Generous Gifts Made to the Department Two families have made generous financial contributions to the department in the past two years. In 2021, James and Helen Fry established the Fry Family Public Policy Scholarship Endowment to honor the achievements of Diane and Jim Fry, who led creative efforts to promote effective public/private partnerships within the […]
Boyd Wins US Department of Education Fellowship for Arabic Language Study Calista Boyd, UT political science PhD student, won a Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) Fellowship to study Arabic in Jordan for the academic year. She is studying both Levantine Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic at the Qasid Arabic Institute, located in Amman, Jordan. […]
Muhammad Awarded Yearlong Water Policy Predoctoral Fellowship Jeremiah W. Muhammad, UT political science PhD student, has been awarded a yearlong predoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois-Chicago’s (UIC) Freshwater Lab. The fellowship—aimed at graduate students specializing in public policy and administration with a focus on environmental policy and management—is pivotal for Muhammad’s academic development. It […]
Shaneberger Among 13 at UT Earning 2023 Fulbright Fellowships Jennifer Shaneberger, a PhD student in comparative politics, won a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to conduct qualitative research in Sweden. The Fulbright Program is devoted to increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people in other countries. Being selected to represent the […]
New Stats, New Faces: Updates from Department Head Brandon Prins Greetings alumni and friends, As head of the Department of Political Science, I wanted to share some exciting updates from the past year as we begin 2024. First, the number of undergraduate Political Science majors and minors continues to grow. We have seen a nearly […]
Alumni Highlight: Hayoun Ryou-Ellison Hayoun Ryou-Ellison, a 2020 PhD graduate, joined the College of International Security Affairs (CISA) at the National Defense University (NDU) in Washington DC as an assistant professor this year (spring 2024). Previously, she taught at Howard University, the Catholic University of America, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Ryou-Ellison’s research focuses on Asian […]
Alumni Highlight: Simon Rotzer Simon Rotzer, a 2022 PhD graduate, recently returned to Tennessee to start a tenure-track position at Austin Peay State University in the newly established Institute for National Security and Military Studies. With the support of his colleagues and the Tennessee State Legislature, Rotzer endeavors to foster relations with European institutions in […]
Alumni Highlight: Sambuddha Ghatak Sambuddha Ghatak, a 2014 political science PhD graduate, joined the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University (SDSU) as an assistant professor. He teaches in the criminal justice and homeland security program at the SDSU Imperial Valley campus. Before taking on this role in fall 2023, he was an […]
Many exciting changes are taking place this year in the department. Our study abroad programs returned and welcomed a new cohort of students. Our undergraduate classes, both face to face and online, have filled quickly, showing the interest students have in learning about the critical issues confronting societies today. We also renovated office space in McClung Tower, secured new donations to the department that support graduate research, and brought three UT alumni back to campus to speak with current students about their own personal career paths.
Political science additionally welcomed three new faculty members to the department this past fall, which created excitement and energy inside and outside of the classroom. Xuhong Su, whose research focuses on corruption and accountability in public institutions, came to UT from the University of South Carolina and will be taking over administration of the Masters of Public Policy and Administration program. Stephanie Pierce brings a decade worth of experience working in public policy to the department and our students. Her research on housing policy is important as cities confront the challenges of sheltering the homeless. Finally, Kelly Morrison brings expertise in international law and human rights to our program; two critical areas of research that are in demand by graduate students. These three scholars expand our course offerings, introduce new ideas to students, and bring expertise to help solve public policy problems.
Fall 2022 Newsletter At Your Service Teaching and research are at the core of what political science faculty do, but Professor and Department Head Richard Pacelle reminds us that service to the university, the discipline, and society are just as important. Serving Appalachia For two decades, Tim Ezzell (MA ’88, PhD ’96, MS ’02) has […]
