Mark Crescenzi, an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, has been appointed as the Bowman and Gordon Gray Term Associate Professor, beginning July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2018. The Gray Professorships, established in 1980, and among the University’s most recognized awards for excellence in outstanding undergraduate teaching, includes an annual supplement to faculty salaries, a research/teaching fund, and a one-semester sabbatical.

Professor Kevin T. McGuire, Department of Political Science at UNC-Chapel Hill, is the editor of the recently published New Directions in Judicial Politics (Routledge, 2012). The book is part of the series, New Directions in American Politics, covering key areas of study in the field of American politics and government.

Frank Baumgartner, the Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, received the Samuel J. Eldersveld Career Achievement Award from the APSA section on political organizations and parties. It honors a scholar whose lifetime professional work has made an outstanding contribution to the field.

Baumgartner, who joined the UNC faculty in 2009, is a leading expert on democratic politics, especially the impact of interest groups and government institutions.

Ph.D. candidate, Rebecca Best, will begin a position as an Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Missouri at Kansas City in August of 2012. She will teach courses on terrorism, civil war, conflict in the Middle East, and international relations.

Ph.D. candidate, Jeff Harden, has recently accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He will begin in January of 2013 and will teach courses focused on quantitative methods and American politics.

Justin Kirkland has recently accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Houston. He will begin in August of 2012 and will teach courses focused on state politics, legislative politics, and research methods in political science. Justin specializes in research focused on legislative behavior, organized interest environments, public opinion towards institutions of government, and methods of social network analysis.