University of Kentucky Department of Political Science

University of Kentucky Department of Political Science This is the page for the University of Kentucky Department of Political Science. The Department was founded in 1923. was awarded in the late 1930s.

It established a masters program shortly thereafter and the first Ph.D. Dr. Amry Vandenbosch, a well known scholar in international relations and one of the drafters of the United Nations Charter in 1945, served as Head of the Department from 1931 until 1957. As political science became more quantitative in the 1960s, the Department shifted its emphasis. This began in 1963 when Dr. S. Sidney Ulmer, a renowned scholar in judicial behavior, was recruited as Chair. Professors such as Malcolm Jewell, Dean Jaros, Bradley Canon and William Lyons soon established a pattern of producing highly visible and highly influential scholarship, one that continued into the 1980s and 1990s through the work of researchers such as Lee Sigelman, William Lowery, Pamela Conover, Stanley Feldman, and Bill Berry. Several faculty members became leaders in the profession, serving as editors of major journals, presidents of regional associations or chairs of American Political Science Association sections. It is a tradition that has carried through to the present, despite a shrinking faculty size and a growing workload, as the prominent careers of long-serving professors such as Mark Peffley, Karen Mingst, and Don Gross can attest. Over the last 40 years, the graduate program also has produced its share of influential politicial scientists, including Micheal Giles, Jim Garand, Todd Shields, Kirby Goidel, Neal Woods and Laura Neack. The undergraduate program, meanwhile, has increased considerably in size over time; more than 500 declared majors has now become the norm. These students regularly go on to important careers not only in government, politics, and policy, but also in law, business, medicine, and other occupations.

09/24/2026

UK Poli Sci Ph.D. James Garand, a former student and coauthor of emeritus professor Don Gross, achieves a true career honor at Louisiana State University, the institution where he has served for several decades. What a well-deserved accolade!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1QP5fwW9Qf/

"Stephen Voss, a political scientist at the University of Kentucky, says that Mr. McConnell’s period of silence was in k...
07/15/2026

"Stephen Voss, a political scientist at the University of Kentucky, says that Mr. McConnell’s period of silence was in keeping with the senator’s habit of pushing back against popular pressure.

'Senator McConnell’s resistance to the 24-hour news cycle is on brand...' "

For almost a month, no one knew why Sen. Mitch McConnell was missing from the U.S. Senate. There’s no set way for the Senate – or the states – to respond to such an event.

Fascinating research from UK Poli Sci Ph.D. Ridvan Peshkopia on how personality traits shape participation in polls/surv...
07/07/2026

Fascinating research from UK Poli Sci Ph.D. Ridvan Peshkopia on how personality traits shape participation in polls/surveys, with implications for who does and does not tend to appear in samples as well as the quality of the data generated from the interviews.

Abstract. The rapid proliferation of mobile phone opinion surveys calls for a better understanding of their efficiency. We explain the length of mobile pho

"Beshear’s offering the country a unity-based, less provocative approach for Democrats to try and retake power," Prof. V...
06/11/2026

"Beshear’s offering the country a unity-based, less provocative approach for Democrats to try and retake power," Prof. Voss said. "Kentucky’s not a battleground state, and he probably couldn’t swing Kentucky. Well, who cares? The question is: could Beshear help swing or keep on the Democratic side places like North Carolina and Virginia..."

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a rare Democrat in an overwhelmingly red state, is making waves on the campaign trail as the party searches for a new leader in 2028. Considered the most popular …

A public-relations piece on recent UK Poli Sci Ph.D. Alex Farrone, recipient of a prestigious UK teaching award.
06/10/2026

A public-relations piece on recent UK Poli Sci Ph.D. Alex Farrone, recipient of a prestigious UK teaching award.

The former graduate teaching assistant is recognized for engaging, student-centered teaching in political science.

Robert Kahne, a UK Poli Sci undergrad alum, has announced that he's running for Louisville's Jefferson County School Boa...
05/27/2026

Robert Kahne, a UK Poli Sci undergrad alum, has announced that he's running for Louisville's Jefferson County School Board.

“Whenever we have a competitive race, the money floods in,” said Stephen Voss, a professor at the University of Kentucky...
05/20/2026

“Whenever we have a competitive race, the money floods in,” said Stephen Voss, a professor at the University of Kentucky and expert in Kentucky politics. “What’s unique about this race is that the forces pumping money into Kentucky aren’t the usual ones. Usually it’s sort of standard left-right attempts to take down our Republican incumbent, or in the case of Gov. [Andy] Beshear, take down the Democratic incumbent. This one, we’re sucking in money for different reasons.”

The Kentucky house primary was hugely nationalized, with money pouring in from across the country.

Prof. Voss (at left) is live and in the studio with Spectrum News 1, acting as their political analyst as Kentucky prima...
05/19/2026

Prof. Voss (at left) is live and in the studio with Spectrum News 1, acting as their political analyst as Kentucky primary election results roll in.

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1615 Patterson Office Tower/University Of
Lexington, KY
40506

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