MWCPS Awards

​2023-2024 Award Winners

Outstanding Professional Achievement Award 
​The ​2023-24 Outstanding Professional Achievement Award recipient is Dr. Mary Stegmaier. Dr. Stegmaier serves as the Vice Provost for International Programs and is an Associate Professor in the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Missouri. As comparative politics scholar, she has spent extensive time conducting research in Central and Eastern Europe. Her research on international elections and voting behavior has been published in leading political science journals, including the British Journal of Political Science, East European Politics & Societies, Electoral Studies, International Journal of Forecasting, Political Behavior, and the Annual Review of Political Science. Her scholarship has also contributed to public discourse on elections and governance through blog postings at the Washington Post, the London School of Economics, and the Brookings Institution. She has also served as an international election observer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Albania, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia and Uzbekistan.

The outstanding professional achievement awards committee was chaired by Dr. Nadia Brown and included Dr. Malliga Och and
Dr. Amy Atchison. The committee unanimously agreed that
​Dr. Stegmaier's service contributions to the profession, dedicated mentorship and support of women colleagues and students, as well as her outstanding scholarly record made her the ideal candidate for this honor.
​
Early Career Award
The 2023-2024 Early Career Award recipient is Dr. Michelle Torres. Dr. Torres is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and a A.M. in Statistics from Washington University in St. Louis. Her research interests are in the fields of political methodology and political behavior, with a special interest in computer vision, causal inference, public opinion, behavior, and political communication. She strives to make statistical and computer science methods accessible to political science scholars. She is working towards developing and applying innovative and rigorous tools to achieve a better understanding of social issues. Her current research focuses on the analysis of images and pictures using computer vision and machine learning techniques in order to classify political visual messages/frames and understand their role in the generation and processing of political information and impact on attitude formation. Her work is published or forthcoming in the American Journal of Political Science, Political Analysis, Political Opinion Quarterly, Political Science Research & Methods, and others.

The early career awards committee was chaired by Dr. Katelyn Stauffer, along with Dr. J. Cherie Strachan, and Dr. Jaclyn Kaslovsky, who were impressed were so impressed by Dr. Torres's research profile and the ways that she has worked to build community within the discipline.

Dr. Mary Stegmaier

Dr. Michelle Torres

The 2023-2024 Graduate Student Travel Award winners are: 

Daniella Alva is a Ph.D. student at Stony Brook University with a focus on Political Economy and American Politics. Her research focuses on compassion and fairness motivations in addressing income inequality.

Katie Marie Glenn is a Ph.D. student at UC Boulder with a focus on American Politics and Political Methods. Her research interests include Attitude Formation and Political Behavior, Public Policy, Race, Ethnicity and Immigration, Religion in Politics,  Gender and Politics, and Political Communications.

Yujin Jung is a Ph.D. student at University of Missouri, Columbia with a focus on Comparative Politics and Political Methods. Her research interests include Comparative Politics, Political Behavior, Asian Politics, Text Analysis, and International Relations. 

The 2023-24 graduate student travel awards committee was chaired by Dr. Lisa Bryant, and included Dr. Julia Marin Hellwege and
Dr. Debra Leiter.  ​

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Past Award Winners:
​
Previous Winners of the Outstanding Professional Achievement Award*:
2022-2023: Nadia Brown
2021-2022: Michelle "Misha" Taylor Robinson
2019-2020: Barbara Norrander
2018-2019: Lisa Baldez
2017-2018: Dara Strolovitch
2016-2017: Paula McClain
2015-2016: Janet Box-Steffensmeier
​2014- 2015: S. Laurel Weldon
2013-2014: Nancy Burns
2012-2013: Karen Beckwith
2011-2012: Barbara Burrell
2010-2011: Amy G. Mazur
2009-2010: Jane Mansbridge
2008-2009: Kim Fridkin
2007-2008: Mary Hawkesworth
2006-2007: Iris Marion Young
2005-2006: Susan J. Carroll
2004-2005: Pippa Norris
2003-2004: Catherine Rudder
2002-2003: Virginia Sapiro
2001-2002: Karen O’Connor
2000-2001: Betty Glad
1999-2000: Peggy Conway
1998-1999: Roberta Sigel
1997-1998: Diane Blair
1996-1997: Arlene Saxonhouse
1995-1996: Susan Welch
1994-1995: Jewell Prestage
1993-1994: Doris Graber

​Previous Winners of the Early Career Award:
2022-2023: Katelyn Stauffer
​2021-2022: Ashley Jardina
​                     Amanda Clayton
2019-2020: Amy Pond
2018-2019: Sarah Bush
2017-2018: Jamila Michener and Maya Sen
2016-2017: Tiffany Barnes
​2015-2016: Emily Ritter
2014-2015: Julia Grey
2013-2014: Nadia Brown
2012-2013: Celeste Montoya
2011-2012: Mona Lena Krook

* Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty surrounding the MPSA Annual Meeting, no awards were given in 2021.