Letter from Chair Rachel Cichowski
It's a great pleasure and an honor that I am introducing myself as the new Chair in the Department of Political Science. I am a professor of comparative and international law with a joint appointment in the Law, Societies and Justice Department and this is my 23rd year at UW! Beyond just the Chair, this has been a year of transition in the department with our beloved Department Administrator Ann Buscherfeld retiring after 35 years, two new staff members, Ed Connery and Natalie Lanza, and two new Assistant Professors, Gabriella Levy and James Kim.
Perhaps because we already were in transition, we have remained nimble and ready to pivot as the wider national politics and challenges facing higher education have asked us to double down and remain creative with our core commitment to excellence in teaching, research and serving our community. The Department of Political Science is central to informed discussions taking place here at UW and in the community. Our new faculty led panels and lecture series, Democracy Discussions, guided us through the election this Fall and culminated in a Seattle Town Hall event in January with Professor Megan Ming Francis’ Autopsy of an Election lecture, that was both a cogent analysis of the election results but a pathway forward for the future. These events are free and open to the public and are grounded in a core value that we are stronger in discussion together and become an excellent space for UW faculty, staff, students and community members to learn from each other. Keep your eye on our calendar so you can be a part of the discussion!
Our commitment to excellence and broader impact is not going unnoticed. A recent article in PS: Political Science ranked the UW Department of Political Science as #2 globally for recent impact, which measures faculty productivity and impact, and includes the value of inter and cross disciplinary contributions. Our faculty also got mentioned, with Professor Chris Adolph ranked #1 in the world among political scientists for recent impact with much of this driven by his instrumental research on Covid. Professor Aseem Prakash and Emeritus Professor Lance Bennett were also recently recognized among the top 100 political scientists in the world by Research.com. Exemplary of our faculty as a whole their research agendas are global and innovative embracing the crucial challenges of our time from climate change to civic health and engagement. This recognition is also deeply rooted in our department value of collaboration. Prakash noted “I think it's nice to be recognized, but the important thing is, in academia, one is often working in teams. So this is not the recognition of an individual, it is a recognition of the research program and all the people that I’ve worked with.”
It is an honor to serve the undergrads, graduate students, staff and faculty of this department whose commitment to excellence in research, teaching, community building, advising and administration is unwavering. There are so many ways for you to engage with our Political Science community. Join us, engage with us and support us!
And if you are ever missing the bright colors of ivy-covered buildings in the Fall, Red Square on a slippery winter day, cherry blossoms in the Spring or those delightful summer days on a quiet campus come visit us in Gowen Hall, our doors are open and we would love to welcome you in!
Rachel A. Cichowski
Chair and Professor, Department of Political Science
This past year our new faculty led panels and lecture series, Democracy Discussions, guided us through the election this Fall and culminated in a Seattle Town Hall event in January with Professor Megan Ming Francis’ Autopsy of an Election lecture, that was both a cogent analysis of the election results but a pathway forward for the future. These events are free and open to the public and are grounded in a core value that we are stronger in discussion together and become an excellent space for UW faculty, staff, students and community members to learn from each other.
Keep your eye on our Calendar so you can be a part of the discussion!