Brown Professor Takes DC Job

Brown political science professor, one-time Congressional candidate and fav Phoenix quote Jennifer Lawless has taken a new job as director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University. From a press release she sent along:

Women & Politics Institute Announces New Director

Brown Professor, Author, and Recent Congressional Candidate Dr. Jennifer Lawless Takes the Helm in Washington at American University’s WPI

Washington, DC -- Women & Politics Institute (WPI) Founder and Director, Karen O’Connor, today announced that Jennifer L. Lawless will be the new Director of the Institute, effective this summer.  Dr. Lawless will join the American University faculty as a tenured associate professor of government in the School of Public Affairs.  She comes to American University from Brown, where she spent the last six years as assistant professor of political science and public policy.  She is the co-author, with Richard Fox, of It Takes A Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office (Cambridge University Press, 2005).  In 2006, she sought the Democratic nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island’s second district.

“I am thrilled to join the faculty at American University and I am excited to serve as the Director of the Women and Politics Institute,” said Lawless.  “I have long admired the Institute’s important work, both in terms of the training it provides to encourage women’s political activism, and the research it generates to close the gender gap in political leadership.  Although I have been very happy in Rhode Island and at Brown University, this opportunity is simply too incredible to forego.” 

“Professor Lawless taking the helm is a huge get for the Women and Politics Institute and for American University.  Dr. Lawless is at the forefront of academic research and writing about women in politics and, specifically, women’s political ambition.  And she waged an incredibly strong campaign for Congress,” said Dr. O’Connor.  “There is simply no better way to celebrate the tenth anniversary of WPI than by looking forward to the leadership of Jennifer Lawless.  Her vision for the future of women in all facets of politics, and her unparalleled record of scholarship on the issue, brings tremendous assets to the thriving Institute.”

At the Women & Politics Institute, Dr. Lawless joins a team of talented professors, media and political experts, motivated funders, and committed students.  The Institute’s mission is to provide academic training to women so as to encourage them to become involved in the political process, as well as to facilitate research by faculty and students that enhances the understanding of the challenges women face in the political arena.