives award for best paper in Political Behavior
Posted June 6, 2020. Mara Ostfeld received the award for her paper “The New White Flight?: The Effects of Political Appeals to Latinos on White Democrats”. This article extends work focusing on the increasing identification of blacks with the Democratic Party to appeals to Latinos. Ostfeld identifies several key mechanisms for the relationship between such appeals and changing white attitudes toward the parties, and then develops experiments to test those mechanisms. Congratulations!
Kenneth Lowande receives APSA Founders Award
Posted May 26, 2020. Kenneth Lowande and Chuck Shipan received the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Founders Award for “Where is Presidential Power? Measuring Discretion with Experts and Laypersons.” The award is given annually for the best paper on the presidency and executive politics.noreferrer”>Read more in the University Record.
Vincent Hutchings receives the 2020 Tronstein Award
Posted May 1, 2020. Vincent Hutchings received the 2020 Tronstein Award for his innovative and outstanding teaching of undergraduate students in the U-M Department of Political Science. Congratulations!
James Morrow receives SSIP Distinguished Scholar Award
Posted March 31, 2020. James Morrow is the recipient of the inaugural Distinguished Scholar in the Scientific Study of International Processes (SSIP) section of the International Studies Association. Read more.
Kenny Lowande wins two MPSA awards
Posted Feb. 21, 2020. Kenny Lowande received two awards from the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA). “Bureaucratic Responsiveness to LGBT Americans”, coauthored with Andrew Proctor, won the Kenneth J. Meier Award for best paper in bureaucratic politics, public administration, or public policy. “Descriptive and Substantive Representation in Congress: Evidence from 80,000 Congressional Inquiries”, coauthored with Melinda Ritchie and Erinn Lauterbach, is co-recipient of the award for best paper published in the American Journal of Political Science in 2019. Read more.
Jowei Chen recognized as a "Defender of Democracy"
Posted Oct. 17, 2019. Common Cause honored Jowei Chen as one of four “Defenders of Democracy” who played pivotal roles in reshaping America’s legal landscape to address partisan gerrymandering. Read more.
Scott Page Named John Seely Brown Distinguished University Professor of Complexity, Social Science, and Management
Posted July 22, 2019. Scott Page has been named the John Seely Brown Distinguished University Professor of Complexity, Social Science, and Management. This appointment recognizes exceptional scholarly achievements. Recipients are the University’s most prestigious professors. Read more.
Kiyoteru Tsutsui's book selected for multiple awards from the American Sociological Association (ASA)
Posted July 2, 2019. Kiyoteru Tsutsui‘s book, Rights Make Might: Global Human Rights and Minority Social Movements in Japan, (Oxford University Press 2018), has been selected for multiple awards from the American Sociological Association (ASA). Read more.
Angela Ocampo Receives Dissertation Award
Posted June 26, 2019. Angela Ocampo‘s dissertation, The Politics of Inclusion: A Sense of Belonging to U.S. Society and Latino Political Participation will receive the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Race and Ethnic Politics Section’s award for the best dissertation in the field at the fall 2019 APSA meetings. Congratulation Angela!
Jenna Bednar Awarded the 2019 Martha Derthick Best Book Award
Posted June 4, 2019. Jenna Bednar‘s book, The Robust Federation, has been selected as the 2019 winner of APSA’s Martha Derthick Best Book Award. The Derthick Award is presented to the author of the “best book published at least ten years ago that has made a lasting contribution to the study of federalism and intergovernmental relations.”
Christian Davenport Elected President of the Peace Science Society (International)
Posted May 7, 2019. Christian Davenport was elected to the was elected to the Peace Science Society (International). Davenport co-directs the Conflict Consotrium at the Center for Political Studies and is a research professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. His primary research interests include the conception, causes and after effects of political conflict — such as human rights violations, genocide/politicide, torture, political surveillance, civil war and social movements — measurement, racism and popular culture. Congratulations Christian!
In Memory of Darrell Donakowski
Posted May 2, 2019. Darrell Donakowski, past Director of Studies of the American National Election Studies (ANES), passed away suddenly on Saturday, April 27, 2019.
Darrell’s colleagues remember him fondly. ICPSR Director Maggie Levenstein shares that “Darrell was a warm, caring, enthusiastic person. He will be missed by his many friends and colleagues in Ann Arbor as well as by the Dearborn community of which he was an integral part.” Read more.
Christian Sandvig named H. Marshall McLuhan Collegiate Professor in Digital Media
Posted Sept. 26, 2018. Christian Sandvig was named the H. Marshall McLuhan Collegiate Professor in Digital Media by the University of Michigan Board of Regents. This is a newly-created professorship, which honors H. Marshall McLuhan, who is best known for the theorization of digital media. Congratulations, Christian!
Yuen Yuen Ang Awarded the 2018 Zelizer Best Book Award in Economic Sociology
Posted Sept. 12, 2018. Yuen Yuen Ang was awarded the 2018 Zelizer Best Book Award in Economic Sociology by the American Sociological Association for her book How China Escaped the Poverty Trap. The book “truly offers game-changing ideas for the analysis and implementation of socio-economic development and should have a major impact across many social sciences,” the prize committee writes. The full citation is posted on the Organizations, Occupations, and Work blog. Congratulations Yuen!
Brian Weeks receives award for Best Information Technology and Politics Article
Posted Sept. 12, 2018. Brian Weeks, along with Homero Gil de Zúñiga and Alberto Ardèvol-Abreu, received the award for Best Information Technology and Politics Article at the 2018 APSA Annual Meeting. Their article “Effects of the News-Finds-Me Perception in Communication: Social Media Use Implications for News Seeking and Learning About Politics” was published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. Congratulations Brian!
Arthur Lupia named head of NSF program
Posted Sept. 1, 2018. Arthur Lupia, has been selected by the National Science Foundation to serve as the head of its Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. Congratulations Arthur! ISR news release.
Anne Pitcher Wins 2018 Dudley Seers Memorial Prize
Posted May 14, 2018. Anne Pitcher won the 2018 Dudley Seers Memorial Prize for best article in The Journal of Development Studies for 2017. The article is “Party System Competition and Private Sector Development in Africa”, The Journal of Development Studies, vol. 53, no. 1 (2017): 1-17. Congratulations Anne!
Arun Agrawal Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Posted May 1, 2018. Arun Agrawal was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his research and teaching emphasize the politics of international development, institutional change and environmental sustainability. He has written critically on indigenous knowledge, community-based conservation, common property, resource governance, and environmental beliefs and identities. Congratulations Arun!
Yuen Yuen Ang Named Carnegie Fellow
Posted April 30, 2018. Yuen Yuen Ang was named to the 2018 class of Carnegie Fellows. Ang’s project proposes to study economic development from an unconventional perspective: how new markets emerge in poor, weak states despite constraints or by turning constraints into strengths — rather than by first achieving good governance in first-world forms. Ang wrote How China Escaped the Poverty Trap,” which won the 2017 Peter Katzenstein Book Prize and was named “Best Books of 2017” by Foreign Affairs. Congratulations Yuen!
Christian Davenport Elected To The American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Posted April 18, 2018. Christian Davenport was elected to the was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Davenport co-directs the Conflict Consotrium at the Center for Political Studies and is a research professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. His primary research interests include the conception, causes and after effects of political conflict — such as human rights violations, genocide/politicide, torture, political surveillance, vicil war and social movements — measurement, racism and popular culture. Congratulations Christian!
Mara Ostfeld Wins 2018 Lucius Barker Award
Posted January 1, 2018. Mara Ostfeld has won the Midwest Political Science Association’s (MPSA) Lucius Barker Award for her paper, “The New Racial Realignment: Democratic Appeals to Latinos and White Support for the Democratic Party.” The Lucius Barker Award is given to the best paper on a topic investigating race or ethnicity and politics and honoring the spirit and work of Professor Barker. Congratulations Mara!
Don Kinder Elected To The National Academy of Sciences
Posted May 2, 2017. Donald Kinder was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for his path-breaking contributions to the study of American politics. He has spend his professional career at the Center for Political Studies in the Institute for Social Research, which has been the academic home of many members of the National Academies. Congratulations Don!
Yuri Zhukov Receives Bruce Russett Award
Posted August 16, 2016. Yuri Zhukov received the Bruce Russett Award for best paper published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution during 2015, for his paper “Population Resettlement in War. Congratulations Yuri!
Rocio Titiunik Wins Society for Political Methodology's Emerging Scholar Award
Posted August 8, 2016. Rocio Titiunik won the prestigious Society for Political Methodology’s 2016 Emerging Scholar Award. She was enthusiastically and unanimously commended for her excellent contributions to the field of political methodology. Mentioned as impressive is her Econometrica paper on RD methods. Congratulations Rocio!
Andrew Martin Wins Prestigious Lasting Contribution Award
Posted June 14, 2016. Andrew Martin won APSA’s prestigious Lasting Contribution Award from the Law and Courts section. Andrew D. Martin, University of Michigan & Kevin M. Quinn, University of California, Berkeley, “Dynamic Ideal Point Estimation via Markov Chain Monte Carlo for the U.S. Supreme Court, 1953-1999.” 2002. Political Analysis 10:134-153. Congratulations Andrew!
Robert Mickey Wins APSA J. David Greenstone Prize
Posted June 8, 2016. Robert Mickey won APSA’s J. David Greenstone Prize for the Best Book Published in the Past 2 Years in Politics and History: Paths Out of Dixie. Congratulations Rob!
Arun Agrawal Named Samuel Trask Dana Professor
Posted May 23, 2016. Special congratulations to Arun Agrawal who was named Samuel Trask Dana Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment. This is a well-deserved recognition for Arun.
Stuart Soroka Gives Inaugural Lecture
Posted February 15, 2016. Stuart Soroka gave his Michael W. Traugott Professor of Communication Studies and Political Science Inaugural Lecture on February 10, 2016. The lecture was entitled “Bad News Good Democracy”. Congratulations Stuart (and Mike)!