Department of Political Science

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Nelson Wikstrom, the educator, researcher, author and public speaker, impressed colleagues and students alike with his vast political science knowledge. (File photo)

Nelson Wikstrom, longtime professor of political science, dies at 85

Sept. 16, 2025

The former department chair co-authored a leading textbook on intergovernmental relations.

VCU announces recipients of 2025 faculty awards for scholarship, teaching excellence

Sept. 10, 2025

Interim Provost Beverly J. Warren today announced 30 winners of VCU’s National/International Recognition Awards and 25 winners of the Excellence in Pedagogical Innovation Awards.

In July, third-year political science majors Ella Milton-Benoit and Rebecca Weil took part in the Summer Leadership Institute sponsored by Virginia21. (Contributed photo)

Political science students get crash course in community leadership

Sept. 4, 2025

Undergraduates Ella Milton-Benoit and Rebecca Weil bring lessons from statewide summer institute back to VCU.

A VCU researcher’s new study evaluates how different types of state legislatures can impact the effectiveness of women lawmakers. (Getty Images)

Are women better lawmakers than men? A nuanced yes, VCU researcher finds

Aug. 22, 2025

However, women serving on less professional state legislatures struggle to overcome lower-ranked committee assignments and entrenched sexism.

Denver Supinger (far right) stands with three other individuals in the chamber of the Virginia State Capitol

Alumni Q+A: Denver Supinger (B.A. ’14, M.P.A. ’15) is an advocate for community betterment

Aug. 11, 2025

Supinger’s career of public service in the region was launched in the Department of Political Science.

Fulbright recipients from VCU will travel to Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Nigeria and Taiwan during the 2025-26 academic year. (File photo)

Five recent graduates receive prestigious Fulbright awards for the 2025-26 academic year

July 23, 2025

The selections continue VCU’s upward trend of honorees in the federal cultural exchange program.

Merilyn Arikkat, who will graduate in May, is co-executive director of VCU Votes, a student-led, nonpartisan initiative. (Contributed photo)

Class of 2025: VCU Votes co-leader Merilyn Arikkat drives civic engagement among fellow students

April 28, 2025

The biology major and aspiring doctor is among national honorees for championing democracy.

Dominic Ongwen, a former child soldier who became an extremist commander, was found guilty in 2021 by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. (Getty Images)

For war crimes defendants, media coverage can reflect how audiences see ‘local justice’ and ‘international justice’ differently

March 10, 2025

Exploring the court case of an abducted child soldier who became an extremist commander, VCU professors Jessica Trisko Darden and Amanda Wintersieck see a framework for understanding harsher perceptions at home.

VCU student Natasha Romero Moskala worked with Alex Keena, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, as a research assistant on the Guinier Project hosted by the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School. (Contributed photo)

A natural progression: VCU senior joins professor for Harvard research project into elections

March 7, 2025

Political science student Natasha Romero Moskala fills the role of research assistant alongside mentor Alex Keena.

VCU alums who won Black History in the Making Awards when they were students. Clockwise from top left: Eloise Berry, Ph.D., Fadel Allassan, Jaz-Munn Johnson, M.D., Taylor Pattie, Tonecia Brothers-Sutton and Sasha Pierre-Louis.

Checking in with VCU’s Black history makers

Feb. 26, 2025

For more than four decades, VCU has honored students with Black History in the Making Awards – and here are updates on six accomplished recipients.